BJFE / BearFoot fx Guitar Effects Community

Hey All!

I've been using cheap patch cables for years now and I'm looking to get some good ones for my small board.
For the jacks I've decided on the Switchcraft pancake heads but have no idea on what cable to buy to compliment it.

Any suggestions and ideas?

And what patch cables have you guys been using?

Evidence Monorail Cable with Pancake Jacks

How do you find them? Do they give you any issues etc?

That was actually 1 option I wanted to try out, evidence monorails + switchcraft pancake heads.

I had been using mostly Lava solderless for a while. I also threw some EA Reveal on pancake jacks into the mix. However, I just sprung for some bulk EA Lyric HG and neutrik jacks. I am waiting for them to arrive at my door so I can get to work soldering.

I am interested in the difference.

Have fun!

thetoneseeker wrote:How do you find them? Do they give you any issues etc?

That was actually 1 option I wanted to try out, evidence monorails + switchcraft pancake heads.

I used to have all lava solderless and noticed a lot more clarity and punch with the soldered monorail cable. I never thought soldered vs. unsoldered would be a big deal but it really was. I am happy with the way they've held up and work so I don't see myself getting into different cable types but if you're looking to re-do your board I'd highly recommend anything soldered for the durability and better sound.

Monorail with switchcraft plugs here too. Solder is the way to go. If you end up doing your own soldering, here's something I learned... The white plastic that covers the inside cable has a very thin black coating around it that you need to be sure to cut back a little bit. I was having a whole bunch of problems getting my patch cables to turn out and couldn't figure out why I kept finding shorts - low and behold the black stuff conducts electricity and can cause shorts in your cables.

The difference between the monorail and lower budget stuff is really pretty noticeable. If you have never made cables, it's pretty easy and there are some cool things you can do. Remember, even the monorail is intended to be directional. To help with this, I put red shrink wrap on the amp side of all the cables I make.

Thanks for all your replies! It helped a ton.

I've never soldered anything before but I was planning to learn through this experience. Have some friends over here who do their own soldering, so I'm going to bring the jacks and cables over to their place so I can learn.

I actually bought 37ft of Evidence monorail cable on Ebay for 45 USD. It was the cheapest option I could find.
Where do you buy your switchcraft pancake plugs? From what I know, they're quite costly, about 4.50 USD just for 1 piece.

Might go with the GLS pancake plugs instead, seeing that their much cheaper.

$4.50 each is pretty standard - kind of eye opening how costly making cables can be, but I would never go back to cheaper stuff after knowing the difference. The only spendy cable purchase I have made that I wouldn't do again is a van den hul. Not that it's bad, just that evidence is every bit as good and half the price.

where do you guys shop at? I have certainly gotten a better deal than that before.

also, what quantities do you buy in?

cheers.