Blind-Summit
THE GUITAR PLAYERS COMMUNITY

Homemade Instrument Cables

We all know that guitars, amps and all the other gear doesn’t come cheap - but there are some things that you can do to save a bit of money. Making your own instrument cables is a simple task given you have the right tools. Made properly, they are just as good as the ones you buy in your local guitar store.

The following image shows you the tools you will need. From the left: Cutters, Shielded Cable, Sharp Knife, 1 1/4" Jack Plug, Solder, Soldering Iron.

First of all, you will need to cleanly one free end of the cable. Either use a set of sharp cutters, or ideally a sharp knife.

I have purchased a standard 1 1/4" plug, made up of 4 sections. The plug, cable holder, the outer metal case, and the plastic screw cap. At this point it’s best to thread on the plastic screw cap (shown on the very left of the photo below). This saves having to try and feed it over the bare wires. Remember to do this for both ends of the cable.

I am assuming that the cable you have purchased is approximately the same as this. A centre wire core, surrounded with a layer of insulation. This is in turn surrounded by a wire mesh and then a top, much tougher layer of shielding. A good quality cable will feel robust and not thin and flimsy.

Carefully cut through the outer casing 2cm or so from the end, down as far as the wire mesh. Do this slowly, and more importantly, with a very sharp knife. Hacking at it will cause you to cut through sections of the mesh. Slip the outer casing off.

Next, carefully part the wire mesh to one side, and angle it away from the end of the cable. This lets you get access to the shielded core. You again, need to carefully cut through this casing to get down to the wire core. Be careful not to cut the core, or you will need to cut the end off again, and start over!

After the two wires are exposed you should be up to this point below. The plastic screw caps are threaded on the cable itself, and the exposed wire is ready to be soldered.

I have bent the centre core in half so that it fits snugly into the centre hole of the jack plug. With the outer mesh, I again folded this in half and pressed it flat so it would sit on the casing of the plug itself.

When you have lined the wire up and checked that they can be soldered without shorting each other, you can now begin by soldering the outer mesh to the case. Start with the outer casing rather than the core as it’s easiest - trust me!

Depending on the jack plug, you may need to ready it for soldering. The metal, like with mine, was coated with a sort of protective lacquer. You can sand this away with a small file, or the tip of a knife. The hardest part is the core as it’s quite small.

Here are the finished joints. It’s hard to get a good photo of the join, but just ensure that the two connections don’t short each other. It’s easy to have a single strand of loose wire bridging the connections, so just have a quick check before you plug it in.

Just a second shot of the join

The finished article! Plug it in, and check that it doesn’t hum or buzz.