Making your own cables is often thought of as something that only the most tech-savvy musicians and engineers will attempt, but nothing could be further from the truth. Making your own cables isn’t any more difficult than changing a tire. And like changing a tire, it’s best learned by watching. Whether you’re using solderless connectors for the patch cables on your pedalboard, making brand-new cables, or resoldering connections in a broken mic cable, we’ll tell you everything you need to know to make your own cables.
Solderless Cables
Like the name implies, solderless cables don’t require any soldering. Simply cut whatever length you need and then screw the cable together. No more waiting for the soldering iron to heat up or worrying about burning your fingers.
Solderless cables are fast and easy to make. It takes very little time to make an entire pedalboard worth of cables. Because you need to determine the precise length of cable every time, it’s perfect for the player with an ever-evolving pedalboard.
Here’s a GIF showing you how to make custom cables using solderless connectors.
- Cut the cable to length.
- Insert the cable into the connector until it stops.
- Screw it in place.
Pro Tips:
- Use a razor knife or a cigar cutter to cut the cables. Scissors or snips tend to leave too much of the outer jacket hanging over the end of the cable, making it difficult to get a reliable connection.
- Solderless connectors form a really solid connection, but a drop of Loctite on the threads is cheap insurance and will keep your cables from coming loose.
Soldered Cables
Solderless cables are great for pedalboards and other applications that don’t require long runs, don’t need balanced cables, or sit in a stationary application. If you need something that can handle the abuse of daily stage or studio life, then soldered cables are the way to go. You will have to know how to solder, but don’t worry, even if you’re a soldering novice, we’ll provide enough detail that you’ll be able to get the job done with a little practice.
Soldering Supplies
- Solder (60/40 rosin core)
- Soldering iron
- Snips or razor knife
- Needle-nose pliers
- Solder wick
- Multimeter
- Wire strippers
- Helping Hands (optional)
Prep the Cable
There are three parts of soldering your own cables: prepping the cable, prepping the connectors, and assembling the pieces. The prep work is the same no matter what cable you’re making, so we’ll start there.
- Cut the cable to length.
Use a pair of snips or a razor knife to cut the cable to your desired length.
- Remove the outer jacket.
Remove the rubber or plastic outer jacket with a pair of wire strippers or a razor knife. Just make sure you don’t cut into the conductors or braided wire shielding.
- Twist the braided shield and remove the filler.
With the outer jacket removed, you’ll see a braided or wrapped shielding. Carefully twist the shielding into a nice, tight bundle to form the ground wire. Then use your snips to remove the filler material as close to the outer jacket as you can.
- Strip the insulation from the inner conductors.
Remove the insulation from the inner conductors with a pair of wire strippers, but leave a little of the insulation showing so you can still tell which wire you’re working with. If you’re only left with a few scraggly filaments, snip half an inch off the end of the cable and go back to step 2.
This is the perfect time to check for breaks in the middle of the cables. Use your multimeter to check continuity on each of the wires.
- Tin and trim the wires.
To tin a wire, run your soldering iron and the solder down both sides of the exposed wire, leaving just enough solder to fill the gaps between the filaments. Leave the wires a little long, and then trim them right before you solder them to the connector. The idea is to have just enough wire exposed so that it will fit inside the solder cup or hole in the connector.
Prep the Connectors
Tinning your connectors and the wires allows you to quickly make a reliable solder joint without melting the insulation on the inner conductors. Don’t skip this step. First, disassemble the connector and cover the bottom of the post or the eye of the lug with a small amount of solder, but don’t overdo it; the solder should be smooth and shiny.
Since the small wires for pins 2 and 3 will endure less stress than the bigger ground wire, cut the ground wire slightly shorter than the small conductors. That way, if the cable is stressed by someone pulling on it, the thicker conductor will absorb the stress and not allow the smaller conductors to break inside the connector, which is the most common failure point.
Putting It All Together
We’ll be working with small wires and a hot soldering iron, so it’s a good idea to use a pair of needle-nose pliers. We also recommend using a set of Helping Hands (a weighted-base tool with alligator clips) to hold the cables and connectors while you solder. This is a valuable time saver and you can pick one up at most craft or hobby stores. Now that we’ve prepped our cable and connectors, we can solder everything together.
Soldering XLR Cables
Lay your wires on the post and hold your iron on top. Remove your iron as soon as the solder starts to flow, but hold the wires in place until it cools. Work slowly and do one wire at a time.
It’s tricky to know what wire goes where on XLR cables. If you look closely at the rear of the connector, you’ll see a number embossed in the plastic next to each of the posts. Pay careful attention to the numbers next to each post when soldering both ends of the cables. When viewed from the rear (as you would while soldering), Pin 1 is on the left for female connectors, but it’s on the right for male.
You can wire a cable a few different ways, but for a standard XLR cable, like you’d use with a microphone, use the following pin out:
Pin 1: Ground (shield)
Pin 2: Positive
Pin 3: Negative
Soldering 1/4″ (TS & TRS) Cables
Hold your iron on the lug until the solder begins to flow, and then quickly insert the wire through the eye of the lug. If the wire and lug were properly tinned, there should be enough solder to completely cover the eye and hold the wire in place. Don’t use too much solder. A good solder joint will use only enough solder to make a clean, shiny joint that will last.
Before you reassemble the cable, grab your multimeter and check continuity on each of the pins.
Cables are a part of life for every engineer and musician, and learning to make your own is a worthy investment of time, especially if your art or profession depends on them. Making cables is a simple skill, and hopefully we’ve given you the confidence you need to get out there and start making your own. Like any skill, it does take practice, but if you use the techniques demonstrated above, you’ll be making professional-grade cables in no time.