David Straley from Texas, you don't need the extra Y-cables to test TS cables. When testing TS cables, just ignore #3. LED #2 becomes the ground, #3 would do nothing.

This is the 2nd one I have. The first one was branded as "Live Wire" and finally "died" for some reason. I bought the same one again (this time branded as Mackie/Running Man) because it's still the best bang-for-the-buck in cable testers for normal musicians. Now I want to say that Mackie has apparently re-silk-screened the device to now show "TRS/TS" instead of just "TRS" for 1/4 inch cables. But the electronics inside are still the same! Too bad: they could have made the device to *sense* whether a TS or TRS cable were plugged in and change its operations automatically. It wouldn't even be that difficult to do. But they didn't. OK, I'm going to try to upload some photos to this review which show my work-around for testing "TS" cables. Hopefully the sequence of the pictures will be self-explanatory. Take care!

I'm in the process of wiring 30 hardware units and 3 patch bays an interface and 3 sets of speakers and I hate crawling around on the ground and the last thing I want to do is to crawl behind the racks because I'm not getting signal to one of my units so I'm gonna check every cable before I connect them and this unit can check every type of cable even XLR to TRS and everything in between hopefully I'll only have to do this once,
Check once connect once

Bought this to make sure all my cables were in order before a big gig. It sure did the trick, weeding out 3 bad cables (which I knew I had a few that were cutting out, this helped me find which they were). Well worth the money to keep with me in my rig to make sure we never have drop outs or cut outs.

This is a solid tool for testing cables it is 100% reliable EZ to use and built like a tank

I am liking this tester more and more each day and the variety of cables you can check. The added cables to check contacts are handy as well. I had a cable with a 1/4" plug on one end and a 1/8 plug on the other. So nice!

Excellent cable tester! Solid steel construction as is expected from Mackie. Tests just about every cable I use except Ethercon. Great buy especially for the price!

What else is there to say? Every studio or jam space needs one to keep things running smoothly. The price is right, and the wealth of options for testing make it a no brainier.

This is a great tool. It helped me find a cable that I was having an issue with very easily.
It's very easy to use .

I have needed one of theses over the years. Easy to use and constructed very well. Feels hefty and solid in your hand. Price wise, I feel like it is an excellent value. Great piece of gear that I think is essential.
Thanks again Nich for superior command service.

This is a well built device with many options to check cables. Unfortunately there are no instructions to understand which cables are not good or which ones are good.
Also the battery holder is a bit sloppy and sometimes you need to push on the holder to get the lights to work.
Otherwise for the price it's a great device.

I got this to make sure the SIS patch cables I was building were correct. The tester is easy to use. The banana connector probes are handy when you have a cord that is too short to reach across the jacks. I wondered whether the 1/4" TRS jacks would clearly indicate signal with 1/4" TS plugs easily, and it does -- you just have to know what the lights should look like (1(+3) -> 1, 2 -> 2, 3(+1) -> 3).

This tester is by far the best one I have used. It is very versatile, easy to use and well made. The continuity tester is a big plus also. I highly recommend this tester!

This tester works as advertised. The light patterns are a bit wonky, but you figure them out eventually. doesn't work with really short patch cables. but it works with most! i could take measurements and tell you exactly which ones are too short (shout out Too $hort), but then i'd have to go out to the garage and get a measuring tape and i just don't want to do that right now. Anyway, that just gave me an excuse to buy a couple female to female adapters. who doesn't like an excuse to buy more cables? you can also just use the probes to check for continuity.
Inexpensive little guy in a solid house... go ahead and buy it. loses a half star for not being perfect and i demand perfection, you hear me!?!?!

Purchased this in Nov. 2022. I've only used it twice and now the battery housing is loose and will not lock -- so battery has no good connection.
Local dealers where I live refuse to sell Mackie products anymore. Sound installation man at one local store said he has had to do a dozen warranty replacements of Mackie mixers in various churches and schools in past three months.
Mackie is now officially a worse product than Behringer.

...never having to hold test probes to the pins of an XLR cable while wiggling it around trying to find which end needs repair. I have only used this once, and already my quality of life has improved. This machine will lower your blood pressure and add years to your life. I haven't tried any other cable testers, but this one feels like the better of them. While it's heavy enough not to slide around the work bench, this might not be the one you add to your gig bag if you are worried about extra weight. Other than maybe the plastic selector knob, this thing feels military-grade. BONUS: The description doesn't point this out, but because it tests only one lead at a time, it will indicate if any connections are flipped or shorted together. Other testers don't always do that. I always thought that buying a cable tester would be a self-indulgent frivolous expense. My only regret was waiting until I was 50 to buy one.

I purchased this to replace a Behringer CT200 that did not even last three months of light usage.
This is superior to the Behringer product for six reasons:
1: The battery access is superior to the battery compartment in the Behringer.
2: It uses a single 9-volt battery instead of two 1.5-volt AA batteries.
3: The testing procedure and readout is less complicated.
4: The probes can be used for testing other types of cables for shorted connections--such as IEC power cables.
5: It has a better owner's manual--but the downside is it has to be downloaded from the website and is not included in the box. That's why I deducted one-half star from my rating.
6: It has more robust construction than the Behringer CT200.

This devised is quick and easy to use, I love the selectable verifying levels of circuitry continuity.
When in doubt, "check it out before you throw it out"

Very sturdy. Roadie worthy. Keep it dry though. Never failed me yet. Tested over 500 cables with mine for all my studio cables. Bright lights. Don't look directly into them or you might find yourself in another kind of space time.

100% recommended

works great i should have bought this a long time ago!

It worked great. I went through a pile of cable in no time at all. A real confidence builder.

This compact device is designed to test continuity through almost every type of audio-related cable on the market today, is built like a tank, and is indeed a must have for the casual user as well as the professional engineer. Plug your cable into the matching connector on opposite sides of the device, rotate the test switch through its five test positions and you'll know if it's go or no for the cable being tested. Cables with non-matching connectors (XLR>Phone & others) can also be easily tested for continuity and polarity once you "get the hang of it". A great item for gifting to anyone on the music/audio scene.

Works very well, is a lot easier to test cables with this unit than using a multimeter by itself and because different combination of cables can be test is a great tool on the field. Im very happy with it.

Having worked with amplified guitars, microphones and audio equipment in general for over 35 years, I've accumulated many audio cables. Naturally over time and with usage, audio cables will likely fail outright or just become intermittent.

My traditional method of testing cables has been by using a digital multimeter and probing from end-to-end to verify the expected continuity. This is awkward since multimeter probes are ill suited to probe 1/4 inch connectors and XLR connectors, etc. Plus with only two hands it's difficult to maintain steady contacts at each end to perform reliable tests. Sure, test pins and connectors could be built and used, but who has the time?

The Mackie MTest-1 cable tester solves all of those problems. Common cable types, unbalanced and balanced alike can simply be plugged into the tester and a quick rotation of the pin selection knob will light the LEDs on the tester to show the continuity between each end of the cable. This scheme makes it pretty easy to wiggle each end of the cable to check for intermittent connections to due to broken wires in the cable.

The LEDs on the tester are really bright so there are very definite indications of the status of the cable conductor connections. Also, the test enclosure is built like a tank, so I would expect it to perform well for a long time.

As with all alkaline battery powered electronics, it's a good idea to remove the 9V battery from the tester when it's not being used. The removable battery tray make this easy to do too - there are no miserable clips to snap on and off of the 9V battery.

In summary, this is a great piece of test equipment at a very reasonable price. I wish I'd purchased something like this years ago!

I have approximately 1000 testable audio cables in my studio. Without this tool, I'd be spending insane amounts of time and effort trying cables or, worse yet, testing with my DVM. The return on the small cost of this tester was gained after finding the first marginal connection on a new XLR. Even if you're a guitarist making a few changes to a pedal board, this tester will be of enormous value--get one!

We keep this unit in with our cables in a rolling case. A great, simple to operate, tool to check cables. When someone approaches our system with a worn cable it only takes a few seconds to plug it into this first and check it out. Bad cables can mess up your sound equipment investment.

Works great!

I've had other cable testers that soon needed to be tested because they were so poorly built. When you find yourself testing a tester, throw it away and buy this one.

This product was self explanatory and served us for all that we need it for.

It works very well. Definitely a good value for the $$.
Only con is that short pedal board patch cables are not able to be tested with it.

I'm a gadget geek. Years of installing and repairing military avionics electrical systems have taught me a few things...The Right Tool for The Right Job!
Must have "no guess work" tool that pays for itself time and again.
The day I received, I put it right to work and immediately identified 1 bad XLR and 4 sketchy TS cables, 2 of which just needed a good tip/sleeve cleaning.
For the younger folks up and coming, goto the Mackie website for the manual. And of course for in depth support questions, follow the path of least resistance :) correspond with the expert Engineers and Techs @ Sweetwater.

Works well. Very solid rotary switch. I also like the continuity bananas. Nice not to have to get a multimeter out for that, when this is always near my music gear. The battery compartment is also nice to me. I store this often, and don't like to leave batteries connected. The battery tray keeps you from having to mess with the 9volt connections you find in many other devices, and it slides / snaps in and out easily.

Nice Cable tester for the cost. Had a problem with the battery box. Had to press in with extra pressure and push downward to lock battery box into place. Other than that the unit worked fine. Easy to read and built pretty tough.

Heavy duty
Works great
I recommend

Good little unit. Helped me troubleshoot issue on my pedal board.

This thing works great for testing, but, wow! I can't see! It's like like staring at a miniature green sun. I highly suggest the next version comes with a dimmer switch. Good testing function, though. It's built like a tank. 1/2 star off because I can't see the monitor without sun spots now

Got this a week ago. Great to detect bad cables. Even intermittent problems: connect the cable and move it while plugged. It will show it with blinking light. I 've already discarded two cables. It's great because you can check different types of cables.

I've only tested the XLR testing function and so far it appears to work as expected. As far as Sweetwater goes, no problem. I received the product in a timely fashion and with no problems.

Two days after receiving this I was recording some electric guitar, and suddenly the signal starting going in and out. Was it the jack or the cable? Unplugged, ran the cable through the new tester, and sure enough, the sleeve connection was a problem. The cable tester had done its job. The unit, like other Mackie products I own, is built like a tank. Metal: heavy. The only downside is that the LEDs are if anything a little TOO bright. Scorching, actually, to the point where you don't really want to look directly at them, like the sun. Other than that, good deal.

Easy order,quick shipping and it works like a charm. Thanks to all at sweetwater crew. Stay great!

Super useful, a must have, great price and very fast shipping

I have been using the Behringer CT100 cable tester, which works fine. This Mackie unit is only about $5 more expensive and much, much more rugged. It also tests a few more cable types. I was very pleased with this. I will keep the Mackie in my home base where I repair the equipment and cables. I'll still keep the Behringer in my road bag because it is smaller and gets the job done.

The Behringer unit has a row of LEDs that can help you find intermittent shorts. That sounds like a good idea, but you have to reset that every time you plug in a cable. I think you can accomplish the same thing with the Mackie by simply watching the LEDs as you wiggle the cables around.

Running sound you need good wires and this unit will find trouble if you have bad grounds and shorts. Know before set up.

This does exactly what it should, nice bright l.e.d.s
One thing I would change it the ts/trs jacks be closer together, I'm not able to test my 6" patch cables. That's where the continuity checker and leads comes in handy but it's an extra step. If you're a guitarist or guitar tech I'd recommend taking a look at other testers.

This is a time saver, it not only tells you if the cord is bad, it tells you which wire is broken or disconnected.
I tested and repaired over 100 speaker and mic cords in about an hour. Wish i'd bought this a long time ago.

Does what it I need it to do, it's easy to use and relatively inexpensive.

Dead simple to use, LEDs brighter than the sun, good buy

Nice price cable checker. Don't use tester leads for circuit testing.

This cable tester allowed us to test over 100 cables in less than 30 minutes!
Straight forward instructions and no learning curve.
We removed 6 faulty cables and know that all others are in good working condition.
Great addition to our studio.