Wicked easy tech qeestion - wiring for PRS 2 channel H footswitch, and mod advice

[neillkamman]

Hi All,
New to this board, but have three years on my awesome 2 Channel H, and have a question (well...need). I gig regularly with the amp, and commonly switch between channels using the FS. Since the wire from the FS is long, and gets coiled up into my board bag after every gig, and after a while, said wire gets tired, and begins to get intermittent. This happened about 18 months ago. PRS tech was great, and sent me a new switch, and I returned the old one to them, which I assume was repaired and recirculated. All good.

Well said wire is again flaking out. I already attempted once to identify the location of the intermittency in the cord, cut it out, and resplice. I thought I had excised the bad spot, but my Friday gig this weekend proved me wrong (though it held fine for the Thursday gig...WTF). So I basically am going to replace the whole wire. I would ask for PRS' help again except 1) I already did so once and they were cool so I do not want to bug them; 2) the wire is not up to the task anyway so I would rather fix this once and forall with wire of heavier gauge; and 3) I have reh and a gig in the next 5 days, so have no time to wait anyway. So, the easy quesiton is...

Can someone please tell me which color wires go to which of the three contacts on the jack for this FS? I could clip the wire and test right near the jack, but am not certain that will work, in case the intermittency is right at the jack interface.

And for something more interesting if anyone cares to opine...I keep reading about awesome mods PRS can do for their amps. My 2 Channel H is stock, first year production, retubed about 8 months ago with nice fatties. I play it thru two custom built cabs I made, one with a Celestion vintage, the other a JBL G12L (about to be replaced by a Weber P15Q!). Is there a mod I should consider? I like Warren tone if that suggests any directions.

Thanks!
Neil K,
Vergennes VT.

 

[Herr Squid]

This wont' solve your immediate problem, but how are you coiling that cable? It matters a lot to the longevity of the cable how you do it. If you just grab the end of the cable and start wrapping it around your hand and elbow, that cable's gonna die once you've done it too many times.

I'm very careful when coiling cables to twist them into natural loops and my cables last forever. A refinement on that technique (hey I just learned something too!) is here. Check out the video.

http://www.wired.com/2013/08/tnhyut-coil-cable/

 

[László]

Squid, I love that video. It's great stuff.

I've had amp switching cables that worked poorly new out of the box, and had to be replaced (ahem, looking at you, Mesa with your ultra-stiff cables and iffy DIN plugs).

I don't know what PRS uses (my PRS amps are single channel wonders) but I wish manufacturers would use more flexible cables with better connectors for this stuff if possible.

F'rinstance, this isn't an amp, but the power connection to my Universal Audio Apollo uses a very high quality multipin locking XLR (not a three pin job), and the connection is as solid as they come, and won't come loose or break unless someone really, really screws up.

Just looking at the DIN connectors on my old Mark V seemed like it would be enough to make them break, and the cables' stiffness added to the issue. If the cable wasn't set at just the right angle to the footswitch, I got popping noises, etc., because just a tiny bit of strain on the connector screwed things up.

I wound up not only replacing the original cable but buying an entire second footswitch and cable assembly as a "just in case."

That shouldn't happen. There are D-subs, multi-pin XLRS, EDAC connectors, etc., that offer a much more solid connection than a DIN plug that was popular back in the 50s, with a locking feature, and they aren't really all that expensive (I think an EDAC connector goes for about three bucks).