Effects Board Connections

[CandidPicker]

Well, gotta say that the Piston Kit arrived safely and was put together easily. I think out of all the cable (ran out of bulk cable and have ordered extra) connections, only one didn't check out continuity-wise. A quick adjustment and re-cut and the cable went together.

I've got all but 5 of my cable connections put together (the shortest and lengthiest ones) and am hoping the next batch of bulk cable will arrive soon. Will need to wait patiently until then. Will check current FX board with remaining cable connections and make do until replacement cable arrives.

 

[vchizzle]

V,

What make/model cables do you use again (sounds like the Boss cables were your previous type)? I'd guess that a lot of us have some soldering skills and use that instead of trying the solder-less variety and being content with that.

Hopefully later today my kit will arrive and I can begin work on the cables. I think if all goes well, I might have a good number put together by this evening...

My gigging board(and about 1/2 of my home board) I use Canare gs-4 and various soldered jacks- mostly switchcraft for my pedal cables that hook up to my switching system. For cables that are in line all the time, Canare gs-6 with neutrik or switchcraft ends.

Those Boss cables on my home board I haven’t had any issues with once I got them made up with the extra work of piercing the outer rubber part of the cable where the ground screw screws in. They don’t get moved around much though so I can’t vouch for durability or reliability.

 

[CandidPicker]

My gigging board(and about 1/2 of my home board) I use Canare gs-4 and various soldered jacks- mostly switchcraft for my pedal cables that hook up to my switching system. For cables that are in line all the time, Canare gs-6 with neutrik or switchcraft ends.

Those Boss cables on my home board I haven’t had any issues with once I got them made up with the extra work of piercing the outer rubber part of the cable where the ground screw screws in. They don’t get moved around much though so I can’t vouch for durability or reliability.

Thanks for this. Only thing I personally know about soldering is to heat up the surrounding surface adequately before applying the solder, otherwise you get a cold solder joint. And yet, still couldn't solder a cable worth bupkis if I tried. Would like to find a decent desk upright stand magnifier for close-up work (my eyeglasses lose focus with tiny parts and close proximity work) for future workshop projects...

 

[ViperDoc]

I use Evidence Audio cables and have had zero problems with them. I also use a Schmidt Array board with cover so there is zero movement and total protection of all components in transit. It also has all I/o integrated into the patchbox. Expensive, but so is redoing everything.

 

[CandidPicker]

I use Evidence Audio cables and have had zero problems with them. I also use a Schmidt Array board with cover so there is zero movement and total protection of all components in transit. It also has all I/o integrated into the patchbox. Expensive, but so is redoing everything.

I hear that! Fortunately, like many a bargain hunter, I did the Reverb/eBay route and found some good deals on a kit and extra plugs. One guy had 20 plugs selling at a good price, so I snagged those and made do with what Mini-ELC cable was in the kit. Still needed more cable, but own enough plugs for my needs.

Am currently selling my 2 lots of 20 Tightrope plugs on eBay...

 

[László]

In the past few years I’ve gone to the trouble of having custom cables made with soldered connections between cable and plug; these are reinforced with strong strain relief. I have also gone back to good old large traditional plugs with barrels long enough to easily grasp.

Yeah, it’s more money, it’s a pain in the rear, etc. but the dependability is greater, at least for me.

 

[CandidPicker]

In the past few years I’ve gone to the trouble of having custom cables made with soldered connections between cable and plug; these are reinforced with strong strain relief. I have also gone back to good old large traditional plugs with barrels long enough to easily grasp.

Yeah, it’s more money, it’s a pain in the rear, etc. but the dependability is greater, at least for me.

I've checked out the Sinasoid website myself and their ordering process is relatively straight-forward. Price-wise, maybe that was the catch. You gotta appreciate while these may not be the best deal, they're certainly worth the quality. Perhaps when we dig deep and realize what we're putting into our effects boards, we all would like quality over stuff that breaks down more easily.

I think I've found a reasonable compromise between price and quality in the Lava Cable Piston kit. Easy to assemble, checks out continuity-wise 95% each time, and holds securely in place. Couldn't say that about assembling my Tightropes. One reason for my selling the Tightrope plugs deeply discounted for anyone who could use them on eBay.

 

[László]

I've checked out the Sinasoid website myself and their ordering process is relatively straight-forward. Price-wise, maybe that was the catch. You gotta appreciate while these may not be the best deal, they're certainly worth the quality.

For what they are, they’re a good deal. The PITA is that when I’m putting together a board, or changing one, I have to wait a few days for the cable to arrive, and a modicum of patience is required.

But I haven’t had any cable failures since I switched back from the solderless to soldered cable.

I could make them myself, as I did in my distant past, but it isn’t something I enjoy doing.

I’ve gotten to the point where I even have custom lengths of heavier gauge power cords made, and wrapped in that nylon stuff with repairable Hubbell plugs, and strain relief. Totally overbuilt, I’ll admit.

In a proper studio, you see audio cable and AC troughs set into the floor, with removable covers to match the flooring, but I don’t have that; mine have to lay on the floor. The nylon braiding means they don’t split open if they get stepped on (a friend’s sister was electrocuted and died stepping on a power cable that had a split), but the best part is they don’t get all tangled, and it looks a tiny bit more pro when clients are over.

 

[CandidPicker]

For what they are, they’re a good deal. The PITA is that when I’m putting together a board, or changing one, I have to wait a few days for the cable to arrive, and a modicum of patience is required.

But I haven’t had any cable failures since I switched back from the solderless to soldered cable.

I could make them myself, as I did in my distant past, but it isn’t something I enjoy doing.

I’ve gotten to the point where I even have custom lengths of heavier gauge power cords made, and wrapped in that nylon stuff with repairable Hubbell plugs, and strain relief. Totally overbuilt, I’ll admit.

In a proper studio, you see audio cable and AC troughs set into the floor, with removable covers to match the flooring, but I don’t have that; mine have to lay on the floor. The nylon braiding means they don’t split open if they get stepped on (a friend’s sister was electrocuted and died stepping on a power cable that had a split), but the best part is they don’t get all tangled, and it looks a tiny bit more pro when clients are over.

First of all, sorry to hear about your friend's sister's accidental death. Electrical hazards are one of the few things I've not had to worry about much recently, for sake of experience and foresight.

This is gonna sound strange, but my former pet cat used to love chewing on heavy gauge electrical cable (including instrument and power). I solved that problem by wrapping my cables in automotive wire loom so that the bundle of cables was too large to fit into the cat's mouth. About 6 years later, no pets to worry about that could pose an electrical hazard. (GC would cringe when they saw me coming in with Monster or Mogami cable with teeth perforations the length of the cable, trying to exercise my warranty rights)

Anyway, the LavaCable Piston assembly is really a joy because of my decent success rate assembling them. It likely makes good sense to own a couple lengths of extra cable in case of pedal purchases/sales or reworking the board. I'm personally hoping this is one of the few times I'd need to deal with rebuilding the board for a while, and have only whipped out my credit card a few times making it happen this time.

 

[CandidPicker]

Thought to let you folks know the results of my effects board endeavors...It was necessary for me to order a separate Piston kit because the cable order backlog would just take way too long to arrive. With T-Day weekend just around the corner, I just needed the board to be completed so no worries thereafter...

Anyway, the 2nd Piston kit arrived this morning, and took about 50 minutes to complete what hadn't already been done. Here's a pic of the completed board. Gotta say that there is some ambient noise in the circuit, but subsequently relocated the power cables away from signal cables and have not yet tested the board guitar in hand, just fingertip to end of instrument plug to confirm completion of electrical circuit. The Sentry Noise Gate seems to mitigate any ambient hum or hiss from direct fingertip contact; likely things will be better guitar plugged in...

At least the data looks correct...no need for fudging this whatsoever...

I've got an old FreeCycle contact who has received some of my old cast-off electronics and parts, and I thought it wise to let him take a few of the old Tightrope plugs and extra cable for some of his P&W projects. The bulk of my 2 lots of Tightrope plugs are up on eBay at bargain prices in case anyone might use these for the own FX boards.

Here's my FX board with Piston / Mini-ELC, 11/25/19:

 

[CandidPicker]

I thought to let folks know that my buddy whom I donated some Tightrope plugs to suggested using heat-shrink plastic tubing surrounding the finger-tightened screw caps and cable. My buddy said he could do this himself rather than try to fumble with the tiny Piston allen screws. I said, "More power to ya, that's a decent idea folks could use."

So I'm passing along the suggestion to you guys. One lot of 20 Tightrope plugs was sold earlier this afternoon and there's one lot of 20 remaining. They're priced quite well and I've personally not viewed a comparable listing that can match my offer on eBay.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Nice work CP

 

[CandidPicker]

Nice work CP

Thanks, wasn't the least bit difficult putting the cables together. Hopefully, someone can use the Tightrope plugs and utilize the heat-shrink idea for more dedicated connectors...

 

[László]

Board looks great. If there’s noise, there are ways to track it down, but I’d suspect a ground loop somewhere. What are you powering the board with, and are all the outlets isolated with no daisy-chaining of pedals?

 

[CandidPicker]

Board looks great. If there’s noise, there are ways to track it down, but I’d suspect a ground loop somewhere. What are you powering the board with, and are all the outlets isolated with no daisy-chaining of pedals?

2 separate dedicated & isolated power supplies, a T Rex Classic, and a Voodoo Lab Digital. The digital does the heavy lifting for higher amperage draw effects supplying 400mA each of its 4 (9VDC) inputs. There are also 2 (12VDC) inputs, but you can't run all 6 inputs at once, gotta be either the 9 or 12 VDCs. TheClassic does the lighter duty, with a total of 500mA draw for its 8 inputs. The Classic also has 12VDC and 12VAC inputs, but I've forgotten what amperage draw these both allow.

I took some time to contain the power cable into 2 looped coils that connect to both power supplies. The effects connections run perpendicular for the most part to the power connectors, not parallel. All connections are attached to the underside (will post a pic later) via zip ties, automotive loom, and adhesive zip tie pads.

Wednesday will be a time to check for ambient noise. The TC Sentry does a decent job mitigating most noise, but my tests were just after board assembly using my finger contact on the input instrument cable so as to confirm signal in all effects and loop switcher, not with guitar. Wednesday's test will allow me to make adjustments as needs be.

 

[CandidPicker]

Board looks great. If there’s noise, there are ways to track it down, but I’d suspect a ground loop somewhere. What are you powering the board with, and are all the outlets isolated with no daisy-chaining of pedals?

Here's a pic of the Novo18 underside. Blue is the T Rex Classic, the other, Voodoo Lab Digital. Some extraneous adhesive pads kept there. Tried to keep it simple, but you know what happens...

 

[CandidPicker]

Board looks great. If there’s noise, there are ways to track it down, but I’d suspect a ground loop somewhere. What are you powering the board with, and are all the outlets isolated with no daisy-chaining of pedals?

The FX board is working correctly now.

I'd arranged the power and connectors underside the board so that there was minimal wiring cross-interference. I tried the FX both with and without the TC Sentry. With the Sentry, there is hardly any feedback (while standing positioned close to the combo speaker) and the signal damps out relatively quickly. (I'll need to adjust the damping to allow for greater sustain). Without the Sentry, the board has only a modest amount of hum (primarily, again, from being positioned close to the speaker) with plenty of sustain and feedback.

For live gigs, I think I'd likely being standing further away from the combo and facing away, therefore not so much an issue regards hum or feedback there. I'll likely spend a few minutes later adjusting the Sentry's controls to obtain an appropriate amount of hum/hiss reduction, but with adequate sustain so the guitar sounds more natural than letting the sustain fizzle out too quickly.

Will check the owner's manual, make some adjustments and check back with you folks early Thursday afternoon...

 

[CandidPicker]

Just got a chance to run through my effects and amp with adjusted settings.

First off, it was necessary to decrease the 'Damp' setting to 9 o'clock. Likewise, increase the 'Decay' setting to 3 o'clock. (The 'Threshold' was set about 10:30). All these combined made for a more natural sounding noise-gated tone.

Here's what really sparked my interest: My amp's bass setting was almost dimed, so I rolled it back to about 2:30 o'clock. And increased my midrange to about 2 o'clock. Reduced the treble to 10 o'clock. Yum. My Brunetti now sounds like it's supposed to...warm, rich, full...THE tone I'd been searching for...

Some say it's better to give than to receive...they're correct. I think I can now safely give my friends a taste of what my music is supposed to sound like, not the kind of musical tone my ears were not fond of...

 

[vchizzle]

Nice looking board! Glad you got everything worked out.

 

[László]

Here's a pic of the Novo18 underside. Blue is the T Rex Classic, the other, Voodoo Lab Digital. Some extraneous adhesive pads kept there. Tried to keep it simple, but you know what happens...

Well done!