Switchcraft 228 Right Angle Plugs

[BillyK]

Who of you have used these recently?

I recall using these decades ago in some limited applications - I've been making most of my own cables since the late 60's - and I saw them used on Alan Hines (spelling?) board and some forumites as well recently. I seem to recall that there is a solder tab for the primary conductor and ground is just soldered to the casing - is that right?

How do they hold up against the current standards like Neutrik and G&H? They certainly save space, which is almost always a concern.

[bduguay]

I have some that I've been using for years ( not quite as far back as the 60's though ;) ) without failure. As for space saving they can't be beat.
B.

[AlexK]

I just redid my pedalboard with these (used to have GeorgeL's). So far, I really like them. I haven't noticed any big change in my tone, although I have a couple buffers in my chain. I'm using Canare GS-4 with these plugs.

Connection-wise you're right; there's a tab for the signal connection and the ground just goes to the casing. I was a little worried about them at first since it didn't seem like there would be a very good mechanical connection before soldering, but I haven't had any problems after a few gigs and they definitely seem more robust than the GeorgeL's.

[gregovertone]

i have been looking for a place that made cables like that.....been turned down by everyone, including lava cable :(

http://www.garrettaudio.com/My%20Pictures/00000572.jpg

[BillyK]

Mark wouldn't build them for you? If so, that may not bode well for these connectors competing well with Neutriks/G&H's. Mark just uses the good stuff.

Maybe he'll weigh-in on this.

[gregovertone]

he just said he doesn't order them, has no idea when he would get them....therefore, he doesn't 'offer' them.

it's unfortunate, as i'm in a situation where i need some of those.....and i currently can't build them :(

[bduguay]

I'll build them for you.
B.

[George Adelson]

I just bought 40 of them from www.guitar-cable.com (http://www.guitar-cable.com) They also sell custom cables with these plugs although their cable selection isn't as good as Mark's. Before I purchased a bunch of these plugs in bulk, I decided to by one pre made and see what they sounded like and how durable they are. Definitely pass the test. You can yank on them pretty hard and they won't disengage unlike George L's. Which I don't trust at all. I don't know how many times my big feet have accidently stepped on one only to make the connection fail.

Anyway, I decided I was just going to make my own, so I bought 40 of them (228's) and 30 feet of Cardas Golden Cord. I needed these for a tight squezze in the guts of my MKS Pedal Pad Lite XL (only 6 1/2 inches of clearance inside) as these are plugged into my Axess GXR4 switchers and I can't fit them inside with Neutriks or G and H right angle plugs. To me, there is no audible difference in sound, they don't take up a lot of real estate, allowed me to put the switchers inside my board and saved a lot of guess work in so far as what lengths I would have to order from Mark.

[gregovertone]

interesting!

if you don't mind me asking, how much did an order like that cost? sounds almost perfect!

[Larry]

I bought some here:

http://www.effectsconnection.com/oscommerce/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=76&osCsid=dc9f671165b764cccba23db07b8c20e7

They work fine for me. I was also able to improvise making a really narrow pedal crank by soldering a 3/4" piece of George L conductor to two of the plugs and then screwing them directly together.

[George Adelson]

Hope I'm not breaking any rules here or costing Mark any business as he is a real nice and helpful guy. I even called him and asked him if he would make them for me if I sent the plugs and he said he would. Ultimately, I just wanted to finally get over my solderphobia and make them myself. I'm still going to get the Van den Hul cable from him, though. The plugs are like 2.48 a piece if you order more than 10. Cheaper than effectsconnection.com. The cable was like 6.50 a foot. I picked up 25 feet of it to wire my whole board.

[BillyK]

I just bought 40 of them from www.guitar-cable.com (http://www.guitar-cable.com) They also sell custom cables with these plugs although their cable selection isn't as good as Mark's. Before I purchased a bunch of these plugs in bulk, I decided to by one pre made and see what they sounded like and how durable they are. Definitely pass the test. You can yank on them pretty hard and they won't disengage unlike George L's. Which I don't trust at all. I don't know how many times my big feet have accidently stepped on one only to make the connection fail.

Anyway, I decided I was just going to make my own, so I bought 40 of them (228's) and 30 feet of Cardas Golden Cord. I needed these for a tight squezze in the guts of my MKS Pedal Pad Lite XL (only 6 1/2 inches of clearance inside) as these are plugged into my Axess GXR4 switchers and I can't fit them inside with Neutriks or G and H right angle plugs. To me, there is no audible difference in sound, they don't take up a lot of real estate, allowed me to put the switchers inside my board and saved a lot of guess work in so far as what lengths I would have to order from Mark.

Exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks George!!
How do you like the Cardas? Is that what you use throughout your rig?

[George Adelson]

Just started using it after being a Canare GS-4 guy for a long time. Sounds great. Definitely an improvement. Took a while to make them, but worth it. Now I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get some Van den Hul from Mark as I am not going to use Cardas for Guiatar to board and from board to amp.

[BillyK]

Now I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get some Van den Hul from Mark as I am not going to use Cardas for Guiatar to board and from board to amp.

What's wrong with Cardas - it's great stuff, right?

[George Adelson]

No, it's great. I'm such a gear whore though and from the opinions I have heard here on this board, the VdH/ Cardas combo is supposed to be the best sounding combo. I figure I should give it a shot and see for myself. The Cardas also (according to Mark)is the best pedal board cable he sells. Gonna place my order today for the VdH with Mark then hopefully I'm done
with cable/ plug issues.

[JKoeth]

i have been looking for a place that made cables like that.....been turned down by everyone, including lava cable :(



Hey Greg,

I'll build them for you or anyone else. Here's a couple pics of my board. I built every single cable on it. I'm in Cleveland. Email me jamiekoeth@hotmail.com

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/jkoeth/IMG_6396.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/jkoeth/IMG_6077.jpg

[JKoeth]

Is Mark with Lava Cable?

[gregovertone]

it's hard to look at the cables on a board like that ;)

[George Adelson]

Mark is Lava Cable.

[whoismarykelly]

Im thinking about using these on my drive board since Ill have a row of menatones with jacks on the back and the only way to have 2 inch cables is to use those ends.

[K-man]

Hope I'm not breaking any rules here or costing Mark any business as he is a real nice and helpful guy. I even called him and asked him if he would make them for me if I sent the plugs and he said he would. Ultimately, I just wanted to finally get over my solderphobia and make them myself. I'm still going to get the Van den Hul cable from him, though. The plugs are like 2.48 a piece if you order more than 10. Cheaper than effectsconnection.com. The cable was like 6.50 a foot. I picked up 25 feet of it to wire my whole board.

Where did you buy the cable?

[soli528]

In my experience, there are only two concerns to using these, and sound quality isn't one of them- they sound as good as any plug and they're just as reliable as any soldered connection. Just watch out for:

1.Getting the solder to flow to the case requires some considerable heat- if you heat it too long with the shield (ground) conductor under the iron, it can cause the casing of the signal conductor to melt within the cable and it can cause a short to the shield conductor that isn't readily apparent because it's a couple inches inside the jacket. *Just use a broad iron tip with enough heat (40W) or so, and maybe heat the case first before you heat the ground conductor. Also tinning your ground connection helps.

2.If you have a pedal with two side-by-side jacks that are really close together, like stereo outs on a Boss pedal or the input jack and an exp. jack (external tap, etc...), sometimes these plugs are too wide to fit side by side.

[starfish]

You might check out the recent threads about Monorail cable and the GLS pancake jacks. There seem to be (nearly) unanimous agreement that the GLS are high quality connectors. The also have a tab for soldering on the shield connection which will speed assembly and require less heat and less risk of damage to the connector. I'm about to try some of these myself in the next couple weeks so hopefully I'll have some positive first hand experience to share.