Lookin' fer cheap (but good) right angle plugs

[Ed G.]

I want to wire my pedalboard with some good cable, and in the DIY spirit, I'm looking for good, yet cheap 90 degree 1/4" plugs. With the price of switchcraft plugs, it can get pricey real quick. Is there anything else out there that is comparable in quality but won't be so expensive? Neutrik seems nice but kind of bulky.

[Gilles C]

I use Neutriks, bulky but reliable. And I like the way they are made.

I bought a very long Neutrik guitar cable once, and cut a couple of shorter 2 feet leads from the longer one, and added some 90 degree plugs to them. It was cheaper to do that than buying the wire and all the plugs separately.

Gilles

[choklitlove]

http://futurlec.com has some for $1.00.  product #P065M04A.



the quality probably isn't as high as neutriks or switchcraft, but if you want the highest quality you will pay out the ass no matter what.  also, much of the quality depends on how you construct the cable.  nice soldering, nice cable, and maybe filling the plug with epoxy will get you a very reliable cable no matter what the plug is.  good luck!

[Processaurus]

Me too.  The Futurelec ones look exactly like the GH plugs on a couple cables I have, which have been reliable.  Interesting...

The pancake shaped plugs seem reliable, and are a bit cheaper than the compact kind, the only potential problem is two won't work side by side on Boss pedals with multiple jacks on one side of the pedal.

For something that gets handled alot, plugged a bunch, and/or gigged though, I'd still stick with the $3.50 switchcraft.  For pedalboards though, seems like cables can be less robust without breaking, I have a bunch of the cheap molded cables that have done fine.

On the dark side of cheap plugs I got about 16 off an ebay seller that sold a bunch of them (I wish I remembered the shyster's name), a third of them have since failed, mostly from partially shorting out, because the plastic in the plug gets melted extremely easily if you don't cool it off instantly after you very quickly solder them, also one just totally fell apart when unplugging it, the tip was left sticking in the jack on a pedal.  Almost all of them will show some measureable resistance to ground when the cable gets bent a bit at the plug.  Piece of crap...


Tried to save the trees
Bought a plastic bag
The bottom fell out
It was a piece of crap

Saw it on the tube
Bought it on the phone
Now you're home alone
It's a piece of crap

I tried to plug in it
I tried to turn it on
When I got it home
It was a piece of crap

Got it from a friend
On him you can depend
I found out in the end
It was a piece of crap

I'm trying to save the trees
I saw it on TV
They cut the forest down
To build a piece of crap

I went back to the store
They gave me four more
The guy told me at the door
It's a piece of crap

-Neil Young

[nelson]

http://futurlec.com has some for $1.00.  product #P065M04A.



the quality probably isn't as high as neutriks or switchcraft, but if you want the highest quality you will pay out the ass no matter what.  also, much of the quality depends on how you construct the cable.  nice soldering, nice cable, and maybe filling the plug with epoxy will get you a very reliable cable no matter what the plug is.  good luck!

I have both neutrik right angled patch cables and those exact right angled jacks on some patch cables. They are pretty sturdy and last well, I have stood on the countless times and they have stood up. They arent as heavy duty and I dont imagine them lasting as long under heavy use as the neutrik jacks but they are a good compromise between price and quality.

[Ed G.]

Great! Thanks a lot, that seems to be what I'm looking for. I'm using it on the pedalboard so sturdiness is not the main issue, at least I mean it doesn't have to be THE best.

[Ed G.]

Just an update, I ordered and they're 50 cents apiece.