01 Re-use your broken cables

We’ve all experienced a dead jack lead, and the problem is usually an internal break in the wire or a dodgy plug. Before you consign your cables to the bin, you could fix them or turn them into patch cables for your pedalboard! Here’s how to do it. Your guitar cables are mono jacks, so to make them work requires two connections. If there’s a break in the cable, cut the wires with some clippers so that you’re left with a healthy cable. If the problem is with either of the jacks, you’ll need to cut them off and replace them. With your jacks removed, trim some of the outer shielding to reveal the two internal wires. Then remove a few mm of their sleeving so that you’re left with some bare ends to solder to your plug terminals. Place the jack plug’s casing over the cable to attach when finished.

Open the cable grip and place the cable inside it, we’ll tighten this in a moment. Inside the jack plug are the two terminals you need to attach the wire to. Your signal wire goes to the terminal connected to the jack’s tip, and the earth wire goes to the other one. Coat the cable ends in some solder and do the same on the jack’s solder terminals, then melt the solder with the wires in place to attach them. Use a pair of pliers to close the cable grip around the outer casing of the wire – this will take the stress off the solder points if the cable gets pulled. Slide the plastic sleeve over your connections, screw the jack plug back together and you’re done!