Hi all and Phunk,
Ok,
I live near London (uk) and use:
www.studiospares.com for all leads/connectors (they do mailorder).
www.maplins.co.uk for all tools (they do mailorder also).
Before I start, I will mention that I learnt 'the ways of the soldering iron' from an article in soundonsound (music magazine).
www.soundonsound.com should have some info about how to make cables but I have had a look on there site I cannot find the one I had in an old issue. Any good book will have the info (+ I can offer some advanced things that may not be mentioned in them).
Tools-
* Soldering Iron with stand and sponge (make sure its 25w)- lower power than this I found to not be of sufficient heat, more than this I found the solder to 'liquidize' to quickly.
* De-solder braid (weird material on a role that suckes up unwanted solder/re-prepares the lead/connector if you make a mistake). You can use a 'solder-sucker' if you want, I personally find the braid more accurate and effective.
* desk clamp (obvious, but used to clamp to table and then to clamp (gently) your connector (wrap your connector in a fine cotton cloth and then clap in, that way you wont mess up 'crunch/crinkle/mark you connector). You then use one hand to hold the cable, and one to hold the soldering iron.. the tricky part is (and whichever your most comfortable with), holding the solder aswell in either you left or right hand. Im most comfortable with holding it in the hand with my cable. (be careful dudes-that soldering iron get REAL hot).
* solder. Most people recommend 'Multicore' but... I prefere (by a long chalk) silver-solder with at least 5.5% silver in it (more expensive but I love it).
* wire-strippers. For stripping the wires. Personal preference again, but I prefere just to use a scaple/stanley blade. Just score gently around the outer sleeve of your cable and pull it off. If like me, your a crazy ass perfectionist, then if you accidently cut some of the wires inside (even if its only 1 or 2 strands), I just cut the cable completely and start again. You will soon get to know how deep to cut the sleeve of your cable so its enough to slide of the jacket without damaging your wires. Each 'mess-up' will only cost you about 1inch of wiring, so if were gonna make our own cables. Lets make them proper.
* cables. pay for what you can but bear in mind that you dont necessarily need the thickest. Some cables are for instance made for outside tv broadcasts where the film crew are going to walk over them every day, others are made for gigs where rock start will be jumping on them! The important thing is the shielding inside the cable. I like my cables to be screened with 'Lapped copper and foil' (personal preference). Also make sure you get bthe right cable. balanced or unbalanced.
* connectors. once again, pay attention to whether your equipment is balanced or unbalanced and XLR or Jack. Good connectors are Neutrik or Switchcraft. Please note.. I use the Neutrik XLR's and jacks but have found a problem regarding the Neutrik jacks and Motu 828 mkII's (my soundcard).. due to the width between connector on the back of the soundcard and the width of the Neutriks after about 4 jacks are inserted the 5 becomes a squeeze and the 6th is a tight push. You may be better with the switchcraft ones if you have this soundcard.
* Needle nosed pliers. great universal tool for holding stuff.
* sleeves. these to me are really additional extras. there slid over you final soldering and tidies things up (if you use them, make sure you slide them over your wires before you solder or you wont be able to get them on after. I found that if you get good at the soldering there isnt much need for these as you will have no danger of stray wires touching others..but... they do look good and makes a neat tidy finish.
* Digital multimeter. Used to check the final cable. You can spend a packet on these but there is no need. You just need a basic one that bleeps. Once the cable is made, you touch one 'prong' of the multimeter to one end, and touch another 'prong' to the other end. if it bleeps (signal running through), all is good. If no bleep, oppps, have a cuppa, have a beer, light some incense to the powers of home-made leads and start again, stripping the solder off as mentioned above with the de-solder braid. A multimeter for the job should cost no more that £10 or approx $17.
*electrical spray + v.fine grade sandpaper.
ahh now for my tip id like to share. Dont flame me connector makers. When jacks and XLRs are made at the factories (in the industrial enviroment) small leyers of grease/ scum deposits will invariably end up on the connectors weather from machinery or humans. Before you solder anything to anything, prep your connectors to gain the maximum connection. I first wipe the points where I will be soldering with electrical spray and a fine wrag. I then ruff up the surface with some fine grade sandpaper, i then wipe again with electrcal spray soft grease free cotton cloth. Now were ready.
*Put a good beat on and get smell'in the solder!
Hope I havent forgot anything?
*Oh, dont forget to buy a nice box to keep you neat new tools in, with a big sticker on the top saying "The Cable Don"! (personal preferance again!)
peace
