instrument cables all snarled up, any tips?

[skidder652003]

so i have some nice quality cables that after years of poor wrapping up after gigs (ie around the forearm or tying into knots) have become horribly curled, snaggy or warped, whatever the term is.
Is there any way of returning their origional.. ehrm..."memory" so they lay smooth and can be wrapped in a neat circle?
thanks

[tonyquipment]

some heat should soften them up but it sounds like your cables have had it. treat yourself to some new ones!

[dannybuoy]

I don't know if it will work on your knackered cables, but if you twist the cable as you loop it you can get it to stay in a neat circle.

[discreet]

Buy new cables from obbm and look after them this time!

[Delberthot]

I absolutely hate cables. Coil them up neatly and the next week they're in a bigger knot than Knot McKnotley of Nottingham.

Power cable, Speaker cable and wireless transmitter to bass.

[LiamPodmore]

New cables, and Velcro cable ties. I bought loads from audiospares and I couldn't live without them now.

Liam

Edited March 17, 2013 by LiamPodmore

[Zenitram]

Orchid Electronics for cables. Very cheap and so so very very good.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1363562795' post='2014250']
I absolutely hate cables. Coil them up neatly and the next week they're in a bigger knot than Knot McKnotley of Nottingham.
[/quote]

Then you're doing something wrong with them.

The only knotty cables I have a problem with is when I help one of our guitarists sort out his tangle of cables that he keeps 'neatly' tied up in his carrier bag. I've shown him many times how to coil and store cables but he seems to believe it's normal for gutar leads to fail every couple of months and just buys new ones.

[heminder]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4zVGGWlvkU

[Truckstop]

Planet Waves cable ties are awesome.

I spent a tenner and now all of my leads and backups are kept nice and neat!

Truckstop

[Toddy]

[b] Loads of youtube vids on how to Roadie Wrap, easy to learn and worth a look,, just sorted a load of old cable out, and gentle heat and patience did the trick, ,, cables are easier than trying to work out why fonts keep changing on this forum,,( I must be doing something wrong again methinks) [/b]

[ZenBasses]

Fold in half
Fold in half
Ford in half
Fold in half

2 velcro ties (failing this gaffer tape.. Don't try and peel it off the same as u put it on it will leave a sticky mess. Just slice down the middle and it comes off no problem. For sticky cables use a cloth and some nail varnish remover or lighter fluid once in a while to clean them up). Time working as a stage hand has given me lots of tips.

The biggest one being don't squash your cables or pull them too tight. If they get caught a light shake is nearly always what it needs to untangle. People start pulling cables about and make the knot worst or damage them.

Looping like I was taught in life saving swimming also works

The same technique as displayed in one of the added videos.

Twist and loop...
Twist and loop...

Don't pull your cables about

Thought I reckon the biggest cause of cable failure is placing a bass or guitar on a stand with the cable still plugged in.. It often hits the ground... X this by a load of times and you can see where fractures in the cable and solder lines can happen

As mentioned if you cables are twisted... Give them an hours sunbathing then run through your fingers and take the twists out.. Bit at a time

Edited March 18, 2013 by ZenBasses

[OldG]

As above but with no velcro....


fold in half and repeat until short enough to tie itself loosely - put in a lead case with the other leads and they stay independent.

(credit where its due to Matt the guitarist)

[peteb]

Nooooo!

Loop, DON'T FOLD...

[fumps]

I wrap mine in a velcro loop. keeps them perfect

[OldG]

Talking loose fold here.. hold both jacks, bring other end to meet - send those to meet again and repeat, tie loosely when desired.

Never had a lead go bad yet...

[chris_b]

As has already been said:

Loop and twist, never fold, pull or scrunch.

Run cables around the area you'll be standing in. Never stand on cables.

If they're twisted inside they're already damaged and will, sooner or later, fail.

Buy new cables from OBBM and look after them this time.

[WalMan]

As the video shows loop the cable with a twist then invest in some of [url="http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_168196_langId_-1_categoryId_255230"]THESE[/url]. Cheap as chips and no sticky residue from gaffa or masking tape

[Big_Stu]

I got a slight bollocking off one of Slade's roadies while helping pack up after a gig in the '80s. I'd been doing it round the elbow & over a hooked thumb way. That's what buckles cable he said (I won't do the accent).

He showed exactly the same way as in Heminders featured YT video above.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Big_Stu

[51m0n]

The video above is the best way there is to store cables, every other loop twists the opposite way, net result, no twist in the cable when you straighten it back out again, which means minimal cable stress in storage and subsequent reuse and longest possible lifetime....

[Norris]

[quote name='Toddy' timestamp='1363568176' post='2014299']
[b]...are easier than trying to work out why fonts keep changing on this forum,,( I must be doing something wrong again methinks) [/b]
[/quote]
I get this often. When you click in the reply box, if you do it near the top, the click seems to 'follow through' to the toolbars that appear there and activates whichever button is under your cursor at the time.Try clicking near the bottom of the reply box

[Matt P]

roadie wrap for me, i've got leads still going strong from when i started playing (about 1997 i think) i also love the velcro ties but have taken to making them myself, you can buy double-sided velcro tape (B+Q) which i then fasten to the lead by looping it round and putting a jeans stud through it, then carefully coil the cable and wrap round the tape, cut to a suitible length, one roll of the velcro is about 6 quid i think but it'll make loads of ties and each one is exactly the right size and can't go missing, i found that some of the ready made ones were 2 bits of velcro stuck together and in one or two cases the glue unstuck then smeared itself all over the cable.

if anyone cares then i'll take a picture or 2 tonight to demonstrate (might even make set of pics showing the process if someone [i]Really[/i] wants it)

Matt

[Marvin]

Throw your cables in a bag and then when you need one just give Jack a tug

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1363566570' post='2014289']
Planet Waves cable ties are awesome.
[/quote]

Do you mean the little clip-on bungee ties they do? I've got a cable with one of those on and it's brilliant, can you just buy the ties and stick them on your own cables?

Edit: Cool! http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001PGXKCS/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=11069352365&ref=asc_df_B001PGXKCS

Edited March 18, 2013 by thisnameistaken

[skidder652003]

wow
great replies while i was out! Yeah, ive got some nice hot shrink leads that have never failed me from the 1980's but are a bit warped. I guess iys time to treat myself to some new ones! Thanks for all your advice guys.