Silent-plug instrument cables? Good/Bad?

T

ttyR2

Feb 23, 2003
111
2
4,531
Athena, OR
www.wheatfarm.com
#1
The bassist and guitar players at church regularly unplug their cables from the mixer without checking with the sound guy (me) to see if the channels are muted. I'm looking at either getting on/off stomp boxes for them or setting their cables up with these: http://www.switchcraft.com/products/jack-132a.html

Do any of you have good or bad experiences with those plugs? I've seen one apart before and it looks pretty simple (i.e. reliable).
 
#4
Butch at bayoucables.com has stopped using the Neutrik ones because of failures.

I had him make me a cable with the G&H silent plug, but I replaced it with a standard right-angle plug. The G&H has a spring-loaded sleeve that slides to short the tip to the sleeve. It works, but if it pulls even 1-2mm from the bass it starts cutting out. (It may depend on the bass' output jack; I didn't want to deal with it any more.)

Have you tried taking the two players aside and telling them how much the church speakers cost? Tell them if a tweeter blows, you have no choice but to assume their misuse caused it, and they'll be charged. They really should learn.
 
#6
I like cables to be simple.
Adding moving part and switch to a simple cable complicates it, and makes it a more likely failure point in my signal chain.
So I don't use 'em.
 
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#8
Is there a clip that will sit on the guitar strap and let the cable snap in to act as a strain relief so it's harder for the cable to unplug accidentally?

I've come into the situation basically setting up everything from scratch. The church invested in an Allen & Heath console, QSC amps, and Bag End speakers/monitors. It's a pretty nice setup to start with.

As far as microphone and instrument etiquette go, that's all coming along and we're having regular mini-training sessions.

Folks say the sound is now much better than even when the contractor who origionally set up the new system tuned it in :) A nice shot in the arm.
 
#10
IMO, you need to have a talk with them about this, and explain that not only does unplugging your cable cause a nasty (and unprofessional sounding) pop, but it is also very hard on the speakers...

IMO, Its very rude as well.

btw, I have always wanted to tell this story, and it sort of fits with the thread:
One time somebody jammed a pencil into a tweeter at my church. :eek:
Obviously they wernt too happy to see a nice tweeter destroyed in such a ridiculous way.
 
#11
Rick Auricchio said:
Butch at bayoucables.com has stopped using the Neutrik ones because of failures.

I had him make me a cable with the G&H silent plug, but I replaced it with a standard right-angle plug. The G&H has a spring-loaded sleeve that slides to short the tip to the sleeve. It works, but if it pulls even 1-2mm from the bass it starts cutting out. (It may depend on the bass' output jack; I didn't want to deal with it any more.)
Click to expand...

Ahh...good to know. I bought one of those from Bayou Cables and the silent plug is borderline useless the way it can cut out. Didn't realize it until I had it for a little while. Think I'll stick with traditional plugs from here on out.

M
 
#12
Rick Auricchio said:
Butch at bayoucables.com has stopped using the Neutrik ones because of failures.

I had him make me a cable with the G&H silent plug, but I replaced it with a standard right-angle plug. The G&H has a spring-loaded sleeve that slides to short the tip to the sleeve. It works, but if it pulls even 1-2mm from the bass it starts cutting out. (It may depend on the bass' output jack; I didn't want to deal with it any more.)

Have you tried taking the two players aside and telling them how much the church speakers cost? Tell them if a tweeter blows, you have no choice but to assume their misuse caused it, and they'll be charged. They really should learn.
Click to expand...


+1 I had the neutrik silent plug on my cable and after a while, the magnet part that moves got jammed and wouldnt spring back out. All it required was a bit of turning to pop it back out, but this made it unreliable. You never know when its not going to pop out when you pull out the jack.

A few months after that, I was pulling out the jack after playing as usual, and the entire magnet part sprang out! (as in ... totally flew out from the jack)

Changed to a GH silent head after this and never had any problems since.
 
#13
Craig_S said:
I love my Planet Waves "silent" cables. Very handy, but a little costly. There is also the Neutrik NP2RX-AU-SILENT plug. They can be found for a bit less. I don't like the looks of the Switchcraft version you posted a link to, personally.
Click to expand...

From the site you linked:

Special version of 2 pole plug with integrated switch which automatically mutes (shorts) a guitar cable to avoid annoying pops and squeals when hot swapping gui****s.

I did not make that up :)


Oh, and I have used the switchcraft connectors on cables for over 15 years with no problems. Eventually, the little switch wears out, but I prefer those to the ones where you have to manually push a button.
 
#14
ttyR2 said:
Is there a clip that will sit on the guitar strap and let the cable snap in to act as a strain relief so it's harder for the cable to unplug accidentally?
Click to expand...

No extra hardware is needed, just a technique for routing the instrument cable.

While standing with the instrument in playing position unplugged:

1. Pass the instrument cable from behind yourself, between the strap and guitar, near where the strap attaches to bridge end of the instrument.

2. Plug in, leaving a loop of cable.

The strap acts as a clamp, jamming the cable against the instrument body. It won't pull out accidentally.

Note that if you don't have straplocks, a good tug on the cable can pop the strap loose. Another good reason to have locks.

See the attached photo.
 

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