Now then, let’s address a few fundamentals about deploying a multicore loom into your setup...
Communication: When ordering straight to right angle please specify which end you would like each connector to be at. Whilst from experience I can assume you would want right angle at the shorter pedalboard fly end. Well, you just never know so in the text field provided let me know.
Buffers: You’re going to want to have at least one buffer on your pedalboard, especially when you are getting close to a loom measuring ten metres in length. Now, before you navigate away and start thinking about spending more money on gear. Stop and take a quick look at your board and take a minute or two to figure out which pedals you already own are buffered bypass and which are not.
In this day and age, there’s a good chance you’ve still got at least one Boss pedal on your board or perhaps some sort of digital number that will have a quality buffer within it. In my experience, one simple buffered bypass pedal should be sufficient to keep your signal strong, loud, and clear through 30-50 metres of cable being added to your rig.
As for standalone buffers, well, here’s a quick couple of words on them. You’ve probably been told you want one in your signal chain as early as possible, and whilst this is good practice, I would suggest also making sure you have one at the end before your amplifier’s input. Why? Well, as well as doing what it’s supposed to do by boosting your signal, it’s also going to correct your signal’s impedance to be more akin to an instrument’s electronics running through one length of cable straight into an amp.
If you are already running your setup in the now widely labelled four-cable method, it’s worth taking some time to muck around with cables and buffers. Myself, personally, I’d want at least one buffered pedal before my amp and a standalone buffer last in the chain before the amp’s input. Then, I would probably want at least one buffered pedal in my amp’s effects loop.
Fly Ends: Fly end lengths selected are apart of the total length you select. If you would like to get very specific about fly end lengths then please select “custom text field” in both fly end drop-down menus and write down precisely what you would like in the box provided. Please keep in mind that when producing these cables, I will be adding about 13 centimetres to whatever length you order. This is to guarantee the minimum length you receive after any trimming is as close to what you've ordered as possible.
500mm is the most commonly ordered for Amp fly ends. At the other end, folk can be tempted to go as short as possible when using a loom with a pedalboards patch bay. I'd advise against this. The shortest I would go with for the pedalboard end is 200mm, just in case something goes wrong and I need to connect one of the loom’s ways to a different pedal or location on the board.
Cable: I’ve been producing looms for guitarists since around August 2020. In that time, I’ve used a handful of different cables, but the cable I have used the most is the one on offer here. Sommer Cable SC-Quantum QMC HIGHFLEX. This cable on its own is incredibly flexible, torsion-free as Sommer put it themselves. It is also suitable for stage use with its thick PVC jacket for protection. Couple these traits with the anti-tangle braid, and you have an extremely well-protected cable that will take up less room in your flight cases or gig bags compared to that of any bundle or tied together with tape DIY solution you may already have. Neater, stronger, highly visible if you go Slime Green and, as many have told me, simply better.
Connectors: I’m offering you the best of Neutrik here, and the price remains the same should you go straight to straight or straight to right angle. Regarding connector orientation, I would advise sticking with straight connectors for your amp end. They will likely fit better, not ride up against any amp heads’ timber, and should anyone tug at your cable, they’ll fly out any amp socket with ease.
Right Angle Both Ends: If you are ABSOLUTELY sure you would like to have Right Angle connectors at both ends of your loom please write to me before ordering as this option will encure an additional charge made payable via the websites custom payment page.
Cable Description:
SC-Quantum QMC HIGHFLEX, not to bore you with things that may mean nothing to you but from Sommers own website - Each wire pair is individually insulated and shielded by a helical Cu mesh ( coverage), Very low wire/wire capacitance (approx 45pf/Metre, a dream for pedals), Highly flexible and there has never been a cable with such electrical and mechanical values for such a low price
All Black and Gold Sleeve and Tip Neutrik NP2X-B or NP2RX-B, These are the most expensive connectors of Neutriks PX range. Gold does improve conductivity however the results are possibly negligible to the human ear. What genuine gold plating does offer is longevity, as moisture will not degrade the contacts
Thick Pet Style UV Sleeve, not quite glow in the dark if ordering Slime Green but certainly going to be seen under black light or stage. Whilst you may think Slime Green may be a bit garish for your acts apperence and would rather go black. Just consider for a moment the benefits of being able to point out to idiots on stage precisely where your cable is and how they should avoid it
Branded Black Practical Patch and Adhesive Heat Shrink hold all braided sections in place
Genuine Velcro cable tie provided
Neutrik Coloured Boots: Practical Patch carries all ten colour options as pictured. In the case of looms, should you forget to specify in the text field provided (which I highly doubt anyone will do) I will write to you to confirm after ordering. Worth considering is this. The most common colours used for nuts on patch bays are generally black, red, blue, yellow and green. So if you want to plan for the future you can do today rather than trying to source other correpsonding colours that could prove difficult to aquire down the line.