How To Solder SquarePlugs

//table of contents//
SP400 / SP500 (Pancake) Assembly - 01:46
SPS4 / SPS5 (Straight) Assembly - 05:13

🔻 //support// 🔻

🔈 //podcast// 🔈

⬇️ //recommended patch cable materials// ⬇️

⬇️ //cable making tools// ⬇️

👇 CLICK BELOW FOR ALL DIY DIAGRAMS 👇

CONTRIBUTORS:
Hunter Harrison - Mixing, Audio Editing
Mason Mejia - Co-Producing, Audio Editing
Mason Marangella - Co-Producing

#RigDoctor #SquarePlugs #DIYPatchCables

[VertexEffectsInc]

Howdy folks! Today, the Rig Doctor runs you through the steps necessary to solder your DIY patch cables using Square Plugs using SP400, SP500, SP4, and SP5 Plugs! If you are using a different plug, don’t worry! These steps will work with any of the straight or pancake plugs and most types of patch cables from Mogami, Canare, Van Damme, and others.
⬇️ //recommended patch cable materials// ⬇️

[jameskass]

Having never soldered anything before, I bought a few tools, followed your examples with Mogami 2314 and SP400 plugs and have completely re-routed my mini pedalboard to fit all my pedals with hardly any cables visible. Looks fantastic, sounds great—I would not have been able to do it without your expertise. Thanks so much, Mason!

[AlexPriceMusician]

This video came at the perfect time. I just bought 400 of them and messed the first couple up lol. I'm still figuring this whole thing out.

[RobertNolan]

These are some of the finest patch cable tips I've ever seen. I really don't see them getting any better than this unless it's like gold plating tip or something

[nickPR]

I soldered my cables last night. Thank you Rig Dr! I used this video for help and once I got the hang of it I had your podcast on in the background. Keep up the good work

[gagambong]

hey Mason.. thank you for sharing this wonderful tip.. like always.. yours is the only channel by far that I always grab a pen and paper just to make sure I take note of all your tips and tricks.. keep up the great work.. and thanks again..

[PapawCulberson]

I build cables and hand wired tube amps for a living.
On most soldered connections - especially cables - I use an awl, pointy scratcher, pick, poker on a stick - whatever you want to call it - and I scratch the connection surface a little - then clean it with denatured alcohol.
The alcohol cleans up any loose metal particles you made from scratching it up - and the alcohol - on a Q-tip - cleans off any oils or manufacturing chemicals left behind.

This ensures a good solid connection for the solder.
It is a little tedious to perform this step on every connection - but I do not have solder joint connection failures since performing these simple steps.

[jbalmer]

I may have mentioned this before, but one of the problems I had when I first started using square plugs was I was trying to feed wire through the lugs & there isn't much room to solder that way. I now do it the same way you show here & it's works great, even w/ very short cables.

[lifelongfan]

I’ve gotta rescue the patch cable I threw away and practice fixing one. Thank you for this!

[TheNitsua]

Thanks for posting this and your other videos. I'm learning in part because I'm interested and therefore motivated but you're a good teacher and that makes the difference.

[JoeDonahue]

This video was suggested for me. I love the content and your explanation. I think you should try to get a camera mount. It was really hard to see a lot of the details because the camera was having difficulty focusing where you were working. I'd also slow down a little with the hand work just to make sure the whole audience is able to follow along. Thank you for the info.

[benjaminhutcherson]

Heck yeah, LOVE these plugs. They made my pedalboard life 1000x easier.

[tommysouth]

Thank you Mason!!! Made it sooo much easier for me 🙏🏻. Keep doing what you do.

[vincent]

Hey Mason- I own a small custom cabling company here in NJ - I started five years ago with patch cables. I met Karim at NAMM some years back before anyone had seen his square plugs. He’s a friend of mine now and he’s brilliant. The last time I went to NAMM every single pedal company was using them. They are the best, hands down. This is a fantastic video, and easy for those who are new to this to follow. I was soldering the straights a little bit differently than this but I really like how you solder them and will begin using your method moving forward. I also really appreciate you showing how little needs to come off of the insulation before tinning. I tend to go longer and then snip, but this is really efficient and I love the focus on proper strain relief. Awesome video brother. 🤘🏼

[-Madkrafter]

Thanks for the tip video. I just got a 10-channel switcher pack of straight SP4 and pancake SP400 from Alphatone Audio. Perfect timing on your video. Cheers!

[perudolux]

Thank you tor this great tutorial. I had a lot of issues with my cables and squareplugs . I will try this tips for my next ones

[patienceyanderling]

Well met. Thank you for taking the time to teach/ instruct. Always get inspired with your detailed video’s here. Cheers!

[MostlyTorso]

I use a 1/4 inch piece of heat-shrink over the wire where it goes through the collar of the SP 400 for added strain protection. I know it’s not necessary, but I sleep better at night knowing it’s never going to pull out. Also, I really tighten down on those screws with a real screwdriver. 👍🏻

[PhishBanjo]

Thanks for clarifying when to use SP400 vs SP500! Great takeaway!

[helmanfrow]

I bought some SPS4s to use not on a pedal board but on the back of an electronic drum sound module because I wanted the audio output cables to bend on the same plane as the pad trigger cables.

Standard-length plugs like the NP2X would
a) invite damage to the PCB-mounted output jacks by sticking out past the other cables and
b) place more mechanical strain on the output jacks because the longer plugs exert greater leverage.

Worked out great, and it cost me only two-and-a-half times what I would have spent for premade cables that would have met my needs. 😂