Guitar Pedal Patch Cable with Low Profile Pancake Plugs

Space on a pedalboard is the constraint that decides everything else. Every millimetre taken by a connector is a millimetre that cannot hold another pedal, and a board that has to be rebuilt because a plug will not fit between two enclosures is a wasted evening. This guitar pedal patch cable uses a pancake style housing that sits almost flush with the jack, so pedals can be butted against each other with the leads routed underneath rather than looping out sideways.

Why the plug profile matters

• A low profile housing lets pedals sit closer together on the board
• Angled and straight combinations route around power supplies and jacks that sit in awkward places
• A flat housing takes less strain from a board lid closing on it
• Short lengths keep the signal path tidy and reduce the cable mass that has to be packed into the lid

Lengths and combinations

Most boards need a spread rather than one length: short leads between adjacent pedals, and a couple of longer ones to cross the board or reach an input on the far side. Stock lengths run from six inches to eighteen inches, and we build straight to angled and angled to angled as standard combinations. Multi-packs of three or six cover a rebuild in one order, and colour sets make it obvious which lead is which when a fault has to be traced during a soundcheck.

Solder and strain relief

The plug end is where these leads fail. The joint is soldered with a silver bearing solder for a reliable connection on both the tip and the sleeve, and the housing clamps the cable so that pulling the lead takes the strain on the moulding rather than on the solder tag. A cotton filler inside the jacket helps the assembly hold its shape where it has to bend tightly around a pedal corner.

Capacitance and what it does to your sound

Long cable runs and high capacitance roll off the top end of an instrument signal, which players hear as a duller tone when a chain of pedals and leads adds up. Short patch leads contribute very little to that total, which is one reason to keep them as short as the layout allows and to check the capacitance of the longer instrument cable that runs to the amplifier instead. Published capacitance figures for this class of lead come from competitor listings; we need our own measurement before stating a number.

Ordering

Buy a mixed set the first time rather than a single length, then standardise on what the layout actually needed. For shops and distributors we supply multi-packs and colour sets with custom lengths, jacket colour and printed branding on request.

Related Cable Ranges

Signal and Data Cables • Panel Mount Cable • Ethernet Cable Patch Cord