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This is by far the best soldering tutorial I've come across. I don't prioritize good tools since I don't solder that much, but I still got a lot of good tips from you.

The fact that this 40min tutorial did not feel like 40min shows how well this video was conducted and recorded. Awesome job.

Hey, Thanks for the tutorial. I don't have an electronics background. I literally fell into hi-end equipment, by accident; and then I got the bug. For more than a year, I've gathered the parts to make my own cables, but was afraid of mistakes, and all of what I don't know. A good instructor uses mistakes to illuminate and clearify. You did a great job. Thanks for leaving that part in. I think a lucid mistake is a two-fer... one, you show the mistake, then two, demonstrate how and why the mistake occured. That's gold. Thanks

This video explains in excruciating detail how every step of my process is so very wrong! Thanks a lot looking forward to putting this new knowledge into action!

I made some XLR cables with a friend back in the late 1990s. He showed me how to do it and this is pretty much the exact process we used (minus the vice!)

Labor of Love. I secretly enjoy the task and I'm virtually convinced the cables made with my hands sound better than those paid for by my hands. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

I couldn't stop watching. I wanted to stop at one point, but I couldn't. Good work!

Great video!!! And thanks for giving us 45 minutes because I feel that all the details I needed to build a cable have been covered!

i thought i'd get bored, totally didn't. I'm glad I've watched a 45 min video on soldering audio cables! thanks heaps.

9:18 I genuinely loughed out loud! Despite the number of cables I've made, of many types, my ability to forget the part that must go on first is still huge. Nowadays, I put the first bit over the cable before I settle down to checking the connectors and setting out the rest of my method. 13:43 Guilty as charged! This video shows pretty much how I make cables. So relieved to see I am not the only one who thinks this way.

I use this very same method and it's flawless every single time , for not only audio but also network , Dmx ,virtually any cable (solder or crimp) housekeeping is the number one key to doing the job rite.

started transposing hot and cold ! Yes! I was ASTONISHED! Thanks for keeping it in the video. I've done it dozens of times but usually with the hot and ground.

This is a really super walkthrough of assembling XLRs, and thank you for your wisdom and patience!

Great video, I’ve built a lot of my own cables over the years and about to do a short multicore from my pedalboard to mixer. I was glad to see I do a lot of this right but learned some cool tips. along the way. I laughed when you said about the shell oh the feeling when you have a beautiful solid job and see the shell sitting on the table but the other side is the joyful celebration the times it happens and as the misery starts to kick in and you suddenly realise it’s the first side of the cable and you can slide it on the other end! Great video and by the way that iron station cost a fortune in the UK!

WOW most of the other videos on RU-vid were so short, and I'm just learning. When he said he was going to do a long video and show people how to solder the right way, I knew I would learn from him, and I did. THANKS for taking your time to make this video

Your recommending EEVblog easily earned a thumbs up. Your cable making methodology, my kind of stuff. Thanks sir.

I just made my first xlr cable while watching this video and I was able to get it right inanely like 3 hours, now that I've figured it out I should be able to do it much quicker. Thank you so much for the great video! Its gonna save me a lot of time and money

just came across this and its really good in every way. when i got to the labelmaker part here's what i do: type a bunch of labels with just 1-2 spaces between them, print them all (either how many you are going to print, or the max memory of the device which ever comes first), then cut them. much less wasted tape :)

Man, all Im gonna say is you're phenomenal and Im glad I found your channel. Hats off to you my friend.

Best video on topic i've seen so far! Very detailed! Amazing job! Keep going!

This is the best cable making video I've seen on RU-vid. Really appreciate it. Thanks.

The glue method for extra durability is an extra step I discovered myself, and I can vouch it really works. I didn't think anyone else did it since all of the cables I opened up only had heat shrink with no glue. Good to know there are others who really put care and thought into making these cables.

Excellent video! I especially appreciate that you included your mistakes and corrections. The organizational aspect is super important, particularly if you're doing a lot of cables in one sitting. Even if you're only doing one cable, it's still good to develop the habit of being organized. Thanks for posting this!

What a breath of fresh air. I wish everybody, including me, had coworkers such as you. 100% TRUST of getting the job done PROPERLY and ZERO worries. Respect 👌😎👍 P.S.: You know you see skill when the tip of the soldering iron is shiny and doesn't look like an old rusty nail.

Thanks for making this video, your attention to detail is astonishing, keep up the good work

James! I love your videos. You are making me want to get back to longer more in depth vids!

Excellent craftsmanship, and 10 out of 10 tutorial. Thank you for your dedication to perfection :)

This video is great! Thank you soo much, this is gonna save me so much on cables that I can trust!

The best soldering video ever. I would love to get some real-world hands-on training. And I LOVE the attention to detail!

EXCELLENT Tutorial... I've always preferred making my own cables. I had to teach myself how to solder and then I took it from there. Your tutorial clearly showed me what I already knew, and, what i didn't know. After what I've learned here, I now have a new level of standards and practices with which to work from. Your coverage of the material was excellent. Showing the mistakes that were made was a great idea. It validates the need for inspecting your work and demonstrates that ANYONE can make a mistake. Fill my empty brain with knowledge... Ha ha... Thanks very much, I enjoyed the video.

Perfect video tutorial to confirm some doubts about how I was doing this kind of job. Thanks!

Thanx for taking the time to make this! I really liked that you showed everything and didn't edit out. I'm off now to order the bits and give it a lash!!! 😎

Great Video!! I am confident I can successfully make my own cables now. Thank you so very much!!

Great technique. looking forward to applying this.

Very nice, thanks for this! Definitely will follow this method going forward!

Cable making virgin here looking to save money on a pedal board set-up. Glad I watched this first. Helpful tutorial loaded with great tips and laughs. Thank you.

hey man, cheers this video was extremely helpful. A real proper tutorial here, I love how in depth you go and keep it entertains and fun :)

Outstanding, comprehensive tutorial. Thanks for creating and posting!

Hi! l... I'm a 'prof' doing soldering all my life and teaching electronics.I loved every second to see you working and explaining. AND learned some things as well! It was fun.

Thanks for sharing your expertise!

Nice prep work! I learned something from you about how to properly prep and arrange your materials. Your assembly line technique is very efficient and it certainly is a great way to check and make sure you have everything ready to go. I also liked how you double checked for the placement of pin 1, and how you add the heat shrink for strain relief and label your cables with the clear heat shrink tubing over a label. Very professional looking! I do have one small critique with your soldering, so before I go further, let me establish my credentials and where this critique is coming from: I am a retired Marine who learned soldering while attending Navy Avionics schools. After getting to the fleet, I attended an advanced soldering school, which got into microminiature repair. The Navy and Marine Corps want their equipment to be reliable and they don't want planes going down for maintenance... or going down for real because someone didn't do their job right repairing a piece of equipment and a wire broke or failed due to a bad solder joint, shorted something out and caused a fire. So, needless to say, they were very picky about our work; we had to do it to their specifications to pass the school. Comparing the Navy's techniques for soldering with what people learn off the street is like comparing submarine welding to general construction welding. A guy who welds on submarines has his welds subjected to X-Ray inspection to look for defects. On a construction site, the standards aren't as extreme; they just don't want your welds coming apart. You can take a Navy welder and put him on a construction site and he'll do fine. Not so with the construction welder on a submarine. So if you don't mind, I'm just going to pass on some of that knowledge. Obviously what you are doing works as you've been doing it for years, but if you want to take your game to the next level... here are some pointers: On a properly tinned wire, you should be able to still see the individual strands of the wire. You had a few that looked good and a few that were a bit globby. Some folks think that the bigger the glob the better the job, but that's actually not true. If you pull off the soldering iron and you get a piece of solder that sticks out like a thorn, you probably have a cold solder joint. Cold solder joints affect the transmission characteristics and while it may ohm well on a multimeter, it may exhibit more impedance at higher frequencies. We're dealing with audio here so it's probably not as critical. But again, we want to do the best work, right? Keep a drop of solder on the tip of the iron for better heat transfer when you touch it to the connector you are soldering. The solder on the tip of the iron transfers the heat from your iron to the piece, much better than the tip by itself. Also noticed you wiggled a little bit while holding the wire and you want to keep it perfectly still until it changes color and you see that it has cooled. Don't blow on it to get it to cool faster. Wiggling the wire, and/or blowing on a solder joint can also result in a cold solder joint. You want to get in with a good amount of heat and as soon as the solder melts you make your connection and then remove the heat while holding everything still. Solder is an okay conductor, but you get a better connection when you have physical contact between the copper wire and the connector pin and your solder is like the glue draped over, holding the wire in place. On a perfect solder joint with stranded wire, you will still see the strands of the wire and it will form a filet where it is pressed up against the connector. Sometimes, when it comes to soldering, less is more. I want to end on a positive note. I liked your technique for making indestructible wires and learned something there too about using the excess silicone RTV in the threads. Am glad you stressed checking your solder connections after making them.

That was a beautiful masterclass... Thank you!

Great video man! Good thing that you teach the way things should be done the right way. Still would like to see more video's from you, specially about the VJ gig tech stuff! Keep it up! ;)

excellent educational material. never learned this at school - and they say always stay in school? i think we need more of this.

I like the prep, and very neat and great work. Thanks for sharing.

Amazing video, best I've seen on the subject. Thanks for taking the time to make and post this.

Nice video! I've soldered my own cables for a long time, but I still learned a few nice tips. Cheers!

Amazing video. I always thought making cables was some sort of Wizardry. Glad to finally know the process to make my own cables! Would love another on terminating network cables!

Great video! This is exactly the process we use at Boston Light & Sound!

Best video on soldering xlr cable I have seen. Thank you very much. Well done!

Love it, was about to buy some pre-fab cables but after watching this "stuff that" I'm off to get me some heat shrink.

Best connector soldering tutorial I have seen on a RU-vid!

great video very very helpful thxs from melbourne australia

What a freaking awesome video and tutorial!!

Bro, I love your channel Keep doing this, there is just an Elite sharing this kind of info...

What a great vid. I did learn a few things from you. I need to make a couple of them. Thanks for sharing

Best video on the internet about making cables.

Never get bored watching your videos bro...! keep it up

The best DIY cables guide on the internet!

Wow.. this is very informative! thank you

Love your videos man! gunna watch the rest of yours! Mad love from Canada!

As someone who is mildly obsessed with making cables and has been doing so for nearly 30 years, I once made a little cable-soldering jig using a block of wood with male and female XLR connectors embedded in it to hold the end connectors being soldered. it's a lot easier to clamp down a block of wood than individual connectors. You could simply drill holes in a 2x4 but I like using panel connectors because they provide a positive hold on the connector plus they offer a tiny bit more of a heat buffer if you have a habit of overheating your solder cups.

Enjoyed every second thanks for the great help

Great video, Cant wait to make my own cables!

I'm astonished! ;-) Awesome video -- really!

Thank you for this. Fantastically useful and professional.

Outstanding advice ! thank you for your awesome tutorial mate 🤘💀🤘

Awesome tutorial! Thanks a mill for this. Very helpful.

I know this is 8 years old, but those pockets are made so you don't actually have to prefill them. You just tin the wires, put them in the pockets, put a little flux paste or flux wax, and fill with solder. The reason why this is usually better practice too is because you don't have to use a ton of solder and wind up using just enough which keeps the connector overall more clean. Not that big of a deal on XLR connectors, but when working with LEMO connectors and smaller pockets, this helps a ton ensuring there isn't solder spilling over and connecting prongs causing cross talk as filling up the cups can easily accidentally result in that given you're always using more than you really need to (since the cups don't actually have to be completely filled for a solid joint). If you check Neutrik and other manufacturers, this is their standard of practice and why the cups are designed the way they are. So you can put the wire in, it will stay, and then you make your joints. Just like working with a standard through-hole soldering.

I was at the least apprehensive about building some cables for myself and my music partner but having watched this I feel more comfortable with the process thank you saved and subscribed

Being making cables for a home studio, pedalboards, that kind of thing and have made every mistake known to man. Should have watched this first :) thanks man

I know this is an old video, but really awesome job man, thanks for sharing in such detail!

Great job my friend, this help me tremendously

I learnt so much watching this. Thank you mate.

Really nice job and appreciate the attention to details.

Really appreciated this sir!

nice video and great advice.. @21:25 find a way to stabilize the hand / wires so there's no movement while the solder cools down. it's extremely important. cold joints can and will develop when there's movement (between being liquid and solid, solder has a plastic phase, movement during this phase compromises/weaken the joint strength. 63/37 solder is an exception).. having a hot enough CLEAN iron tip that takes solder is MUCH more important than what soldering iron/brand you use. a 30W 'cheap' iron will work for this kind of job if you follow the instructions in this video.. depending on how many cables you want/need to make, i have two suggestions: 1. thermal wire strippers (fast, consistent, no damage to the wires; it can even be built as a 'special' soldering iron tip, or soldering gun tip) 2. extra soldering flux (decreases the wire tinning time / heat damage to the insulation considerably, especially as a 'beginner'; it's INVALUABLE when FIXING cables as those are partially oxidized. get good quality, no-clean, non-acidic flux)

watched through the whole video.... Very neat job...

Perfect tutorial. Thanks a lot! Although as a german I have to say that Neutrik is based in Liechtenstein, which is not Germany ;) Its not even Swiss or Austria, it is an independent microstate!

Excellent! I was watching to see if you made any mistakes I haven't made yet. I did watch the whole thing, but I was also doing other things. Might still be a nerd. I don't usually make too many cables in a year, but with the "free" time I have right now, I'm doing some repair work.

EXCELLENT...!!! Very well explained. Good job. Thank you.

Solid training vid! Thanks!

Great video. And with the home isolation going on at the moment I gladly soaked up the 45 minutes worth :)

Love it. Rather than silicone, I like to use hot glue to fill the connectors (which is repairable with your heatgun.) My label maker prints directly to heat shrink, so that's helpful. I use a different color of heat shrink for cable lengths, you could use colored electrical tape under your clear - this way a quick glance and you see the color for your lengths. For a while I was doing shows in a venue that had a bad case of the cable legs (where you cables grow legs and jump into someone elses cable box. I ended up using an engraver on my connector shells since many times the connector legs syndrome also causes the label to fall right off, who would have thought. Nice video, again!

really great work man, im the kind of guy that love do things the way you do, keep uploading vids please! :D

Excellent instructional video Thanks

Good video, thank you! I just made some rca cables. Used Mogami 2552 low noise wire and Amphenol ACPR-SRD male plugs. Was surprised how thin the signal wire was in the Mogami cable but they work just fine. Nice to do away with overly long and stiff cables from the store.

Holy shit! I made it to the end of the video! Thought u might have been rambling too much but damn you are the master and I listen to every bits and learn so much from you. I dont think I would making professional cables like u did, but I'm sure the all the steps are gold and that definitely helps me on my keyboard cables soldering process. Well done mate! Cheers!

Awesome video legend, thanks. Super helpful for my lockdown project

Great tips, thanks so much!

This is hugely helpful! Thank you!

great stuff. Gonna try this. I want to make balanced TRS cables. must find another vid showing those.

Nicely presented video. You add just the right amount of entertainment for it not to start getting irritating. Great tip (ahem) regarding leaving a little slack in the wire going to the tip of the jack plug - I thought you had made the wire too long, but now see why it was done like that on purpose.

Haha, I'm one of the girls! Wonderful video, and I did sit and watch the whole thing---with my cats, don't you know. Thank you!

Thanks for the advice and tips great vids.

very nice..just planning to do soldering for xlr connections.thanks.

Awesome vid brotha!

very professional work

great tutorial!!

Great prep, I'm a bit maniac with that too ; )