CV Cables from A4 to Modular

Anyone have a line on the perfect CV cables for 1/4"stereo to 1/8" mono or do I have to keep using adapters or make my own? I’ve been looking online but nothing’s jumping out at me. Do you have better Google-Foo?
TIA


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not aware of any off-the-shelf options - except maybe Daren’s and other bespoke offerings - i make my own.
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buy a super long tiptop stackcable, half it and a neutrik TRS and someone to solder it up for you, repeat

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This is what you are looking for!

http://www.markertek.com/product/sp-m-3/tecnec-1-4in-mono-male-mini-mono-male-molded-audio-cable-3ft

Super Cheap, Sizes 3ft to 25ft. Patch cables.

Works wonder interfacing my Moog Voyager and Eurorack.

Edit oh School you said stereo to mono… one sec…


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I think he is looking for s Single Stereo Jack to a Single Mono

Possibly not, given that this the Analog Four section of the forum, and that the OP is looking for stereo to mono for CV purposes.

nope - if you wanted to forfeit a cv channel, just plug in a mono to mono - or stereo to stereo (or TRS rather){disable the ring channel} - there’s no way you’d elect to use the correct TRS out without using two channels
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the cable i made (pictured) is the format everyone is chasing

nope - if you wanted to forfeit a cv channel, just plug in a mono to mono - or stereo to stereo (or TRS rather){disable the ring channel} - there’s no way you’d elect to use the correct TRS out without using two channels
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the cable i made (pictured) is the format everyone is chasing[/quote]
Gotcha I have a few of those actually lol works out well for my Moog Effects Send Loop, into Eurorack gear, tho there are some line level type issues.

CV ouputs in a format that require a cable that no one makes to interface with most cv-able gear. Sadly, this is one to file under “inexplicable elektron idiosyncrasies”.

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Thanks team. Really appreciate all of the input. Thinking this might do it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=692448&gclid=Cj0KEQiA0-GxBRDWsePx0pPtp4sBEiQACuTLNqZjrRy7zl161pXMYHofDlXE6HrD4eZaeSYchY-HXx8aAvvf8P8HAQ&is=REG&m=Y&Q=&A=details

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Or same product on ebay

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-X-Insert-Y-Cables-1-4-1-8-for-Elektron-Analog-Keys-4-RYTM-Eurorack-CV-GATE-/291605561647?hash=item43e50bc12f:g:aFsAAOSwd0BV56GO

Its a high quality cable good for audio (Rytm) also.
High temp silver soldered, neutrik, canare.


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looks rad in silver too! good stuff avantronica

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ah, forgot that you had the exact cables listed - yep, for the few percent and unit matching i’d go for black w gold, but I’m not convinced on the realworld significance of galvanic corrosion arguments, certainly best to opt for a gold contact when both sides are
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might use those particular TRS with a halved stackcable as I made mine a little short for the subsequent gear I got

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Currently I am not making the boxes or cables, (just out of stock) but with regard to using cables with the A4 or AK:

1- Don’t be a cheap ass and use adapters, it is the most idiotic thing you can do when connecting expensive equipment that relies on reliable connection, not to mention the added strain put on the expensive to repair sockets.

2- Do use the correct plating on the plugs, that is gold plated for A4/AK and more often than not nickel plated on euro modules (but check to be certain) The main and most important reason is simply due to the different hardness of the plating, you do not want flakes of conductive gold plating inside your expensive synth, do you? Also in areas of high humidity different platings in contact can corrode in not very useful ways.

3- Using a well made cable, adapter box or module, either a DIY solution or any of those mentioned on this forum is going to be far less hassle than saving yourself a few units of currency.

4- If going the DIY route use decent plugs and cable, cheap is cheap for a reason.

5- Stackable 3.5mm are not a good idea, take a look at a socket and how fragile both the contacts and the solder pads are on the PCB, now imagine accidentally knocking a stacked cable. Use mults instead, you can build a small mult box for less money than a few stacking cables, or use those intellijel splitter/mults instead.

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That’s all top advice DarenA.

Oxidisation is the main concern with jacks/connectors and the gold plating eliminates this issue. re. gold flakes inside the synth, there may be an issue with super cheap gold plated jacks but It’s a non issue with reputable products. The plating may just slowly wear away if used heavily but so will the silver/nickel plated sockets when used with even harder jacks. It’s almost impossible to match everything or to even find out the technical information of various components used entirely.
The NP3X-B stereo jack is a long life jack with hard gold plating, it’s perfectly matched to the elektron sockets so it won’t wear them out. The NYS226BG use a softer gold so they would wear first, before your eurorack sockets.

All of this is kind of trivial as any oxidisation/wear out will take a very long time indeed! The oxide is removed easily and the connector still functions perfectly even once all the plating is worn away.
Most minijack sockets used in eurorack gear are likely to fail before the jack wears out, it’s a flimsy design.

As for the Galvanic compatibility, the anodic difference for Gold + Nickel Copper Alloy or Silver = 0.15 Entirely acceptable even in highly corrosive environments, like under the boardwank!

:slight_smile:

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^ Not a fan of the StackCables then :wink: It is a very valid point that needs to be considered on a case by case basis, I think most eurorack gear is mounted to the chassis, so i’d say that’s okay, but may be a bad move for an MS20 mini e.g. (into which i do intend to add Mults/attenuators etc) with its fake chassis mounts - can’t be too worried over at Arturia wrt socket mounts if they ship them with stackable cables now - for the sake of clarity, i am NOT advocating piling adaptors on the back of an A4 - but using ‘adaptors’ with short cable male>female breakouts is obviously okay as it gets you clear of the unit safely (like 2nd img below for monotribe - a done on the cheap stopgap)
i was meaning to chop the stackcable in two (not short w crappy plugs like this tweaked pic obviously … > )

  • they may be a second best, but i don’t have any eurorack gear (but lots of things to CV up inc Doepfer) so cheap mults aren’t an option - the stackables make an easy way to share a channel



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My comment about stackables was more aimed at beginners, plus perhaps a general disdain for them :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: But yes if you are sensible and do not stack them too deeply, and are certain the socket is chassis mounted then I suppose they can be ok in some scenarios, I’ll never be a fan of the though :wink:

To clarify my point about gold flakes, I meant when a plug plated with harder material is repeatedly inserted into a gold plated socket there is a risk (over time) of some of the gold plating coming off.

One more thing about cheap plugs/adaptors is that I have seen them come apart inside a socket, leaving the tip inside the socket!

i’m sure they are oft abused with tragic endings - i wince every time i frequently see someone do this (below) with a mini :wink: so the warning is a good one - plus i’d never thought/read of the flaking issue before / good to file that one away - especially wrt cheap stuff
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mod 1 on mini will be a quarter inch out the back, allowing the front out to be another source (and NO stackcables either, really not sure about these mounts on the korg, i presume they’re through board, but no point in testing that out)

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It was important to me not to have adapters putting extra strain on the connections which is why I didn’t go with the insert cable plus adapters. In the end I picked up some parts at radio shack and made a couple cables. Yours look nicer though. Thanks for all of the advice and information.

I had been looking for cables as well. I was able to configure some for about $20 a piece here: http://www.cablesforless.com/Cable-Calculator-Studio-Grade-Audio-Cable-P6888.aspx

Hope this helps someone else.