Is it possible/worthwhile to fix guitar leads. I have several leads costing up to £20 each and they either cut out or don't work at all. Do I need something to test them with?

John, May 2008

sometimes (especially with cheaper jack plugs) ive found the centre connection inside the jack isn't bearing down on the centre pin to make a connection properly. even when all soldered joints look sound this can still cause leads to fail.
Try pressing the centre connection down slightly but be careful not to make contact with the outer connection/metal.

jonny onions, August 2010

Sorry no! it's not the leads at all. it is your input jack on the guitar or your amp that is causing the problem. I have the same EXACT problem with my electric guitar. take it and the amp to your local music store do not tyr to fix this yourself. Please !!! I am a guitar player myself believe me. you don't want to do this yourself.

Mickey-G TN, July 2008

if they have a molded plug(unscrewable)
cut one jackplug off
bear the wires back slightly, and with a pair of pin
nose pliers tug gently on the inner then outer wires
if any pull out the length of wire is how far up the
cable the break is (it could be intermittant)
if a break is found cut the cable back and refit
a good quality screened jack
do the same at the other end if necessary
if no "near end " breaks are found then check for continuity with a multimeter

most cable breaks of this type are nearly always
"near end" by the jack plug

al, July 2008

john, if you unscrew the jackplug at both ends of the cable exposing the wire connecting to the jack you can check if the wire is connected to the jack, if it isn't you can solder the wire back on to the jack......If however the connections in the jack are ok the chances are you have a break in the cable and in this instance it would be better just to buy a new lead

rolling thunder, May 2008