Testing Times

Although EMO's E445 cable tester isn't exactly new, it is such a useful part of anyone's live toolkit that I make no excuses for including it. Lead testers are rarely glamorous items, but when you're really up against it, they suddenly become your best friend, and just as in real life, you need to choose your friends carefully.

Like most EMO units, the cable tester is tough, straightforward, and gets the job done without undue fuss. Built into the battery powered die-cast box are two sets of three sockets, between which the lead under test is connected. The choice is balanced 3-pole jack, phono, and XLR — a male at one side and a female at the other — allowing cables with any permutations of these connectors to be checked out. Two further banana sockets accept wired probes for making continuity checks. An internal buzzer confirms continuity, just in case you're in a position where you can't see the LEDs on the box.

No lead tester would be complete without a fuse test facility, and in this case, two domed metal contacts, between which the suspect fuse is placed, protrude from the top panel. If the fuse is OK, you get a red LED, but no buzzer this time.

Testing cables is simply a matter of plugging them in, then pressing each of three numbered push switches in turn. In the case of a balanced cable, the LED recessed into each switch should light as the button is pressed, but the other LEDs should stay off. If two or more LEDs come on, there's a short; if a different LED other than the one you're pressing comes on, there's a crossed wire; and if nothing comes on at all, you're probably trying to test the clothes line! Unbalanced cables show up as a tip/ring short so LEDs 2 and 3 should both illuminate when either switches 2 or 3 are pressed.

Other than testing cables, the device also makes a handy junction box — for example, if you want to connect a jack lead to a phono lead. In fact, the only thing it doesn't do is check MIDI leads — something that the next version might usefully address.

Last word then — it's inexpensive, it's tough, it does the job, and if you don't have one handy when you need one, you could be in deep trouble!

Further Information

E445 £55.38 inc VAT.
EMO Systems Limited, (Contact Details).

Saddle Sores

Are you always breaking strings or having problems keeping in tune? GraphTech could have the answer.

A few months back, I bought myself a Fender Strat Plus guitar which was almost perfect in every way — but after three of four hours of playing, the strings would start to break at an alarming rate. There seemed to be no reason for it — there were no sharp edges, no sharp kinks, but sure enough, the strings continued to break right on the bridge saddle. To cut a long story short, the problem was traced back to the stainless steel saddles — they give plenty of sustain, but impose a cruelly short string life. That's when I started to look for replacements. I considered brass, but a London guitar specialist suggested I look at GraphTech's saddles.

GraphTech make replacement saddles for most popular makes of guitar, but rather than use metal, they use a compound of graphite and teflon, which is some five times more slippery than graphite alone. Being virtually friction free, the string doesn't wear at the point where it leaves the saddle, and as a side benefit, the sustain is increased slightly. The lack of friction also helps prevent tuning problems due to sticking strings.

Because guitar nuts are a frequent cause of sticking, GraphTech nuts are also available, although as yet, I haven't put one on my instrument, as the roller bearing nut originally supplied seems to work fine.

Fitting the saddles is simply a matter of undoing the intonation screws, removing the old saddles, and fitting the new ones with the bolts and springs provided. Once new strings have been fitted, the intonation and height can be set, and the job's done.

I've been using these saddles for around six months now, and since fitting them, I haven't broken a single string. On one occasion, I left the same set on for several weeks, just to see what I could get away with, but still no breaks. The sustain of the instrument seems much the same as it was before, perhaps just slightly better, but the real difference is in string life and more consistent tuning. Sets of saddles cost around £32 to £35 and nuts from £9.

We live in an age where exotic accessories are often hyped out of all proportion to their actual usefulness, but in the case of GraphTech, they've changed my guitar from one I daren't play live, into the only one I use. And they're worth every penny.

Further Information

13 GraphTech Saddles from around £32 inc VAT.
Gladden Pro Audio, (Contact Details).