Is my 5-Pin cable dead?

[Wyofiddler]

Still moving forward....

JimmyJ - Opened up both of the end caps on my cable and don't see anything that looks out of place. The soldering work is really high quality, I was impressed. My cable is made from Canare L-4E6S microphone cable with Neutrik right-angle female/straight male connectors.

StephenR - I did try that and while I was getting the sound from the Treble output jack, moving that TS plug to the Bass/Mono output jack gave no sound. This was true with the DS-5R switch in stereo and also in mono (I tried every possible combination I could think of).

After checking the latest price list from Alembic regarding a replacement 5-pin cable, I ordered a section of that same type of cable and some connectors from an electronics supply house to try my hand at building myself a new cable. I've built several DIY amplifiers in the past so a new cable feels like it should be within my reach, it's the sort of project I don't seek out for kicks, but I'm happy to try if I need to make it happen.

[rv_bass]

I’m a little late to this one, but this is what I get with my DS-5R and 5-pin cable:

DS-5R stereo mode:

Plugged into the DS-5R treble out
Selector Treble position - yes sound
Selector middle position - yes Sound
Selector bass position - no sound

Plugged into the DS-5R bass out
Selector treble position - no sound
Selector middle position - yes Sound
Selector bass position - yes Sound

DS-5R mono mode:

Plugged into bass (mono) out on the DS-5R
Selector treble position - yes sound
Selector middle position - yes Sound
Selector bass position - yes Sound

[Wyofiddler]

Hope I didn't mislead you guys earlier -

Just now, 5-pin cable from bass to DS-5R, TS from Treble output jack to amp, DS-5R switch set to MONO -> Yes sound in pickup selector position #2 and #3.

The exact same results happen when DS-5R switch is set to STEREO with the identical connections as above -> Yes sound in pickup selector position #2 and #3.

Edit: this seemed so weird in my head but reading back I see this is what you all told me it should be doing.
I’m just trying to wrap my head around what this signal path means for the bass pickup/5-pin output on the bass/5-pin cable/5-pin connector on DS-5R/Bass/Mono output jack…

Thanks for all the help so far, we'll figure this out together! 😀

[rv_bass]

Looks like this conversation may have occurred in the past…

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[JimmyJ]

Looks like this conversation may have occurred in the past…

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Good to see I was basically trying to tell the same story 12 years ago.  Ha!  And how about that interesting and simple result provided by Mica?  One which I tend to forget: EXERCISE the dang switch!  Snap that stereo/mono switch back and forth several hundred times and see if it will "wake up" and pass audio as it is supposed to.

That should have been my first suggestion.  Let us know if it works.

Beyond that Ben, if you are a solderer then you probably have a volt-ohm meter?  You could certainly check your current 5-pin cable for continuity from end to end, and insure that nothing is shorting.  Something you need to know when building your new cable with any "quad" type wire like the Canare L-4E6S ... there are two white and two blue conductors so you NEED an ohmmeter to be sure you've matched pins from end to end.

Let us know if you get any further results!
Jimmy J

[Wyofiddler]

It works!!!!

Mica's suggestion to exercise the Stereo/Mono switch on the DS-5R has cured the problem completely.

Thank you so much to everyone for chiming in with different suggestions and ideas for troubleshooting. Also, thanks to rv_bass for finding that old thread and posting it here. To everyone, your help and support has been fantastic, and I appreciate it more than I can express.

Ben

[adriaan]

Great news!

[rv_bass]

Fantastic, now fire it up and have some fun! 

[StephenR]

Excellent... now go play your beautiful bass!

[JimmyJ]

Yay!!  Now play!!!

Jimmy J