MX 3040 P-38 Mono Male to P-38 Mono Male Cable (1.5 m)

MX 3040 P-38 Mono Male to P-38 Mono Male Cable (1.5 m)

The MX 3040 is a 1.5 metre instrument cable terminated in P-38 plugs – the 6.35 mm (quarter-inch) mono phone plug that has connected guitars, keyboards and audio processors for over half a century. It carries a mono unbalanced signal between instruments and the amplifiers, pedals and mixers that expect this connector, in a short length made for pedalboards, desktop rigs and patching between nearby units.

Key Features

• 6.35 mm (1/4 inch) mono male plugs at both ends – standard P-38 format
• 1.5 m length for pedalboards, desks and short instrument runs
• Shielded construction to keep hum and handling noise down
• Fits guitars, basses, keyboards, effects units and line-level inputs/outputs
• Flexible jacket that coils and routes easily on stage

The Quarter-Inch Standard

The phone plug predates almost everything else in audio – it began life in telephone switchboards, which is where the P-38 designation comes from – and it survives because it is big, tough and unmistakable. On an instrument cable the signal is unbalanced and relatively delicate, so the shielding inside the jacket does the quiet work: it wraps the signal conductor and drains away the hum radiated by stage lighting, amplifier transformers and mains wiring before it can mix into the music. Short runs like this 1.5 m length are where unbalanced connections perform best, which is why pedalboards and desktop processor chains are wired almost entirely in leads of this size.

Typical Uses

Patch effects pedals together on a pedalboard, link a keyboard or drum machine to a mixer on the same desk, connect a guitar to a desktop interface or practice amp nearby, or bridge two processors in a rack. For longer guitar-to-amp runs, choose a longer instrument cable from the same family so the shielding and capacitance stay appropriate for the distance.

Full specifications are listed in the Additional Information table.