instrument cables 101

fnsweeeet · #1 10-13-2008, 06:08 PM

I've been playing for awhile, and now can hear and feel the need for a flawless sound chain. So I'm going to scrap the Joe's Generic instrument cable, and would like something that carries the sound well from my Thumb through my GT-6B and into my SWR Redhead. What is the best cable trade-off for good sound without spending ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS for a cable?

JimmyM · #2 10-14-2008, 12:15 AM

See, this is how those jackals get you. They plant the seed of inferiority in your head and make you think you're not getting all you can out of your regular cable. Then they drop some buzzwords like "plated tips" and "specially treated wire" like it matters in the least. Then you throw out perfectly good cables and spend hundreds on cables based on these hype buzzwords, only to find they don't sound any better.

Just buy a decent cable and forget about all the nonsense. It's not hard to find a perfectly good cable for under $20. The best thing you can do to have a flawless sound chain is to play well.

bassman1185 · #3 10-14-2008, 08:15 AM

I generally agree with Jimmy. Cables, as long as you buy decent quality, are pretty much cables. There may be minute differences in tone, but generally, you're not going to notice much of a difference.

With that said, I used a George L's cable and A/B'd it with a generic Horizon cable. They were both about 10' long, and I plugged a bass straight into an amp, and there WAS a fairly noticeable difference. Other than that, I have never noticed one particular cable sounding better than another.

What paying more money WILL get you, though, is a generally better-made, longer lasting cable that may have more features. There is nothing wrong with getting a nice cable, but don't really expect to hear a significant difference in tone.

fokof · #4 10-14-2008, 08:22 AM

....or if you have a solder iron at home , buy 2 Neutrix plugs the lenght of wire disired ( Canare ) and DIY.

It's gonna cost you less than 40$ and it's top notch.

mrokern · #5 10-14-2008, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fokof

....or if you have a solder iron at home , buy 2 Neutrix plugs the lenght of wire disired ( Canare ) and DIY.

It's gonna cost you less than 40$ and it's top notch.

+1

+1 again!

v-grooves · #6 10-14-2008, 06:03 PM

Been sending my signal through them for 3 years and never a problem. I use the red vintage model cables cause that is what was given to me to use, and they work well with both my modern basses and my old jazz basses.

But lets see if we can get Jimmy to chime back in here bout the XDR thing.....cuase its been in the back of my mind for a coupla weeks now......I have 2 free spaces in my rack that look lost.......Hmmmmm.

V-Grooves

JimmyM · #7 10-14-2008, 11:00 PM

XDR? You mean the X2 wireless rackmount? Don't know anything about them. I have the XDS's, the little portables.

Rattman · #8 10-15-2008, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fokof

....or if you have a solder iron at home , buy 2 Neutrix plugs the lenght of wire disired ( Canare ) and DIY.

It's gonna cost you less than $40 and it's top notch.

Well said... yes, with a little practice, patience and solid confidence in your own handiwork, you will indeed have a very useable cable if ya follow the above suggestion.

Deacon_Blues · #9 10-15-2008, 05:28 AM

Even if you don't have a soldering iron, you can get one pretty cheap (mine costed 10 euros I think) and they're not that hard to use. A good cable cutter is another good investment if you buy a soldering iron.

+1 that cables don't matter too much as long as you're using the right kind of cable and not ultra-cheap stuff. The only thing I care about when buying an instrument cable is reliability. Cheap cables break easily.

Joel S. · #10 10-16-2008, 11:20 AM

I look for solidly built cable that has a LIFETIME warranty.

I don't like Monster, they all have puked on me relatively quickly.

Jazzdogg · #11 10-16-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fnsweeeet

I've been playing for awhile, and now can hear and feel the need for a flawless sound chain. So I'm going to scrap the Joe's Generic instrument cable, and would like something that carries the sound well from my Thumb through my GT-6B and into my SWR Redhead. What is the best cable trade-off for good sound without spending ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS for a cable?

As others have suggested, as long as you use a shielded cable that's in good condition and is less than twenty feet in length you should be good to go.

I'm using an X2 wireless (and I keep a high-quality cable at the ready - just in case) and it's been great! The transmitter's batteries last about 5 or 6 hours with my bass; I check the battery level meter that's built into the transmitter before every set (I plug the receiver into a power supply).

CBBass123 · #12 10-16-2008, 10:36 PM

+1 X2 wireless

pbass62 · #13 10-17-2008, 04:53 AM

Another vote on the X2

spoinged · #14 10-18-2008, 07:17 AM

I haven't looked back since getting my George L's. One of my cables went on the Fritz at soundcheck last week

but just cut them with my string tool and eureka cable fixed in less than a minute. No solder and no faffing about. The Sound Man was quite taken with them.

Ezbass · #15 10-18-2008, 08:04 AM

Been using them for years for both pedal board and amp connection when not going wireless. Super versatile in terms of length and dead easy to repair, although I've never had to except when reconfiguring my pedalboard.