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Double Bass Best Cable for the Amplified Double Bass

#82
Ric Vice said:
I had some of those Monster Cable guitar cords. They were rough on input jacks especially on older basses, on occasion they would lock up a jack

you had to be careful with those cords. I got rid of mine.
Click to expand...
I had a monster cable for use with my EUB and DB with Realist pickup for 20 years because I genuinely believed that it made a difference with THOSE TWO instruments. Sadly, that cord just got eaten by my new BG's locking input jack, so I won't be using them anymore.
 
#83
I've fallen for the lifetime warranty thing once or twice, and concluded I'd rather have a cable that will hold up for 20 years then get retired than one I have to exchange every year for the rest of my life.

Slightly over/undersized plugs are also kind of a deal killer. Life is complicated enough without having to worry about plug & jack compatibility.

One thing I have tried that seemed to make an audible difference is strapping my buffer preamp to the tailpiece of the bass. Then you can use a very short cable from the pickup (or even plug straight in w/ an adapter). The active / low impedance signal coming out of the preamp seems to be less affected by the longer cable to the amp. (Alas, the mounting can be awkward and battery changes are a hassle; and I have two basses, now. So I've gone back to using two regular length cables & leaving the buffer preamp on the floor.)
 
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#84
Has ANYONE purchased this $130 Underwood cable????
Just wondering.
Thank$.
038fdf_55f98405f86741348eb4d3eaf358dd4f~mv2.webp
 
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#86
[QUOTE="BobDeRosa, post: 26269283, member: 221502"]I doubt that I ever will when $20-30 Whirlwind cables do just fine. How would we measure a $100 quality difference, if such a difference even exists?[/QUOTE]
Especially when House of Guitars has them on sale for $15 -$25!!!
 
#88
I’ve got a monster cable I bought in ‘01 that’s still kicking. I must’ve got lucky because it never stretched any jacks I had. I bought it on a whim just to see if the hype was real, I A/Bed it with other cables and a few other bassists in a practice room in college back then. Seemed to have a bit better bass response, but who knows, maybe that’s just what I wanted to hear. Either way it’s lasted me 21 years and still kicking, although I don’t use it too much these days, I just don’t need a 20’ cable too often right now. I have an array of cables, some whirlwinds, a store brand cable that came with my first bass 26 years ago that still works. I have some home made Mogami Gold/Switchcraft cables that are great. My latest acquisition was a Lava UltraMafic. I like that cable a lot. I have A/Bed it and I believe it has a bit wider response than some of my other cables. Maybe not. I’m not gonna argue with anybody about it because I don’t care. What I do know for sure and will argue though, is that it has an extremely robust construction. I like that about it quite a bit. It’s a stout cable I can rely on to perform when needed.
 
#89
Don Kasper said:
[QUOTE="BobDeRosa, post: 26269283, member: 221502"]I doubt that I ever will when $20-30 Whirlwind cables do just fine. How would we measure a $100 quality difference, if such a difference even exists?
Click to expand...
Especially when House of Guitars has them on sale for $15 -$25!!![/QUOTE]

Any reference to a Rochester institution like the HoG from an LA guy gets my attention. Then I found that you were an Eastman cat! Hope your memories of my hometown are positive.
 
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#90
I used to reap the benefits of simply carrying a bad Monster cable into Guitar Center and exchanging it for a new one. I know they stopped offering that service years ago, but man, was that nice while it lasted!

FWIW I've been building my own cables for a few years and have had good success. If a knuckle-dragger like me can do it, anyone can! hahah!
 
#91
Years ago, McIntosh, the audiophile tube amp company (for listening to, not playing music) did a blind test between a monster speaker cable, some speaker cable that cost $500, if I remember correctly, for 6 ft, that cheap wire that you get with an all in one stereo, and an orange extension cord with the plugs cut off. He called all of these noted audiophiles to listen. It was unanimous, the extension cord won hands down. Take that how you will. I just buy quality cable in bulk, good connectors, and solder my own. It may be less Audiophile than a $200 cable but when I’m on the bandstand, being run di, running through my preamps, and being mixed through whatever board preamps they’ve got in the venue, a cable is not going to make or break your sound
 
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#92
I've experienced premature failure with a couple of different very expensive brands. That taught me that $$$ does not guarantee durability, and that life is too short for cables I can't trust (at either end of the pricing spectrum).
I go for cable material known to hold up (like Canare) and plugs that are proven (Switchcraft, Neutrik, G&H) and avoid the audiophile hype.
 
#95
I had several Planet Waves cables that lasted more than 10 years until finally having problems at the connector ends. (They had added some kind of spring doohickey that was supposed to ensure a better hold onto the socket, and it was that part that eventually gave out and made it difficult to insert the cable.) Over the years, D’Addario replaced all of them free of charge with current models. In one case they upgraded me to their top-of-the-line American Stage cable. Solid construction, with Neutrik-designed ends. Reasonably/competitively priced and guaranteed for life. That’s the cable I’ll buy the next time I need one.

American Stage Cable | Accessories | D'Addario
 

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