Best cables?

[tasty sweeps]

making your own cables is probably the most economic way. plus you can make them any length and with any connectors you wish.

some friends and i made our own blind sound test of various cable brands and connections made with coat hangers. over short distances, absolutely negligible difference. but longer distances or different signal processing will benefit from better shielding. if you're going to spend an assload on premium cables, check out phil jones. they're very expensive but they're the only cable i've tried where there's a real difference in sound.

 

[MentalBass]

If you are looking for the hands-down, cost-is-no-object best instrument cables, check out Analysis Plus (http://www.analysis-plus.com/). Their Bass Oval is out of this world in regards to durability and clarity. The conductor has an oval cross-section, which allows a more even current distribution across the frequency spectrum, whereas round conductors tend to attenuate higher frequencies. The website has detailed information on the physics and electromagnetics that went into designing them, but suffice it to say, I A/B'd the Bass Oval against my Monster with gold-plated connectors, and the difference was astonishing. It was like removing a blanket that was covering your cabinets.

Cheers

 

[mrpackerguy]

This is what I have been using for years, and Butch at Bayou Cables uses the same stuff. You can spend a ton more, but you won't find a real upgrade over a properly assembled Canare/Neutrik or Mogami/Neutrik cable.

And +1 on cables not adding anything. They are not an active device. They can only cause subtractive "EQ".

Hey Pete - how's it hangin? You made me a couple great cables many moons ago. They're still in use as instrument cables.

 

[Medford Bassman]

i own an Evidence Audio cable. It is awesome for recording but I do not like it for live applications because of its stiffness.
It is pricey but incredibly well made.

I have also used Bayou cable, which I like.

Lately, I have tried Best-tronics.com. They too are custom made. I tried one of their tour duty cables with Neutrik silent plugs. Very nice and I am very impressed. Reasonable price as well

 

[Eric Perry]

It's just a cable. It can't add anything. It could remove some highs, but that would be lame. Cables should be transparent.

Personally I use Canare GS6 instrument cable, with G&H, or Nuetrik plugs.

...And +1 on cables not adding anything. They are not an active device. They can only cause subtractive "EQ".

...And unless the contacts in your equipment are gold (which they probably aren't), no gold cables. Nickel.

Flexibility and durability are the name of the game.

Agree with all of the above.

I personally would never give any company a dime that tried to market snake oil crap like "bass" cables" or "jazz" cables, or whatever. It's an incredible rip off!

Good quality cable and good quality connectors. That's all it takes to make the perfect cable. I've gotten cables from Butch at Bayou and he's the MAN. he doesn't market hype, he just makes completely custom, top notch cables.

 

[ulrich]

GGuitars in New Haven used to carry some custom cables that were made using it and I brought one of my GS-6 based cables in to A/B in their sound room, and it was like night and day. The SQ assembly sounded bad, with a weird uneven roll off sound in the upper mids and highs.

LOL perhaps that's what one company selling Star Quad based instrument cables, calls "warm".

I guess, I'll keep using GS6 for instrument cables, Mic cable for mics, and balanced connections.

In truth, I've only ever used L-4E6S (Star Quad) as power cable for the fans in my PC. Love that, modder's fav, round cable look, and perfect Themaltake fan orange.

 

[VegaV77]

planet waves sound clear and nice too me and if they can survive a show with me... they will do you fine

 

[Mutato]

I like the Evidence stuff as well.

 

[sonic assassin]

the ones you make yourself.. because they are at least half the price.

i make my own cables these days.

 

[fretlessrock]

Hey Pete - how's it hangin? You made me a couple great cables many moons ago. They're still in use as instrument cables.

Nice to hear from ya, bro. I'm doin' OK. For the past year or so I have only been making cables for myself or a few existing customers because it was taking a ton of time to keep up. Glad to hear that the cables I made for you are still in use. AFAIK most of them are. I have had three repairs total in over 5 years, one was a cymbal cut, so I know that the Canare GS-6/Neutrik assembly is the bomb. I have run into a pair that I made for a guitar played I worked with, the most heinous cable abuser I have ever known, and they were still gig worthy after about 4 years.

If only you could have kept Favre off of my Jets! Ohhhhhh the PAIN!!!!



Pete

 

[fretlessrock]

Just a few reasons why using an industry standard plug and top quality cable is a better idea than a "gimmick" cable:

1. A good connector conforms to the 1/4" phone plug spec. Not oversized or undersized. Neutrik, Switchcraft, and G&H are the best examples that I know of. They won't stretch ut a jack's contacts, or feel wiggly in a good jack with normal tension. Nothing wrong with Switchcraft or G&H. I continue to have uses for them and they look great, but...

2. A connector like the Neutrik phone plug is a good investment over the crimp-type Switchcraft or G&H because: you can inspect the connection without sacrificing the integrity of the connector; you can resolder the connector without real damage to it if you have decent skillz; the cable clamp is integral to the shell and doesn't require a hard crimp that can cut insulation or braid.

3. A premium cable like Canare GS-6 has the best shield in the business for top notch rejection of RF and EMI noise; the carbon plastic insulation layer really works to eliminate handling noise, and the plastics used in the jacket and dielectric are so overdesigned for low power audio use that they will last forever. I have been working with expensive RF cable for at least as long as I have worked with audio stuff and GS-6 could pass for milspec UHF cable. Mogami makes the same stuff, and I feel the same way about it. I just happen to deal with a few Canare wholesalers, and the price is usually a little better.

4. Big Brand cables are never hand soldered, the cable usually has junk-grade spiral braid and undersized center conductor. The cables fail at the solder joint, usually under a molded plastic (not serviceable) plug, and that warrantee means nothing when the cable fails at a gig or session.

I'm not interested in any bruised feelings. I have torn apart MANY cables by the big brands, mostly when bandmates or friends ask me to fix them because they don't want them to keep breaking. I've seen the same thing over and over: bad/subpar materials and poorly executed assembly. I've hand-built hundreds of cables using good materials and techniques and they simply do not fail under normal (heavy) use. I'm not selling cables any longer so I don't have any kind of agenda to promote. I do feel that it is important to share knowledge within a community.

 

[Dellers]

A cable is pretty much a cable. Most studios etc. make their own cables, and the price is like (norwegian price) 1.5$/meter. That's what I have been using in a studio. The difference between cables are pretty much how easy they will break. A cable should be thick enough, long enough - but not longer

 

[behemecoytl]

I like Monsters. The lifetime guarantee is hard to beat- and the cables are quality without being ridiculously expensive.

I disagree with those who have said that cables don't matter, or that "bass" specific cables are a scam. I have used a Monster bass cable for years now and I believe the sound quality is superior to just any-old-cable. I can't recall how the make-up of the "bass" cable is different (it's been awhile since I bought my first one) but I recently a/b tested it against a regular cable and there is a difference. It's not a big difference, but there's a difference, and it's enough of a difference to matter to me.

in recording and speakers and instruments: better cables= better quality sound.

 

[lavmonga]

Plutonium enriched cables tend to boost lows and get a clear high sound. Those are the only cables I'll use.

+1 "any non-s@!t cable"

 

[kevinmoore73]

The conductor has an oval cross-section, which allows a more even current distribution across the frequency spectrum

 

[JustDavid]

Well put!!

 

[fretlessrock]

Plutonium enriched cables tend to boost lows and get a clear high sound. Those are the only cables I'll use.

+1 "any non-s@!t cable"

that is so very 1998! get some depleted uranium cables like i use on all of my chart topping sessions. then and only then will you know what real audiophile bliss is all about. when you are done with the session you can use the cable for armor penetration or shelling the living sh!7 out of a village or something.

 

[hands5]

A lot of people, including myself, will tell you that unless you have a really terrible cable, there's no point in spending tons of money to upgrade your cables. I can't hear an ounce of difference between cables. Silver, Oxygen Free, Gold Tipped, etc.

For durability, though, I really like Monster & Planet Waves, due to their no-questions-asked lifetime warranties...
Just don't expect any audible difference.

I agree.

 

[moonbass]

I think i definitely hear a difference between the high end cables and the normal to cheap variety. The better ones improve the tone. Or am i kidding myself?

 

[skidrawk]

Neutrik/Mogami


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