Cables

[StuStu]

I make own. That way I know they're made using quality parts without snake oil pricing.

 

[davegt666]

I've used Live Wire Soundhose, Rapco, Fender Performance, Planet Waves American Stage, and Spectraflex Baldee Series Cables for years. They still work good as new and not twisted. All simple cables that are still thick and sturdy but flexible as well.

Good cables exist I think you just got to know what you're buying. The Spectraflex cables should serve you well. My 18 foot is still holding up well after about 5 years of use.

 

[Mediocrity Man]

Yeah, I like cheap junk because I'm stupid. That's also why I gave the link.

clearly I missed that reference and I apologize but that doesn't mean you have to get snippy.

 

[bucephylus]

clearly I missed that reference and I apologize but that doesn't mean you have to get snippy.

I apologize for the snippiness.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I'll try to be more clear.

I've been using the nylon braided version for a couple of seasons now. Construction is fine. I like the metal connectors. The problem I have with them is that twists that develop while you are playing don't unravel very easily due to the stiffness of the nylon sheathing. Then, after stepping on those a few times, there is a mess to get organized at the end of the night. I know it's a small thing. I'm just burned out with it. Kind like that hang nail that finally bugs you enough to cut it off.

There aren't nearly as many cables available without the braided sheathing, but with the metal ends. Just seems like if you want the high quality connectors, then you get the braiding.

I used to just build my own using Belden cable and Switchcraft connectors. Maybe, I just need to go back to that route.

Stop spinning in circles or go wireless.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Try these:

Leader Standard Series - Catalog - Whirlwind

I have a few that have served me well for many years. I even have an old Whirlwind that I bought in the late 1970s that still works great.

 

[BAG]

I used to wrap my cables that way when I was younger. You're not going to find videos of that technique because it's not advisable. Every single one of my cables had twists from being wrapped that way. The over/under technique is really the best way to prevent twists.

I prefer this method below of the under/over method. I have found for most people that isn't as easy to learn as that one above but once learnt it can be quicker as you never actually take your hand off the cable from one coil to the next.

The problem I have with it is not that it twists the cable, but that the longer cables don't tend to "throw out" without getting into snarls.

This means that you have pulled the end through the wrong way. When pulled through the correct way they will throw out straight. The knotting happens to all of us some times but if you're careful when putting on the velcro tie you can minimise it. In saying that, at 2:14 in the video above he shows how to deal with it when the knotting does happen.

 

[madbass6]

This is one of my pet peeves.

Why can't the commercial cable makers just make a solid simple cable, for goodness sake?

Early on, they were all coiled.

Now, they all have this nylon braiding on the outside.

I don't know which is worse, the coils or the nylon braiding. Who comes up with this stuff? For cryin out loud, just make a plain old cable with solid connectors. The nylon braiding makes the cables so stiff that they can't unravel the twists that build up in them. Talk about making something that ain't broke broken. Newsflash: NOT an improvement.

May have to go back to making my own cables again. Sigh. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Seems like the no brainer solution would be to Just go wireless !

 

[aprod]

Over / under is the industry standard employed by stage hands. You would get fired for wrapping a cable using your method.

 

[bucephylus]

Stop spinning in circles or go wireless.

LOL I'm too old for that much motion!

 

[Ric5]

This is one of my pet peeves.

Why can't the commercial cable makers just make a solid simple cable, for goodness sake?

Early on, they were all coiled.

Now, they all have this nylon braiding on the outside.

I don't know which is worse, the coils or the nylon braiding. Who comes up with this stuff? For cryin out loud, just make a plain old cable with solid connectors. The nylon braiding makes the cables so stiff that they can't unravel the twists that build up in them. Talk about making something that ain't broke broken. Newsflash: NOT an improvement.

May have to go back to making my own cables again. Sigh. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

The one constant that I have found ... the more expensive the cable the faster it fails

 

[bucephylus]

Over / under is the industry standard employed by stage hands. You would get fired for wrapping a cable using your method.

Yay! I'm fired!!

 

[Big Hoss]

I didn't think I was using a budget cable. Here is what Ive been using. Everyone else seems to like them.
Amazon.com: GLS Audio 20 Foot Guitar Instrument Cable - Right Angle 1/4-Inch TS to Straight 1/4-Inch TS 20 FT Black Gray Tweed Cloth Jacket - 20 Feet Pro Cord 20' Phono 6.3mm - SINGLE: Musical Instruments

I have a couple of those GLS audio tweet jacketed cables as well and they are my least favorites. You are right they are very stiff. I have a set of older Musician's Friend branded not musicians gear but actually Musician's Friend from about 2003 or 2004 as well as a couple of Fender branded tweet jacketed cable that are fantastic very limber don't twist up and are very abuse-resistant. It's not necessarily the Tweed or nylon jacket from the cable that's the problem but how stiff the overall cable is.

 

[HiEnd Basses]

I bit the bullet a long time ago, and all I use now is Mogami Gold Cables; instrument, patch, and speaker. No regrets ever.

 

[Big Hoss]

Fender Custom series right angle cables.

Been very happy with these four years of course I don't gig often your mileage may vary.

 

[Gizmot]

Another vote for Mogami Gold - fantadtic!

 

[Nickweissmusic]

This is one of my pet peeves.

Why can't the commercial cable makers just make a solid simple cable, for goodness sake?

Early on, they were all coiled.

Now, they all have this nylon braiding on the outside.

I don't know which is worse, the coils or the nylon braiding. Who comes up with this stuff? For cryin out loud, just make a plain old cable with solid connectors. The nylon braiding makes the cables so stiff that they can't unravel the twists that build up in them. Talk about making something that ain't broke broken. Newsflash: NOT an improvement.

May have to go back to making my own cables again. Sigh. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Pro-co and Live Wires immediately come to mind as fine plain cables with high quality connectors. Hard to imagine you couldn't find any with a quick google search or look at a retailer, but I know sweetwater carries pro-co and guitar center carries Live wires. I've used both brands for years and I think the failure rate is hovering right around zero for each brand. I don't go nuts on stage so your luck may diminish if you do a lot of cable biting, but they'll still last a while.

Any measurable sonic advantage of fancier cables has been debunked, in fact some brands "bass" cables actually DO affect the signal... but only negatively, they are capacitive and cut high frequencies slightly. That said, I DO own a couple higher end cables because I like the fit and finish, but that's the ONLY reason to get one, there is ZERO electronic advantage to higher end cables than the brands I mentioned, although you do want braided shield instead of foil for any cable that will be used frequently and could be stepped on or flexed a lot. The very cheapest cables use foil shielding that can break and leave you with a useless noisy cable. Even still, even the cheapest foil shielded cable performs just as good as the most expensive cable on the market if everything is intact. Here's the article The great cable myth. – SF Guitarworks

 

[LUCE]

I find the nylon braided cable generates disruptive signals (static?) when pulled across a carpet. I weeding these out of the collection.

Plain 'Ol cable? I've had great experiences with Mogami and the tried and true Switchcraft/Belden approach.

 

[DirkP]

The wireless industy is bribing the guitar-cable industry to push us to go wireless. Everyone who counts knows this.

 

[MD]

Why can't the commercial cable makers just make a solid simple cable, for goodness sake?

For the same reason someone felt it necessary to put a camera in a refrigerator and have its contents available online.