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cables?

May 21, 2004
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what kind of cables do you guys use? I just bought a Hosa cable from zzounds and its horrible. It causes unwanted noise whenever its movied or touched. Think its faulty or just bad quality?

what cables do you guys swear by? I need a 20 footer with one right angle at the end.
 
It's possible that you have a bad cable, maybe it has a loose solder joint or a broken conductor inside. Even the cheapest of cables shouldn't crackle when moved or touched, and Hosa is a respectable brand as far as interconnects.

It's also possible you have a loose jack or oxidized jack. Try to isolate the problem by holding the cable steady, and wiggle different parts to see where the noise comes from.
 
A LOT of Hosa's cables have noise problems, especially since they've got sealed plastic jacks. My theory is the hot plastic partially melts the solder joint on the connector and makes it go "cold" when the jack mold is made. Get a cable with metal connectors, preferably Switchcraft. Sure you'll pay twice or more what the Hosa costs, but it won't sound like Rice Krispies when you move.
 
flury said:
what kind of cables do you guys use? I just bought a Hosa cable from zzounds and its horrible. It causes unwanted noise whenever its movied or touched. Think its faulty or just bad quality?

what cables do you guys swear by? I need a 20 footer with one right angle at the end.

I build my own. I use the hi end mogomi cable itself and you the
nicer G&H cable ends. (they have the solid copper core with a
copper tip).

I would keep your cable under 20 feet, preferably 18 or 15 if possible.

If you're bummed out by the Hofsa cable I can build you one to
meet the DoD standards: ANSI/J-STD-001, IPC-HDBK-001, IPC-A-610C.

In short these standards are far in excess of most consumer level quality and are for mission critical applications...where
a malfunction will cause loss of life; (i.e., aircraft, missles,
submarines, etc.)

So what does this mean for you?

It won't f*** up for a long long time. ; )

Feel free to PM me if needed. They aren't cheap, but then
you'll have it until the cable wears out. ; )
 
I've never had anything but good luck with cables from ProCo, Horizon, and Whirlwind, among others.

Cables aren't rocket science, but some of them are marketed that way.

And there's also a TBer who makes custom cables from good wire and connectors, but his name escapes me right now.
 
I ditched the Hosa cable for a CBI cable. I get the same problem. I can lift up the wire while plugged and drop it and you can hear it crackle through the amp. Is this normal or what? Two cable have done this then I have this braided no name cable here that does not cause any unwanted noise when moved at all. Strange...