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Good Long-Lasting Cable

#21
Something to keep in mind no matter what kind of cables you own is wrapping them properly, using an over/under technique, also known as the "roadie wrap". There are tons of video how-to's on this. My oldest working cable is a Whilrwind I bought when I was 18 years old. I'm 55, and it still works fine. (Wish I could say the same about myself!) Nothing special about the cable. It's just an average cable that I took care of.
 
#22
mech said:
Two conductor shielded, as in a shielded balanced line for Low Z mikes or mixer outputs. The two inner conductors are parallel, not twisted. I've never been able to measure a meaningful difference in capacitance between single conductor shielded and two conductor shielded of the same brand and equal quality when used as described. It's always been within the tolerance of the meter used. It also provides a heavier ground that can help reduce noise due to RFI.

mech
Click to expand...

As I said, you may be right about the capacitance, because I really don't know, but I've never seen a mic cable that didn't have twisted conductors.
I would be curious if someone knew the capacitance of balanced cable (which wouldn't be an issue with Low-Z anyway). I'm just curious.
 
#23
bumperbass said:
As I said, you may be right about the capacitance, because I really don't know, but I've never seen a mic cable that didn't have twisted conductors.
I would be curious if someone knew the capacitance of balanced cable (which wouldn't be an issue with Low-Z anyway). I'm just curious.
Click to expand...

Ezmar..apologies for the digression but it's one of the neat things about TB. BTW, knowing how to solder is a good skill and can save you $$$ and inconvenience.

bumperbass..for quality cable it should be less than 100pF per meter per conductor referenced to the shield for single or two conductor, but notice the two inner conductors are not wired in parallel which would double the capacitance. The area of one plate of the capacitor increases but that does not mean the overall capacitance will increase since the other plate area remains the same. It's limited by the smaller plate.

mech
 
#24
Primakurtz said:
I have been using a couple of these Gepco cables from Lava, with their Rock Option covering, for several years:
http://www.lavacable.com/index.php?id=73

Great in every way.
I boycott Monster because of their psycho legal attacks against every small business that dares to infringe on their over-hyped name, designs, or genre. The warranty is nice, but be aware that you are paying for several replacement cables every time you buy a new one.
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What's the difference between the Rock option and the non rock option? The Rock option is cheaper, why is that?

mech said:
Ezmar..apologies for the digression but it's one of the neat things about TB. BTW, knowing how to solder is a good skill and can save you $$$ and inconvenience.
mech
Click to expand...

Ha, No worries. It just felt weird, like I'm asking what kind of bass I should get and people start telling me in depth how to build my own from scratch. :hmm:
 
#26
1958Bassman said:
Why not? A cheap soldering iron is about $10 and a small roll of solder is about $3.
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Well, primarily because I'm looking to have something that I'm sure will be of high quality and will last me a while. Also, A soldering iron would probably be against some college housing agreement policies somehow. Fire hazard or some such. :eyebrow:
 
#29
Ezmar said:
I surmised as much.

So the inevitable follow-up question would be what do I replace it with? Monster is expensive, but if the investment is worth it I'd get that. Are there any other lower-profile manufacturers that don't have such inflated prices but still make a solid, durable, long-lasting cable?
Click to expand...

If your cable was a Monster, Mogami, or even Live Wire, you'd take it down to GC and swap it for a new one. Then the price would drop to half.
 
#31
mech said:
bumperbass..for quality cable it should be less than 100pF per meter per conductor referenced to the shield for single or two conductor, but notice the two inner conductors are not wired in parallel which would double the capacitance. The area of one plate of the capacitor increases but that does not mean the overall capacitance will increase since the other plate area remains the same. It's limited by the smaller plate.

mech
Click to expand...

Gotcha. Yeah. I've made a few unbalanced cables with low-z cable and I've always done what you have done, and that is to wrap one of the center conductors around the shield.
I understand 100pf/meter, but I'd just be curious as to actual measured capacitance just for sh**s and giggles.
I've only bought 3 cables in my life. The rest I've made myself. The first was a coiled 25 foot back in '67 and another coiled in '74. How stupid of me, but who knew? I'd imagine those cheap coiled cables were several hundred pf/meter. I bought a new Lava cable about 6 months ago, but that's for a spare since I'm wireless now (0 pf/meter). lol
Thank you.
I
 
#32
I have had no problems with HOSA cables. Reasonable and decent quality build. The local music store quit carring the Monster cables. When I asked why, they said that Monster was being difficult in honoring the warranty. I'm sure that bigger chians get treated differently but, I still can't see myself paying that much for a cable. I have a hard enough time buying speakon cables. I have used high dollar cables and don't see or hear the benefit enough to justify. Neutrik ends and decent cable is all I need.
 
#33
Keep it simple. Go to a music store, buy a monster cable (or any brand with a lifetime warranty).

Leave the store. Play.

If the cable ever dies, take it back, they'll give you a brand new one, same length.
 
#34
Fat240 said:
I have had no problems with HOSA cables. Reasonable and decent quality build. The local music store quit carring the Monster cables. When I asked why, they said that Monster was being difficult in honoring the warranty. I'm sure that bigger chians get treated differently but, I still can't see myself paying that much for a cable. I have a hard enough time buying speakon cables. I have used high dollar cables and don't see or hear the benefit enough to justify. Neutrik ends and decent cable is all I need.
Click to expand...

Me, too. Can't beat Hosa for bang for the buck. I even use some -shudder- Monoprice cables that work as well as anything else I've tried

As someone else mentioned, check your jack.

If you want to shuck out the money for a mid priced cable, then by all means go for a Mogami or Monster or the like with a good warranty that allows for instore exchange.

Try the cable on another bass or guitar and see if you get a crackle.
 
#38
I have both mogami and lava, I like the Mogami. Had it for about 5 years and then it started to break down, took it back to guitar center and they gave me a new one. The exchange was no problem and I'm happy.
 
#39
The cheap one that came with my bass when I bought it. It stays in my gig bag :-) It will last a lifetime.
 
#40
I've got Mogami Platinum's, Lava ELC's and clear connect, and for bass I'm currently using core x2 cables. I like the x2's because they are hefty in weight, built like tanks, and i got them on clearance for a good price. Honestly if there are any tone differences they are so small that they are unnoticeable in a band context, maybe more noticeable when playing alone in your room or in a good studio room. Don't get mogami platinums for full price, i lucked out and got them unknowingly in a pedal board bundle on ebay. They are not worth the street price at all, my 50$ lava's are just as good if not better, and if you run alot of true bypass pedals the elc's seem to maintain a stronger signal and no high end loss over extended lengths.

If you want to be able to walk in to GC and swap them out if it goes bad get a mogami, I've never had to swap one out but I've had to swap out monsters numerous times before. Plus all the background with them makes me not want to support them.

tl;dr: get mogami gold's if you want to be able to walk in to GC and swap em, get lava's if you want a quality cable and run alot of pedals.
 

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