I use Butch at Bayou Audio. $40 every ten years in support of American enterprise and small business isn't a heavy lift.
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Instrument cables rated and compared. A buyers' guide!
- Thread starter bongomania
- Start date
Chef
In Memoriam
Well, maybe. There are two hangups:
1) Money. I just can't sink any more money into that one.
2) I have become convinced that the only differences between cables are their capacitance and their construction quality. I do see the consumer value of reporting on capacitance and construction quality, but it's not very exciting for me to do.
dear wealthy TB members - please start a gofundme for Bongo and send him money to continue this thankless work of being the "snopes" of talkbass.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Used to buy cheap cables.
Used to replace my cables every few months.
Someone gave me a Monster cable.
It lasted over 10 years.
It broke.
I got another, along with 2 Fender cables (Fender cable just attached my tuner to my amp) about a year ago.
One of the Fender cables broke.
I'm waiting for the other Fender cable to break.
Monster cable has no issues.
Used to replace my cables every few months.
Someone gave me a Monster cable.
It lasted over 10 years.
It broke.
I got another, along with 2 Fender cables (Fender cable just attached my tuner to my amp) about a year ago.
One of the Fender cables broke.
I'm waiting for the other Fender cable to break.
Monster cable has no issues.
Well, after getting pretty fed up with the lackluster quality of cheaper cables, but still unwilling to pay the ridiculous markup for brands like Monster, I just placed an order for some Invalid Link Removed. They are out of the UK, but my order was over £100, so it shipped free, even here to the states! And the specs ticked off every detail I knew to look for: Neutrik (right-angle or straight, regular or "silent") connectors, low capacitance (90pF) cable, color coded ends, custom lengths, etc., which on paper seems at least the equivalent of the $50+ Monster cable. But MOST important? Total cost under US$20 each for 6m (~20ft) cables, shipped to my door! I was also able to get DUAL right-angle plugs, which work best for me in almost every application. Try getting that in a Monster cable!
I'm hardly an expert, but once I get them, I will post my thoughts, good or bad. If I like them as much as I hope to, they will soon be getting another order for speaker cables and XLR cables!
I'm hardly an expert, but once I get them, I will post my thoughts, good or bad. If I like them as much as I hope to, they will soon be getting another order for speaker cables and XLR cables!
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- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Don't know if that's a response to my comments, because although I said it indirectly, I actually agreed with you, right? Assuredly, I don't like Monster's premium price, and I despise their fatuous marketing hyperbole. But there is no denying they make quality cables as far as construction and durability, which makes them a sound investment--especially if there are no alternatives. Indeed, I was lamenting that they (and other similarly pricey brands) seemed to be my only options. But my research has given me a high degree of confidence that these ClearTone cables are of at least the same quality, just without the sticker shock. I guess we will see in a few years, eh?
(I am starting to sound like a marketing robot--I guess we both are. But, just to be clear, I have no affiliation with the company save as a brand new customer, and I will lambast their product if I get them and they don't deliver)
After having played the Vovox Sonorus cable I do not want to get back to any other brands.
This is expensive, but if you are after the last couple of percent you need a cable like this. I use it privately and in Studio works. The fact that it has a direction for plugging it in is no joke, but better audible with guitars. Also the mic cables are nothing short of magnificent. If you can't hear the difference it makes you are one of the lucky ones who can happily work with any standard cable. After all, your playing skills make the sound and music, ... much more than a cable.
This is expensive, but if you are after the last couple of percent you need a cable like this. I use it privately and in Studio works. The fact that it has a direction for plugging it in is no joke, but better audible with guitars. Also the mic cables are nothing short of magnificent. If you can't hear the difference it makes you are one of the lucky ones who can happily work with any standard cable. After all, your playing skills make the sound and music, ... much more than a cable.
Chef
In Memoriam
Chef
In Memoriam
I'm still using the rapco roadhog instrument cables I bought 2-ish years ago.
Hundreds of shows.
Excellent performance.
Zero failures.
Lifetime warranty I believe
Nice and flexible too
Hundreds of shows.
Excellent performance.
Zero failures.
Lifetime warranty I believe
Nice and flexible too
Well this is maybe explained in their pages. I'm a mere old musician and Tonmeister. I have no insight as to why the cables behaves that way, but they do. Blind Tested over and over again with 20 senior colleagues in a superb large studio. We were highly sceptical, too, until we actually heard the quality gain of Vovox on mics and instruments, as well as this directionality thingy. Once you get used to this sound u r hooked.... as much as cabling goes...... ;-)
as proven by this thread blind tests mean nothing, science means everything. 75 pf/m is around 22 pf/ft. quality rating there but there are better out there as outlined in Bongo's first post in this thread. the rest is marketing BS.
43 Years in electronics and music business has tought me differently. You can't always rely on measurements and sience. Just think of those tube amps and how they behave, ... Speaker with 1A readings are not always the best sounding, etc.
There might be better cables out there, but not to my personal knowledge and experience and if something counts,
it is the results you achieve. I hope to get to hear better cables eventually, but not very likely. Mtc...
enjoy your expensive cables, i have a cheap fender cable that has half that capacitance and therefore i get more highs from my amp bass/amp. 10 bucks.
Now, ... if we only could A/B the overall sound of both cables, together....
I own a Fender cable (over here for 16 $), too. I often use it on live gigs. It is well build and deliveres for the price tag.
Compared to Vovox I'd say it can lead electricity with relatively low capacitance from A to B.
I guess, I am just thoroughly spoiled working in studios.
Peace .. ;-)
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click the link in the first post of this thread. go to the bottom of the page and look at the spectrum analysis link. you'll see frequency response graphs for the cables. you'll see they are all the same except the treble response which directly correlates to capacitance. lower the pF and more treble you get. yours has 22 pF/ft, the atlantic is far superior and if you want true hifi get that one.
If you believe that, so be it. If treble is your thing and only concern then this is fine with me. EndTrans.
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Has anyone tried the newer MXR Pro Series (DCIX) cable? I'm curious about its capacitance and construction quality. I know MXR typically makes good stuff.
