• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Monster Bass Cable?

#21
I bought about three of those things when they first came out in the late 90's. I still have them, and have never had any issues out of them what-so-ever. I record with them and do live shows with them. They sound really good to me. Up until that time I always went through cables like drinking water, and most of them gradually got shorter and shorter from my fixing them. I have not had to repair or chunk these. They are a good value.
I cannot really say that they are any better sounding to my ears than any other cable I have used. To really be frank, I can't tell the difference anyway. There may be some differences between the one made now and then. The last time I looked at the standard ones they were made in China. Not that this automatically means thier quality is less, but some of the musical instruments, amps, and effects coming out of there have been less than stellar.
A lot of things marketed come with a bunch of hype, as may be the case here with these cables. I can say I am pleased with the ones I purchased. They are rugged and have lasted me a number of years. I have had no issues with them becoming tangled. They seem no worse than any of the others in that regard. Then again, the newer ones may be different.
I have bought a Plalnet Waves cable, and like it as well, but I keep coming back to my original three Monsters for most of my work.
Are they worth the price? Probably not, but I would have bought a lot more of the cheaper cables and spent even more money on them in the long run. :smug:
 
#23
I will say I love my Planet Waves, but they do teach you its ok to pull the plug out without tuning down the volume (noiseless plugs) but this can be a real problem if you do that on someone's rig who doesn't have PW cables

just a word of caution


edit: I wonder if using copper from different parts of the world, or space, would have an effect
 
#24
I tried out a friend of mine's Rock cable a couple of times and it seemed to add a weird thing at about 3k. It made my bass sound clanky. It could have just been that one though. I've not tried the Bass version. I'm just trying to go wireless.
 
#26
KJung said:
I'm not a 'Monster hater' like many here, but that Bass cable is a strange one. I have quite a few 'high end' cables that I've purchased over the years (Tara Lab, George L, various Monster, etc.) and EXCEPT for the Monster Bass cable, they all sound absolutely, completely, utterly identical.

The Monster Bass cable is the only cable I would not recommend. I'm not sure why, but that cable seems to reduce the delivery of the treble region of the instrument, making it 'seem' like more bass is coming through. I assume it's due to a change in the capacitance of the cable or something. Anyway, I guess I will give them some kudo's for actually making a cable that does sound different, but different is not particularly good in all cases.

The standard mid-line Monster all purpose cables are as good as anything else, and the price is about average (i.e., the same as George L's or whatever).

I'm digging the George L's at the moment. Again, they don't 'sound' any different, but the very thin wire makes it very easy to carry two 15' cables in my case without taking up much room.

Your Planet Wave cables are as good as anything else IMO... so save your money!

IMO and IME.
Click to expand...

My experience is that Monsters have attenuated highs. So it seems that the bass is boosted. This was fine with my previous rig but was quite a problem with a more accurate rig. I tried Bayou which is just Mogami cable with nice ends. Way cheaper. Total frequencies of my basses came through all these upper mids and highs and harmonics.
Cable can't add anything but it can take away. The plug ends on Monsters are slightly larger and you will notice that they do a slight stretch job to your jacks. More of an issue with vintage gear. But not cool in your bass either. If there was no hype and they didn't cost so much then it's not an issue. If you like them and they work for you cool. If anyone wants some 15,20,6 ft and effects length with angled plugs cheap PM me. Mine are retired but in excellent shape.
 
#27
A cable that to me sounds very open is the analysis plus oval pro studio.
It is amongst my favourites.
The one I feel , sounds most natural with no hype in either bass or trebel is a van den hul "the second", their "integration hybrid" is nice too.
There's a few more but these are what I tend to use ( there's zaolla-their interconnect rather than instrument cable- and vovox protect A that I use also on occasion).
 
#29
I just bought some Vovox cable from Lava Cable. Man I'm telling you the difference is just unreal. I've never heard clarity like it before.

I used to use George L, then I went to Mogami. That was a huge difference but the new stuff owned by Marshall is way too expensive. Cable Tek use to make a 20 foot cable for twenty bucks so I'm against buying then now at a hundred for the same thing.

I went to Lavacable and purchased the Vovox cable and it blew my mind. Every frequency just came through so clear and clean it was like a whole new bass rig.
 
#32
I used to use Monster cables, but after finding that I could improve the sound of my 'cheapy' cables by throwing them in the washing machine I've never looked back. Apparantly this process centrifuge-aligns the inter-molecular bindings of the metal, improving the sound out of sight. One friend described the new sound as 'deeper', another as 'clearer', and yet another as 'open, more spacious'. And I've noticed my rig sounds louder also - the improved 'alignment' must conduct electricity better, and hence allow more signal to flow from my basses' pickups.

Give it a try - just put your current cables in your washing machine (without or without water or clothes, I haven't noticed a difference yet), and experience the results for yourselves.

:hiding:
 
#33
Flounder102Bass said:
there the best cables you can get if you get monster cable it will give more power to the amp
Click to expand...

-20

I hope your joking!!:hiding:

If What bill says is true, then yes there is a very good chance you will loose treble with a Monster Bass Cable. I would call this defective also.

That Said, Passive Hi-Z pickups are going to be more sensitive to, cables that are too long or cables that have to high of a capacitance.

They actually can shift the resonace "Voice" of the pickup.

Low Z active pickups should be almost immune, to any issues with Cable Capacitance and inductance.

I think the most important things about an instrument cable should be:

1: Quality of shielding.
2: Minimal self noise.
3: Low inductance and capacitance.
4: Rugged connectors (Plenty happy with good ole' switchcraft)
5: Rugged Jacket nice and flexible.

I have a background as an electronic technician so I have a little schooling on some of these things.

Id like to dispel some myths.

Gold is a superior conductor to copper:
Absolutely False. The only reason to use gold is that its Non Corrosive, it doesn't tarnish.

It is however a better conductor than nickle which is what standard jacks are coated with. But the Impedance difference is not an issue since the input impedance of an instrument amplifier is normally around 1meg ohm.

Silver is the Best conductor of all metals, but it tarnishes; however, I have heard that tarnished Silver conducts about the same as non tarnished silver. But no one wants tarnished jacks.

As far as maximum power transfer. That is only a concern with RF transmitters, with carefully matched loads, maximum power transfer is important then, because any mismatch means extra power is reflected back into the RF amplifier and could potentially burn up the RF amplifier.

Just say no to over priced cables.
 
#34
unbeliever said:
I used to use Monster cables, but after finding that I could improve the sound of my 'cheapy' cables by throwing them in the washing machine I've never looked back. Apparantly this process centrifuge-aligns the inter-molecular bindings of the metal, improving the sound out of sight. One friend described the new sound as 'deeper', another as 'clearer', and yet another as 'open, more spacious'. And I've noticed my rig sounds louder also - the improved 'alignment' must conduct electricity better, and hence allow more signal to flow from my basses' pickups.

Give it a try - just put your current cables in your washing machine (without or without water or clothes, I haven't noticed a difference yet), and experience the results for yourselves.

:hiding:
Click to expand...


Sounds like a good way to get moisture into the cable and ruin the copper, after a few weeks or months.

I recommend this DIY mod!!:p

Gauranteed to liberate you from your cables quickly!
 
#35
spode master said:
Sounds like a good way to get moisture into the cable and ruin the copper, after a few weeks or months.
Click to expand...
Not if you cryo-treat the washing machine and de-ionize the water supply.:D
Meanwhile the ghosts of Lincoln and Barnum are arguing over who's quote best applies to the sillyness of expensive cables and those who buy them. :p
 
#37
Ive heard about those cables that are especially designed for the lowness of bass, but you won't be able to tell a difference in your tone, I can assure you that. The thing is that high quality cables are supposed to be able to transmit the entire spectrum of sonic alphabet with quality. I used to use monster cable but now I'm completely set on my Bayou Audio Cable, hands down the best cable I have ever used.

http://bayoucables.com/

The guy who makes them is named Butch and he's local here on TB.

Ive got nothing against Monster cables or any other of the high end cables, but Butch's cables beat them all IMO. You can custom order yours on his website. Everything from the length of the cable to the color and which connectors you would like on each end.
 
#38
chadds said:
I tried Bayou which is just Mogami cable with nice ends. Way cheaper.
Click to expand...

He uses Canare cable.

SpectorBass308 said:
Ive heard about those cables that are especially designed for the lowness of bass, but you won't be able to tell a difference in your tone, I can assure you that. The thing is that high quality cables are supposed to be able to transmit the entire spectrum of sonic alphabet with quality. I used to use monster cable but now I'm completely set on my Bayou Audio Cable, hands down the best cable I have ever used.

http://bayoucables.com/

The guy who makes them is named Butch and he's local here on TB.

Ive got nothing against Monster cables or any other of the high end cables, but Butch's cables beat them all IMO. You can custom order yours on his website. Everything from the length of the cable to the color and which connectors you would like on each end.
Click to expand...

Butch is swamped right now, and he can't take anymore orders for the next couple of weeks. You may have to wait a bit, but the price and the quality are unmatched.
 
#40
Bob Lee (QSC) said:
Is it April 1 already? ;)
Click to expand...

No really Bob the standing wave ratio of Audio frequencies, in cheap cables that are several miles long can be quite significant. Especially when there is an impedance mismatch.

How will one ever get maximum power transfer over their instrument cables.

Thats why Monster Cable has patented Magic instrument cables!!! They have smart technology with a special DC Bias to keep the Dielectric from polarizing at several Million Volts.

This cable is directional to AC signals! It has the ability to smartly match any load, and change the speed of wave propagation to make sure that everything is under 1/10th of a wavelength in the audio spectrum!! Regardless of cable length and GIRTH!!!!
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back