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Poll: Anyone using coiled instrument cables?

What type of bass cable do you prefer?

  • Straight cables

    Votes: 66 73.3%

  • Coiled

    Votes: 12 13.3%

  • Wireless baby!

    Votes: 12 13.3%
  • Total voters
    90
tb-player

tb-player

Why so serious?
Mar 6, 2019
6,705
29,946
East Coast, USA
#1
Recently, I’ve noticed a bit of a resurgence of coiled instrument cables. I was curious, so I did some digging and found that they’re believed to be useful to help bleed some high end off the signal, since the cable is significantly longer to accommodate the coils. Personally, I just think they look cool... kind of retro. :cool:

I’m curious who here uses coiled cables and why/why not. As a bonus, do you have a preferred length for whatever cable you do use?

coil.jpg
 
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#2
I think they look cool and I started out with them, but I strongly prefer wireless.

When I can’t go wireless, I use straight cables. 2 reasons. The first is that they are bulky and harder to wrap when transporting and setting up. In other words, less efficient to pack and carry.

The other reason is that by design, they are longer than straight cables for the same distance I can range away from my rig, which means more capacitance, a high frequency tone thief. I like some high end frequencies/harmonics and want to minimize anything that might reduce them. Truthfully, that’s probably more theoretical than practical at the lengths that most of us use (20 ft or less) and for bass as compared to a regular electric guitar.

I do like being wireless, though.
 
#3
Sometime in the mid- or late-1980s I got a super-heavy-duty coiled cable made by (I think) Whirlwind, and that was my main cable for probably 5 or 6 years ...right up until it failed 2 days before I was set to embark on a three month tour! Ran down to the local music shop, they didn't have an identical cable -- nor, iirc, any coiled cables -- in stock, so I bought a straight cable instead. Been using straight cables ever since.

Frankly, unless a coiled cable is as super-heavy-duty as that Whirlwind that I owned ~35 years ago, I'm not interested. And if it is as super-heavy-duty as that Whirlwind that I owned ~35 years ago, it'll probably pull my lightweight Class D amp heads right off the top of the speaker cabinets! So I think I'm done with coiled cables...still.
 
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#4
Bob_Ross said:
Sometime in the mid- or late-1980s I got a super-heavy-duty coiled cable made by (I think) Whirlwind, and that was my main cable for probably 5 or 6 years ...right up until it failed 2 days before I was set to embark on a three month tour! Ran down to the local music shop, they didn't have an identical cable -- nor, iirc, any coiled cables -- in stock, so I bought a straight cable instead. Been using straight cables ever since.
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Yeah, one of the websites I was reading said that coiled cables are more likely to break internally because of all of the motion & stretching of the coils, which makes sense.

Bob_Ross said:
Frankly, unless a coiled cable is as super-heavy-duty as that Whirlwind that I owned ~35 years ago, I'm not interested. And if it is as super-heavy-duty as that Whirlwind that I owned ~35 years ago, it'll probably pull my lightweight Class D amp heads right off the top of the speaker cabinets! So I think I'm done with coiled cables...still.
Click to expand...
I didn't think about that. Amps are definitely lighter than they used to be. That could be an expensive problem. I think I'd be willing to try a coil cable if it was super high quality (ie- Monster) and plugged into my pedalboard, not my amp.
 
#5
DrThumpenstein said:
I think they look cool and I started out with them, but I strongly prefer wireless.

When I can’t go wireless, I use straight cables. 2 reasons. The first is that they are bulky and harder to wrap when transporting and setting up. In other words, less efficient to pack and carry.

The other reason is that by design, they are longer than straight cables for the same distance I can range away from my rig, which means more capacitance, a high frequency tone thief. I like some high end frequencies/harmonics and want to minimize anything that might reduce them. Truthfully, that’s probably more theoretical than practical at the lengths that most of us use (20 ft or less) and for bass as compared to a regular electric guitar.

I do like being wireless, though.
Click to expand...
I agree about wireless. I have a nice Line6 wireless, but I get so much use out of my little Xvive units. They're really convenient.
 
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#6
i just played a gig with a younger cat (32 y.o.) who showed me his cool, new, coiled cable, and he said: "i thought it looked cool!" i could only laugh. :laugh:

my experience is about the same as @Bob_Ross's experience. i've been using straight cables for ~35-40 years. i too had the heavy-duty version(s) back then --- they probably weighed as much as some of my current axes!

i'm pretty 'fixed' when i'm leaning on, or sitting on a stool when i gig, so i don't really need wireless, but i sometimes use it anyway. i have a favorite cable with a right-angle, silent neutrik plug and that's what i generally use.

i voted "straight cables."
 
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#8
I detested coiled instrument cables from the time I started playing and still have no use for them. I never thought they looked remotely cool either. I'm not big on nostalgia for gear anyway; there's not a single piece of vintage bass gear that I have the slightest interest in. Straight cables for me, and if I ever go off those, it'll be for wireless.
 
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#9
No way man - too much latency.











:banghead:

Seriously though, those bloody things are a tripping hazard, as they inevitably levitate into the air, and bounce around like slinky.

They're also a nightmare to store for transport, especially if you have a box full of them - humankind has largely left the phone cord in the past for a reason.

24616772-buzzfeed-de-NSBG.jpg


33.jpg
 

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#10
I used coil cables 50 years ago as a kid. What did I know? I didn't think anything of it as I don't think anything of using straight cables now.

What I would want to figure out now is the best way to go wireless into a pedal board and then out to an amp.
 
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#13
vindibona1 said:
What I would want to figure out now is the best way to go wireless into a pedal board and then out to an amp.
Click to expand...
I actually do this a lot. I have 2 methods. One is a Line 6 G50 where the receiver is pedal-sized, and can be attached directly to the board. The other I mentioned earlier… Xvive U2 wireless system where the transmitter and receiver are both tiny. Just plug the receiver where you would normally plug your cable. Super compact, affordable and user-friendly.
 
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#16
tb-player said:
Recently, I’ve noticed a bit of a resurgence of coiled instrument cables. I was curious, so I did some digging and found that they’re believed to be useful to help bleed some high end off the signal, since the cable is significantly longer to accommodate the coils. Personally, I just think they look cool... kind of retro. :cool:

I’m curious who here uses coiled cables and why/why not. As a bonus, do you have a preferred length for whatever cable you do use?

View attachment 4889176
Click to expand...
I don't have any coiled cables currently, I do have the white ankle socks, and black shoes like that.
That makes me 2/3 cool. :cool:

I did use one circa 1968.
 

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#19
I use one for certain situations. At church it plugs into my Pitchblack tuner at my feet. Much better at avoiding cable length underfoot.

Also on a gig where I'm standing close to my amp/cab it's great and I love the look. I've never noticed a high end loss that wasn't instantly correctable via knobs on my bass.
 

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