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*Takes deep breath* Need 1/4" bass cable advice...

#41
Godswarrior31 said:
I've read several of the posts debating cheap vs. expensive cables etc. That seems to quickly become a war of words. For my own purposes, I bought an Asterope cable and a/b'd it against Livewire premium, Mogami Gold, and some old Monster cable, and I couldn't tell the difference. I really wanted to, but I couldn't. But I liked feeling special about having something that said "Mogami" on it, so I did keep that one...

But I need a new cable primarily because I need something of greater length than 10' (all I have at the moment) and I need at least one angled jack due to how my pedal board is set up. What are people's thoughts on:

1. Does an angled jack reduce sound quality over a straight connector? Asterope told me that it does, but I'm not sure I believe them about anything now...
2. Is there a noticeable loss of sound quality in the 15+ feet range? There seems to be some consensus that the answer is yes...
3. Is there ANY reason to buy a "bass"-specific cable?

I won't be recording with these cables; they'll be used live only.
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1) Not in my experience
2)Again not in my experience all of my cables are 20'
3)I've never even seen anything marketed as "bass specific" for cables. A 1/4" instrument cable is a 1/4" instrument cable.

Personally I prefer the Livewire cables from GC since they are cheapish and seem to last a long time. I've had my current cables for 5+ years except for like 1 or 2
 
#43
Godswarrior31 said:
I've read several of the posts debating cheap vs. expensive cables etc. That seems to quickly become a war of words. For my own purposes, I bought an Asterope cable and a/b'd it against Livewire premium, Mogami Gold, and some old Monster cable, and I couldn't tell the difference. I really wanted to, but I couldn't. But I liked feeling special about having something that said "Mogami" on it, so I did keep that one...

But I need a new cable primarily because I need something of greater length than 10' (all I have at the moment) and I need at least one angled jack due to how my pedal board is set up. What are people's thoughts on:

1. Does an angled jack reduce sound quality over a straight connector? Asterope told me that it does, but I'm not sure I believe them about anything now...
2. Is there a noticeable loss of sound quality in the 15+ feet range? There seems to be some consensus that the answer is yes...
3. Is there ANY reason to buy a "bass"-specific cable?

I won't be recording with these cables; they'll be used live only.
Click to expand...

Best cable I've ever owned:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#45
Bob Clayton said:
I've also stopped buying cables, way too much money over time. If you know how to solder you can do it yourself. You can get 25 feet of Mogami cable and 2 Neutrik connectors for ~$28 from redco.com. That same cable at GC is $55.
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This.

If you want to save money on a cable and have it exactly match your requirements, build your own.

If you've never done it, here's what's involved - even if this guy goes a little overboard IMO. Whether you go all the way with a fancy jacket or not the basic procedure is the same - and it's easy.



If you don't want to go that all out, this is a build for a less elaborate but still fully serviceable cable.



Mogami cable runs under a buck a foot. The connectors run around $3-$5 for an Amphenol or high end Neutrik. So a 12-foot top quality cable will set you back about $18 for a 12 footer. Compare that to about $40 for a similar quality cable with some company's name on it.

No brainer. Build your own.
 
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#47
Cables are (when it comes to loading a bass guitar (or regular guitar for that matter)) capacitors. Their effect on the sound depends on:

The source impedance of the bass. This can vary a lot on a passive bass depending on the pickups, how it's wired, where the controls are set, etc. On most actives, it's low and doesn't change much with the controls.

The capacity of the cable. This is a result of the type of cable (which has capacitance in picoFarads per foot (or per meter if you're from a modern country) and its length. When I buy cable, I bring along a capacitance meter so I get somtthing in the range I want - about 650pF is my standard cable capacitance.

Arguing over how much length affects tone is pointless unless you remove the other variables here. With some basses and cable types, you could have a half mile cacle and not hear the effect. In other instances, 10 feet would be audible.

Yes, I know about this stuff - Physicist with a few decades experience designing audio gear.
 
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#48
1. Does an angled jack reduce sound quality over a straight connector? Asterope told me that it does, but I'm not sure I believe them about anything now...
2. Is there a noticeable loss of sound quality in the 15+ feet range? There seems to be some consensus that the answer is yes...
3. Is there ANY reason to buy a "bass"-specific cable?

Not that I'm aware of.

I bought a pair of these about a year ago and they're still going strong without issue.

Amazon.com: Hosa GTR-518R Straight to Right-Angle Tweed Guitar Cable, 18 feet: Musical Instruments

I use Hosa brand right-angle pancake cables on my pedalboard too with great results.
 
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#49
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#50
A few years ago there was a beta offer by Elixir and I was able to get in on it and do a review. I'm glad I did. Best cable I did not have to purchase and sounds fantastic. Once I got it I changed one jack to a Nuetrik right angle silence type and never looked back:cool:
 
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#53
Hmm...so let's say my primary concerns are: 1) a cable that doesn't give out/crackle; 2) the best tone reasonably possible. In other words, a cable that doesn't suck and isn't likely to fritz out in the middle of a gig...is there anything to be said for the more expensive brands on the reliability side rather than sound quality?

I realize I own a number of what appear to be Proco patch cables and they seem to be hit and miss in quality...
 
#54
This is related to cables, but not brands or material. I recently bought a used Gretsch G5123B medium scale bass. The owner gave me some advice concerning cables used for hollow body basses which I am guessing would also apply to hollow body guitars and A/E basses. He told me to always use a cable that has a 90 degree "L" shape for the plug that plugs in to the input jack of the hollow body bass. His reasoning was that every time you put your hollow body bass back on your guitar stand while it is still plugged in, you risk bumping the plug that sticks out of the bass (if you're using a straight end plug) which puts pressure on the sides of the hollow body bass around the input. Over time this puts repeated stress on the wood and will eventually cause cracking to the side of the bass around he input jack. It made sense to me, but since I am a newbie I wanted to see who here agrees/disagrees.
 
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#55
I have never noticed a difference in sound between cable brands/types, but I typically stick around the same length of 20ft or so. What I HAVE noticed is that most cables I have bought have been utter pieces of junk and start crackling, popping, and just plain not working after about a year. This includes the really nice tweed Fender one that I paid good money for and was totally pissed when it stopped working.

So, I bit the bullet and spent extra cash on a Monster cable. Have had it 3 or 4 years now with no issues, so it has theoretically paid itself off if considering how often I went through other brands. I won't comment on whether or not it delivers better signal, but at least the damn thing still works.
 
#56
B-Mac said:
This is related to cables, but not brands or material. I recently bought a used Gretsch G5123B medium scale bass. The owner gave me some advice concerning cables used for hollow body basses which I am guessing would also apply to hollow body guitars and A/E basses. He told me to always use a cable that has a 90 degree "L" shape for the plug that plugs in to the input jack of the hollow body bass. His reasoning was that every time you put your hollow body bass back on your guitar stand while it is still plugged in, you risk bumping the plug that sticks out of the bass (if you're using a straight end plug) which puts pressure on the sides of the hollow body bass around the input. Over time this puts repeated stress on the wood and will eventually cause cracking to the side of the bass around he input jack. It made sense to me, but since I am a newbie I wanted to see who here agrees/disagrees.
Click to expand...

I kinda get it. I don't think the real issue is from repeated bumps over time weakening the wood...but I bet one good bump with that plug sticking out could give you a crack or other damage. It sounds like a pretty obvious fail point, so an "L" shaped plug is probably a good idea.
 
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#58
In my experience, the only cables that affect your tone are the ones that are poorly made and ready to fail. I have used cheapo cables, and had them die. I have a Monster cable that is 7 years old and has yet to cause me any problems. Your best bet is to get something with a sturdy build quality so it lasts, and to ignore the rest of the snake-oil.
 
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#59
James Simonson said:
I've heard that mixing metals is not good in a signal chain. Meaning, gold would only bring benefits if the entire path was gold.

Anyone care to elaborate?

I personally like the new Neutriks pop free tip. Seems far more important to never spike a soundman.

Neutrik NP2RX-AU-SILENT Right Angle Phone Plug with Gold Contacts and Red Shell | eBay

Low capacitance is the whole deal though.
Click to expand...

In my opinion* the only real benefit that comes from using gold plating is cosmetic. There is little practical difference in the electrical resistance of gold versus copper or other metals. There may be some benefit in the mechanical connection with the jack since gold is softer, it may give you a more reliable electrical connection than silver or chrome, but it would quickly wear off. You shouldn't see oxidation on silver plated or chrome-plated fittings either, but sometimes they skimp on the chrome plating and you start to see corrosion. There is no issue with mixing metals, that would only be a corrosion concern for a detrimental galvanic couple and would only happen if you submerge the cable, so not likely a problem. Since all gold cables are really gold plating on other metals, there's no such thing as an entire path of gold.

*I am a corrosion engineer
 
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#60
I never thought I'd be saying this, but I now mostly buy the Fender brand cables right off the rack. They wear well, they're not microphonic, no sound quality issues (active or passive), and they're reasonably priced.

I'm so not a Fender Fanboi. But based on repeated experiences, I'm sold. And they come in bright colors.

(As much as I love the functionality of right angle cables, I've had bad luck with durabilty, way too easy to break. The exception was an old switchcraft solid brass one, but that's something of a special order. :) )
 

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