Guitar Cables

[COOLCAT]

I need some new guitar cables.

read some articles...from $400 to $2.99.....wtf?

I've had some and recently several from my sons music-group of cheap tips that come loose....I have one thats working after 25yrs and has no brand name.

anyone building cables at the moment, that can share some parts recommendo's?

[goldtopchas]

Swichcraft plugs and Belden cable. Many a different "brandname" cord has been marketed using this combination. Don't waste $$$ on Monster or any of the other "pixie dust" boutique cables out there. Lifetime warr. are usually "limited", meaning if you actually use the cable and it breaks , then it MUST have been caused by abuse. Wrap them in about a 10" circle, and use some velcro cable ties. They'll last forever. nuff said.

[Topcat53]

Can't argue with what goldtop says, but I also like George L's stuff. Can get a roll of cable and a bunch of jacks for way less than one of those over-rated "boutique" cables and they are about as transparent as you can get. Some people don't like the no solder jacks but I've never had an issue with one coming apart.

[COOLCAT]

damn being an older one, the Switchcraft and Beldin still come up for "good stuff".

I was just looking at my cable that lasted forever and the other cheaper ones in my suitcase of cables that were cheap and troublesome.

one thing I noticed was inside the plug, not only was the cheaper wire used but the metal was flimsy as hell! damn big difference there.

its funny the one thats lasted has no name, the ink on the cable was worn off many moons ago.

also on two fender guitar cables I noticed the little spacer between the tip and the shaft were of different thicknesses.

and the cheaper cable used like a plastic for this spacer, while the Fender and old-glory cable used a brown cork looking material?

the Old Glory, I'll call the 25 yr or so cable...didn't use shrink wrap either.

and it had a cardboard sleeve and the chepo one used a clear thin plastic.

just some notes..

thanks for the inputs! Keep them coming.... anything.

wire gauge, solder type...good luck, bad luck... good free advice is always welcome!

[COOLCAT]

more cable ...ran around town, nothing available.
So noticing the cables laying around the place, I gathered some up for a quick check listen myself, and thought I'd share it via Soundclick snippet.

6 qty cables.
made a 2:00minute Soundclick sample, only thing changed was the cable for this little test.

(if your bored easily in listening, you can jump through the 2mins. to a cable)
0secs..Gold Monster 20ft $50
28sec...No Name brand 25 yr old cable 10ft $15???
54sec..1ft Red Tascam line cable $5
1:19..Monster 21ft $25
1:49..Fender Vintage cable 10ft $15
2:15..Fender California 10ft $15

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...?bandID=849636

bottom line- I won't be buying $50 Monster cables.

[Whale Bone]

+1 on Switchcraft jacks. I've had too many cheap 1/4" and female XLR jacks fail - all replaced successfully, i.e. only once, with Switchcraft. Probably other brands that work fine, too. Neutrik look nice, but the 1/4" jacks I've been offered have really wide bodies that are probably fine, but I feel safer with the traditionally narrow Switchcraft jacks for devices with tightly packed jacks.

[COOLCAT]

how can a person tell its a switchcraft? is there an emblem on them or marking?

[COOLCAT]

ok deleted the first link, threw the new shorter 1min cable test, in Waves, and noticed the drop out on cable #3. very cool....the LINE patch cable.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...?bandID=849636
(each cable is a A-D-A-E..next etc..10sec each apprx.)
(Order is the bottom cable-#1 Monster Gold, in the jpg to the top one fender California #6)

shorter version is:

Cable 1- 0sec.....$50 Gold Monster Top graph
2- 14sec
3- 24 sec.....Red Patch cable Lower graph
4- 34
5- 47
6- 59 sec

interesting little science exp..imo

Note to Self.. don't use Patch cables for Guitars.

[Whale Bone]

1/4" TS and TRS Switchcraft say it on the outer body of the jack, lengthwise. The XLR's are almost always use green plastic for the inner body where the pins are mounted. They also say Switchcraft along with pin numbers on the front-facing, outside face.

How did you do the test, by manually playing each time through different chords, or are you doing something like 'reamping', i.e. using the same source for each cable? I was thinking of trying something like this but with a keyboard that I can trigger exactly the same way each time with a MIDI sequence. Otherwise I would worry that I would play differently enough each time to register a difference in a graph.

[COOLCAT]

yes, a keyboard tone/notes would be even better. I just strummed each time, no reamp (though I thought of that too, it'd be one less variable), but I'm very consistent as you can tell with the other 5 samples versus the one.

this all came up recently to get some guitar cables.
and I like DIY so I wanted to make a couple or three. then next thing I know its all this?

IMO its wise to pay attention to the cables and a test like this is partially for fun, but I've found over the years all these little things add up to the whole.
there's some cheap crap out there too, but I'm at least wise enough to spot that stuff now.

..just thinking of keyboards & cables.... like Rick Wakeman/YES? damn he had like 3000 cables in his vintage keyboard setup! Journey to the Center of the Earth.

[Dani Pace]

Another thing to watch out for is cheap cables sometimes have slightly smaller diameter jacks. I've noticed that some tend to wobble a little and sometimes the tips will turn. These are signs that those cables will make bad conections, cut in and out, or be noisy.

[Somnium7]

Originally Posted by COOLCAT

yes, a keyboard tone/notes would be even better. I just strummed each time, no reamp (though I thought of that too, it'd be one less variable), but I'm very consistent as you can tell with the other 5 samples versus the one.

this all came up recently to get some guitar cables.
and I like DIY so I wanted to make a couple or three. then next thing I know its all this?

IMO its wise to pay attention to the cables and a test like this is partially for fun, but I've found over the years all these little things add up to the whole.
there's some cheap crap out there too, but I'm at least wise enough to spot that stuff now.

..just thinking of keyboards & cables.... like Rick Wakeman/YES? damn he had like 3000 cables in his vintage keyboard setup! Journey to the Center of the Earth.

That pic gave me a hard-on. Should I be seeking help?

[dementedchord]

Originally Posted by Somnium7

That pic gave me a hard-on. Should I be seeking help?

book me some time too... looks like arp 2600's and some of don buchlea's modules...

[GONZO-X]

i've used George L's cables for at least 25 years now.

they rarely fail.
i like the straight plugs.
not the angle plugs.

i also have custom guitar leads made at a local store, they're cheaper than the horizon and similar cables at GC...

Canare Cable, Neutrik ends.

[COOLCAT]

oh well, 2 more cables this weekend. a friend gave me a nice Belden and a Fender of some kind (Whirlwind Cable w/ Fender logo). Again I didn't hear any difference.

but in the end, Why not have a great cable! Its a cheap part of the chain. IMo. why scrimp on the cheapest piece of the chain?
Isn't that how one gets High Performance, is little bits at a time= the whole.
Permium Octane gas in a H-Performance car...etc..etc..

DIY....I couldn't find any cable locally, I drove around 10 stores nothing. Not even Radio Crap here had anything. I probably spent $15 gas driving around.

will I insanely chop off the perfectly good ends from my new free Belden cable, and put on Switchcraft plugs to complete my initial goal.....probably....because I am a gear addict...

[COOLCAT]

Originally Posted by Dani Pace

Another thing to watch out for is cheap cables sometimes have slightly smaller diameter jacks. I've noticed that some tend to wobble a little and sometimes the tips will turn. These are signs that those cables will make bad conections, cut in and out, or be noisy.

I measured all of these and they were about .248", I didn't measure any super cheap plugs... but don't doubt that happens too. After opening some up, one noticeable difference is the flimsy bendable metal used on cheap cables, while most plugs have very thick firm solid metal plugs.

Makes Switchcraft attractive, theyre only $1.99 each...

the loose fit was interesting comment,

there's about 6 amps here and so I checked out the "fit", there was a large difference in amps/female sockets. The best was a 1982 Peavey I have which is the old metal type, the Worst was a plastic loose crackling Behringer metal nut on a plastic thread that was stripped.., and the most expensive amp has a snug, but plastic jack.& not as good as the Peavey, imo.

I wonder, for fhks sake, why do they scrimp the extra 20cents per amp and put in cheap plastic loose sockets?

[Slowjett]

where can you get the belden cable online?

[Somnium7]

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a...CABLE/-/1.html
Not a bad deal for copper shielded cable.

Full Compass is where I ordered my Switchcraft plugs. Nobody had a better price at the time...
http://www.fullcompass.com/brand/SWC...hone-plug.html

Those synths in that pic - An Arp 2600, and a Roland System 100. The one on the left is a mystery to me though. I'm thinking it is a rare Synton 3000.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcl2rcrjjeo

[Slowjett]

Those links are for 2 conductor cable and 3 conductor plugs (witch you use withe the two conductor cable? Pos,neg,SHielding?). Do I want 3 conductor for guitar/instrument? That would a balanced/TRS cable correct?