Guitar Cord

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"Unsubstantiated"

Monster does not publish any specs (other than length) for their cables. That, to me, means that WHATEVER claims they makes are "unsubstantiated." They offer vague terms of improved highs, or lows, or whatever, none of which is possible given the nature of signal propagation through metal wires. As far as the capacitance issue goes, at this stage of electronic design, anyone who designs and sells a guitar cord with incorrect capacitance must be an idiot.

Monster, their marketing and business practices aside, depend on the superstitious belief that pretty cables sound better.

Their cables ARE pretty, though.
 
yes, I suppose they are =)

I do think it funny that they have a "more images" option of individual cables in their online catalogue. Even more scary is that it seems some of the cables actually have multiple views. Its an instrument cable for heaven's sake - how many views do we really need?
 
:p this monster cable topic is beginning to take on the smell of gear snob-ism.

I don't care one way or another how they advertise. I don't care how "pretty" their cables are. I don't care what they say their cables can do, and I don't give a sh*t about them being able to "substantiate" anything. You need to use your brain and your ears when you buy anything music related, cables included. 90% of all advertising is just opinion. Sure they (no one specifically - just anyone) throw a graph in the ad and use it as "proof" that their stuff is the best, but unless it is measurable (like noise, signal stregnth, sheilding thickness, ect.....) it is all just opinion. And the "best" sound is not measurable. It is opinion.

This is why I buy monster cables:

They resist static and hum better than cheap cable. Although marginal, the signal IS better than a cheap cable. They are tougher than a cheap cable. You only ever need to buy it once in your lifetime.
 
Zed10R said:
:p this monster cable topic is beginning to take on the smell of gear snob-ism.

I don't care one way or another how they advertise. I don't care how "pretty" their cables are. I don't care what they say their cables can do, and I don't give a sh*t about them being able to "substantiate" anything. You need to use your brain and your ears when you buy anything music related, cables included. 90% of all advertising is just opinion. Sure they (no one specifically - just anyone) throw a graph in the ad and use it as "proof" that their stuff is the best, but unless it is measurable (like noise, signal stregnth, sheilding thickness, ect.....) it is all just opinion. And the "best" sound is not measurable. It is opinion.

This is why I buy monster cables:

They resist static and hum better than cheap cable. Although marginal, the signal IS better than a cheap cable. They are tougher than a cheap cable. You only ever need to buy it once in your lifetime.
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My objection to Monster is much more practical. I have one, a jazz series instrument cable. The thing just knots itself up, no matter what I do. After ten minutes, I can't get more than a foot from my amp. It's just not flexible enough to lie there like it should.
 
I agree; use your ears to judge. I A/B'ed a Monster cable against one I made myself for about 3 bucks (I used surplus connectors I had lying around and decent but nothing special cable). They sounded exactly the same.

And yes, their business practices alone are enough to make me not buy their products; there are plenty of alternatives.

http://www.madmartian.com/legal/
http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/10/1698908.php
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/1104/money.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...hive/2004/11/08/BUG1J9N3C61.DTL&type=business

YMMV.
 
boingoman said:
My objection to Monster is much more practical. I have one, a jazz series instrument cable.
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They have a jazz series cable? How much different does it sound than the Death-Metal series cable, it's wire?
 
I've had some cables I bought second-hand 6+ years ago and they're still lasting strong. Then, I have others, including the Fender Cali cables that have gone bad in a week flat (in fact, ALL of the Cali cables I've ever had have gone bad). Sometimes it's just hit and miss with how long cables last; after all, it can take only one unfortunate event to destroy a perfectly good cable.

The great advantage to Monster cables is not really their quality so much as their lifetime guarentee. Buy a monster, and a backup cable for that short period of time when you're first monster goes bad and you don't have time to replace it, and you'll literally beset for life. Think, spending 50 bucks and KNOWING you'll never have to buy another cable again, ever. It's pretty sweet, and very economical in the long run. Also, they don't seem to pick up quite as much noise as some other, cheaper cables... though I would NEVER suggest Monster for anything other than instrament or instrament speaker cables.

On another note, there is a company that makes cables that look like pay phone telephone cords. They're wrapped in metal and supposedly really durable. I have two friends who have 'em and swear they're wonderful and haven't had an issue yet. Also, they too have a lifetime guarentee that matches Monster's. On the downside, however, the metal casing makes the cable very heavy and very hard to pack up.
 
Imaduck said:
I've had some cables I bought second-hand 6+ years ago and they're still lasting strong. Then, I have others, including the Fender Cali cables that have gone bad in a week flat (in fact, ALL of the Cali cables I've ever had have gone bad).
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Duh, they're Cali(fornia) cables. You haven't been to CA lately, have you?

p.s., Charleston is my favorite city in this Country, and I've been to an aweful lot of 'em!
 
I guess it's a measure of Monster's promotional tactics that nobody has ever told me they use them because of "crisper highs and deeper lows."
 
This is just an ignorant guess-

you mentioned that the cords that connected the head and cab were going out as well.

Is it possible that your bandmates are not being careful in using speaker cords rather than guitar cords there?

You can sometimes fry a guitar cord if you use it to connect a 100 watt Marshall head with a 4X12.
 
ez_willis said:
They have a jazz series cable? How much different does it sound than the Death-Metal series cable, it's wire?
Click to expand...

That is a question best answered with an essay, if you know what I mean.
 
rxQueen said:
try the fender california cables. they have the ends covered in rubber so they take more beating. or monster cables.
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Ive personally had some bad luck with Fender cables. The only 2 cables I've had go bad were fenders, one a standard and one a california. Not to mention, they are more expensive than horizon, or some other name with less clout.
 
mandocaster said:
This is just an ignorant guess-

you mentioned that the head and cab were going out as well.

Is it possible that your bandmates are not being careful in using speaker cords rather than guitar cords there?

You can sometimes fry a guitar cord if you use it to connect a 100 watt Marshall head with a 4X12.
Click to expand...

Very good point. I never thought to bring that up. Many people don't understand the difference, and there is a big difference.
 
Imaduck said:
The great advantage to Monster cables is not really their quality so much as their lifetime guarentee. Buy a monster, and a backup cable for that short period of time when you're first monster goes bad and you don't have time to replace it, and you'll literally beset for life. Think, spending 50 bucks and KNOWING you'll never have to buy another cable again, ever. It's pretty sweet, and very economical in the long run.
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There is a music store here in Austin that makes their own cables and gives the same guarantee, and you can get three or four of them for fifty bucks.
 
jklsemicolon said:
Ive personally had some bad luck with Fender cables. The only 2 cables I've had go bad were fenders, one a standard and one a california. Not to mention, they are more expensive than horizon, or some other name with less clout.
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Funny...me too. But my horizon and MARS Music cables have never failed me either.
 
The number one reason cables go bad is being coiled poorly. If you want your cables to really last, you MUST over under coil them. The problem with straight over over coiling is you twist the wires inside the cable, which puts tension on the solder joints in the connectors. This tension makes the cable more susceptible to other stress (such as stepping on the cable).

If you don't know what I mean by over under coiling, find a video guy and ask him. They all know what I am talking about (their cables are expensive, and they can't be fixed effectively, so they take care of them).

And if they are using the elbow hand method, then you have found your problem right there.

For what it’s worth, I have a couple of those Spectraflex braided wrap cables which I have used for about 10 years, and they can really take a lot of punishment. And if you over under them, they don’t get tangled up on stage, which is the only real complaint I have ever heard about them.

Monster Cable is snake oil because they try to sell you their cable as being better sounding based on semi-mythological theories which have nothing to do with physics or any other version of reality. There is a way to make cables sound “better” (or at least more transparent), but all it takes is more copper. Then there is the oversized connectors they use, meaning that once you have used theirs, your jack is fucked for using other cable.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Right on, Light.

I have 30-year-old guitar cables that have always been over/under wrapped. When I catch someone wrapping one of my cables around their arm, I kill that person. It's extreme, but my cables are more important than some doofus acting macho.

Cables don't "give out:" they are destroyed by breaking the solder joints with the connectors, breaking the internal wire, or breaking the shielding. Arm-wrapping is a great way to accomplish all three.

Come to think of it, the last time I had a guitar cable that "gave out" was around 1973, shortly before I discovered over/under.
 
lpdeluxe said:
I have 30-year-old guitar cables that have always been over/under wrapped. When I catch someone wrapping one of my cables around their arm, I kill that person. It's extreme, but my cables are more important than some doofus acting macho.

Cables don't "give out:" they are destroyed by breaking the solder joints with the connectors, breaking the internal wire, or breaking the shielding. Arm-wrapping is a great way to accomplish all three.

Come to think of it, the last time I had a guitar cable that "gave out" was around 1973, shortly before I discovered over/under.
Click to expand...

I don't usually use over-under (aka "roadie-wrap"), but I put a full twist on every wrap, which accomplishes the same thing in keeping torsion out of the cable. The thing I don't like about over-under is if you pull a connector through to the wrong side and toss the cable out, then it's got a bunch of overhand knots in it. I also have cables that I've been using for 20-30 years, and if you wrap one of my cables on your elbow, prepare to be yelled at.

An idea a friend of mine came up that I have adopted with is to use those hair tie thingies with the two balls to keep the wrap together. I know folks who religiously roadie-wrap and then hold the wrap together with a knot in the cable, which sorta defeats the purpose.
 
and...<shudder> daisy chaining....


<bigger shudder>

It might work for climbing ropes, it doesn't work for audio equipment.
 
ggunn said:
I don't usually use over-under (aka "roadie-wrap"), but I put a full twist on every wrap, which accomplishes the same thing in keeping torsion out of the cable.
Click to expand...



No, it doesn't. It makes it worse. There are only two acceptable ways to coil a cable: over/under and figure eight. With either one, you are relieve the stress of each wrap with the next wrap. Anything else and you are fucking your cable.

If you tie the knot right, it does not damage the cable, but I still make velcro ties for each of my cables (bitch and butch pieces of sticky back velcro stuck together, and then looped around the cable and grometted together). Most of the companies I work for use unwaxed tie line at one end of the cable.

Also, I ALWAYS put my ties at the male end of the cable (on mic cables) or the amp end of the cable (I have right angle plugs on most of my guitar cables). I ALWAYS start at the cable tie end. If everyone on the crew does the same thing, you never end up pulling on two ends of the same cable.

I have really been in this business too damn long.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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