Preferred brand of cables?

  • Thread starter Thread starter kuhniget
  • Start date Start date
Can some one please explain to me how the quality of a cable or the jacks attached to them can increase or decrease the amount of feedback a guitar does or doesn't produce?

:rolleyes:
 
muttley600 said:
Can some one please explain to me how the quality of a cable or the jacks attached to them can increase or decrease the amount of feedback a guitar does or doesn't produce?

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
It can only do that when you really don't know what feedback is.
 
muttley600 said:
Can some one please explain to me how the quality of a cable or the jacks attached to them can increase or decrease the amount of feedback a guitar does or doesn't produce?

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Ok granted, wrong word usage. I meant I get considerably worse hum and the cables tend to short out much quicker. I can see the confusion there; yes i know what feedback is.
James
 
Tadpui said:
I'll never buy Monster cable...
Click to expand...

I second THAT motion. Monster sells (notice I didn't say "makes?") stuff WAY over-priced, with little demonstrated advantage. The company apparently also engages in some pretty mean, shady business practices- there is a website dedicated to the hundreds, probably thousands, of people who have threatened with baseless lawsuits from Monster Cable for- are you ready for this?- USING THE WORD "MONSTER" IN THEIR COMPANY NAME. Yep, if you are a small company and dare to call yourself, say, "Monster Hash" or something like that, Monster Cable's lawyers will eventually find out about it and threaten you with a lawsuit. There is also a persistant rumor that the end plugs of Monster cables are slightly bigger than standard- it makes their stuff plug in a bit stiffer than anyone elses, but also wallows out the hole and pins, so that, with time, everybody else's cables don't fit. Now, doesn't THAT suck?

Another brand I would avoid is KLOTZ, because they are also grossly over priced and I don't really believe their hype about "cables being capacitors" and their cables are supposably better than everyone else's because they have less capacitance. True, in theory, but I suspect that in real-world practice, there is no discernable difference. I am also not pleased that 20th Century Guitar Magazine was apparently quick to jump in to bed with them- a continued barrage of full-page ads in that rag got Klotz an "endorcement" from one of the rag's columnist- not exactly unbiased journalism, I think.
 
muttley600 said:
Can some one please explain to me how the quality of a cable or the jacks attached to them can increase or decrease the amount of feedback a guitar does or doesn't produce?

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Ya Me too...Has something to do with picofarads:rolleyes:

We did a double blind test with some high prices botique cables and some el cheapo cables.
we used the same amp and same guitar and the settings were all the same
and no one could tell any audiable difference between the high dollar cables and the cheapies.
IMO all these cable manufacturers who make these claims that their cables are audiably superrior to cheaper cables are selling snake oil.

the only thing about boutique cablesthat make a difference is the components and build quality are top notch and usually come with a lifetime guarantee. but to claim their cables are audible superior is nonsense.
 
The real suckers for the snake-oil-infused cable market are home stereo audiophiles. I've seen some really surprisingly terrible things targeted at that market. 3' cable pairs for $3000, wooden volume knobs for $100 or something, little blocks of wood or plastic that elevate your signal cables/speaker wire off the floor... that kind of thing. If anyone is dumb enough to buy it, fine. But if they have ANY delusion that it has ANY bearing on the final signal coming out of the speakers, then I have lost all faith in the capacity of human intelligence.

Exhibit A: Pear Cable
http://www.pearcable.com/

Exhibit B: Cable Elevators
http://www.musicdirect.com/product/73452

Exhibit C...oh fuck it somebody else has already done this:
http://www.ilikejam.org/blog/audio/audiophile.html

Now I have to imagine that some of these things are created solely to see if anybody out there is dumb enough to buy it. Some may not exist at all. But you know that some of these products actually have a market!
 
kuhniget said:
Oh, and price range= $60-$80, or more if you really make me believe it's worth it.
Click to expand...


I hope that's for your whole rig, because it's stupid to spend that much on one cable.


I use Spectra Flex from my guitar to my board. Why? Mostly because I have them, I like the way they look, and they are damn near bullet proof (I've had cymbals drop from 3-4 feet, edge on, to one of the ones I use regularly - you can't even see where it happened. Not that I'm recommending it...) Please note I did NOT say they sound better. You will never hear the difference in cables, I promise. If that's what you are after, don't bother. Belden cable and Switchcraft ends give you good quality, but there are a lot of other companies these days whose quality is comparable, so don't get hung up on it. Stay away from molded ends, too.

Whatever you do, do NOT buy Monster cables. There have been more than a few discussions about why, but it comes down to the fact they are asshole snake oil salesman who live their lives by the concept of scam. Their "improvements" have no basis in science, and their business practices are reprehensible. Also, as a retailer, I have a moral aversion to any cable with a MAP that gives a 500%+ margin. Actually, I have a moral aversion to MAP pricing, but the SEC (somewhat shockingly) is taking care of THAT issue right now.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Farview said:
ProCo are my favorite cables. I still have ProCo cables from the 80's that work just fine. I have them around the studio so that when someones Horizon or Monster cables crap out, I hand them a 20+ year old ProCo to save the day.

Screw Monster and their overpriced, snake oil bullshit.
Click to expand...

Ditto for me too Farview.
Got my ProCo in early '90's and it has never let me down.
Though when it comes to "boutique" cables I use Mogami/Neutrik.
 
I'm building a collection of mogamis, but only because my friend works at geetar center and gets 'em at cost:D. The build quality on the ends are incredible and they've got the whole lifetime warranty thing. I'm still probably pissing my money away though.
Awesome link BTW;)
 
Psht, I bought 4 of these about 4 years ago and all of them still work, sound good and noise free. Two of them I did have to replace the jack on but other than that they are good to go.

the Fender California Cables are also good noise free cables and have a lifetime warranty but are a bit stiff.
 
It's been my experience that the quality of your connector ends is very important.

+1 for the recommendation of Neutrik connectors. I've been very pleased with Switchcraft as well.

I'm seriously thinking about buying the GLS cable in bulk from http://www.speakerrepair.com and grabbing a bunch of Neutrik ends and making my own.

Anybody around here used the GLS cable? I know the microphones themselves have been highly recommended around here.
 
http://accessories.musiciansfriend....-Gear-Instrument-Cable-14-Straight?sku=333210

I probably have bought about 50-75 of these cables over the years, especially back when you could get 10 for $30. (now they're 9 bucks...thank you Geo Bush!) I've yet to have one go out on me, and I play live 3 times a week and roll over them with my chair in the studio. Been maybe 10 years since I started buying these. Plus, they're cheap enough that if your buddy needs one, you can just give it to them...with an extra. However, I will say some have come with thicker wire than others, and I've never taken one apart, so it may just be the insulation. I suspect they're 20 -22 guage wire if I was to guess. ...who knows?

People may laugh, I chuckle that these inexpensive cables work great for me while people spend their $$ on Monster, etc.

They're always the ones with the yellow shrink tube on the ends. (and the lousy reviews as MF !!)

btw, our bass player and keyboard players use them too.
 
mixmkr said:
http://accessories.musiciansfriend....-Gear-Instrument-Cable-14-Straight?sku=333210

I probably have bought about 50-75 of these cables over the years, especially back when you could get 10 for $30. (now they're 9 bucks...thank you Geo Bush!) I've yet to have one go out on me, and I play live 3 times a week and roll over them with my chair in the studio. Been maybe 10 years since I started buying these. Plus, they're cheap enough that if your buddy needs one, you can just give it to them...with an extra. However, I will say some have come with thicker wire than others, and I've never taken one apart, so it may just be the insulation. I suspect they're 20 -22 guage wire if I was to guess. ...who knows?

People may laugh, I chuckle that these inexpensive cables work great for me while people spend their $$ on Monster, etc.

They're always the ones with the yellow shrink tube on the ends. (and the lousy reviews as MF !!)

btw, our bass player and keyboard players use them too.
Click to expand...

I bought one, it lasted about 2 months. I cut off the crappy ends and replaced them with Neutrik connectors and it works just fine.
the cable is good but the jacks are crap.
you would be getting a much better cable if you buy the musicians gear braided cable; the braided cables use different ends and last much longer than these.
not trying to start an argument or anything I am just giving you the heads up on a better cable that are very comparable in cost.
 
ggunn said:
I'm no Bush (either of them) fan, but why would you blame him for the increase in the price of instrument cables?
Click to expand...

Because when Clinton left office, they were about $3 ea. No...I was being sarcastic, but I think there is an indirect link somehow. Musicians gotta blame someone. They never make mistakes, right :cool: If so, it's always the drummer or bass player.

The better MF cables probably now are the best deal, but out of 100 cable ends or more, I've yet to ruin any. That's a pretty impressive track record for me. But I've got "home built" that are going on 30 years now too!
 
mixmkr said:
Because when Clinton left office, they were about $3 ea. No...I was being sarcastic, but I think there is an indirect link somehow. Musicians gotta blame someone. They never make mistakes, right :cool: If so, it's always the drummer or bass player.
Click to expand...

not trying to derail this thread but dubbya is an oil guy and the price of oil skyrocketed almost to the point no one could barely afford it about a year before his going out of office. Yet he had the audacity to blame congress for the high oil prices like he had nothing to do with it... yeah right:rolleyes:I was born on a day but it was not yesterday. And lets not forget to mention how much the oil company's profited during that time period .Now that he is gone it is back down to where it is at least affordable.
I wonder how much ol dubbya put in his pocket during that price hike.

then again there was a lot of fishy shit that went on during his two terms in office that I will not even get started on.

ME thinks GWB was the worst thing that ever happened to the US economy
Me also thinks he was looking out for his own best interest and fuck the rest of us.:mad: BTW JMO
that is all.
we can now return to our regularly scheduled guitar cable thread.:D
 
Putting politics aside (something hard for me to do,) those Fender California cables look SWEET! I love to color code things, having different color cables makes tracing a cable much easier if you have a nest of snakes!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top