What instrument cables would you recommend?

[rweiss]

We're getting ready to buy about 20 instrument cables and I wanted to make sure we would get a reliable brand. I'm hoping to get them off ebay for a cheaper price, but would like to hear what people had to say about various cables. What brands have the best quality? What brands are most reliable? - There's a lot of good deals on 'Pulsar' instrument cables on ebay - anyone have any experience?

 

[distortedrumble]

personally i've had expensive ones that break and cheap ones that are still kicking 5 years later...use it til it dies i guess is my philosophy

 

[SonicAlbert]

I would say that the main thing is to avoid cables with the plastic molded ends.

Most of the cables I use I made myself from Canare cable and Neutrik connectors. I also have some Mogami snakes. Another brand of cable I like is mode by Connectronics. In addition, I have some send/return cables made by Monster Cable.

But again, the main thing is to stay away from cables with molded plastic ends. Those have had the highest failure rate of any cables I've used, by far. And once they stop working you can't fix them, so they become a total waste of money at that point.

 

[GmanJeff]

I use Klotz cables from my guitar to my Boss GT-6, and from the GT-6 to the amp (Mesa-Boogie Mark IV). I also use Klotz speaker cables to connect the amp head to two Mesa cabinets, on the theory that the overall sound will be dependent on the weakest link in the equipment chain, so no point in using one good cable, followed by one or more cheapos down the line. I've had these cables for about two years, with no problems at all. I used a Monster Cable guitar cable before that, but it stopped working after about a year (I haven't bothered to open it up to see what's wrong ). I'm very happy with my sound, although I haven't tried to "A-B" the Klotz cables with anything else. I vaguely remember that Guitar Player magazine tested guitar cables several years ago. I believe that George L products were recommended in that article, but am not certain.

 

[GmanJeff]

P.S. Re Pulsar: if they're the cables made by a company called Pulsartech, I recently bought two 50' Speakon to 1/4" speaker cables from them directly from their website. They seem to be of very good quality, and are working fine. In addition, I had a question about the Speakon connector (wanted to make sure the internal wiring was what my PA head needed), and their customer service provided a quick and complete e-mail response. Delivery took about a week from when I ordered. I'd buy again from them; their product was about 1/3 less expensive than more mainstream brands.

 

[Halion]

I think, when it comes to instrument cables, Spectraflex is the way to go. They are not cheap, but they all have a life long warrantee WITHOUT having to keep the purchase ticket. The cheapest versions have a very durable rubber coating. Then the next line of cables has braided tweed around them. They are very flexible and they can stand pretty much anything. Then there's the Fatsoflex, which is said to be the best instrument cable in the world, and I can see why. It's very, VERY tough, and sounds great. I bet it would still work if I parked a dozen firetrucks on it. Cost me 70 bucks for 6 meters though.