Guitar Instrument Cables - what do you all perfer?

[Michael_DK]

I totally agree with you. Some people think that in most of if not all the cases with cables, you are throwing your money away as far as tone goes. Totally not true. A cable can make as much of a difference as a pup change in some cases, for WAY less $$ and work. Also, you buy one of the good cables, and you are pretty much set for life, unless they stop carrying the cables like GC told me they did with my beloved Monster studio.

And speaking of pickup changes versus dollars... This is probably not even relevant to the SE line (I don't know for sure), and definitely not relevant to the core line... But a change of a volume pot can be friggin DRASTIC!!!

I have a Les Paul Studio 50's tribute, which is a cheap guitar. I switched the stock 250K volume pots for some 500K special taper ones. WOW. MASSIVE difference. Don't forget to fiddle with the cheap components FIRST, folks! The biggest difference was definitely in the taper. LPs in the middle position can't have much of a difference between the neck and the bridge volumes, or else the sound just disappears altogether. Before, I could have on at ten and only go down to like 7 or 8 on the other pup. Now it goes to at least 3, I think... Much more useful range. It also made the neck pup way more useful (more brightness).

 

[CoreyT]

Saw this in a newsletter I got over the weekend.
Yeah, it is a Gibson cable, but other cables are mentioned here.
It is a very cool idea.

The Gibson Memory Cable™ is “Inspiration Insurance”

The cable has a Tascam recorder built into it with memory, and can record up to 13 hours.
Pretty cool since you do not have to setup a separate recorder.

Update to that cable I mentioned above.
Andertons just released a video with the Captain using it.
To be honest, I think it is a failure almost, as you have to take out the SD card an insert it into another device to play it back.
You can just as easily record with another device.
The only cool thing is when playing it back your pedals can change the sound as you can see in the video.
I would never buy the cable though, to many other easier ways to "capture" that elusive riff in your head to play it back later.

 

[markie]

I think I have at least a few of every frigg'in brand out there ............................ I've never noticed any difference, except some brands are a little cumbersome. I'm thinking "Monster".

 

[darkinners]

Long cable I use Evidence audio Lyrics (home/studio use)

Gigs I use a really long Gotham cable with neutrik plugs that I made.

 

[László]

I think I have at least a few of every frigg'in brand out there ............................ I've never noticed any difference, except some brands are a little cumbersome. I'm thinking "Monster".

It's odd, Markie - I've used a lot of cables, and have noticed subtle differences, depending on the cable. Of course, whether those differences are significant to the player is another matter entirely.

I would never say the differences are huge, in fact they can be quite small. F'instance, compare a PRS/VanDamme cable to, say, a Mogami cable, and you're talking very subtle differences, mostly relating to EMI/RFI rejection, handling noise, and how easy the cable is to physically work with.

But compare a GeorgeL's to those two, and the differences become larger, with the GeorgeL's goosing the treble noticeably. The old Two-Rock cable was like a super-tweaked hi fi. Unfortunately, it was so stiff that it was like having a hula hoop attached to the guitar, and I found it absolutely unusable, even in the studio.

But as I said, it really can be difficult to hear the differences, and for the most part you're certainly not going to hear them in a band context - or probably even in a recorded mix.

No one ever says "Gee, that guitar sounds great, what cable did he/she use to get that awesome Tone!?!" Then again, for some players it's another link in the tone chain, and every little tiny thing matters more to some folks. Vive la difference!

 

[markie]

I can dig that Les. It's not like I ever actually A-B'd Cables before. And you are correct, I am typically in a "Band" setting. Once I get my stuff down (memorized), I generally do not play alone. I typically have music that I am playing along with. I will also sit on the couch (yeah, that couch ) and practice the harder parts unplugged, while I am watching TV.


Guess that's why they all sound the same to me! :tongue:

 

[vchizzle]

I can dig that Les. It's not like I ever actually A-B'd Cables before. And you are correct, I am typically in a "Band" setting. Once I get my stuff down (memorized), I generally do not play alone. I typically have music that I am playing along with. I will also sit on the couch (yeah, that couch ) and practice the harder parts unplugged, while I am watching TV.


Guess that's why they all sound the same to me! :tongue:

That's the case a lot of the time in a band situation. Only one time have I noticed a pretty audible difference when changing cable brands. Over 10 years ago I had a lot of Monster "rock" cable in my rig. After a couple cables went bad in a short period of time, I became fed up and decided to change ALL of my cables in my rig. Worth noting that my rig is large with multiple amps, cabs, pedals and a switching system(Voodoo Lab). So it was a lot of cable. I decided at that point my best option would be to make all my own cables for 2 reasons...
1) I could cut all cables to the exact length needed
2) It would be significantly less expensive(probably less than 1/2 price) to build quality cables of the same parts, although very time consuming.

In the end, I chose Canare GS-6 cable as it seemed to be the best quality cable at the best price. Heard good things about it too after a bunch of research. So after I got all the cable replaced, I noticed that my rig had more clarity. Not really thinner or brighter, but less muddy. It was actually noticeable in the band mix because my guitar cut thru the mix a little better. I'm still using it today. I really need to go thru and redo my rig again as I've changed a bunch of stuff several times since then and it's getting a little messy and unorganized
I've been putting it off cause it's a lot of work :bawling: Shouldn't be quite as bad since most cables are already made, but still.

On a side note, I made 2 cables of 20 ft. 1 Canare GS-6 and one with whatever cable is used on the Mogami gold. I compared them plugging straight in the amp, clean and heavy distortion and noticed very little discernable difference. Certainly nothing that made me think one sounded better or different enough to change anything.

 

[Rookie]

straight ends and the silent Nuetrek end on it

Minor sidetrack.
Have you had any issues with the Neutrix silent ends? Popping? Failing?
The center has to move in the shell before contact is made. Seems like a recipe for disaster.
Although I like Neutrix in general.

 

[CoreyT]

Minor sidetrack.
Have you had any issues with the Neutrix silent ends? Popping? Failing?
The center has to move in the shell before contact is made. Seems like a recipe for disaster.
Although I like Neutrix in general.

Not a bit, and I still think that PRS cable with the Neutrix silent end on it is one of the best cables I have ever seen.
I use that at home all the time when I am not running the Line 6 G50 wireless that is on my pedal board.