Guitar Leads !

BSOM

Hi Guys,

Just looking into a few different types of cables for instruments at the moment and looking to find out what people are using ! I know there are the main stays like Planet Waves, Bespeco, Cable Guy, Monster, Elixir, Sonar etc.

But how to people feel about cables ? Is it a case that they tend to get lost or broken so you go for cheaper ones or is it an investment in tone ?

Looking forward to hearing from ye.

J

Alanstrainor

I have a planet waves cable at the minute....couldn't tell you which model, but it's robust and hasn't broken on me yet after ~ 2 years. I wouldn't go spending a huge amount on cables tbh, all i want is something that's not going to break when/if you step on it in the middle of a jam. If anyone can show me a difference in tone between a €4 cable and the most expensive boutique cables i'll.......do nothing....but be surprised!

rcaz

I don't bother with cables = tonez. I play into around 9 pedals most of the time, some true bypass, some buffered (some good buffers, one particularly awful), so I don't think I have that much 'real guitar tone' left to preserve... I also hate all the lies that go into marketing guitar cables.

I voted Bespeco. I got one of their cables 'cause it was a decent thickness and it was a cool light green colour, and I liked how it was sturdy and had screw-off covers so I could fix it myself if it was a plug problem. I've had a few of those Planet Waves cables with the most complicated bull**** marketing written all over the packaging, gold-plated plug, all that kinda stuff, and they broke on me. So I'm done paying €20+ for cables.

I have six of the Planet Waves patch cables though. They're the best ready-made patch cables I've found in shops (which isn't really saying much), and they do the job fine. Pricey enough (€15 for 3 cables), but since they barely get moved around at all, and there's no danger of stepping on them/rolling them/swivel chairs, so I guess I'll have them for life.

There's a line for me... Not too expensive and not too cheap. And preferably user-serviceable

Yakult

Have a few planet wave cables and monster cables. Cant fault either.

Their is a slight sound difference between high end cables compared to lower end cables. Only way I could discribe it is a blanket being lifted off the amp. Just a tad bit more clarity. Not enough to justify the price differences tho imo.

Grolschevik

I've used the same two Whirlwind cables for more than ten years, a 10 footer in front of my pedal board and a 15 footer to amp. At this stage, I reckon that they're damn reliable!

On my board, I use a mix of no-name patch leads and Planet Waves gold-plated voodoo "ooh it really matters which end of this tiny little cable I plug in where" jobs. Can't tell the difference...

Different cables may sound different -- as one component always does from another -- but I, for one, couldn't be bothered to care too much, as long as it sounds good and is reliable (and the latter is the more important, in my books).

PS: Haven't seen Whirlwind leads around for a long time. Do they still exist? Bought out by someone? Called something else? As I haven't had to buy a lead in ten years or so (again, how can you beat that as a recommendation?), I'm not sure what the score is...

Gaspode

I've tried lots of different types of cables over the past 25 years, and have yet to be convinced that the more expensive ones were worth the investment.
Absolutely there is a minimum level below which you cant go due to lousy insulation, buzzing and short shelf-life, but tbh, I dont think the more seriously expensive ones are worth the amount charged for them.

I tend now to get generic cables from Thomann (Ssnake €8-10) and they are fine - I have some that are at least 5 yrs old and still in good nick.

I would agree with above poster that reliability is most important. Last thing you want is a load of buzzing or dropped signal when you're gigging.

-Chris-

Planet Waves for the long cables and George L's between the pedals.

I don't know if they sound that much better, but it always seemed like a cheap lead lasted me less than 6 months before crapping out, whereas the "better" cables get lost long before they have reliability issues.

Also, it makes me feel more confident knowing that I have decent equipment.

rcaz

-Chris- wrote: »

Planet Waves for the long cables and George L's between the pedals.

I don't know if they sound that much better, but it always seemed like a cheap lead lasted me less than 6 months before crapping out, whereas the "better" cables get lost long before they have reliability issues.

Also, it makes me feel more confident knowing that I have decent equipment.

I've heard of loads of reliability issues with George Ls. How do you find them?

-Chris-

Perfect for me, although they're hardly under stress - my pedals are all snugly attached to a Boss BCB60. The George L's have been plugged and unplugged 10 times at most, and won't be moved until I change a pedal again.

I can see how they have the potential to be glitchy though, if they're not tightened properly, or if they weren't on a board and you were plugging and unplugging before and after every gig/rehearsal, they'd probably work loose without you noticing it.

dannyluvsu

I've been doing a lot of research into this in the last few weeks cause I recently added a G-System to my set-up and I wanted to get some quality cables to prevent tone loss. What I've concluded so far is;

1) If I believed all the hype and "major amounts" of tone I'm apparently losing by using inferior cables then I'd have spent about €500 on cables so far - they get ridiculously expensive.

2) If I was going to record an album in a high cost studio I'd probably get a few Evidence Audio cables for direct connection to my amp purely because Steve Stevens and Peter Thorn claim to have used them (I doubt I could detect enough sonic difference to merit the price tag, hence the name dropping)

3) As a result of using the G-System the majority of what's in my set-up is bypassed anyways via various loops within the G so I'm not losing a lot of juice anyway.

Feel free to correct me on any of this lads, like I said I'm only still looking into it BUT I did find this..! Not bad for a few decent quality patch cables and he offers international shipping!

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2321196

Taxpayer

Interestng results BSOM!
I wonder why most people use planet waves?
I think packaging must be important after all.. being generic and all that.
I agree with El Pr0N- easy maintenance is important, but in this day and age we expect our leads to last without constant screwing and unscrewing of Jacks and firing up soldering irons. Nice clean joints, decent shield and easy to fix when joints go dry or become disconnected. Rubber lycra jobbies manage to stop us destroying cables (as we do..) when coiling them too.

In my humble opinion, the new titanium Bespeco Cables appear to be armageddon proof. Having said that the only problem I ever had with a Bespeco cable was the bass player robbing it.....

Marshall Ireland

BSOM wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Just looking into a few different types of cables for instruments at the moment and looking to find out what people are using ! I know there are the main stays like Planet Waves, Bespeco, Cable Guy, Monster, Elixir, Sonar etc.

But how to people feel about cables ? Is it a case that they tend to get lost or broken so you go for cheaper ones or is it an investment in tone ?

Looking forward to hearing from ye.

J

Every piece of crap pick up by a cheap cable is processed by your FX - amplified by your preamp and then amplified again by your power amp. Buy cables made by manufacturers who specialise in pristine signal tranmission, that's my advice. For the record I voted for Bespeco.

Demeyes

I don't mind what cable I'm using as long as it is a decent thickness and has good quality jacks on it. I'm getting some new leads soon and I'm just going to get some of the thomann ones with the neutrik connectors. I've had a load of planet waves ones and when they work they are great but I've had a few that started cutting out pretty quickly. They have a lifetime guarantee though so shops will replace them for free.

Bootsy.

I don't mind so long as it's coily! The main lead coming from my guitar has to be a coiled cable, no idea why, it's just a 'thing' that I have. Any kind that's not crap. Currently using a Vox one that I've used for years and it's still going strong! I'd deffo vote for Vox if I could, great quality.

For everything else, I like Planet Waves (got my vote). It just happened to be the decent quality brand stocked in my local music shop and I've never had one break (and don't even have a case for pedals and leads, I just throw them in a bag). I hadn't heard of Bespeco before but I'll check them out next time I'm looking.

I used to use cheap cables but they always break eventually.

Incidentally, I remember reading about some audiophiles who did an A/B test between top of the range cables and coat hanger wire. Most of them couldn't tell the difference.

-=al=-

-Chris- wrote: »

Planet Waves for the long cables and George L's between the pedals.

I don't know if they sound that much better, but it always seemed like a cheap lead lasted me less than 6 months before crapping out, whereas the "better" cables get lost long before they have reliability issues.

Also, it makes me feel more confident knowing that I have decent equipment.

aye exact same brands 'ere for al too


noticed a difference when i swapped all my pedals and small connections to geaorge l's gotta admit

eoin5

http://f2musicstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1134

Really nice lead for not much, gonna get elixer or similar eventually.

Seziertisch

In my experience, "better" cables do indeed sound better. If I had to pick/recommend one manufacturer it would be Evidence Audio. Their cables sound excellent and can be bought in bulk by the foot, allowing you to make up your own and save some cash.

Out of the non-boutique cables I tried, I thought the Planet Waves sounded best (quite balanced). The George Ls were also a significant step up from most of the other stuff, but had a signature sound (brighter top, less bass) which I found to be slightly tiring after a while.

The Vovox stuff is also excellent, and has the advantage of having a dealer here in Ireland (Audiowarehouse in Dublin) which offers their stuff to demo with no obligation to purchase. Probably a good place for anyone who is skeptical about cables making that big a difference to start.

novarock

I stick to the cheap ones. the last set of planet waves that I bought wrecked a barrel jack on one of my basses...

Taxpayer

Bootsy. wrote: »

I don't mind so long as it's coily! The main lead coming from my guitar has to be a coiled cable, no idea why, it's just a 'thing' that I have. Any kind that's not crap. Currently using a Vox one that I've used for years and it's still going strong! I'd deffo vote for Vox if I could, great quality.

For everything else, I like Planet Waves (got my vote). It just happened to be the decent quality brand stocked in my local music shop and I've never had one break (and don't even have a case for pedals and leads, I just throw them in a bag). I hadn't heard of Bespeco before but I'll check them out next time I'm looking.

I used to use cheap cables but they always break eventually.

Incidentally, I remember reading about some audiophiles who did an A/B test between top of the range cables and coat hanger wire. Most of them couldn't tell the difference.

Coily is it? Don't be trying to blind us all with your techy terms there Bootsy!

new fang

i bought a couple of coiled cable for around a tenner for two a while back and they're still great

paying for the planet waves or fender name would have tripled their price

Sergio

Taxpayer wrote: »

Coily is it? Don't be trying to blind us all with your techy terms there Bootsy!

How is the term "Coily" assumed to be a technical word???

Fingers Mcginty

Evidence audio cable between my geetar and amp at home.
Onstage I would use a death valley cable.

BSOM

Great feedback lads, im going to take a look through fully what everyone is saying and do some more research.

Strings.ie

We were offered the new Elixir cables a while back but I declined to stock them as 50 Euro or so for a cable seemed to be taking the Michael.
Has anyone tried them/think they are worth it?

As a side note, here is a tip for anyone with Studio monitors or high-end home hi-fi. Use electrical cable. Cheap as chips and the copper content is much higher than high end audio audio cables costing hundreds of euro
Only downside is its ugly.

Bootsy.

Colinboy wrote: »

How is the term "Coily" assumed to be a technical word???

Eh... I think he's havin' a larf!

shizz

Im sure its been said, but you can't go wrong with Planet waves cables.

Although admitedly one let me down during a gig and I had to practically stay still for it to work, I replaced that cable at no cost, at any shop that sells them, because of the life time guarantee. So technically, you only ever have to buy one cable*

*obviously depending on the amount you need and how insane you are.

-=al=-

I only ever had one broken PW cable... and ive a few, they're a decent all round medium at a reasonable cost

Just look after them, wrap them correctly after use and they will last forever