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Guitar Cables


johnny_uk

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I've always used any old guitar lead, but really want to step out of my ignorance and buy a good quality lead. We all know (or do we?) that a good quality lead will convey the best quality tone. Do gold tipped connectors really make a difference as the type of wire and insulation?

 

What do you guys use and why? Any recommendations?

 

Anyone using wireless?

 

Many Thanks

 

Johnny[/color]

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Yea, cables make a difference. For instance I was using Fender vinatge-volt and they are good, now I am using Fender premium cables, they sound fuller and the materials are better, sadly they have a lot of issues with the connections at the terminal which makes them noisy sometimes. I got them for free.

 

Cables sound different, so it is hard to say which ones you will like. Price is a good indicator as to durability (with the exception of Fender premium it seems).

 

Hard to spend a bunch of money on cables but they are an extension of your guitar. Just not as pretty.

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Yea, cables make a difference. For instance I was using Fender vinatge-volt and they are good, now I am using Fender premium cables, they sound fuller and the materials are better, sadly they have a lot of issues with the connections at the terminal which makes them noisy sometimes. I got them for free.

 

Cables sound different, so it is hard to say which ones you will like. Price is a good indicator as to durability (with the exception of Fender premium it seems).

 

Hard to spend a bunch of money on cables but they are an extension of your guitar. Just not as pretty.

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I use a sennheiser wireless system... great thing... but I would recomend it only to people playing medium and large sized venues... When I play in small places I dont even bother taking it with me (the reciever is rackmountable.. which means, rack, power conditioner, and other stuff).

 

If you plan on buying a wireless I would recomend sennheiser, no signal coloring or loss.

 

For studio and home use I have some cables of asorted brands (from mogami to cheap fenders that came with fender guitars, some horizon, monster and planet waves cables too, well actually I just sold all monsters) and most of them do the same... the one brand that colours the sound a little is planet waves... they make your sound kind of bright, which I dont like as I already play through a bright amp, so I dont use those PW cables.

 

Some people swear by George L's cables... check them out, they are great and not as expensive as monsters.

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I make my own using Canare GS-6 and Neutrik ends.

 

GS-6 is a high-quality Japanese cable which has low capacitance and is robust.

 

Neutrik ends are robust and look cool.

 

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I did try a Fender cable recently - not the premium line and there was a noticeable difference. A lot less signal seemed to come through with that particular Fender cable.

 

RN

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Guitar Player magazine did a comparison article a few months ago. I don't remember all of the results but I remember that their top pick was the DiMarzio Steve Vai guitar cable ($100 for a 20 foot cable). George L's had a good review and some that I've never heard of were top picks.

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i personaly like those coiled cables like hendrix used alot. i have never used them, but they look cool. and also just cause the cable is "nicer/more expensive" doesn't mean that it is better tone. i have heard that stevie ray vaughn just used cheapo radio shack cables.

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You know... back in the day guys (like jimmy and... jimmy) didnt really have an option, they used what there was to use... now we have so many options, and every designer/builder/maker will tell us why his product is better... I find it overwhelming at times. I am just glad I finally found MY tone and the setup that works best for me.

 

(I'd really like to have some of those nice VOX cables tho... )

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Just make sure that the jacks are not cheap feeling and that, when plugged in both ends, you can not hear noise when the cable moves or is knocked. Some cables drop a little more treble than others and this is worse on longer runs - but that don't mean it's a bad thing. Sometimes the slight drop in real high frequencies can improve the sound.

 

A $10 dollar cable will be a lot better than a $1 dollar cable all round. A $100 dollar cable will be a little better than a $10 cable - but not $90 better. Diminishing returns.

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My experience has been that it, for the most part, is all about the plug-ends and less about the actual cable (unless you're comparing say, an Ernie Ball Spectraflex and some cheesy freebie cable that came with your guitar, that's a major difference). I've got various cables by various makers, ranging from clearance specials and those that people gave me that "just stopped working" (solder connection broke loose or a stray strand causing a ground-out) to a couple of middle of the line $30 20-footers. You know what makes the more expensive ones cost more? The nicer plugs. I bought a handful of Switchcraft plug-ends (need to redo some with angled ends though, since all my guitars are SG's or similar), and commenced to removing those cheap stock plugs. Wonderful results. I don't feel like spending $50 or more on a cable to use live, because they just get abused (I'm not a wimpy or "easy" player, I get into my work and use my tools HARD). I have my nice braided, gold-tipped Gibson Historic case-candy cables for studio use, and I'll fix and re-fix cables until they're shot (and then I make 10-footers or patch cables out of 'em!). Invest a few bucks in some nice plugs if you have a decent cable and be done with it. It's more satisfying than spending $80 on some Monster cable (or other high-end something or another) and noticing minimal improvement if ANY. No cable will make a Squier Affinity guitar sound great through a cheap practice amp, but your Gibson/Epi will respond nicer to quality plugs through a non-crappy amp. Just don't spend more money on a cable than you do on a week's worth of groceries. Think about what most of your (or OUR) heroes use/used. The cable quality in the 50's, 60's and 70's were not much better than the low-end Radio Shack no-name instrument cables, and we cherish those tones. Just fix the plugs! :)

 

H-Bomb

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