Are good cables REALLY worth the extra dosh?

[JAZZGEAR]

I did a direct A/B comparison of my Peavey cables with Monster cables and I noticed nothing. The only cables the make an audible difference to my ears are speaker cables. A good quality speaker cable will have more punch and clarity than a generic speaker cable.

Lol! On the contrary, a speaker cable impacts little to close to nothing to the tone unlike good quality instrument and patch cables. There is a clear and audible difference between the tone of say a monster rock 500 instrument cable and a Mogami. The monsters are muddier or more dull sounding while the mogami allow more highs to pass through, so they sound chimier or clearer.

 

[TremoJem]

When I bought my first Tremoverb, the seller thru in a Mogami Gold Instrument Cable (W2524/Neutrik).

I compared this cable to every cable I had in my bag.

Hands down... NO comparison. I now use nothing but Mogami Gold for signal chain and make my own cables using Mogami W2319/Neutrik for switching FXLoops and Channels on the amps (Mesa foot switches that come with amps). I also use the W2319/Neutrik for my volume pedal that runs into the GMajor.

I am building a pedal board and will use nothing but Mogami for that too. I also ordered all Neutrik Gold locking jacks for signal and Switchcraft for switching. I ordered bulk W2524 and W2319 for signal and switching respectively.

I don't claim to be all knowing, but I do hear a difference.

Hope this helps.

 

[gonzo]

still using George L's cables.

still have awesome sound.

still laughing at people who spend $100+ for a 12' cable.

 

[benjamin801]

Also AC-power cables do improve your tone, if you're using tube amps. Here's the trick:

http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/pages/mainframe.htm

These are the best $10 you could spend to improve your tone, I'm serious.

Eh. Crack open your amp. Look at the wire running from the IEC jack to the power switch. Understand that any current that's flowing through your AC cable is also flowing through that, and ask yourself why a thicker AC cable, or one of a different composition, would make any difference. Hell, if you have a newer, mass-produced amp, power may even be flowing through PCB traces.

 

[bendo]

I've been using Fender Golds (got them free with an amp purchase this summer) and there is a noticeable difference between the Fenders, and say a standard LiveWire cable. The Fender's pick up less noise (Plasma TV) than a standard LiveWire. And, on the 15 footers, there is less attenuation with the Fender cables. Of course, the Fender cables are much heavier than the LiveWire cables. But yes, a good cable does make a difference.

Now, all of that being said, I got the Fender cables free. But, now that I've used them, I would probably drop the extra dough on them if one had a problem, or I needed extras.

But, what pisses me off the most about the high end cables, the molded ends. Have to completely replace the plug to repair a damaged connection. Can't just spin back and re-solder.

 

[tonefordays]

Suffering from mild tinnitus as I do, the differences between bad and good cables stands out to me even more. I have recently rewired all my patch cables for my 2:90/Triaxis/G-Major 2 with George Ls, and it has made (to me) a definite audible difference over the mishmash of cheap patch cables I had been using. My guitar is plugged in using an Evidence Audio Lyric HG. It makes a difference all on its own.

 

[TremoJem]

I did a search for the George Lynch cables.

I could not find any.

I found one that was "Scary" at $139.00, and a "Signature" for $79.00.

But really what about just regular George Lynch cables. I know I have seen them and they were not that expensive.

The "Scary" one is a signature O2, directional, whatever voodoo magic with snake oil sprinkled on, on the same page as Vai's where there is artwork etc.

I just want to find some George Lynch working man cables.

Please advise.

 

[gonzo]

try this GL instead....

http://www.georgelsstore.com/

 

[topcat0399]

Someday I'll get somebody to give me a grant to do a blind study.

It would probably come out like the coke/pepsi studies.... :lol:

 

[talltxguy]

I know there are better players on the this board than I will ever be! And they will tell you that they can't hear or feel a difference between great and average cables. These great players also have better musical ears than I'll ever have! I don't think they're full of crap, nor do I think they are cheap. On the contrary, I think maybe their choice in guitars, tubes, bias settings, string gauge, and ultimately, playing style, contributes toward their ideas about cables.

But hey, somebody mentioned a Pepsi challenge, which I think is a great idea. Why not buy a nice set of cables (instrument, speaker, & patch) and a cheap set of cables? Have a friend hook your rig up with one of the sets and keep your back to the rig and play it. Then have him change the cables out and do it again. See if you can tell the difference.

I believe high quality cables sound and feel better although I think they are less a piece in the tone puzzle than other things such as variacs, tubes, strings, guitars, speakers, amps, etc.

 

[jpdennis]

... "Ring out" your cables with a mulitmeter ... interference is another question ...

Drat, there goes my secrets LOL :lol:

+1

Dennis

 

[bluestometal]

Of course they make difference in sound. Just A/B some random Proel or other "basic" brand cables with any higher-end cables (Reference, PW, Monster, George L's) and you'll spot a huge difference on the noise a cable can add and the clarity, upper/lower frequencies it can cut off. Of course it also depends on the rest of you rig (any very bad element in your chain can ruin the whole sound despite of how good intrument/patch/speaker cable you use). I wasn't so aware about cables years ago 'till I started using more expensive rigs and a guitarist I was sessioning with asked wich cables I used and when I said "I don't know, I just buy random cables of the lenght I need" so he looked at me with a "you drink champagne in plastic cups?" expression

 

[thunda1216]

Here is a test. "Ring out" your cables with a mulitmeter. You will find for similar length cable, the resistance is similar across brands. This is the only factor that will "inhibit" sound, the resistance of the conductor.

Now, interference is another question. So long as the insulation is good (last time I checked, cross linked poly ethylene is....cross linked poly ethylene), and there is sufficient shielding attached to an appropriate gound, the amount of interference should be similar.

Bottom line, avoid the cheapest, Made in Kazhakstan cables on the market, but do not buy into the hype of adverstising.

-JUS-


ps. Planet Waves cables work great.

+1

 

[Deathf***ingmetal]

Also AC-power cables do improve your tone, if you're using tube amps. Here's the trick:

http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/pages/mainframe.htm

These are the best $10 you could spend to improve your tone, I'm serious.

Eh. Crack open your amp. Look at the wire running from the IEC jack to the power switch. Understand that any current that's flowing through your AC cable is also flowing through that, and ask yourself why a thicker AC cable, or one of a different composition, would make any difference. Hell, if you have a newer, mass-produced amp, power may even be flowing through PCB traces.

Well... to be honest... I don't mean to be rude but I don't give a rat's a$$ about theorical stuff. I just go with what I hear, and if there's an audible improvement, then it's all good. I've done several A/B tests with the the standard AWG 18 cables and the thicker AWG 14 cable and it always makes the amp sound better, so there must be a good technical reason for that.

 

[benjamin801]

Well... to be honest... I don't mean to be rude but I don't give a rat's a$$ about theorical stuff. I just go with what I hear, and if there's an audible improvement, then it's all good. I've done several A/B tests with the the standard AWG 18 cables and the thicker AWG 14 cable and it always makes the amp sound better, so there must be a good technical reason for that.

In that case, more power to you! If it sounds better to you, that's what matters. :mrgreen:

 

[J.J]

There is more to a cable than just its resistance, though speaker cables are more about resistance. I thought someone else would have mentioned it already, but the capacitance of the cable can have a large effect. A lot of cheap cables tend to have a high capacitance and this can roll the top end off quite a lot. Some people like that effect (Jimi hendrix) others don't.

Using shorter cable runs and a good buffer can do wonders.

Personally I am a little fussy with cables and so far the best cable I have used is the Dimarzio one, which also happens to be very low capacitiance.

 

[JUS]

Well... to be honest... I don't mean to be rude but I don't give a rat's a$$ about theorical stuff. I just go with what I hear, and if there's an audible improvement, then it's all good. I've done several A/B tests with the the standard AWG 18 cables and the thicker AWG 14 cable and it always makes the amp sound better, so there must be a good technical reason for that.

In that case, more power to you! If it sounds better to you, that's what matters. :mrgreen:

All cables, by design, are capacitors. Could you please explain what makes one cable more capacitive than another?

 

[J.J]

Sure, its easily explained.

Capacitance is formed between the two conductors in a regular cable. The surface area, kind of insulation used (between the conductors)and thickness are the big variables that effect the capacitance value.

With all things being equal a cable that uses thicker insulation will have lower capacitance.

I just went and measured 3 cables I own, two 20 foot leads (one I consider very good and the other average) and a 10 foot lead that I don't like.

The good cable came to about 600pF, the average cable 800pF and the 10 foot 700pF. A good number of cheap multimeters can measure capacitance so almost anyone can check themselves.

I should also mention where the cable capacitiance comes into play. A passive guitar pickup will generally have a fairly high output impedance and when combined with the cable capactiance will form a low pass RC filter. So if you have a setup with 2 20 foot cables (say 1000pF each), a true bypass pedal in the middle and guitar with an 8k Ohm passive pickup the top will have rolled back 3dB around 10Khz, but will have started the roll off around 5Khz. A buffered pedal or active pickups in that situation diminish the roll off to almost nothing at the frequencies we expect to hear from guitar amps.

 

[purpledc]

I dont think monster cables are any better than horizon or pro co or my planet waves. But I do believe in buying quality cables. There just seems to be a point where spending more than 30 bucks on a 20 foot cable doesnt get you anything more than your normal cable. But Ill tell you those thin cheap pedal cables with the non servicable ends are horrible. They shouldnt even make those things. They are simply create noise.

 

[Guitar GeeK]

It does!! Honestly, the cables with the silver wiring and the gold jack makes a BIG difference. It's like plugging straight into the amp, without a cable. It's tonal modulation is just about as close as transparent as you can get!