Guitar cables

theshadowofseattle · Post by **theshadowofseattle** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:50 pm

Mike wrote:
theshadowofseattle wrote:I buy whatever is cheap, so I can't necessarily recommend anything. However, I can tell you what not to buy:

HOTLINES. Worst, most prone to breaking, shittiest sounding cables I have EVER used.
10 years without a problem says you're wrong.

10 cables with constant problems say you're wrong.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:54 pm

NO U

10 Cables? You're a slow learner.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 12:15 am

I use monster cables cause they've lasted me years and never one problem. I need to get more monster cables or something else to try.

plesiosaurus · Post by **plesiosaurus** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 2:14 am

the_dude wrote:I use monster cables cause they've lasted me years and never one problem. I need to get more monster cables or something else to try.

I have one, but i don't like it because it's inflexible and coils up onto itself in weird ways. I am constantly uncoiling it because if I don't I loose like three feet of movement because of all the knots it keeps making in itself.

Sounds fine though.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 2:20 am

thats probably my only complaint about them though. no other cable i've ever had did that... but there sturdy and sound great.

william · Post by **william** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:28 am

plesiosaurus wrote:
the_dude wrote:I use monster cables cause they've lasted me years and never one problem. I need to get more monster cables or something else to try.
I have one, but i don't like it because it's inflexible and coils up onto itself in weird ways. I am constantly uncoiling it because if I don't I loose like three feet of movement because of all the knots it keeps making in itself.

Sounds fine though.

how can it possibly make knots if one end is in the guitar and the other in the input? or does it just twist up?

im having a hard time picturing this.

plesiosaurus · Post by **plesiosaurus** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:56 am

william wrote:
plesiosaurus wrote:
the_dude wrote:I use monster cables cause they've lasted me years and never one problem. I need to get more monster cables or something else to try.
I have one, but i don't like it because it's inflexible and coils up onto itself in weird ways. I am constantly uncoiling it because if I don't I loose like three feet of movement because of all the knots it keeps making in itself.

Sounds fine though.
how can it possibly make knots if one end is in the guitar and the other in the input? or does it just twist up?

im having a hard time picturing this.

just twisting up. i was exaggerating a little.

but it doesn't necessarily come undone if you just pull on it. sometimes that just makes it worse.

Will · Post by **Will** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:24 am

Right now I just use a cheap-o I got at the local shop. It's got good Neutrik connectors, so I can't complain.

I just drag along my multi-meter and measure a bunch of cables for series resistance and ground/signal capacitance. I try to find one whose number aren't too high.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 9:43 pm

I use Planet Waves cables, with the gold tips and the button that breaks the circuit. The feel sturdy enough, and I like my tone. I'm not sure what my patch leads are, but they were two or three quid each, and didn't have a name that I recognised.

plesiosaurus wrote:
the_dude wrote:I use monster cables cause they've lasted me years and never one problem. I need to get more monster cables or something else to try.
I have one, but i don't like it because it's inflexible and coils up onto itself in weird ways. I am constantly uncoiling it because if I don't I loose like three feet of movement because of all the knots it keeps making in itself.

Sounds fine though.

You need to learn how to coil a cable properly. Once you can do it, and practise it, you can do it quickly, and will never have to untangle a big mess of cables ever again. Spending time when you have it to properly wrap a cable makes far more sense than struggling to untangle something when you don't have time. Plus, coiling a cable properly will make it last longer, as it's not being forced into a position that it doesn't want to be in. It's less likely to break.

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:11 pm

Nah, it's more like as you play it twusts itself up. I have the same problem with every guitar cable I've ever owned, because I can't stand still.

Post by **Mike** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:13 pm

Yeah, but it should be fine if you take care of your cables, coiling them properly after use. I know it's not rock and roll, but it does help.

I learnt to coil cable when I worked as a Sound Engineer and had to deal with 50m of cable per show/play/recital, it's a reflex now.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:21 pm

I learned it at University. I had a studio techniques module in first year.

PenPen: Do you spin around in circles much when you're playing guitar?

kim · Post by **kim** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:39 pm

about coiling, some cables, even if you know how to do it proper, the texture/quality of the rubber can cause warping/sticking. i noticed it when i compare klotz cables (funkmaster) to hotlines, nothing wrong with hotlines, they're fine cables for the price, but the texture of the rubber is more sticky for some reason and tends to warp. maybe another reason why i prefer cloth coated cables, they don't curl up sticky sort of. but after a while cloth cables smell like crap though always being on dirty floors or venues with beer and dirt on the stage

william · Post by **william** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 11:08 pm

im def. more into slick shiny plasticy coatings than sticky soft rubbery ones. and they seem cleaner than the others.

same goes for headphone cords, i cannot stand rubbery headphone cords.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:37 am

DuoSonicBoy wrote:I just drag along my multi-meter and measure a bunch of cables for series resistance and ground/signal capacitance. I try to find one whose number aren't too high.

are you taking the piss?

shae · Post by **shae** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 2:36 am

BacchusPaul wrote:I use Planet Waves cables, with the gold tips and the button that breaks the circuit. The feel sturdy enough, and I like my tone. I'm not sure what my patch leads are, but they were two or three quid each, and didn't have a name that I recognised.

plesiosaurus wrote:
the_dude wrote:I use monster cables cause they've lasted me years and never one problem. I need to get more monster cables or something else to try.
I have one, but i don't like it because it's inflexible and coils up onto itself in weird ways. I am constantly uncoiling it because if I don't I loose like three feet of movement because of all the knots it keeps making in itself.

Sounds fine though.
You need to learn how to coil a cable properly. Once you can do it, and practise it, you can do it quickly, and will never have to untangle a big mess of cables ever again. Spending time when you have it to properly wrap a cable makes far more sense than struggling to untangle something when you don't have time. Plus, coiling a cable properly will make it last longer, as it's not being forced into a position that it doesn't want to be in. It's less likely to break.

That's the best advice I've read here in some time. I'm in the AV Industry and it is really important that we coil our cables properly and have them all neatly setup. It'll save you a bundle as the cables WILL in fact last. And a few elementary soldering skills won't go astray either...

I've made my own in the past from longer bits of cable and decent jacks but I think I'm going to go the route of George L cables on my board. This year is more about tidying up my setup than adding to it though I'm still on the lookout for "the" Jazzmaster

roachello · Post by **roachello** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:00 pm

Monsters are most excellent! A little pricey, but you get like a lifetime warranty or something. We've been playing on them for like 3 years now and only had to switch in one out of 4.

Will · Post by **Will** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:41 pm

stewart wrote:
DuoSonicBoy wrote:I just drag along my multi-meter and measure a bunch of cables for series resistance and ground/signal capacitance. I try to find one whose number aren't too high.
are you taking the piss?

Nope. You have to find some way to empirically measure quality in a sea of choices. Low resistance means good quality copper and good connections; low capacitance means better/thicker isolation and less chance of shorts. It's better then just believing whatever the package says.

The only brand I stay away from is Monster Cable. One of the local repair guys says they oversize their plugs and it tends to mess up PBC-mount jacks over time.

plesiosaurus · Post by **plesiosaurus** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:37 am

BacchusPaul wrote:I use Planet Waves cables, with the gold tips and the button that breaks the circuit. The feel sturdy enough, and I like my tone. I'm not sure what my patch leads are, but they were two or three quid each, and didn't have a name that I recognised.

plesiosaurus wrote:
the_dude wrote:I use monster cables cause they've lasted me years and never one problem. I need to get more monster cables or something else to try.
I have one, but i don't like it because it's inflexible and coils up onto itself in weird ways. I am constantly uncoiling it because if I don't I loose like three feet of movement because of all the knots it keeps making in itself.

Sounds fine though.
You need to learn how to coil a cable properly. Once you can do it, and practise it, you can do it quickly, and will never have to untangle a big mess of cables ever again. Spending time when you have it to properly wrap a cable makes far more sense than struggling to untangle something when you don't have time. Plus, coiling a cable properly will make it last longer, as it's not being forced into a position that it doesn't want to be in. It's less likely to break.

I mean, that's fine advice, but I've never had the same problem with any other cable, which leads me to think it's not my sub par coiling skillz.

James · Post by **James** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:49 am

What you're saying is just..

Well let me put it this way. It's a stiffer cable than your average one. As a direct result of that combined with your, as you put it, 'sub par coiling skillz', it is becoming tangled. Now if you were to coil it correctly, it would still be a stiffer cable but you would have none of these problems. I can't see how anything is to blame but the lazy coiling.

The fact that it is happening more with that cable than with others is neither here nor there. It's blaming the power of your Ferrari for your constant crashes and saying it doesn't happen in your Skoda when really the fault is you don't know how to drive. If you don't know how to look after cables you've no-one and nothing to blame but yourself.

Coiling cable correctly is an incredibly simple thing to learn. Learning how to do it in a reasonable manner takes less than a minute and learning how to do it in what is generally seen as the more useful industry standard way where you alternate the direction of the loops (I've heard this called the BBC way but I know there are other names for it) shouldn't take much longer than that. In fact it will probably take longer to read this post than to teach yourself how to coil cables correctly with a little guidance to get started.

Sort yourself out and stop blaming others for your problems.