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A Leading Question to a Cable guy


steve mac

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I am treating myself to a new guitar lead, are the ridiculously expensive ones really worth the money or are they snake oil? I am thinking there may be a "diminishing returns" deal going on. Any recommendations or what to look out for? Thanks.

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I'm partial to ProCo because they were founded in my hometown. Their Lifelines are only ~$15 US. Mogami has the platinum or gold but they're around $50 US. Not a fan of Monster cables.

 

Eric Johnson claims there's a difference in tone with higher end cables but I'm not quite that picky about tone. Treating any cable right will ensure much longer life. Proper winding, not yanking on them etc.

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I judge guitar cables partly by how "floppy" the cable itself is (in other words, that it will immediately lay flat on the floor with no loops sticking up in the air to catch the unwary foot).

 

I like genuine Switchcraft ends for durability and repair-ability but i bet they come with a somewhat higher price tag.

 

Perhaps it's just my elderly hearing, but I've never been able to hear a difference in an "ultra-high quality" cable.

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Have you considered wireless?

 

I have but I use a hybrid guitar and therefore have two leads out of the guitar which would lead (pun) to twice the cost plus two transmitters on the guitar and two receivers on the board. So I think it's a non starter.

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I consider the quality of the plugs and if possible how complete the shielding is (usually as a percentage).

 

I think there is a point of diminishing returns, with the moderate or upper moderate priced ones in my target area.

 

IMHO the very expensive ones are a waste of money, and the cheap ones a waste of time.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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we were discussing ridicuously pricey cables in OJ the other day. http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/Off-Topic/acapella-12/32242128-thinking-about-spending-100-000-00-on-a-solid-gold-guitar-cord

 

My take: shielded cable with decent size conductor [18-22AWG] is going to perform pretty much the same. I made my own cables for decades, but now serviceable cables are plentiful and inexpensive. Don't waste money on the cables that claim they will fix your tone, because 'tone is in the fingers', not the cable. Do keep the length under 5 meters/18 feet to reduce signal loss over the distance[if you use a buffer/pre-amp, then this is no longer an issue]. I am also a fan of Switchcraft jacks, but HOSA makes decent ones. I am not brand specific, since again, the failure point for most cables is at the jack solder joints. If you can solder, you never worry about that as long as you have a spare.

 

Wireless is an issue with the multi-out guitars [on of my a/e is that way]. Wireless is also not cheap, and forget those little Xvive units, they are NOT reliable signal wise. Fine for at home, but I would not trust them on a gig. Also since Steve is seated through much of his performance and 'anchored' to his mic and pedal board, wireless is not going to offer much benefit for him.

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I need a right angled jack at either end and came across some I can order. This is the description and it sounds impressive but I am not sure what a lot of this is.

"Beautiful and well constructed. Sommer’s Spirit SC is an extremely well insulated instrument cable. Utilising a conductive carbon shield underneath the braided copper screen and a thick foamed dielectric. 19 thick strands of 99.99% oxygen free copper carry the signal." ... do I need oxygen free or thick dielectric?

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Sounds like an overkill to me. The cables I buy are >99% shielded but just have a normal dielectric. I've had cables with some kind of foil under the braid, but I haven't noticed any difference.

 

I suppose if you are in an area where you get a lot of interference in your cable, it might help, but then you would probably also get them in the pickups of your guitar.

 

But that's all guessing from experience I had in school and as a Cable TV engineer many, many, many years ago.

 

Notes

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OFHC [Oxygen Free High Conductivity] copper is definitely good, but not needed for instrument cables. Hi-tech/aerospace applications, yes, but wasted for our purposes. The dielectric properties of insulation are more important in RF applications, where, as Notes said, there may be a lot of signal interference, but over less than 20 feet? MEH.... Snake oil, and hype.

 

Also, rather than buy a whole new cable, you can buy right angle adapters [i use one on my pedal board] like the Hosa GPP-151 for about $4 [3.5 €] each. I think this is a far more logical option with good flexibility for adapting different cables as need, rather than buying a new cable for every length variant you might want.

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<...snip...>

Also, rather than buy a whole new cable, you can buy right angle adapters [i use one on my pedal board] like the Hosa GPP-151<...>

 

I'd go that route. That way the spare cable in your road kit can serve double duty. But be sure to get a spare adapter too.

 

Notes

 

 

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I have one cable that's very microphonic[?]. That is, it passes handling noise -- thumps -- to the amp. Pretty annoying, but you could check for it at the store I suppose. Someone said it could be a side effect of repeated stepping on the cord.

 

This was insulting, of course, so I challenged the speaker to a duel in the parking lot. We went out, he shot me first, and I died. I don't know what happened to the guitar cord.

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you betcha! :thu:

 

in my PA/Mic bag, I have nearly every adapter known to man [that sucker is heavy]...and have used many of them over the years. My Scout training taught me to "be prepared", and I make every effort to be.

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I buy the cheapest I can find that comes with a lifetime warranty. So not near the cheapest but no the most expensive. And I have used those warranties many times. However, sometimes that costs me a lot of $ when I go to the shop to get a cable replaced for free and walk out with $500 worth of gear!

 

I hate adapters; they are just a bad connection waiting to happen.

 

Right angle cables are usually only right angle on one end (at least in my experience) I have a few and can always use the angled end into an amp or PA if it won't work with a particular guitar.

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Here's the deal......if you could play your guitar at a rate of 10Mhz or above you might notice some signal loss or degradation as cable length increases although that would be pretty incredible since the highest frequency humans can hear is approaching 20Khz..... so...... in the audio range that most musicians operate you can't, and never will, notice a sound difference between cables unless there is some obvious damage to the cable.

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. . . I hate adapters; they are just a bad connection waiting to happen.

 

Right angle cables are usually only right angle on one end (at least in my experience) I have a few and can always use the angled end into an amp or PA if it won't work with a particular guitar.

Planet Waves makes (or anyway used to make) cables with right angle plugs on both ends. I had a pair for a while and they were as good as anything I've tried. Agree about adapters, just another potential point of failure and I avoid them whenever possible.

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I have three "go bags" for different kinds of gigs. In each bag I have three maybe four guitar cables, and with one or two exceptions, they are all Yorkville DLX cables with amphenol ends. These cables (currently) come with a lifetime warranty and aren't cheap but aren't all that expensive.either https://www.long-mcquade.com/3732/Guitars/Cables---Power-Supplies/Yorkville-Sound/DLX-Series-Instrument-Cable---15-foot.htm

 

Anyway, I've got at least ten of these cables and they take a fair bit of use and abuse. Over the years I have returned two, and the store just replaces them. Not sure if that line has right angles or not. I also don't know if they ship to all parts of the world, and whether a lifetime warranty would be worth it if one had to ship the cables.

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