Jump to content

Question for you bass players regarding cables


theManfromAlabam

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I need a recommendation for a bass to bass amp cable, my nephew has been playing bass for a little over a year now, and he needs a new cable for his rig because the cables he is using now are shot to hell.

 

Anyway is there a decent bass guitar cable between $25-$50? ...will a guitar cable do? or is there a cable specifically designed for bass guitars

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 64
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

 

Nah...they seem to be calm in here at the moment. Just don't make any sudden movements, keep your arms down by your sides and don't make eye-contact, and you may make it out of here without serious burns.

 

 

But I hear Lava burns are like napalm, the sting just keeps going, as long as you remain in contact with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I thought maybe things have changed in regards to bass guitar cables :poke:

 

 

They've changed, but only in outside appearance and price. Inside, they're still a couple wires wrapped up in some plastic.

 

If I'm buying a cable that I will use a lot, I'll spend a little more on a cable to get something with a lifetime warranty so I only have to pay for it once. If I'm buying a weird little adapter or jumper or something I probably won't use too much I'll get something cheaper. If I end up replacing it, I'll probably upgrade at that point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

There was a fairly recent thread where a high end cable manufacturer tried to prove that his cables were worth the hundreds of dollars he was charging; it didn't go well for him. This is where the
:snax:
emoticon comes into play:D




Dan

 

I thought the whole point was that he didn't try to prove it. He just kept insisting that it was true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I know I will probably get flamed...I haven't been in a band for over ten years now...I thought maybe things have changed in regards to bass guitar cables :poke:

 

 

No flames.....this is one of those discussions (theres an entire thread on it) about how certain people can actually "hear" a difference in the type of cable being used...and who am I to argue that? maybe they can

 

For me, if there is a difference in a live application, the result is so negligable that it doesnt matter to me. With that said, I use any non-molded-end cable, especially ones that are on sale and by a company known not to have manufacturing deficiencies

 

If you want something better than that (durability wise), I will +1 Grankor's recommendation of Planet Waves cables

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

 

No flames.....this is one of those discussions (theres an entire thread on it) about how certain people can actually "hear" a difference in the type of cable being used...and who am I to argue that? maybe they can

 

 

If they can, then they can also do it in a double blind test.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My only advice is, don't fall for gimmicks, but don't buy the super cheap, no name bargain bin cables if you're planning on using them on stage. They're super cheap for a reason, and your cable IMO is the piece of your signal chain that's most likely to fail. Don't be afraid to unscrew the ends and inspect the solder joints, either, even on the nice cables.

I've been using a Planet Waves for a couple of years and it's been great.

 

There are some rumblings about Monster cables and how their barrels are just a teensy bit bigger than on everyone else's cables, so they stretch out your input jacks like Peter North. Not sure if it's true, someone can weigh in on this, I'm sure.

 

If you're feeling like ordering online, many people here have had great luck with Bayou Cables. They're handmade in the USA by a USA dude.:D

C7

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

There are some rumblings about Monster cables and how their barrels are just a teensy bit bigger than on everyone else's cables, so they stretch out your input jacks like Peter North. Not sure if it's true, someone can weigh in on this, I'm sure.


 

 

I have Monster cables and I've heard this before too. There was something that made me think it was true, but I forgot what. Anyways, I compared the tips in size to another cable I had lying around and some adapters just now. I couldn't see a difference in size.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have Monster cables and I've heard this before too. There was something that made me think it was true, but I forgot what. Anyways, I compared the tips in size to another cable I had lying around and some adapters just now. I couldn't see a difference in size.

 

I think it's silly, personally. It's a metal-on-metal connection, if the tolerance is way too tight, or the barrel is oversized enough to stretch out the jack, you're going to have to cram that {censored}er in there like Peter North the first few times, so you're gonna know it. At that point, if you're forcing the connection like that, it's your fault, not Monster's.:D

C7

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I use MonsterBass cables. I can hear a difference in comparison to the whirlwinds, fenders and peaveys that I used before I got my first Monster cable, but I think a lot of that has to do with better construction and shielding.

 

Regardless, they have a lifetime warranty, and I have had 2 of them last me over 6 years. In junior high and high school, I couldn't seem to get a cable to last 6 months without it crapping out on me, so the extra $$$ is worth it for me.

 

I do take care of my cables, though, but the monsters make it easier to do so. You can keep a cable running better for longer if you wind it up using the natural turn of the cable. On lighter-weight cables, this turn can be harder to detect, but Monsters seem to run a bit thicker on the rubber coating, so it's really easy to figure out the natural lay of the cable. That, and they include a velcro tie with every cable so you can wrap them off once their wound. It makes life a lot easier when you toss 5-10 cables in a bag because they won't come out tangled together no matter how much the bag gets tossed around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

There are some rumblings about Monster cables and how their barrels are just a teensy bit bigger than on everyone else's cables, so they stretch out your input jacks like Peter North. Not sure if it's true, someone can weigh in on this, I'm sure.


If you're feeling like ordering online, many people here have had great luck with Bayou Cables. They're handmade in the USA by a USA dude.
:D
C7

 

 

I think it was Kindness, one of the Mods, and I all measured current Monster barrels, and all got results of around +/- .003" variance - in other words, certainly not enough to make any difference whatsoever... Years ago, the larger barrel thing might've been true, but not for quite some time, AFAIK... Believe me, I'm no Monster fan - but I don't think they're any better or worse than anything else... I own a few Monster products, but haven't gone out of my way to buy them - and my "go-to" instrument cables are all ones I built myself...

 

I've heard nothing but good things about Bayou - and my own contact with Butch was positive... I can say the same thing about Audiopile - excellent products, excellent customer service...

 

 

 

- georgestrings

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...