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Suggestions for Good Cheap Cables


Citizen_Insane

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My band is gong on tour this summer and I'm looking for a couple reliable cables that are going to stand up to the punishment of being used every day for a month (and then some more). Does anyone have some suggestions?

 

I'm really short on cash right now, but I know it will be worth the investment in something that won't fail on stage.

 

If anyone has suggestions for good connectors and a place to get cheap Mogami cable, I'd be down for building them myself too. I'm looking for 2 10' cables and I really don't want to spend more than $40.

 

I was looking at the EWI cables from audiopile since I've heard so many good things about them. Anyone have any experience with them?

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Anything made by Rapco.

 

 

I've heard a lot of good things about Rapco but their designs don't really show any sort of secondary strain relief. They are very cheap, but I just worry that they'll fall apart under constant use.

 

I'm not all that hard on my cables usually, I disconnect them by pulling on the plug, not the cable, but I've had a few go out recently and I want to be sure that I'm not going to end up with more dead cables that I have repair.

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I've gone back to DiMarzio are a long time using Geo. L and other cables. I just love 'em...durable, great sounding, reliable. I like the jacketed covering, which reduces kinks and doesn't seem to get so grimy dragging around on a stage. They've gone up a little in price though, the 20' used to cost what they charge for the 10' now.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/DiMarzio-Instrument-Cable?sku=332100

Pro Co are great, their Lifelines are just out of your price range, but I would trust their more affordable options, as I would Whirlwind.

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I've gone back to DiMarzio are a long time using Geo. L and other cables. I just love 'em...durable, great sounding, reliable. I like the jacketed covering, which reduces kinks and doesn't seem to get so grimy dragging around on a stage. They've gone up a little in price though, the 20' used to cost what they charge for the 10' now.




Pro Co are great, their Lifelines are just out of your price range, but I would trust their more affordable options, as I would Whirlwind.

 

 

Good to hear...just ordered a 25' Pro Co from Sam Ash....sales girl said she uses em, and they are great. 5 year warranty.

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Any one used Proco cables?????

 

 

I do, and I like them very much. I buy them via Sweetwater (they are branded as being Sweetwater cables). To the OP, do consider ProCo, for the ProCos are inexpensive, Sweetwater has free shipping, and I believe there is still BING Cashback of 6% for Sweetwater purchases.

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I have a proco cable, it's pretty nice, but I was perturbed after I bought it (my fault) to notice that they don't have a lifetime warranty. At least the one I bought didn't. That was a few years ago though, maybe they've updated their policy since then.

Something about old whirlwinds, they never seem to die. I have one from 20 years ago and it's almost like new.

I'm curious to try those GFS cables next - the price is so low they can't really be that durable, can they be? Or have we all been sold a bill of goods in recent years that "more expensive cables means they must be better?"


http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1/4in10/



Just saw this - seems like they have updated their policy. :thu:


...hmm, or have they? This is the cable I bought, but the "manufacturer's warranty" link says the Lifelines are 20 yrs, and the Excellines are only 10:

Nontransferable limited warranties vary with product.

Guardian cables - lifetime warranty.

Lifeline cables - 20 years.

Excellines cables - 10 years.

Speaker, MIDI, XLR, patch cables - 3 years.

StageMASTER cables - 3 years.

SnakeMASTER snakes - 3 years.

RoadMASTER snakes - 5 years.

E-Cords - 1,2,5 year warranties, terms vary.

Check with manufacturer for specific product warranty.



I guess it's only the Excellines that are branded through Sweetwater that are lifetime warranteed.

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I do, and I like them very much. I buy them via Sweetwater (they are branded as being Sweetwater cables). To the OP, do consider ProCo, for the ProCos are inexpensive, Sweetwater has free shipping, and I believe there is still BING Cashback of 6% for Sweetwater purchases.

 

 

Those are what I use too, they're fine by me.

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I have a proco cable, it's pretty nice, but I was perturbed after I bought it (my fault) to notice that they don't have a lifetime warranty. At least the one I bought didn't. That was a few years ago though, maybe they've updated their policy since then.


Something about old whirlwinds, they never seem to die. I have one from 20 years ago and it's almost like new.


I'm curious to try those GFS cables next - the price is so low they can't really be that durable, can they be? Or have we all been sold a bill of goods in recent years that "more expensive cables means they must be better?"


Just saw this - seems like they have updated their policy.
:thu:

...hmm, or have they?
This
is the cable I bought, but the "manufacturer's warranty" link says the Lifelines are 20 yrs, and the Excellines are only 10:


I guess it's only the Excellines that are branded through Sweetwater that are lifetime warranteed.



All current Pro Co cables -- the Lifelines, Excelline, and Stagemaster -- now all have their "any abuse, any excuse" lifetime warranty. The Lifelines (or their predecessor) have always had a lifetime warranty, I want to say thy were some of the first to offer a lifetime warranty so 30+ years ago.

The rest used to have limited warranties, but now they'll replace anything.

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All
current Pro Co cables -- the Lifelines, Excelline, and Stagemaster
now
all have a "any abuse, any excuse" lifetime warranty. The Lifelines have always had a lifetime warranty, I want to say thy were some of the first to offer a lifetime warranty so 30+ years ago.


The rest
used
to have limited warranties, but now they'll replace anything.



Thanks, good to know. :thu:

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All
current Pro Co cables -- the Lifelines, Excelline, and Stagemaster --
now
all have their "any abuse, any excuse" lifetime warranty. The Lifelines (or their predecessor) have always had a lifetime warranty, I want to say thy were some of the first to offer a lifetime warranty so 30+ years ago.


The rest
used
to have limited warranties, but now they'll replace anything.



I am very happy then.:thu:

I have a 25' with a 90 degree end coming my way, at the Sam Ash girl's suggestion...I had never heard of Pro Co prior to this.

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Cables don't die, the connectors do. Very rarely do you get a break in the middle of a cable anymore. No one is using solid cable anymore. 95% of all problems are in the solder joints of the connector. Just cut off the plug, clean it up and put it back on. I have cables that are 30 years old and work just fine. As for ProCo. I love them. I have purchase about 20 in the last year or so of various lengths for various uses. If you do a little research, you could find the right model of belden cable, purchase a box, and then make cables for you and your bandmates. This will last you a long time, and save you a lot of money.

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Cables don't die, the connectors do.
Very rarely do you get a break in the middle of a cable anymore. No one is using solid cable anymore. 95% of all problems are in the solder joints of the connector. Just cut off the plug, clean it up and put it back on. I have cables that are 30 years old and work just fine. As for ProCo. I love them. I have purchase about 20 in the last year or so of various lengths for various uses. If you do a little research, you could find the right model of belden cable, purchase a box, and then make cables for you and your bandmates. This will last you a long time, and save you a lot of money.

 

 

Cable shielding starts to "bleed." As the cable kinks up over time the shield bunches and bends and becomes less effective; sections of the cable become an antenna and interference will start to bleed in to be amplified down line. It's happen to cables cheap and expensive of mine.

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I look for durability when buying cables. Of all the cables Ive bought over the last few years the only one that has lasted so far, surprisingly, is a transparent red Fender California cable. I plan on picking up a few more of those soon and I suggest you do the same. :thu:

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Cables don't die, the connectors do. Very rarely do you get a break in the middle of a cable anymore. No one is using solid cable anymore. 95% of all problems are in the solder joints of the connector. Just cut off the plug, clean it up and put it back on. I have cables that are 30 years old and work just fine. As for ProCo. I love them. I have purchase about 20 in the last year or so of various lengths for various uses. If you do a little research, you could find the right model of belden cable, purchase a box, and then make cables for you and your bandmates. This will last you a long time, and save you a lot of money.



This I am aware of, however, buying quality connectors usually costs more than buying premade cables. The strain relief mechanism on most standard 1/4" plugs is not very well designed. I also don't really feel like buying a bunch of shrink tubing and all the other stuff that's necessary to build the cables. I've done it in the past and to be honest, I didn't save any money.

I usually repair my cables, but after a while the crimp style strain relief parts of the jack stop working properly. I'd rather just buy a new cable. Plus I don't really have the time to wait for 5 different components to ship, we're leaving for tour on the 29th and I still have to manually screen print hundreds of CD's before then in addition to playing shows every week and going to school.

@ everyone else - Thanks for the tips, I'll look into them and get something ordered up tomorrow :thu:

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