Favorite Guitar Cables?

[drbhrb]

Monster cables are a complete rip off. Quality cables with lifetime warranties can be had for 1/3rd of the price.

[cosmic gumbo]

Different cables provide different sounds and frequency attenuation. As most engineers and audiophiles know, most good cables are somewhat directional and running signal in a certain direction provides an audio superiority that you can hear. That's easy enough for anyone to verify as true.

[jkstigma]

Proco cable (Guardian)





and Evidence cables

[LyleGorch]

Mogami Ultimate.

[David B]

I've been using the Vovox 'Sonorus' cable for the last 18 months, after trying one at a festival/summerschool. Expensive but worth it (to me).

[wildschwein]

I like the Beldon cable rebranded by Bill Lawrence (Wilde) with solderless jacks. Maintains the highs nicely.

[OldGuitarPlayer]

I use the cable that was accidentally left behind by the guy in the band that played the same venue the night before....

[Takemitsu]

I have used George-l for 2 years. If I have a problem one day ( I never had yet) I need a cutter and a screwdriver and I'm good to go.

[rob taft]

George L and Mogami

[m_d]

Spectraflex

[Danno1985]

I have had great luck with the Fender tweed cables, not so much with anything Monster. The lifetime guarantee is nice, but after awhile you get sick of driving the cable back to Guitar Center over and over again. I also don't care for the marketing hype. Really, different cables for different genres? Electrical current doesn't know or care what kind of music you're playing.

I also have a Vox coiled cable that was cheap and is still working great after about 7 years. Not too shabby, and it looks cool.

[KirkP]

Here's a useful comparison of instrument cables. The only auditory factor considered is capacitance - no snake oil or mummy dust.



Audio Cables Compared and Recommended

[lapideusvir]

Vovox sonorus. Tried tons of cables, tried Vovox and this is the end of my search. You hear the difference!

[Munk]

I first tried Monster but found very dark in sound. Now happy with Vovox sonorus.

[viccortes285]

For my guitars and patch cords I stick with 2 brands: Georgel and Mogami, I find they are very quite and clear.

[sgosnell]

I've used George L cables for years, but I recently ditched them for wireless. Better fidelity, greater freedom. Being wireless is great.

[blille]

I've used George L cables for years, but I recently ditched them for wireless. Better fidelity, greater freedom. Being wireless is great.

That's interesting. I like the freedom but I'm not sure about the fidelity.

If the normal setup is guitar to board to amp, wireless would be:
Guitar to emitter to receiver to board to amp.

So assuming that there is zero quality loss between the guitar and the receiver, you still have the same cabling, no?

I personally use mogami when I'm not on wireless.


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[rpjazzguitar]

I have a random mix of old whirlwind, newer Monster, and some off brand cables. They all sound the same to me. Maybe because I have high frequency loss, but it doesn't matter. I roll off treble at the guitar, so I don't know why I would worry about a little extra capacitance in the cable.

I'm aware there are counter arguments, but I'm not willing to pay more for something that sounds the same. I am willing to pay more for better reliability.

I do have a question about amp cables. Should I be using a different type of cable to connect the amp head to the speaker cabinet?

[viccortes285]

Speaker extension cables are different then guitar cables. Use the correct ones.


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[john_a]

I've just been building up examples of the two brands you mention.
The George L's sure has an avid following, but I had never tried one until just recently, and I find it is not right for me.

George L's comes in two diameters, I bought the .225 instead of the .155" so maybe that was a factor... The cable really feels odd, way too stiff, and wants to twist into coils like it kept shape memory from being spooled. It behaves like RG59 for TV / internet if you need a reference. Working with it to install the Neutrik NP2X plugs was the usual hassle dealing with braided shield. The kicker for me was the sound was not "great", at least not enough to offset the high cost and very awkward stiffness. This stuff sells in bulk for >$2 per foot. In the end, I was glad I only bought 10' for testing.

So that sent me back to "Mogami W2524 Instrument Cable" and it works perfect for me.
The cost is less than half of the George L's (a 50' spool cost me $43) and I really like the sound, and how it is flexible (lays like a normal guitar cable), and especially like the construction. The cable's shield is not braided, but rather a very neat spiral wrap that is simple to unwind for soldering the ground, and directly beneath that copper is a graphite-impregnated PVC layer that acts as a sub-shield. This shielding seems very effective, the cable was very quiet and did not make any noise when stepped on. Assembling the same Neutrik connectors on the Mogami took far less time, as there was no need to unbraid the shield. I know there's fancier exotic cables out there, but I have to believe the as that expense grows there'd be diminishing returns for my own use. Compared to the George L's, the W2524 sounds a little better to me, is much more comfortable in use, and if you are constructing your own cables the ease of assembly with the Mogami is a real benefit.

I have had the same two tube amps for a really long time, and last year both had maintenance. Mike Bendinelli went thru my Boogie MkIIb, and I did my own rebuild on the 1965 BFSR. So with these amps optimized and quiet, the differences in cable sound quality are more apparent. Normally I am only using a single 10' cable straight into either amp, but recently I set up some new switches (Lehle D.loop + Lehle Parallel L) that let me add preamps and effects in as needed, with less degradation to original signal. But this extra gear takes me from needing just that single cable, to now where I bought the 50' spool of Mogami.

The first cable still is the most important section as it reaches the Lehle D.loop buffer, but it will be nice to have the whole rig wired with Mogami /Neutrik in correct lengths for the dozen instrument cables it takes.

John

[rpjazzguitar]

It's odd that the owner's manual doesn't mention it. In fact, I just looked at the Mark V owner's manual and it doesn't mention it either.

[blille]

I have a random mix of old whirlwind, newer Monster, and some off brand cables. They all sound the same to me. Maybe because I have high frequency loss, but it doesn't matter. I roll off treble at the guitar, so I don't know why I would worry about a little extra capacitance in the cable.

I'm aware there are counter arguments, but I'm not willing to pay more for something that sounds the same. I am willing to pay more for better reliability.

I do have a question about amp cables. Should I be using a different type of cable to connect the amp head to the speaker cabinet?

You may damage your rig by using an instrument cable from head to cab.

Speaker Versus Guitar Cables

And re. instrument cables there are three factors why I chose to spend a bit on cables:
1) treble loss - not a big deal for you
2) noise - either overall or picking up noise on stage or when moving
3) reliability

The difference between cheapo cables and good ones is clear to me. I personally don't appreciate the difference between premium and ultra premium, there may be diminishing returns.

[sgosnell]

Ideally, speaker cable with Speakon connectors is what should be used to connect the head and the cab. But some heads don't have Speakon connections, and neither do some cabs, although most should have them. My Little Jazz only has a 1/4" jack, unfortunately. The cable should be at least 16AWG, and I prefer 12. Getting that into a 1/4" plug is not easy. Standard instrument cable works, but it doesn't carry much current, and can pick up EMF noise. I'd only use that in an emergency.

[Doctor Jeff]

Monster Gold 12' instrument cable. No problems with that--can't see the point of spending a lot more $$.

[lapideusvir]

Vovox or Evidence Audio! IMHO the best ones.