Which cable do you trust to run your rigs?

Matt300ZXT

Matt300ZXT

Well-known member
I have a bunch of old Monster Cables I bought when I worked at GC years ago. As far as I know, they all still work. They're mostly the cheaper ones with the plastic ends that you can slide the colored insert into so you can tell which cable goes where when you're building your rack. There's a few of the more expensive ones with metal ends, but I'm not sure how many, or even if I'm remembering correctly, as they're all in storage and closed up in my rack.

Since I'm going to be getting that Helix, Controller, and some Mission Engineering expression pedals, I'm gonna need some new cables. I have a Livewire Elite with the quiet sleeve thing on it that I've had for my guitar for years and dig it, and it still works like it did from day 1, so I'm tempted to buy a few Livewire Elite cables (without the quiet sleeve) to run the new cabling. I like that I can swap them at any GC if they ever die, just like the Monster Cables.

I'm looking at Mogami Gold, and a 10' cable is $68 compared to a 10' LiveWire Elite for $45. I don't care about 1 cable having better mids, or better low end response, etc, as my ears suck at picking up on that stuff, I'd never know. Is the Mogami cable really THAT much better, or the ends THAT much better that it costs $23 more? The LiveWire Elite has Neutrik connectors, oxygen free copper, internal stress relief, and a sealed boot with heavy duty jacket.

Is there a feature, or some magic in the Mogami Gold that makes it so ridiculously expensive? Or is it cork sniffery?
 
I have tons of cables and have compared them blind extensively. Here is what I prefer:

Front of amp - Ampturco
Loop - Mogami Gold
Speaker - Dimarzio

Cables make as much difference (or more in some cases) than similar pickups do IMO.
 
I checked that Best Tronics, their 10' high definition cable with Neutrik connectors is like $3 cheaper than a comparable LiveWire Elite with Neutrik connectors, but the LiveWire has a slightly thicker gauge wire. I'm still leaning towards more LiveWires because of the lifetime return policy, but Best Tronics has some interesting stuff that's kinda got me on the fence.
 
I don’t really hear much difference in cables once they get better than bargain bin stuff. I buy cables for durability. I bought a 10 foot Mogami gold cable maybe 10-15 years ago that I’ve used as my main guitar -> amp cable just about every day since, including wrapping, unwrapping, plugging and unplugging just about every time. It’s never given me any trouble whatsoever.

As long as the end connectors are those extended length ones that put a hard stabilizing grip on the cable a few inches down from the solder joint such that those joints never flex, a well made cable like that should last pretty much indefinitely.
 
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Monster are some of the worst cable I've ever owned. Muddy and short lived.

I don't think Mogami gold is anything special. Gimme a pro-co, a rapco, or a nice gold jacketed Dimarzio and my crystal lattice will remain unbroken.
 
VonBonfire said:
Monster are some of the worst cable I've ever owned. Muddy and short lived.

I don't think Mogami gold is anything special. Gimme a pro-co, a rapco, or a nice gold jacketed Dimarzio and my crystal lattice will remain unbroken.
Click to expand...
There once was a great man who knew a few things about crystal lattices.
 
Marking this thread for later consideration.



Also....

SmuggNorris said:
There once was a great man who knew a few things about crystal lattices.
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yOgs9Tol.jpg
 
I dont know if I can hear a difference in cables since I use a buffer in front of my amp but I use custom mogami gold with a mix of neutrik and GH connectors.

Different gauges for pedal board, instrument cable, loops and speaker cable. I use them fkr durability over sound and if you go custom theyre about half the price of buying them prebuilt from a dealer. You also get the bonus of having custom lengths.

Edit: had my cables built by proaudiola.com and also jerrostomps on reverb
 
Matt300ZXT said:
I checked that Best Tronics, their 10' high definition cable with Neutrik connectors is like $3 cheaper than a comparable LiveWire Elite with Neutrik connectors, but the LiveWire has a slightly thicker gauge wire. I'm still leaning towards more LiveWires because of the lifetime return policy, but Best Tronics has some interesting stuff that's kinda got me on the fence.
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That’s why you call and negotiate 🤙🏽

He takes care of people.

Mine was better (to my ear) than the Mogami that I used for years, after a few orders, I ended up putting 400 feet of it in the home theater.
 
I bought 20 fender cheap ass cables when I hooked my amp switcher up they get walked on constantly. I’ve had one fail. It was the main one that was used to plug the guitar into the pedal board. I have every brand of cords you can think of. I don’t buy into the bullshit. If I was touring ? I’d go with whatever brand would endorse and give them to me for free.
 
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