Choice for patch cables

[Exo-metal]

Just about done putting my rack together. What's the opinion on cables? Belden 8451, Mogami or George L to name a few. I prefer to get a roll and make my own to size so figured I would ask some pros.

 

[thegame]

Evidence monorail

 

[ewill52]

I used the Mogami miniature with the squareplug low profiles last time I made some, I really like them but I'm in no way a pro lol

 

[stratjacket]

Can’t go wrong with Mogami for sure. I just replaced all my patch cables with the EBS PG Flat cables on my pedalboard and the couple of items I have in my Rack (AxeFxIII, pair of Eventide H9’s) and it works and looks great.

 

[guitarnerdswe]

I would stay away from Mogami, unless you're doing a short (10 feet) run or less before your first buffer, or simply like a lot of high end roll off. I used Mogami for years because that what was "the standard". Then I decided to read up on cables, try some different brands and constructions and see what's what. Long story short. Stay away from the far extremes of capacitance. Mogami 2524 is 40pf/ft and considered a high capacitance cable, meaning the highs are quite subdued and rolled off. On the other end of the spectrum there are cables like Sommer The Spirit LLX that's 16pf/ft. It's quite squeaky to my ears. a lot plink and annoying noises because it lets through high end treble that's not flattering to a guitar tone. It makes you guitar sound more DI in a way.

NOW, that said. The thing that matters in terms of tone, is the total capacitance before your amp or first buffer. So it will vary greatly depending on how long your cables are. Running a super long cable before your pedalboard or amp? Then a low capacitance cable might be beneficial. Sitting in a wheel chair on stage? Then a high capacitance short cable might work. What cable you chose depends on your taste, pickups, and cable length. I use 20 feet of cable before a Suhr buffer, and like about 500-550 pf of capacitance before my signal hits the buffer. So I use Cordial The Road 75, which sits in the middle of the capacitance spectrum at 27pf/ft.

The total capacitance is really all that matters in terms of the tone. But, better constructed cables offer other advantages, such as better shielding, resistance to general cable noise when you move around, and longevity. In this regard, Mogami falls short. It's a very old cable design with some shortcomings. Even if you want a high capacitance cable, I would still suggest tlooking at other brands that offer better construction (like braided shielding, OFC class 6 copper instead of standard copper, or skin/gas/skin insulation instead of standard PE insulation).

 

[skullfxr]

BPTA CA-0446 with Switchraft jacks is my go to. The specs are on the site. I find best results with their stuff and soldering my own.

May be worth a look.

 

[Braciola]

For DIY -

- Best-Tronics CA-0678 Cable & Square Plug SP400

 

[Braciola]

For DIY -

- Best-Tronics CA-0678 Cable & Square Plug SP400

 

[Goat]

George L's 1/4" straight plugs for me. Their 1/4" 90 degree plugs suck balls.

 

[Purpleibby]

For unbalanced line Gepco GLC20, for Balanced line Gepco X-band, a little bit of Canare L-2b2at. For instrument cables, after input and output buffer Sommer Spirit original, patch Gepco GLC20.....Experimenting with the pre-buffer cable....Looking for some Belden 9778 to try.

Added: Inner cab 4x12 wiring is Tara Labs Prism Omni

 

[Fret-Shredder]

Another vote for Mogami. All my patch cables , speaker and guitar cables are Mogami. Never had a problem.

 

[flatheads_4ever]

Mogami with switchcraft plugs. I cut everything to length and solder my own,

Ed

 

[Exo-metal]

Switchcraft still the go to, I heard rumors they aren't what they used to be.

 

[flatheads_4ever]

Switchcraft still the go to, I heard rumors they aren't what they used to be.

I don't know. I still have about 100 of them left from around 15 years ago. I ran an online store called ESE Audio supply for a couple of years.

Ed