Expensive cables are BS

[rlord1974]

Casey Hanson convinced me to switch my entire rig over to Evidence (Reveal for the long runs, Monorail for the pedalboard), and I have noticed a HUGE difference - for the better.

 

[rcm78]

I have bought a quite a few high quality cables. They may make a slight difference but I think thats your mind trying to justify the purchase. I have come to logical senses. Think about the wiring in you guitars and in your amps. Are they "premium quality" wires. No. According to this logic I would need to change all the wiring.

I recently bought two 20' cables. 1 Lava Blue Demon, and 1 Mogami Gold. They were both about the same price. Compared them directly to each other and to a cheap live wire cable and a med priced DiMarzio cable.

There was a clear difference with the lava cable. Compared to the others it increased or maybe the better term would be attenuates less lower mids. To make sure I wasnt hearing things I asked my other guitarist to listen while I switched back and forth. He said the same thing I was thinking...

The Mogami and DiMarzio both sounded the same to me. The Live Wire kills some high end...

how would you compare the Lava to the Dimarzio? as far as high end, mids and bass? Ive heard good things about Dimarzio cables

The Lava allowed more lower mids through. It was noticeable. The DiMarzio cable sounds the same as the Mogami Gold cable. Plenty of mids and highs. Slightly rolled off lows as compared to the Lava.

The only issue I have with the DiMarzio cable is the braided jacket. The cable tends to coil up and get tangled. It doesnt lay down very well. The Lava is thick and fairly stiff but lays down better then the DiMarzio. The Mogami is very flexible and lays down very well...

 

[Random Hero]

I have two Evidence Audio Lyric HGs, a Sommer Spirit and Sommer Spirit XXL as part of my rig. Big price difference but I generally like the Sommer Spirit XXL the best. Sommer cables are lower capacitance than the Evidence stuff which I generally prefer - a bit clearer sounding - so they go infront of the amp but I also prefer how they lay on the floor compared to the Evidence cables which are so thick and stiff that they just tangle like crazy. That might sway my opinion a little and because of that, I use the XXL guitar to board, regular Spirit board to amp and the Evidence cables in the loop. For recording I've used both but more often reach for the Evidence there. Must be psychological...

I guess I think expensive cables are both over and underrated. They do sound different and the Evidence stuff sounds great but it doesn't sound four times better than the Sommer cables I use as the price would perhaps suggest. Just no way.

And of course, the most important part in all of this is that the audience don't give a fuck

 

[PBGas]

I added in an Evidence Siren II cable from my head to cab and in comparing the one that I used previously....a cheaper Yorkville model, the Evidence is much clearer at higher volumes.

 

[fearhk213]

Just to echo what others have said, I got a 4x12 wiring harness from Lava that was too short as well. My cab has Marshall dimensions too, so nothing out of the ordinary. I figured my situation was an oddity, but I guess not; it seems he needs a new ruler. Kidding aside, he took care of it asap with no problems and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from Lava again.

As far as hearing a difference between various instrument & speaker cables, it's there for sure. For instrument cables I've compared bargain bins, Planet Waves, Mogami, & a Colossal Brooklyn. Speaker cables I've compared less, various bargain bin offerings and a Kimber, but there was a noticeable among those too. I've even done some a/b tests with non-guitarists that could hear differences too.

 

[pjrake]

I've had alot of success with George L's cables.

PJ

 

[rsm]

I have a mix of cables some dating back to the 70s or 80s when we just used whatever we had, these days though I use Monster for speaker cables and Mogami for instrument cables. For patch cables I have a mix of DiMarzio and Monster. I also have Lava patch cable kits but I haven't used them yet. Not sure if these considered standard or what?

As long as the quality is there, I'm guessing most will just dial in their rigs to the get the sound they want, if a cable attenuates the highs adjust the eq controls to get your sound...

If there is something better for a comparble price I'd like to hear it (and about it).

I've read the curly cables have an increased capacitance that effects the sound? If so, I'm guessing whoever used or uses them either digs that, or compensated to get the sound they want.

so far, the differences have been minimal to my ears. YMMV

 

[steve_k]

I use these with my SLO and Cameron's.....really brings out the goods.

 

[Anonymous]

did a shootout with zaolla two rock monster georgeL planet waves and evidence and an off the shelf gc cable

evidence was the clear winner and all sounded unique but it was apparent that planet waves was good enough for me without the high price tag
i had a george l guitar cable prior but the solderfree end was tempermental

speaker and instrument cables do make a difference

Couldn't ya just tweak a few knobs on the amp and make 'em all sound the same?

Steve

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I'd be interested in trying a coily cable or two to go from amp to pedal board and from pedal board to guitar. What is a good coily to try?

As for high end cables, I would say that the difference is probably most noticable for recording or when you are really listening. Live I can see rugged being more important than tone alone. As one of the other posters already noted, live, most people in the audience could give a shit about the subtle diff between low mids and high mids.

 

[Superunknown]

I love my Evidence cables...to my ear they sound much better. To each his own though.

 

[5150clone]

George L's for here.

 

[chunktone]

I would have to agree. I have been making my own cables for years. I use Mogami and Canare cable and Switchcraft or Neutrik ends, and windup with very high quality cables for less that even the cheap GC store brand crap! I can't see spending what some of these companies are asking for a cable. I have been very happy with the quality of cables that I make. Even if I could hear a difference between them and Evidence or what ever brand you like, I could not justify the increased cost for such a minimal difference in performance.

 

[Anonymous]

sorry you had a problem but high quality cables are hugely important

or

So if I re-wire my 1960B replacing the stock Marshall wiring with 14 or 16 guage lamp wire, what tone difference should I expect??

I use copper stranded zip/lamp cord. When I have upgraded the wiring in Marshall cabs I find you get more mids/low mids, but you also get a more immediate attack (punchy, etc) back from the speakers. It's just more responsive after the wiring change.

Everyone I've done it for has noticed an improvement.

hmmmmm....

i think im going to go with the 2nd quote for some reason.

did a shootout with zaolla two rock monster georgeL planet waves and evidence and an off the shelf gc cable

evidence was the clear winner and all sounded unique but it was apparent that planet waves was good enough for me without the high price tag
i had a george l guitar cable prior but the solderfree end was tempermental

speaker and instrument cables do make a difference

Couldn't ya just tweak a few knobs on the amp and make 'em all sound the same?

Steve

A standard coily cable was good enough for Hendrix...

exactly on BOTH of these IMHO.

also, why did this thread derail? if i read right he was talking about SPEAKER wire inside the cab....or, maybe im wrong?

but, while it's derailed....90% of the ppl i've seen post here (not ALL of you!) use a fuckin boost between your guitar and amp...which, has a buffer...so, what the hells the difference...?? di shit to board...yeah, maybe...i cant agree or dis cause i dont have that experience..i'll take the word on it...

or, (as usual) am i missing something...

anyways...i bought 2 canare 20footers a long time ago, and, they're slightly microphonic if you tap on them, but the tone seems to be a tad clearer/more defined than a standard spectraflex cable to my ears...but the flex is quiter when you do the tap test...

BUT...if i put the flex or the canare after a buffered pedal that goes to the amp..there's no noticeable difference to MY ears...so...FWIW...GO PLAY!

 

[mdc1mdc11]

given the number of frequency based filter circuits that appear inline from guitar-effect-amp-speaker it seems sort of worrisome that you could actually provide a "these are best recommendation" given the multitude of equipment combinations. Get cables that aren't noisy or have loss and adjust the damn controls as was mentioned before, or pick the ones that sound good for your situation.

 

[mentoneman]

did a shootout with zaolla two rock monster georgeL planet waves and evidence and an off the shelf gc cable

evidence was the clear winner and all sounded unique but it was apparent that planet waves was good enough for me without the high price tag
i had a george l guitar cable prior but the solderfree end was tempermental

speaker and instrument cables do make a difference

Couldn't ya just tweak a few knobs on the amp and make 'em all sound the same?

Steve

im sure i could have compensated but my thought process comes from tv and live sound reinforcement perspectives
i had a 100 foot run i had to send s-video across once early on in an installation and normally used mogami wire but once tried a lower budget cable as an experiment

not only was the low budg image horribly distorted but it also required massive color correction on the receiving end. i was able to couple twice the distance of the mogami with a cheap barrel connector at the center and barely noticed any distortion.

same principle with audio wiring which is compounded when the runs are much longer


ive been slumming with molded hosa patch cables on my pedalboard but now with my pedals pretty consistant i will go to the next level with custom cables and then cleaner power

 

[Atropos_Project]

So cables are snake oil, but we'll sit and debate the pros and cons of various pickups all day?

 

[Inearthed]

To further derail the thread, I detect a difference in my rig when I switch between the all black Hosa patch cables and Mogami W2319 with GLS Audio Pancake ends. With the custom made cables there is simply more clarity. Scary part is that the higher quality cables are actually cheaper.

 

[stratotone]

I hate the 'Hendrix used coiled crappy cables and it worked for him' argument. That's what he had available. He also experimented with effects, so if had them available maybe he'd have been a Line 6 user? Makes about as much sense to me.

Anyways, I make my own cables with Canare GS6 or Gepco XL20UB. They sound better than the cheapo crap at GC, and also are lower noise. If they break I can fix em. I think the upper end cables probably DO sound a little better, but I'm not going to pay 500% more for 5% improvement.

Few tips if you're on a budget or have to do with cheap cables (and my opinion, not carved in stone fact but I'm pretty sure of these

1) use the shortest you can for the application. Length is the real tone killer on cheap cables.
2) Most important cable is the one from your guitar to the first pedal or your amp. Use your best cable here.
3) keep cables between pedals SHORT as possible. If you can, get those two plug gizmos that have no wire between them.
4) fx loop cables are not nearly as important as earlier in the chain or before your amp. You won't lose as much tone.
5) Speaker cables are pretty much bunk as long as they are built well and don't short out. I do what Ken Fischer (trainwreck guy) did - I make my own speaker cables from extension cord wiring. Works fine. There's no point in using a speaker cable the size of a garden hose if the wiring inside your cabinet is smaller than a pencil lead. Ditto for the wiring in your amp!
6) Expensive power cords are TOTAL BULLSHIT. Ok, so the 6' 'hospital quality' or whatever cable is going to make up for all the tonal losses from the power wiring in my house AND the wiring from the power station TO my house?

 

[Ventura]

From a scientific standpoint speaker and instrument cables definitley have an affect on the tonal freqencies. FWIW

I ABC'd a whack of different leads thinking I was going to prove 'snake oil syndrome', but I was surprised - Planet Waves, Monster, Evidence EA, Vovox, Lava, etc.

I ended up going with a full complement of all Vovox - lead and speaker - and this was not cheap, and the reason I say this is I wouldn't have bought them if it weren't for the sonic/tonal improvement I most certainly did hear.

Lava mini-ELC for my pedals.
Vovox for everything else.

NO REGRETS.
Mojo