High quality cables?

ICBM

meltedbuzzbox said:

I've been using fender custom shop cables for over 4 years. At one point they were gigged twice every week for a year solid. They are still absolutely fine. They also have anlife time warranty I believe.

Lucky for you. I've seen loads of dead ones, as have a lot of other people.

Lifetime warranty is all well and good except when it breaks in the middle of a gig, when it's then a pain, even if you have a spare. And if they replace it, you get another crap cable.

Danny1969 said:

The Fender custom shop cables I have seen and repaired are terrible in design .... cheap jacks with shit strain relief and the normal crimped tip connector failure point. Covered in heatsink with Fender printed on it. They break all the time in my experience, especially the ones which have the wires cut too short as the strain relief is basically yanking on the solder joint from new .... I saw one fail on it's second gig !!

Exactly this.

hywelg said:

The best from a usability point of view is a Fender cloth covered cable, it just handles beautifully but sonically it's very average and as @ICBM says, probably suspect construction.if I was going to gig with it I'd swap the ends for Neutrik. 

The problem is that it's a bugger to do since the Fender cable is so fat it's a struggle to get it into the cable chuck. Worth it though, the cable itself is actually nice.

thegummy said:

Interesting you should say that, the main cable I use is Fender Custom Shop and was planning on buying more. Mine has always been fine but only had it about a year. The plastic has slightly broken but not the electrical connections.

How many, roughly, have you seen that are bad?

Twenty or thirty probably - that's a lot, given that it's probably as many as all the other modern brands put together. Very noticeably less reliable than any other cable except Planet Waves, which I wouldn't trust either.

I've got three here from the same owner, which is half his cables.

As Danny says it's simply that the jacks are shit. If anyone owns any which haven't broken, that's not because they're not crap, it's because they just haven't done *yet*.

Bridgehouse

Right. Well. Clear tone cables it is then. I'll pop in an order for a few. Just got to decide what length now

Alvin

 I bought about 4/5 of the Fender leads  both the cotton and standard , had them for well over a year and not used any yet .  I bought them as they seemed to good a price not to at the time .   The cables themselves are definitely thicker than most and also very pliable , supposed to be non twist . It seems good quality but how good inside i don't know as i have yet to take one apart .    When i got them i did notice that they have cheap jacks on them as the cheaper ones always seem slightly smaller (only just noticeable when plugging in - not with the eye) .
      I have made loads of leads up with what i believe to be the same cheap angled jacks for patch leads .  I can't say i have any problems with them , maybe it's the soldering ? I use leaded solder , whoever makes the Fender leads won't .
   I am going to start using the Fender leads to see how long they last , will be interesting .    I will add , i am carefull with my gear/leads and don't abuse them (i have had some leads for 20 years and they are still fine) .
     And if / when they pack up , no problem i will just put better quality jacks on  , also if the cable itself is decent then it's probably a cost effective way of buying it , some of the branded stuff is horrendously expensive .
    Update to follow if / when they pack up .

Alvin

And it's a no vote on the VinceCable's

rico

I have one Sommer cable and one Van Damme cable with Neutrik ends and I have had a palaver with the Van Damme one. It is quite thin and it has somehow got a short somewhere along the length - probably from the drummer dumping his hardware on it...I need to investigate alternatives to that one now. Will probably get some Sommer cable and make my own to be honest.

UnclePsychosis

The best quality to price that I've found since Kabl ceased trading regularly are Designacable who sell both direct and via amazon.

Good cable, neutrik connectors, sensibly priced. 

m_c

That's just reminded me that @designacable are registered on here, and the last couple I bought were from them via eBay.

thegummy

@ICBM is there a brand you recommend?

I was actually searching the archives the other day and spotted you always mentioned a particular brand but I'd never heard of it so assumed it's expensive and/or hard to find lol

Sassafras

Those Cleartone cables seem to be remarkably good value.

ICBM

thegummy said:

@ICBM is there a brand you recommend?

I was actually searching the archives the other day and spotted you always mentioned a particular brand but I'd never heard of it so assumed it's expensive and/or hard to find lol

Horizon. I've got a whole set of them that I've had for about twenty years - they seem to be hard to find now, or perhaps no longer available, all the listings online say out of stock. They were not cheap, but not super expensive by the standards of some fancy cables - I think about £35 for a 20' and £25 for a 10' if I remember right. The plugs are Switchcraft, which have mostly been fine but one or two have broken and I've replaced them with Neutriks.

beer

I had some custom cables made up by award session recently. V happy. Neutrik, van damme, right angle connectors.

thegummy

ICBM said:

thegummy said:

@ICBM is there a brand you recommend?

I was actually searching the archives the other day and spotted you always mentioned a particular brand but I'd never heard of it so assumed it's expensive and/or hard to find lol

Horizon. I've got a whole set of them that I've had for about twenty years - they seem to be hard to find now, or perhaps no longer available, all the listings online say out of stock. They were not cheap, but not super expensive by the standards of some fancy cables - I think about £35 for a 20' and £25 for a 10' if I remember right. The plugs are Switchcraft, which have mostly been fine but one or two have broken and I've replaced them with Neutriks.

Any other recommendations for more easily found cables?

You previously mentioned that Planet Waves are bad - do you agree that the "American Stage" ones from them are much better than the standard?

Sporky

Rocker said:

For years I have been repeatedly "birched" for even suggesting that cables could affect the sound output. Now it seems that some people are looking beyond the terminations and assessing the sound of the cable itself. I welcome this development, not so that I am proved right, but that players are actually listening to the sounds they make. And noting how elements in their setup can alter that sound.

It has been explained to you over and over by people who understand the science and engineering why cables make a difference in some applications, and don't in others.

At this point you're just trolling, and it's getting a bit pathetic.

ICBM

thegummy said:

You previously mentioned that Planet Waves are bad - do you agree that the "American Stage" ones from them are much better than the standard?

Well, I haven't seen a dead one! Which either means they're fine or no-one round here has bought one... but given the rate of failure of the other ones it's a near certainty I would have if they do break.

longshins

Like ICBM I use horizon cables, bought them around 18 years ago as they came with a lifetime warranty. Haven’t managed to break them yet, the patch leads were crap though.

thermionic

Wolfetone said:

Ever thought about  making them yourself? Soldering is a skill that every guitarist should try and learn. It'll save you a fortune and you can be self sufficient.

I can solder of course, and have made plenty, but I realised Award-Session could sell me the cables considerably cheaper than I could buy the cables and plugs. Buying in bulk, see.

thegummy

After reading back through this thread I find the idea of making my own appealing using Van Damme cable (seem to be well regarded).

Which is the better out of Neutrik and Switchcraft for the ends?

thegummy

I have a question if I may - is there a good way to test cables to see if they might be a bit sketchy or still fine?

I've got a bunch of random old cables from over the years. Obviously plugging a guitar in with them is one way but it might work that time but not show that it's going to be crackly or break down soon. Is there any better way?

p90fool

I've just realised that I haven't gigged with cables made by anyone except me for about 20 years.  

It's a bit like letting someone else string your guitars or pack your parachute, sure you can all swap stories about who you trust and who you don't, but it's such a simple task why would you bother? 

You could make up four cables in the time it takes to Google where to buy them from. 

A roll of good brand name cable, some Neutrik plugs, and a therapeutic hour making enough cables for the next ten years. 

Gassage

I recently got a 3 input switcher- I back to backed loads of cables.

The difference between Evidence Forte and anything else is remarkable. Like huge. Even better than Cornish cables, which were a close second.

The difference in those compared to things like Mogami, the best new D'Addario, Fender CS, Planet Waves etc was laughable.

So, the answer is Evidence Forte by a distance.