Cables

It's been years since I had to buy a new cable, but as I was playing tonight, I got that tell-tale static and fading that says it's time. I've always bought the cheap cables and never really had any problems with them, but since I've just moved up in quality of guitar, I was thinking about moving up in quality of cable to see if it made any difference. When I started looking around though, I decided I'd ask before dropping $30 on a 10-foot cable. Is there really any audible difference between the el cheapo cables I'm used to and the more expensive ones?

oh man... you've opened up the endless cable debate question again.

Basically, the answer is yes and no.
If the rest of your equipment is top notch and you have discerning ears that can actually hear differences between things like consumer level audio products and 'audiophile' products, then yes, you will notice a difference.
Most noticeably in recording where it's not so much the sound itself, but the lack of noise produced by cheap cables picking up random RF signals bouncing around. It's the quality of the shielding and the plugs that make the difference

It's also the quality control that goes into the cables themselves.

The cheap ones are usually made in some third world country using cheap materials and slave labour. They cut corners as much as possible to make extra money by doing things like using less solder, thinner wires, cheaply made plugs, cables with little or no shielding and little to no quality control.

Hi-end cables are manufactured using the best materials by a company that specializes in what they're selling. There's usually extra shielding, more precise winding using better equipment manufactured in a proper factory that isn't cutting corners to make extra money. They've also probably put a lot of research into their product to try and make it the best on the market and have strict quality control measures.
Hence the reason for the higher price.

You and I seem to be living parallel lives, spy. I was testing my new Peavey amp the other night, was getting some hum, and even was picking up a radio signal! I was plugged in with a cheap, Guitar Center cable that I got free- have scads of them from the post-cards they send me. But I recently bought a "quality" cable made by Quantum Audio Designs. It was at least 1/3 thicker than the GC cable, and there was another rubber sheath near the jack, so I assume everything was shielded that much better. Cost me $18 for a 10' cable. Initially, I thought, wtf! for a cable? The last time I bought a cable, it cost less than $10 and it was 20' long.

But I've become more mindful of anything electrical related, since I have a 9 yr. old I'm teaching guitar to. When I was doing a setup with the 20' cable, when I touched the screw on sheath that was loose, I got a mild shock. With the help of Lordathestrings, he pointed me in directions about proper grounding and stuff. I was pretty much able to rule out grounding problems from my power source, and came to the conclusion it was the cable (possibly my American Strat too)- I don't know if you can get fried from a faulty cable (Kevin, you know if you can get fried by your guitar or cable if they are not grounded properly?), but I saw a ground wire in there (and in my guitar), so I figure there must be a reason to have it.

Anyway, after plugging in the Quantum cable, the hum went away. Even though I'm a dunderhead when it comes to gear, I could immediately feel the difference in quality- thick cable, additional sheath near the jack. The model # is HSQI-10R. I can't say for sure how much better this is over any other cable, but at least the hum went away- can't remember about receiving the radio signal though, lol.

Originally Posted by: Silimtao(Kevin, you know if you can get fried by your guitar or cable if they are not grounded properly?), but I saw a ground wire in there (and in my guitar), so I figure there must be a reason to have it.

that's fer sure...it's only happened twice but that was enough.
... touched the grounding switch once on the back of a Fender Twin amp while playing live & thought I was gonna die, but had to stand there and pretend like nothing happened.
Another time I was using an ungrounded mic and bare feet on a concrete floor and just about fried my lips off.

I've been more careful about cables ever since a Luxman representative showed me what a simple speaker cable can do. He unhooked one speaker and attached the positive and negative leads to a pencil lead and turned the volume to full. Within 10 seconds the lead was glowing red hot.
(definitely not recommended btw. Luxman amps are stable enough to handle a load like that...if ya try it on a cheap amp you'll probably fry it)

Originally Posted by: Kevin Taylorthat's fer sure...it's only happened twice but that was enough.

Dammit, now I'm afraid of my Strat! Dunno if you saw the description of my 1984 Strat, but you have to take the whole scratch plate off to get to the trem springs. As you probably know, all the circuitry is attached to the pups, which are attached to the scratch guard- something I didn't know until I first undid everything to get to the trem springs. I lifted it off very carefully though. I still believe it was the unsheathed cable, but ya can't be too careful.

Well, I may bring in the Strat for a professional setup :mad: , as it's driving me crazy, but thanks for the response. I'll probably be foolish enough to still play it. I'll just keep my kid away from it... :eek: Thanks mucho. I'm soooo pissed I can't play my Strat!

Decided to go with a middle-ground cable, a DiMarzio that I found pretty good online reviews on. In the $20 range for a 10-footer. Not one of the more expensive ones I found, but not cheap, either. I'll see if it makes a difference.

I've been using these cables for a few years now. Never had a problem with them. Especially good on really long cable runs.

http://www.canare.com/index.cfm?objectid=EC6A9439-3048-7098-AFC64A4EA6821ADA

Use the Search tab to sift through the archives. There's a lot of stuff, including a discussion about the treble-killing effect of >cable capacitance<.

Every part of your signal path will affect the final sound. Yes, even your choice of picks!

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsUse the Search tab to sift through the archives. There's a lot of stuff, including a discussion about the treble-killing effect of >cable capacitance<.

Every part of your signal path will affect the final sound. Yes, even your choice of picks!

Excellent link. It's high time I learned a bit more about hardware and stuff. The article is especially good for me (assuming I'll understand it all) since it talks about single coils. Something I'll go back to tonight.

Even picks? Sheesh, the stuff I don't know.....