What are your go-to guitar cables?

[varmonter]

I will interject here a bit . I havnt replaced
cables bad frequently as i used to. say back
in the 70s and 80s
Perhaps they are making better cheap cables.
or perhaps i can afford better ones as well.
But also 30 years ago i learned to wrap my
cables correctly ( watch the above video posts 9 and 27)
This alone will go along way to preserving
cable integrity. I've taught this to my duo partner.
but he still does the elbow hand technique.
He says my meathod takes to long.
I say my meathod is slower yes but
when unwrapping i don't have this twisted
mess to deal with at the next gig so in reality
it's quicker. Take the time to learn this
meathod and it will save time in the long
run. It's slow at first but like learning a new
chord position after awhile its quick.

[Wengr]

Lava Blue Demon. Been using these for years. They claim low capacitance(who knows really), and while not cheap, they imo are a reasonable price for what they are. Basically, they seem like a typical non junk guitar cable, and the blue color helps me differentiate them from those of the other players. Countless gigs on them with no failures yet.

[Long Road Home]

Originally Posted by varmonter

But also 30 years ago i learned to wrap my
cables correctly ( watch the above video posts 9 and 27)
This alone will go along way to preserving
cable integrity. I've taught this to my duo partner.
but he still does the elbow hand technique.
He says my meathod takes to long.
I say my meathod is slower yes but
when unwrapping i don't have this twisted
mess to deal with at the next gig so in reality
it's quicker. Take the time to learn this
meathod and it will save time in the long
run. It's slow at first but like learning a new
chord position after awhile its quick.

As an old sailor, I learned to coil ropes properly at a young age. I use the same method (the magic is in the little twist of the cable as you coil it) for my cables and extension cords. Last summer, I was helping a sound guy put his equipment away after a show, and he stopped me when I started to work on his cables... until he saw how I was handling them.

[Big Band Guitar]

Back when I was servicing Sunn Microsystems the computers came with a coil of RG58 with BNC connectors to be used for Ethernet connections between computers. Well we didn't use that connection so they were tossed.

I cut to length what I needed added Switchcraft plugs. They are as good as you can get.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by Lauren_WarEagle

How much does a cable affect the quality of sound on stage?.

Unless a cable is defective or out-of-spec it should not affect the quality of sound. I either use the one supplied by the sound person or this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071KFTPFJ...v_ov_lig_dp_it

[varmonter]

Originally Posted by Big Band Guitar

Back when I was servicing Sunn Microsystems the computers came with a coil of RG58 with BNC connectors to be used for Ethernet connections between computers. Well we didn't use that connection so they were tossed.

I cut to length what I needed added Switchcraft plugs. They are as good as you can get.

No issues using solid core ?? Pretty stiff ??

[Big Band Guitar]

Originally Posted by varmonter

No issues using solid core ?? Pretty stiff ??

I may have the number off what they shipped was stranded core. I just looked at one RG58 AU. The Beldon catalog lists it as a stranded core.

[rockabilly69]

I use custom 6 ft length COVENENT cables, They sound good and they last.

This is the type I use. If they break, he fixes them and pays return postage! I like the way they sound and they hold up great!

https://www.covenantcables.com/store..._TS_Cable.html

[David MacNeill]

Mogami when recording, guitar and mic. PRS-Van Damme silent guitar cables for rehearsal and stage. All stupid expensive but life is short.

[Tico]

I don't know what "go-to" cables are.

The only cables I use for my guitars, live and recording, are Analysis Plus Yellow Ovals.
They work.

[dcopper]

Lava cables when I can - one with a silent plug. Also, Monster for stage if I need cables- I know people complain they color sound but they are durable and dependable and most cables have some effect on tone. I use shorter cables when possible. Mogami works even better for tone but a bit less durable.

Right now - using the BOSS Wireless systems instead and loving the ease of use and lack of floor clutter. Great tone and the WL20 has the selector for “no cable- short cable- long cable”. I actually like the short cable. I also use the BOSS WL50 most of the time.

Davidc

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

…I immediately rushed out and bought some 12' Horizon tweeds. Those cables have been the mainstay of my cable clutch ever since. Meanwhile my company has run through Whirlwind and other high-end cables and to my ears they've never sounded better.

Bob

Hi Bob…

I don't have magic ears, and often my choices were dictated by the fact I live in a small city (60,000 people) without a guitar-centric store. So I order on line.

I've used tons of cables from different companies…everything from free-came-in-the-case cables to high end. The workhorse have been mid-line cables which have served me well.

The findings you cited don't surprise me.

I have several XLR mic cables which moved to Wyoming with me 42 years ago, which still work fine. They were not high-end when I purchased them, and some have been repaired (though I have not had to solder any loose connections or tighten the housings for a couple decades now).

I operated a recording studio without Mogami cables for 8 years…though I had one in the mix. But one couldn't pick out that one from any others on recordings.

Musicians are second only to the Germans in measuring things we cannot hear (a German engineer would have a name the measurement as well).

[Big Band Guitar]

Originally Posted by pax238

As an old sailor, I learned to coil ropes properly at a young age. I use the same method (the magic is in the little twist of the cable as you coil it) for my cables and extension cords. Last summer, I was helping a sound guy put his equipment away after a show, and he stopped me when I started to work on his cables... until he saw how I was handling them.

I agree. Proper coiling will make the cables last far longer.

The first few years I was working, part of my job was to take instrument cables returned from a job usually not coiled at all and coil them properly so that they would lay flat and not spring up, Some were 100 foot.

Those years really gave me a respect for proper care of cables. Now no one coils my cables but me.

[Photojeep]

I am a photographer and was taught well over 25 years ago to do that over/under coiling method by a movie grip. I now teach my photography students the same method. After you get the hang of it, it doesn't really take any more time than the hand/elbow method.

A properly coiled cable should be able to be held at one end and flung outwards and it will smoothly extend out its entire length with no tangles at all. This applies to instrument cables, XLR cables, power cords and extension cords.

The movie grip told me that is often the first test a new member of a set is given when he/she arrives on the first day of shooting. Considering it costs almost $1 million per minute to make a movie, it doesn't make sense to waste time untangling cables and extension cords.

Back to the original topic, while I have never heard any difference with any instrument cable I've ever used, I do like the silent cables like these: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Livewir...Silent-Jack.gc
Since buying one, I no longer cause the loud popping when I forget to engage my Boss tuner before pulling out the instrument cable from my guitar.

I didn't pay this much for mine but I remember it wasn't cheap. But I feel the ability to pull it from my guitar with no noise is worth it.

Good luck in finding what works for you.

Best,
PJ

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Photojeep

I am a photographer and was taught well over 25 years ago to do that over/under coiling method by a movie grip. I now teach my photography students the same method. After you get the hang of it, it doesn't really take any more time than the hand/elbow method.

Hi Pj

Learned it from a sound tech who owned his own TV studio about 40 years ago. Been using it ever since, and I have cables which are more than 40 years old and still functioning!