I always make my own with Neutrik connectors and whatever the best cable is I can find - I prefer Canare, but Belden are also good. I had problems getting real nice cable last time I made (6 or 7 years ago), so I used Proel, which is decent, but not great. Actually no... I made two 9' (3m) cables for my guitar a couple of years ago and used Carver cable that was really nice (should be, it cost R100 p/m) - cable for life kind of thing.

The Planet Waves cable is nice - I'm not wild about the plugs on their premade guitar cables (I don't trust them to last), but I suppose when they break, you can cut them off and replace with Neutrik  (some of my Neutrik plugs are over 15 years old and on their third or fourth cable).

The Bill Lawrence and George L's are great cables technically speaking, but they are too thin for "road rigors", so I wouldn't use them for anything but pedalboard jumpers.

Who supplies the Neutrik heads and Carver cable. I wanna do a cost comparison to the stuff I can get in the local shops.

I've had my Fender cable for about four years and it's still going strong. I guess that's mainly because it has a pretty hard casing so it doesn't flex enough to cause any serious break. I don't do any gigging or club playing, mainly church. I use the fender cable to plug from my pedal board to my amp. It's a bit too stiff to use to my guitar.

Just as a point of interest, my brother suggested I try out twisted pair mylar screen data cable. He's a bit of an electronics boff/ sound engineer. Any comments on this idea ?

Joey,
Music Mate in Fourways carries Neutrik connectors, best to call before hand though as I think the stock levels vary quite a bit - there doesn't seem to be much demand for these. I bought a couple of 90 degree connectors there a while ago, still haven't built them up, they are huge and I'm not very impressed with the design - they rely on interlocking of plastic parts.

Don't try twisted pair cable for instrument cables, it is unshielded and the noise will be atrocious.

Rob.

The Carver I imported from an online shop. It's stiff, thick, heavy wire though. Ever see the R1000+ 15 foot Fender cables? They used Carver cable. I saw those and found out where to get the loose cable for much less.

The Neutriks I get from Bothners, the distributor is in JHB somewhere and AFAI concerned, any pro music store should have them (and the XLRs).

I also use Neutrik jack sockets in my guitars:

They are large (the same size as a chassis-mount XLR socket), but last forever. They lock the jack in until the red button thing is pushed in. When they get dirty inside, undo the single screw in the red sleeve at the back and they come right apart. Once you've cleaned them, they reassemble just as quickly and easily.

Careful of data cables - YMMV. They are good for the intended purpose which is working with much higher frequencies, but they may not work as well for audio. They are designed and tested for frequencies we don't use, and are not tested at frequencies we do. They are also usually quite inflexible, more for permanent/semipermanent installations.

Audio cables are designed to take punishment - the thick PVC outer covering is there to protect, while still being flexible. Twisted pair is good for short lengths, but it increases stiffness, crosstalk and capacitance over the longer lengths we use. I twist the wires in singlecoil guitars that don't use screened cable - it's the next best thing.

ralley wrote: I bought a couple of 90 degree connectors there a while ago, still haven't built them up, they are huge and I'm not very impressed with the design - they rely on interlocking of plastic parts.

Yeah. I've got a few of the big ones (they make a smaller, thinner one too, btw). They are too big to use anywhere. They are actually quite solid though. The smaller ones are a cow to solder the earth to - you need a big iron.

Don't try twisted pair cable for instrument cables, it is unshielded and the noise will be atrocious.

I think Joey was talking about the twisted pair that also has a screen - the mylar sleeve is impregnated with carbon, which is conductive - similar to the black plastic layer in a Proel instrument cable (that you have to cut back when you strip the wire, or risk losing treble frequencies to increased capacitance). That kind of screen works well for RF, but should be used in conjunction with a braided or lap screened wire screen for AF. For data they will usually use a foil screen which is not as flexible.

Twisted pair actually gives good noise protection, as both wires tend to pick up the same noise, but it's out of phase and so cancels - similar to the theory behind 'buckers.

I'm thinking of getting a short piece of mylar screened cable to do a test. I still have the gold plated jacks from my broken cable, so I can use it to experiment.

BTW The fender cables I have was thrown into the deal for free when I bought my Squier from MusicConnection, so I don't think it's the +R1000 version.

With regard to the Planetwaves cables. I got one a little while ago at a nice discount, and the cool thing is they come with a lifetime guarantee. The connectors are a little on the large side but they are super solid. No complaints there.

I bought a george L's cable the other day, they are also super cables.

Garth S wrote: With regard to the Planetwaves cables.

The Planet Waves cables I saw had a springy expanding section in the middle of the shaft to make sure they make contact. I was a bit concerned about the durability of that.

JoeyBones wrote: BTW The fender cables I have was thrown into the deal for free when I bought my Squier from MusicConnection, so I don't think it's the +R1000 version.

Well, they couldn't sell them (for some strange reason ;D ), so who knows, maybe you got lucky? The carver cable has the brand name on it and arrows to show the direction to use them (they use two conductors and an earth that is only connected on one side, so they are directional).

Francis Viviers wrote: I bought a george L's cable the other day, they are also super cables.

Where did you buy your Geroge L's from and how much was it ?

Well i got the pre made george L's from andy mcgibbons. I got a 15ft cable at R250.

A couple of my friends want to club in to buy a full roll of George L's cable. I'll give Andy's a call to see what deal he can do on the heads.

(thread resurrection!)
Hey all. I just got some random cheap cables from a nearby store, which were terrible. I knew they'd be, but they only stocked these "Bright" cables...40 bucks each.
So I was wondering: what brands should I avoid completely? I mean, beyond the fact that a R40 cable is bound to suck, are there any brands I should avoid with higher prices as well?

My biggest problem is not the cable but the 1/4'' jack. Even on the high end cable the jacks give out. All the ones I have dissected have this p*ss-poor little rivet holding the centre core in place. It works loose pretty early in it's life span cause the regular buzz pop hum. For 2 Chinese cents they could put a screw in there that could be tightened FFS >

Renesongs wrote: My biggest problem is not the cable but the 1/4'' jack. Even on the high end cable the jacks give out. All the ones I have dissected have this p*ss-poor little rivet holding the centre core in place. It works loose pretty early in it's life span cause the regular buzz pop hum. For 2 Chinese cents they could put a screw in there that could be tightened FFS >

My problem's the ends as well.. your words are passing over my head tho.. I just see in 5/6 of my broken cables, that one of the 2 cable wires connecting to the end piece has torn off the end it was soldered to.. makes either little/no sound come out, or this horrible buzz. I'm still learning how to fix cables though... clearly its a skill all guitarists should have.

I had a poor connection in a high end (R 200,00+) cable blow the horns on both my PA speakers twice. Technician even had my amp checked for power surges in desperation, 'til we figured out a poor connection caused a "short" which sent an ultra high frequency through the speakers. Four tweeters later, ditched that cable >

Point is, IMHO it doesn't pay to skimp on cabling. It's the same principle as retread tyres on a high performance car.

it doesn't pay to skimp on cabling

+1. It always amazes me how guys will connect gear worth hundreds of thousands together with the cheapest cabling they can find. It always causes major trouble in the long run ('scuse the pun).

i will never forget changing all my cables from the home made cheapies , to the rocktron oxygen free /gold plated moulded cables . the difference in sound was night and day

i also used to use cheap R50 cables and i recently switched to R200 noiseless cables and the difference is amazing!!! ?