Effects Bay

I’ve mentioned time and time again the importance of good cables. You definitely get what you pay for. If you want to buy a bunch of cheap cables, they’ll either a) sound bad or worse b) will stop working during a performance, etc. I feel the best cables to get are instrument cables. Pay the high dollars, but not have to worry about buying a new instrument cable for years. I have instrument cables that last 10+ years without a problem. I remember buying cheap/crap cables that could barely last a few months.

You definitely can get away with cheaper patch cables, since their movement is less depending if you have your pedals mounted on a board, etc. They normally don’t get removed from the pedal, get dropped on the floor and thrown into a case/box, etc. But when I have a few bucks, I do try to upgrade my set. I love my Lava Cables, but a few months ago, I picked up a few Divine Noise cables that ended up on my board. I liked how rugged these bad boys are. They’re built to last with high quality jacks, etc.

The next set of cables to look at… if you’re like me running a head into a speaker cabinet is speaker cables. For years I was running a Rivera Knucklehead 100W into a Marshall 4×12 cab with Celestion Vintage 30s. About a year ago, I started using 2 2×12 Avatar cabinets – one is open back with Vintage 30 and G12H30s in there, the other is a closed back with Vintage 30s. I love this set up. This requires two cables from the amp to power each cab. My original speaker cable was nice and beefy. I went to a local guitar shop to pick up another cable (important to not just use instrument or patch cable for speaker connection). All they had was a speaker rated cable that was thin. I reluctantly bought it. I have to say I had no problems with it, but hated that it looked/felt just like a long patch cable. I like speaker cables to be beefy with a good amount of insulation and with gnarly jacks.

I talked with Gil at Divine Noise and he sent over a speaker cable and few more patches. Now… this is what I’m talking about when I’m looking for a quality speaker cable. I put a Tortex guitar pick in there for scale.

I have to say this is the second set of cables I’ve gotten from Divine Noise, and they’re definitely doing it right over there. If you get a chance, check out Divine Noise for cables!

Popularity: 3%

Incoming search terms for EffectsBay.com:

• COXX patchcords
• diy speakers cable
• pedal board wiring cables belden
• solderless patch cords
• gill guitar cables yo la tengo
• tub of patch cables
• divine noise
• Bad Cat loudspeaker
• speaker cable next to instrument cable
• what does a shielded cord look like?instrument or speaker

Hello all, just wanted to create a reminder about the great give away that is sponsored by Divine Noise out of Portland, OR. Gil Divine will be giving away a $150 gift certificate for his fine cables. He builds patch, instrument and speaker cables. Great opportunity to replace some bad cables, and get something quality. I’ll stop taking entries on Friday (12PM MST), so you need to get on it.. if you want a chance.

For more information on the give away and to enter read this post: “Divine Noise – $150 Gift Certificate Give Away”

For more information about Divine Noise, check out their website or visit them on Facebook!

Popularity: 3%

CONTEST IS CLOSED

I’m excited about this give away. This will be a short run give away, just over a week. This give away is one of two this month so keep a close eye on EffectsBay.com this month.

I’ve been talking to Gil Divine over Divine Noise for a some time. He was interested in sponsoring a give away. We bounced a few ideas around – custom cable, a few cables, etc. The bottom line is that everyone has their own particular cable needs, so we didn’t want to lock them into winning something they don’t want or use. Gil came up with the idea of offering a gift certificate. Now we’re talking. If you win this give away, you can have any custom cable built. Want a curly cable of death? Need some patch cables? Need a speaker cable or two? Mix and match and get what you want.

So let’s talk about Divine Noise for a minute. In March I posted a little mini-interview with Gil, if you didn’t get a chance to read that please do – “Introducing The Divine Noise Cables“. Gil makes cables for his business out of Portland, Oregon, but is also a guitar tech for some great musicians – Yo La Tengo, Lucinda Williams, The White Stripes, Cat Power, Super Furry Animals … And you will know us by the trail of dead. He definitely knows and understands the requirements of a cable on stage and in the studio.

He definitely has some real-deal credentials under his belt. I actually have a few of his patch cables, and I have to say, they’re pretty awesome. Everything I want to see in a cable is there – built to last, sound good and built with quality materials. I personally wouldn’t mind using his patches for all of pedals in the future. Not to mention his instrument cables and speaker cables. Come to think of it.. I actually do need a new speaker cable… I also have to mention that Gil is a really great guy, responds to his email and is super friendly, again more factors of what I like to see when dealing with purchases.

I’ll run this give away for little over a week (ends Friday 5/13 12PM MST).  I would also like to take a moment and thank Gil at The Divine Noise for offering up this $150 gift certificate to a lucky EffectsBay.com reader.  Also, this includes free shipping on the cables built! Please check out Divine Noise at their website!

First, this is not a requirement, but you should ‘like’ EffectsBay on Facebook. It’s good way to keep in touch with new give aways and posts. Also, please consider joining the official EffectsBay.com mailing list.

To enter fill out the form below, in two weeks  (May 13th) I’ll randomly pick 3 entries as finalists. I’ll email the 3 finalists and the first one out of the three that emails me back will be the winner.You must enter a ‘valid’ email address, bounce back emails will be rejected. One entry per person (seriously people.. one entry per person). After the winner has been notified and all is good (I’ve retrieved mailing address, etc), I’ll coordinate the correspondence between the winner and Gil of Divine Noise to get the gift certificate delivered. This give away is open to everyone.. yes.. international!

To enter the give away, please answer the following question: “Do you believe that good cabling is important for your tone?”

Popularity: 5%

Incoming search terms for EffectsBay.com:

• divine noise cable review
• effectsbay com - divine noise giveaway
• great fantastic unique looking effects pedals
• the divine noise cable
• super furry animals pedalboard

Recently I got in contact with Dustin at Armor Gold Cables and he sent us a cable to try out. Last night we recorded a couple of upcoming pedal demos and we used the Armor Gold instrument cable, and it looked, sounded and worked like a champ. I wanted to send some questions to Dustin regarding Armor Gold.. and their cables, and here were his responses.

- When you started Armor Gold Cables what did you set out to achieve?
The primary goal was to produce an extremely durable cable. But it also had to sound great and be reasonably priced.

- How are your cables different than the rest of the market?
The first thing you’ll notice is the polymer outer mesh. This mesh is common in industrial and aerospace applications were high durability is required. It helps prevent slicing and impact type damage. It also looks cool and improves visibility on a dark stage. The second thing is we prefer medium-low capacitance, as opposed to low capacitance. Most your guitar gear (guitar, amp, pickups, effects, etc.) was designed, tested, and tweaked with medium to high capacitance cable (30-50pf). So when you use low capacitance cable, you’re adding substantial treble to the recipe, which can sound too bright and harsh. Our cables measure 33pf per foot, which gives a nice combination of warmth and clarity and stays true to the original design intention of your gear.

- Where do you feel other cable manufacturers fall short when manufacturing cables?
Cheap cables often use unreliable plugs, poorly shielded wire which is noisy, poor soldering technique, and overall low quality control.

- What is the number one reason for cable failure?
I don’t know the number one reason, but there are many ways for a cable to fail. Plug tip breaks off, cable gets yanked out of the plug body, inner hot wire breaks from poor strain relief where it leaves the plug, cold solder joints, high impact or slicing of the cable, poor wire dressing technique inside the plug can cause the shielding to short out on the hot wire, etc.

- How important should it be to guitarists to use quality cables?
It’s important for two reasons: reliability and tone. Obviously, having a cable fail in the middle of a performance sucks. Tonewise, it’s no longer myth that cables make a noticeable difference. Anyone can compare a 20 foot long 20pf cable to a 50pf cable and easily hear the difference.

- What are your thoughts on cable impedance and the use of buffers?
I don’t think you need a buffer in your guitar unless your running a super long cable. Most pedals have buffers in the bypass… some make your tone brighter, some duller, the better ones are neutral. It’s just something you have to consider and work with. The advantage is you can run a long cable from your buffered pedal to the amp and not have to worry about treble roll off.

- Tell me a little about your company
We are a growing USA company. Our Founder and Designer is Joe Naylor of the Naylor Amps, Reverend (Guitars, Amps, Basses, Pedals) fame. All of our products are designed and made in the USA. Our HQ is in Orange County, California, and we also have roots in Nashville and Detroit. Our cables are used by people all over the globe from a tone seeking bedroom picker to Grammy award winning artists.

- Any new designs coming out in the near future?
We don’t like spoiling surprises! The ideas are flowing and there will be new products out this year. Stay tuned…

The cable I received had the mesh, quality plugs and sounded great. It was a 20′ cable, and didn’t notice any signal dulling/capacitance with it. Their prices are nice as well. This 20′ version can be purchased direct for $44.99, not bad. All their instrument cables have lifetime warranty, and have a 60 day trial period. I also thought it was interesting that it landed in the Guitar Player’s 49 guitar cable winner’s circle.

If you get a chance, check out their website and like/follow them on Facebook and Twitter. Make sure you let them know that EffectsBay sent ya!

Popularity: 5%

Incoming search terms for EffectsBay.com:

• armor gold cables review
• armor gold cables
• armor gold guitar cable
• armour gold cables
• Reviews of Armor Gold Cables
• implication of poor soldering technique
• low capacitance guitar cable too bright
• armor gold cable cyber monday
• ntroducing Harmor
• reverend armor gold cable review

Gil Divine from Portland, Oregon is the owner/operator of The Divine Noise and builds high end instrument and speaker cables. Beyond The Divine Noise, Gil is also a guitar tech touring with great artists/bands such as – Yo La Tengo, Lucinda Williams, The White Stripes, Cat Power, Super Furry Animals … And you will know us by the trail of dead.

On a personal level I’ve traded a few emails with Gil, and he is a great guy and very prompt. I just received a few very needed patch cables from The Divine Noise, and the build quality is excellent.  He definitely treats his patch cables with as much attention to detail as instrument cables, etc. Here is the break down of features for his straight cable specs:

* Extraordinarily low capacitance 20 AWG stranded center conductor, 100% coverage extruded barrier and a spiral of 90% wound copper shield provide clean, low-noise performances
* The oxygen free copper used in these cables delivers the purest sound quality while remaining flexible and noise free
* Thick, heavy-duty, black PVC outer jacket designed to withstand the rigors of heavy touring while maintaining flexibility
* Every cable is soldered by hand using the highest quality silver solder
* Available in G&H Industries ¼ plug and Neutrik MP2X-AU-SILENT
* Divine Noise offers a lifetime no hassle warranty on every cable

My cables came with G&H and work/sound fantastic. They’re definitely built to last.

I wanted to send Gil a few questions about the biz, and this is what he had to say:

- What makes your cable stand out from others?
There is a few things that make my cable stand out from all of the others , the first that come to mind is the quality of construction, I personally make all of my cables, I have never seen a cable as  durable as mine, they are built for heavy touring . My cables are well shielded to block RFI / EMI interference so they are very quite. They sound great!!! Tone is so subjective, so it is hard for me to make the claims that other cable companies do, most of them are downright comedy, how can they tell you that you are going to hear a “Tight, articulate bottom with midrange clarity and speed”?!

- How do your cables handle capacitance?
My cable is 30pF per foot, which is fairly low, but not the lowest -  I have tried cables with less capacitance and to me they sounded kind of shrill and lacked bottom and warmth, those two qualities are so important to me in a cable. Ive never been into a sterile guitar tone, I want a cable to sound how a vintage guitar should sound; without any coloring of the tone. I think that’s why people love the sound of my cables, because a vast majority of them play vintage instruments

- Side questions, what are your thoughts of buffers in line?
It is kind of a case-by-case basis. It really depends on how many and what types of pedals you’re playing through. Most of the times I lean towards turning up the treble, if I loose a bit of treble from capacitance from using a super long cable or a low impedance from the pedals. I don’t think that there is a black and white answer, it really has to be addressed on a case by case application.

- What type of plugs do you use?
I have been using G&H plugs for well over a decade, in my opinion, they are the best, and are very reliable (which is important to me) with the exception of their silent plugs, that’s a different story. They are not so silent..

As for silent plugs I use the Neutrik silent plugs, their design can’t be beat. When they first came out there were some problems, but since they fixed it I have not heard a single pop from a bass or an acoustic guitar since.

I think that the plugs that you use is just as important ( if not more important) than the wire that you use. I do not use gold plated plugs, gold is not as great of a conductor as copper . Beware of the ends that are on some of those “high-end” cables before you buy them, some of them are very low quality

- What are your thoughts about what causes cable failure?
Well, there could be a few different reasons… but the most common is shoddy components. I have seen a lot of failures in cables with molded plastic ends, thin outer jackets that gets smashed or torn easily. I have honestly, unpacked a Planet Waves cable from the package, plugged it straight into a guitar, and not have it work, for no reason at all!  I have also had the center tip just fall out of a Monster cable in the middle of a show, out of nowhere.

Abuse is another reason for premature failures. When I first started making my own cables I closely really examine cables that had failed on me to see what made them fail. I took what I learned and applied it to my cables. The last thing any touring guitar tech wants is a cable failure during a show! That’s why I can never get behind solder-less cables. They seem so flimsy. It doesn’t take a whole lot to short out a cable; one stray strand of copper or a loose connection is all it would take to stop a show. I remember my first few shows that I did with “…And you will know us by the trail of dead”, I would watch them rip the connectors clean off of the cables!!  That is when I saw the challenge of building cables that they couldn’t destroy. I came up with my right angle speaker cables by watching them push over their Marshall half stacks. It would snap off the jack on the cabinets and in the head. Having a band that destroys their gear every night is the best R&D department  a builder can have, maybe throwing one of my cables in a cage with a bunch of gorillas would be comparable….HA!  I still build my cables the same exact way- that is why I say that my cables wont fail. Yo La Tengo still uses the same cables that I made for them 8 years ago!! And they’re not particularly easy on their equipment!

- What got you into building cables for the masses?
I never set out to sell my cables to the masses, it just kind of happened. I make them in my shop where I do guitar and amp repair, so my overhead is really low.  I have been making my cables for many years, and I would sell them to my customers who I did guitar and amp repair for and to the bands that I worked for or contacted me wanting to buy them . No packaging, no marketing, just word of mouth. Anyhoo, last March my friend Rueben Cox opened up a guitar store in LA called Olde Style. He had heard of my cables and asked me if I wanted him to stock them. It was kind of a no brainer for me. His shop is the antithesis to your Guitar Centers or Sam Ash’s, which I have always loathed. He was the first store to stock them.  After that it just been more of a challenge to see what I can do with this; first the packaging, then the website, and online ads. I personally feel that my cables are the best on the market, so why wouldn’t people by them?!

- What got you started in the guitar tech biz?
Basically I came to a cross roads in my life..either I can continue touring in my own bands and make no money, or I can tour as a guitar tech and make a good living. At this point I had years of experience as a luthier, so having a ton of experience with guitar repair made for a natural transition.

- Do you force all of your clients to use your cables on the road?
Wow, Im not a cable nazi..HA! . No, I never force anything on my clients, but why wouldn’t they want to use them ?!  When I am on tour with a band, I am their guitar tech, not a cable manufacturer, as long as the cables that they are using sound good , are quite but most of all reliable, then I don’t care what they use  There are quite a few bands that use my cables that I have never worked for, such as The National, Britt Daniel of Spoon and Nels Cline.

-  What is the number one reason why we should be using your cables?
That’s easy…because you want to use the best cable available… period

So there you go people, if you’re looking to get some new cables, be it patch, instrument or speaker, check out The Divine Noise. Additionally, as Gil mentioned he is a luthier, he does offer guitar and amp repair as well! You can also check out Divine Noise on Facebook!

Popularity: 5%

Incoming search terms for EffectsBay.com:

• divine noise cables
• divine noise cables review
• divine noise cable
• Neutrik MP2X-AU-SILENT
• yo la tengo effects
• divine noise review
• divine noise cables reviews
• neutrik mp2x-au-silent ebay
• divine noise guitar cable reviews
• low noise guitar cable

Looks like Musician’s Friend is having a pretty great accessory sale. Nearly 3000 accessories are discounted this week with a savings up to 81% off! Accessories include strings, sticks, picks, straps, cables, stands, cases, etc. This is a good time to gear up on some of the nuts-and-bolts stuff. I know accessories aren’t always fun, but having good cables and to stock up picks.. is always a good thing. The sale is good from February 8th to the 15th. Click the banner below to get in on the action!

Popularity: 2%

Incoming search terms for EffectsBay.com:

• hotel says: february 9th 2011 accessioning
• wegen picks
• drilling holes in a v-pick
• lucky dava guitar picks
• graphite guitar picks 1 mm
• gator grip vs tortex
• dunlop gator grip 0 96 shredding
• dunlop 1 5mm graphite triangular
• clayton acetal
• adamas graphite guitar pick for sale

Hello! It’s Free Shirt Wednesday! HOSA HOSA HOSA! As guitar and bass players we should all be very familiar with Hosa.  As they say “leading supplier of analog and digital connectivity solutions”, as in cables (and other great pieces of equipments). I recently made contact with @HosaTechnologies via Twitter, and they liked the idea of Free Shirt Wednesday, so here we go!

Hosa has been offering quality cables ranging from instrument to microphone to interface cables since 1984. I’ve personally used their patch cables, and they have been outstanding when it comes to durability and signal quality.

When Hosa sent me the shirt, they also sent me a news release that caught my eye.  Hosa is introducing the Elite Series guitar cable. Oxygen Free copper conductor and low capacitance for high performance. I’ve talked about capacitance in cables before (see Buffer post), so that’s a keyword I like to see when dealing with guitar cables. Apparently, the Oxygen-Free Copper (OFC) reduces resistance and improves signal flow. The cable also comes with redundant shielding to help keep the signal noise free. Click here for more information about the Elite Series Guitar Cable. Hosa.. if you’re reading, love to review this cable.

In March of this year, Hosa recently launched a new look for their website, and you can see the wide range of products they offer by visiting (http://www.hosatech.com). You can also connect with them on the various social networks out there (Facebook, Twitter and MySpace)

Now, if you want to be featured on Free Shirt Wednesday.. it’s really quite simple. Send me a shirt, if it’s music related (ie: guitar builder, band, pedal builder, guitar shop, recording studio, etc) I’ll dedicate a blog post about your biz, band, etc. I’ll take a photo with my aging, slightly pudgy mug and post it. Great simple, cheap form of advertising. Still interested? Then check this page for more info

Popularity: 7%

Incoming search terms for EffectsBay.com:

• HOSA shirt ideas
• hosa shirts
• hosa shirt design
• hosa
• hosa shirt idea
• hosa T shirt designs
• hosa tshirt ideas
• picture of hosa
• hosa t-shirts designs
• hosa t shirts designs

Currently, the give away at EffectsBay.com is the Lave Mini ELC Cable pedalboard kit (15′ instead of 10′) with right angle plugs. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read this post and enter to win!

I’ve been getting a few emails asking me how these cables worked, but rather than try to explain, Mark at Lava Cable did a great video showing how these cables work.

You can pick up the 10′ Lava Cable kit at Musician’s Friend for $89.95, or you can order more options directly from Lava Cable.

Popularity: 7%

Incoming search terms for EffectsBay.com:

• ELC cable
• Mini ELC
• Lava Mini ELC
• cable pedalboard
• lava cable pedalboard kit
• lava cable mini elc
• lava mini
• lava cable mini
• lava mini elc review
• what is elc cable

I’ve been thinking about re-doing my entire pedal line set up and starting with some pieces that will form the foundation. Thinking maybe getting a Pedal Train board, Voodoo labs power and connecting all the pedals with some good cables. But what to buy? I figured I’d ask the Effects Bay community at Twitter and Facebook to see what others thought. I’m sure a few of you might find this interesting and useful.

Twitter (follow me on Twitter)

7R4V1S @effectsbay I’ve had too many George Ls crap out on my and then obsessively had to check each one to find the problem. No fun.
7R4V1S @effectsbay The Lavas have been good so far. A bit a skill/learning curve on building them. Just got them for Xmas so I’m still learning.
7R4V1S @effectsbay Last thing in terms of good adordable premade cables I bought some from Lyt pedalboards and they’ve been great “go to” cables.
7R4V1S @effectsbay Just started using Lava solderless since George L’s and I didn’t get along (they’d always short out if you looked at ‘em wrong)
victimrocks @effectsbay Mogami balanced cables from the pedalboard to the amp and short Monster gold patch cables on the pedalboard itself.
nickbearden @effectsbay monster cables all the way around!
simonkurt @effectsbay Neutrik! Swiss quality, great warranty services.
benzakonium @effectsbay Fulltone from begining to end, awesome noise free and transparent cables
evitagen13 @effectsbay Good old Belden.
creeperbryn RT @Alexchapel: @effectsbay planet waves cable kit!
CheeseBlocks @effectsbay I make my own with the “pancake” terminals (knockoff switchcraft) and bulk guitar cable. Cheap, and lets me do custom lengths
CheeseBlocks @effectsbay Agree with @al67 on this one. Your chain is only as good as its weakest link, and the weakest link is usually wire in the pedals
Michael_Pope @effectsbay I’m using George L’s because they sound really good and they are really easy to put together. They hold up pretty well too.
BrooksCS @effectsbay I make my own…its alot cheaper and allows me to customize everything.
thenealon @effectsbay I use a random assortment I found in a tub.. Why, what should I be using?
al67 @effectsbay Actually, if you’ve ever seen the skinny wires to the footswitch in some true bypass pedals you’ll realise all cables are better
al67 @effectsbay I use cheap 6″ patch cables bought in packs of 12 for peanuts. Tiny capacitance/inductance/resistance. Pedals worse than patches
willblanton @effectsbay I use George L’s. Why? (1) COMPLETELY customizable length! very important (2) Best quality and clear,chimy highs which i LOVE!
300guitars @effectsbay George L’s because they sound decent, flexible and easy to make for custom length and easy to fix.
johnnygizmo @effectsbay Lava solderless, CoreX2 and homemade cables with the leftover CoreX2 cable and panhead right angle plugs from Radio Shack
gearalley @effectsbay Lava or Core X2
markgrundhoefer @effectsbay whole board is wired with Lava solderless right angle connectors.
dvpstar @effectsbay Monster & Mogami are my main stay for cables.
Alexchapel @effectsbay planet waves cable kit!
seanmbrage @effectsbay George L’s! You’ll be amazed how much of your tone is missing in those bad cables.

Facebook (follow me on Facebook)

Trey Bliss George L’s and then Monster to the amp and the VOX coiled cable to the guitar.
Andrew Green george ls and monster. considering using solderless lava cables.
Bill Thompson George L’s
Randy Whitten Lots of Bayou Cables, a few Hosa and a new Elixir cable.
Michael Jason Sammut Hosa and Elixer and recently some GFS (http://store.guitarfetish.com/gfsguca.html). Inexpensive and quite good!
Donald Mark Silva Jr i use hosa….no problems so far

So it appears that the popular kits are George Ls, Lava Cables, Hosa and Planet Waves.

George L’s Effects Pedal Cable Kit
George L’s Effects Pedal Cable Kit lets you get rid of that motley collection of unmatched, crackly old patch cords strung between your effects pedals. Includes 10′ of .155 cable and 10 right-angle solderless plugs. George L’s was voted #1 for sound clarity by Guitar Player magazine.
George L’s Effects Pedal Cable Kit costs $79.20 at Musician’s Friend

Lava Mini ELC Cable Pedalboard Kit with Right Angle Plug
The Lava Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit includes 10 feet of Mini ELC Cable, 10 Lava plugs, and a stripping tool.

Lava Cable DIY solder-free plugs—developed with G&H Industries—is specifically designed with tight tolerances to match the Lava Mini ELC cable. The Lava Plug is the first solder-free DIY plug on the market not to use a set screw to make the ground connection. Instead, Lava Cable plugs employ a sleeve that makes a 360° ground and outer jacket contact.
Lava Mini ELC Cable Pedalboard Kit with Right Angle Plugs costs $89.95 at Musician’s Friend

Hosa 8-Pack Cables
You can’t have too many cables on hand and these Hosa quality cables in multiple colors make patching easy to trace. 1′.
Hosa 8-Pack Cables cost $14.99 at Musician’s Friend

Planet Waves Cable Station Pedalboard Cable Kit
The Planet Waves Cable Station Pedalboard Cable Kit helps you to get rid of signal loss and unwanted coloration of your sound from inferior patch cables. The kit comes with 10′ of cable, 10 right-angle plugs, and a Planet Waves mini cable cutter. Planet Waves Cable Station cables and 24k gold-plated plugs are specially designed for the most reliable, accurate reproduction of your sound from guitar to amp and everywhere in-between.
Planet Waves Cable Station Pedalboard Cable Kit costs $59.99 at Musician’s Friend

Let me know what you use.. and why by commenting below!

Popularity: 13%

Incoming search terms for EffectsBay.com:

• pedalboard planner
• guitar patch cables pedal board trs
• george l\s effects pedal cable kit review
• effects patch cable
• pedaltrain homemade
• trailer trash vox pedalboard
• trs patch cable for pedal board?
• power matching x corde trailer trash
• planet waves 6 gold patch cable
• monster guitar patch cables

Over the years, I’ve played in several bands and owned a small recording studio in my time. During this, I’ve seen countless musicians on stage, studio and even counting myself using crappy instrument cables. Early on in my guitar playing days, I understood the importance of a good amp, good guitar, but never put much stock in the cables combining the two. I was poor, just like many musicians today, and could not understand the logic of paying $30+ for a cable, so I always opted for the cheap $5 cable.

The problem with buying a cheap guitar cable is.. you get exactly what you pay for, a $5 piece ‘O crap connecting your guitar to your amp. Problems that would often arise with a low quality cable are:

1. Hum caused by broken ground
2. Static or crackling caused by broken ground
3. Dull tone or loss of signal
4. Poor contact between jack and input causing cracking or popping when moved
5. Poor wiring at the jack connection causing cracking or complete loss of signal

I remember having to buy cables often to replace the bad cable or having to pull the soldering iron out to repair jack connections, that would inevitably break down the road anyway.

About 10 years ago, I thought I would shell out $40 for a 20′ guitar cable by DiMarzio. I thought that was a little crazy, but after reading about the cymbal test (where they drop a cymbal guillotine style on a cable.. and passing) I figured it would be a good cable. My particular DiMarzio had the ‘fat’ plugs (I can’t remember what those plugs are, but I’m pretty sure they’re Switchcraft) and has treated me well. That cable has been my primary instrument cable over the next 10 years. I have NO problems with it. No cracking, no signal loss. I have never touched the jack wiring. I know I would have spent WAY more money buying crap over the years instead of shelling out for a decent cable. I’ve bought several other DiMarzios over the years (primarily so I don’t have to unplug between instruments or connecting to other heads) and have no problems with them. Looking at Musician’s Friend, I’m seeing they have a sale on these DiMarzio cables, but they don’t seem to make the ones with the fatty plugs any longer.

The other cable that I would have to recommend because a good guitarist friend has been using them for years with similar experience is the Monster cable.

I have to mention that the quality cables should not stop with your instrument cable but also should include your ‘jumpers’ between effects unit. This is a area that is very easy to skimp on, but you have to consider that you’re building a chain where your tone is in the balance. You don’t want any weak links in your tone chain, so buy some good jumper cables. These cables usually hold up pretty well since they’re not stepped on or moved very often. I like to make sure that the input jack seat tight in the stompbox.

Popularity: 6%

Incoming search terms for EffectsBay.com:

• keith urban guitar cables
• importance of quality musical instruments
• importance of using good guitar cables
• Instrument quality Cables
• instument cable importance
• keith urban guitar cable
• building quality instrument cables
• leem crazy
• quality importance of instrument cables
• quality instrument cables