Pedal connector cables...

[njstoehr]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

Maybe I am the anomaly in the crowd but I have only tired a handful of patch cables. I typically am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for" and started out with all George L's when my pedal board was much smaller. I have had problems with them over the years and have had to re-make a few to get right. When they work, they are brilliant, but when they don't they are aggravating as hell. I have also acquired a few "middle range" patch cables made with proper instrument cable and soldered ends. These have performed well with far fewer "failures". Finally I come to the the "cheap-o" patch cables. These ones:

Now I can't speak for anyone else, but I love these things. They work, they don't break. If they do, who cares, you can by 6 more for what 1 of some of the others cost. I personally can't hear a difference between these and my George L's. I can solder with the best of them, hell, I make my own pedals like many of the folks here. And, eventually I will buy some quality instrument cable and ends and build my cables, but until then, these things work fine.

[uOpt]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

The major differences are shielding and capacitance.

In general, the way to go is that you buy the cheapest cable that specifically tells you what the capacitance is (crap never does) or what raw material is used for the cables.

I rate the plugs as not mattering much, however there are instances of plugs that have no shielding, and they are not rare, especially when it comes to right angle plugs.

[Low_fidelity2100]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

the higher dollar ones have better connectors that last longer, and can be serviced if need be.

That's the biggest difference right there as far as I'm concerned. I've tried tons, and to me the biggest difference is that a more expensive cable has better plugs, and will therefore take more bending/twisting/plugging/unplugging/etc... without damage...whereas cheaper cables start to get janky after a few dozen board re-arrangements.


Recently I've taken to making my own using these plugs...

http://www.speakerrepair.com/page/product/pandj-quarterinch/32-232x20.html

Really good quality for the price, bout on par with switch craft pancake jacks...Get some of those, and chances are we've all got a couple dozen feet worth of broken cables laying around...make your own custom lengths cheap. As long as you're good with a soldering Iron, test every cable with a meter, and make sure they're snug in the plug, you're good.

[hermetico]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

Best value for the bucks: Mogami 2524 bulk cable, with Neutrik (or similar quality) jacks.
Do your own cables to your needs. Easy and funny.
I've made several comparisons of cheap to expensive different cables, including Evidence Audio The Lyric II, Evidence Audio The Forte, Vovox Sonorus, Sommer cable The Spirit (which at the end is what Lava cables are!), George L's, Vox, Fender, and chinesse stuff and, without any doubt, Evidence Audio The Lyric II together with Vovox are the most transparent cable with lot of punch and detail but, Mogami 2524 is really close and a tad more musical than those and, price tag is way lower than those.
Mogami are often seen in studios...

[jacksontrader]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

Using Planet Waves cables. Have had great luck with them. I'm always changing pedals in and out. Oh yeah, they have a warranty.

[Van Noord]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

Adding more and more cable to your signal is always concerning. As mentioned, a good buffer pedal can and will aleviate the resulting drawbacks from elongating signal lines.

[trevorus]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

Hosa has two lines of connectors. The rounded ones I found to be inferior, the line noise was too much for me. The Hosa cables with the square heads I have found to be awesome. I have a long pedal chain and there is zero noise and no sacrifice of tone. They are also reasonably priced.

Bad



Good

Did you forget about these?



Even the low profile metal ends are better than those...

Sent from my chromed robot turd, using the miserable junk code known as crapatalk.

[Securb]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

Hosa has two lines of connectors. The rounded ones I found to be inferior, the line noise was too much for me. The Hosa cables with the square heads I have found to be awesome. I have a long pedal chain and there is zero noise and no sacrifice of tone. They are also reasonably priced.

Bad



Good

[MrTondo]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

Depending on your first pedal, it might always be on. I use a wireless at my main gig, so it's always buffered, and with a Boss tuner first up on my other board, there is always a buffer.

Sent from my chromed robot turd, using the miserable junk code known as crapatalk.

Yep, that's a good setup for little tone-loss by cables, I am just curious for someone who has lots of different brands to try the differences for a board with only a couple of True-bypass pedals, I guess that would be a good comparison to check the cable-quality itself. Although the cable-quality will often not be the high-end limiting factor for those who use buffers...

[trevorus]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

I guess that's the point. When using a good buffer, differences are little to none, turn it off though and the differences might reappear..

Depending on your first pedal, it might always be on. I use a wireless at my main gig, so it's always buffered, and with a Boss tuner first up on my other board, there is always a buffer.

Sent from my chromed robot turd, using the miserable junk code known as crapatalk.

[MrTondo]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

... They all sound the same with a buffer in front...

I guess that's the point. When using a good buffer, differences are little to none, turn it off though and the differences might reappear..

[trevorus]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

I just recently spent some serious money on some patch cables, and I also won a Planet Waves kit from a contest here on the forum. I've also used the junk Hosa brand ones and Rat-Shack ones. They all sound the same with a buffer in front, but the higher dollar ones have better connectors that last longer, and can be serviced if need be. Molded ends are unacceptable to me for the most part these days.

[everdrone]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

GUITAR cables

[trevorus]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

speaker cable shootouts:

That's GUITAR cables, not speaker cables.

[IM4Tone]

Re: Pedal connector cables...

Disregard the ultra-cheap ones, but when you get above $6 +/-, I don't think the expensive ones make enough difference sound-wise to justify the cost. JMO Maybe they'll last longer, but not worth it.