Let's talk cables...

[hippietim]

I'm in the midst of building up a rack. I'm gonna need a lot of cables.

I'm thinking it might be worth making them myself so I can get exactly what I want when I want and probably save some $$$ in the process.

So any bulk cable and connector sources would be nice. I'm thinking Neutrik connectors are the way to go and probably Mogami or Canare cable.

Thoughts?

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

I use the small diameter George L. and custom make all of my stuff. I even use it as my main guitar cable to the amp!

Durable, VERY quiet, reasonably priced and easy to cut to length and repair if you damage it. One of the few cables my CAE likes a lot, haha...

Owned lotsa stuff, settled on George L... And with the gain i run, it works great...

[hippietim]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

Interesting. They certainly are easy to make and the prospect of soldering 20-30 cables is not appealing. I used them on a pedal board once.

Got any cheap sources?

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

Sadly, I bought mine all at GC for cheap before they quit friggin carrying them.

I seem to remember Joel Drabicki here knowing of somewhere though... I may be mistaken. I gotta say, Even retail, isn't horridly bad compared to the other alternatives of say, Monster or whatever...

I gotta say, they sound friggin awesome.

The only cable I've used that I sorta felt sounded better... Was the stupidly expensive (overpriced) Monster SP1000. And honestly, the only amp I've even owned that would notice that good of a cable, was this stupid CAE... Otherwise, I used lotsa iffy branded cables that seemed to work just fine without any obvious noticable issues other than maybe noise when using high gain. The CAE shows cheap cables as dead sounding or less HF or something. They just sound less Hi fidelity I guess.

On a cheaper amp (my 5150s, Marshalls, JMP-1, Voodu Valve, Tech 21 PSA-1 etc), I really couldn't tell the diff between my 600 dollar sure wireless and whatever cable at all for the most part.

The CAE shows the wireless to sound like crap in comparision to a George L. Night and day...

Weird... Bums me out actually...

[El_Kabong]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

Neutrik/ Mogami and Canare sound very good. But in the quest for the best, I am now hooked on Analysis Plus. I went from Mogami, to Belden, to George L's, to Klotz La Grange, ending up at Anlysis Plus.

http://www.analysis-plus.com/Pages/p...ent_cables.htm

I use the Yellow Oval, as the Pro Oval Stage has a scooped sound. The Pro Oval Studio blew me away, but at $329 for a 10' run, I wasn't buying. I would for my home audio system, but not for a guitar cord.

The speaker cable,(not shown in the link), is available in bulk, as are bulk connectors at my local shop. The bulk speaker cable is fairly reasonable, but the ends are still $50 a pair. Mind you, I am converting from yen, so your dealer in the US may have better pricing.

Is the price worth it? Well, if you are using high end gear, you sure can hear the difference. Analysis Plus gives you a broader tonal range with a thicker, more articulate tone. They take forever to break in, but the results after the cables have relaxed are spectacular. They sound audiophile, as they are audiophile cables, sold at better hi-fi shops.

If you can get the cable in bulk and find that Neutrik connectors can be sourced at a more reasonable cost, this might be the way that to go.

I don't use a rack. I am only a hobby player, as my profession eats up most of my time. ( I come here to procrastinate [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] ). My guitar cables, as well as all internal and external speaker cables are all Analysis Plus and I believe that there is nothing better out there.

*My pedal jumpers are still George L's.

[axeman81]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

cool, nice informative post ElKabong.

[Twisteramps]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

George L's. They sound great and are quick and painless to make into custom lengths.

Pete

[Matt Crooks]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

If you want to make your own, Markertek.com is a good source for bulk cable and connectors. I wired my studio with mogami from them, as well as my rack. The soldering is a PITA, but you can make them the exact length you want, and it's *much* cheaper than buying from GC.

[hippietim]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

I was checking out Markertek.com last night. Very cool site. Looks like I can make a 3 foot Canare cable with Neutrik ends for under 6 bucks.

George L's will be more expensive - about 10 bucks for the same thing.

I need to fire up Visio and Excel to map this thing out and come up with a list of cables I'm gonna need.

If I end up going the solder route, does anyone have any recommendations for wire cutters/strippers that are idiot proof [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Matt Crooks]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

[ QUOTE ]
If I end up going the solder route, does anyone have any recommendations for wire cutters/strippers that are idiot proof [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I got a pair at Radio Shack that have worked fine for me. I know there are more expensive ones, and they may be better, but these have done the trick so far. I've made over 100 cables with them, but YMMV.

[Shawn Lutz]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

I give another nod to George L's. I used them for everything, pedal boards, amp switchcer and instrument cable. I don't do racks but if I did I'd use them there as well. They are smaller in diameter and easy to neaten up.

[hippietim]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

I searched around the web and there aren't too many deals to be had on the George L's cables. I contacted a local shop here that is very cool to deal with and they said they'd do 3.45 for the connectors and .73 for the cable.

That would make the 3 foot cable example just over 8 bucks. That seems pretty reasonable.

[Matt Crooks]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

I like the George L's in the rack, but as a main cable from the guitar to amp I felt they got too twisted, too easily. I used them in previous incarnations of my rack, and it made wiring very easy. However, I had (have) lots of extra cable so I just put ends on them myself. I also had some cable that was a pair of three conductor cables in one jacket, so my send/return to the effects unit was one cable, it kept everything neater.

[hippietim]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

So a quick guesstimate of the number of cables required is going to be 60+. Ouch.

[screamindv]

Re: Let\'s talk cables...

I swear by george L's. When you have a rack with a lot of wires, you will appreciate the small diameter wire and the small size plugs. Be sure to use a very sharp wire cutter with the george L's or the plugs don't seat well. You don't want to "flatten out" the cut end.
Screamin'