Patch cables - Which ones? Make my own or buy pre-made?

[sirmuppet]

Been driving myself nuts looking at pages on forums, review, prices, demos etc... for the past few hours. Basically a couple of patch cables have died and I'm going to replace them all. Thing is after reading many different things I'm more confused now than I was to begin with. I think when you look at something for too long you can muddle things up.

I'm just looking for a good quality patch cable, low noise that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I can't solder, seriously I'm useless at it. I don't mind the solderless ones but are they any good? I'd also prefer the low profile patch cables but it's not a deal breaker. Can someone suggest something that fits all of the above for bass?

Thanks for any help.

[T-Bay]

OBBM do very good ones at sensible money.

Edit: link here: http://bassic-bits.co.uk

Edited December 2, 2016 by T-Bay

[bazzbass]

EBS Flat cables. Haven't had one go bad in 3 years.

[sirmuppet]

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1480715256' post='3186751']
OBBM do very good ones at sensible money.

Edit: link here: [url="http://bassic-bits.co.uk"]http://bassic-bits.co.uk[/url]
[/quote]

I checked those out. They look pretty cool. Haven't heard much about them

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1480765347' post='3186961']
EBS Flat cables. Haven't had one go bad in 3 years.
[/quote]

I heard about these but not much I can find on them.

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='sirmuppet' timestamp='1480785885' post='3187164']
I checked those out. They look pretty cool. Haven't heard much about them
[/quote]

Just put OBBM into the forum search bar - they are very highly regarded on here. Only cables I buy now (not that I've had to buy many as they've not needed replacing)!

[A.G.E.N.T.E.]

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1480765347' post='3186961']
EBS Flat cables. Haven't had one go bad in 3 years.
[/quote]
I realy like the EBS cables too. They save a lot of space on my pedalborad without issues, flexible and sound great ... and they´re cheap.
I´m also using the rockboard cables by warwick, and they have almost the same design. Both are great cables.

[bazzbass]

[quote name='sirmuppet' timestamp='1480785885' post='3187164']
I heard about these but not much I can find on them.
[/quote]

[url="http://www.bassstringsonline.com/EBS-Flat-Patch-Cable-90-Degree-Contact--10cm_p_3030.html"]http://www.bassstrin...0cm_p_3030.html[/url]

Edited December 4, 2016 by bazztard

[chris_b]

[quote name='sirmuppet' timestamp='1480785885' post='3187164']
I checked those out. They look pretty cool. Haven't heard much about them
[/quote]
I only have 1 non-OBBM cable a Whirlwind from the early 90's.

Good cables will last forever and OBBM (Dave) makes exceedingly good cables.

[obbm]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1480843118' post='3187398']

Good cables will last forever and OBBM (Dave) makes exceedingly good cables.
[/quote]

You're just too kind Chris. Now I'm going to have to change my Username to Mr Kipling.

[jaybass 70]

OBMM all the way 😀

[Japhet]

I use the Diago ones that are very similar to the George Ls (but cheaper). I like being able to cut them to whatever length you want and have the jack pointing in whatever direction you need. It's a shame that power supply leads are always miles too long result in loads of bound up cable to try to keep things tidy. Would like to be able to make them to length.

[cLepto-bass]

Similar to Japhet, I like to keep things neat and tidy with lengths of my choosing. I originally went for the Planet Waves Solderless offering and my honest opinion is that they are just OK, if a bit bulky (and balky for that matter). More recently I went down the George L route and these make me one happy pedal-stomping camper. The cable is nice and flexible and the jacks are compact enough. Would recommend them.

[Guest]

all my pedalboard is patched with EBS , no issues for now. I don´t use to change the set up very often so I think any cable would be ok. They are small, flexibles and with 4 different lengths for your needs.

[dannybuoy]

Anything but EBS flat cables. In fact you can buy mine if you want them, hardly been used!

They don't take abuse well, in fact from a dozen or so I ordered, two of them were DOA. But I take care of my stuff and thought they would be fine until I tested them in a true bypass looper through a headphone amp. Just having a single EBS cable in the chain resulted in tons of noise being picked up when my dimmer switch was on nearby (and I had 10 or so, so it wasn't a one-off). A few other cheap patch cables with plastic jacks had the same issue but not to the degree of the EBS ones. They are just poorly shielded, anything with a full metal plug sounded absolutely fine. Since you can't rely on the amount of electrical interference you might be subjected to at a gig or studio, I would avoid!

Btw the best non-DIY off-the-shelf cables I have found are the Somner Spirit Flex ones that Thomann sell. Very sturdy and well built and low profile pancake jacks to boot.

Edited December 6, 2016 by dannybuoy

[drake]

As per my post in the bass cable thread, homemade with Canare GS6 and Switchcraft plugs