Taking care of Cables

[Thekiddx1000]

So at first when i first started playing I thought the cheap $10 cables i was buying from this store were just cheap and supposed to be broken within a month, but then I actually bought a lifetime warranty cable that isn't supposed to break which it did I just assume that I don't know how to take care of them and need some tips, so if ya got any it'd be much appreciated

[WinterMute]

Learn to coil them properly, always remove them with the jack, not the cable.

 

Thats it pretty much.

[Dad3353]

55 minutes ago, Thekiddx1000 said:

...need some tips, so if ya got any it'd be much appreciated

Good advice on looking after 'em above, but just in case you need more cables another day, this site is the 'go-to' source for all the cabling needs, at more than reasonable cost, very fast service, top (and I mean top...) quality, run by our very own OBBM, a long-established, highly respected member here...

OBBM cables ...

What is my relationship..? Only that of a very satisfied repeat customer, for both standard and custom cables, nothing more. Just remember: Cables = OBBM.
Hope this helps.

Edited September 17, 2018 by Dad3353

[intime-nick]

As mentioned above, learn how to coil them correctly (not in a figure 8 please), use a Velcro cable tie, store them without crushing, try not to step on them if possible, don’t kink them in use or storage etc etc etc 

i have some Klotz cables that are over 20 years old and still going strong.  OBBM stuff is great - I have a few of his cables and they are top quality. 

As with all things, abuse them and they will eventually break irrespective of brand or price. One of the guitarists in our band insists on buying Fender branded cables for some reason - he stores them badly, mistreats them and can’t understand why a branded cable fails on a regular basis.....not saying there is anything particularly wrong with them (apart from possibly the over-inflated price associated with the brand name) - but it shows that just because it has a recognised name associated with it doesn’t mean it’s more immune to failure through misuse  

the best way is to teach yourself how to make your own - it’s a skill most musicians who use cables should have in my opinion but I’m an old fart like that. 

[chris_b]

As the OP is talking about $10 cables I guess he's in the US and is probably not going to ship OBBM's cables across the Atlantic. Although they are the best I've used in years.

If you want to find out about cables, go to Youtube and search for something like, Taking care of cables.

[bazzbass]

all the above, AND tuck your cable between your strap and the bass before going into the jack, it acts as a strain relief for WHEN you or a bandmate steps on your cable and you give it a big yank

[Happy Jack]

A number of suggestions here about learning to coil the cable properly, which is the second most important thing (IMHO) in cable care. If you can't find a YouTube specifically on instrument cables, then look for stuff on coiling rope ... coiling a hemp rope or similar is exactly the same technique.

Above all, NEVER grab one end of a cable and then start wrapping it tightly between your hand and the elbow of the same arm. I can think of few things more likely to destroy a cable in minimal time.

Which leads me on to the first most important thing. Never stand on your cable, and don't let your guitarists do so either. I don't care how rock'n'roll it makes you feel ... just don't do it. The insulation layer was never designed to have 90Kg of musician focus his weight on one part of the cable pressing down on another part of the cable. 

 

[scalpy]

Learn to coil cables and teach your band mates to do it too! Helpful but inept brass sections in particular!

[Conan]

 

[NJE]

As above, coil them properly, Velcro cable ties and store them so they don’t get scrunched up.

I do also believe that most of the branded cables you can buy from shops (fender, planet waves, Ernie ball, monster etc) are pretty hopeless most of the time. For 15 years I have been using two Klotz/Neutrik cables my dad made. I have one more I bought custom made using Van Damme cables and Neutriks and that has done about 5 years so far.

For some reason all my guitarist friends go through cables at a ridiculous rate but they keep buying overpriced shop cables, they won’t bloody listen....😂

[Woodinblack]

If your lifetime warantee cable is made by that well known purveyor of Precision and Jazz basses, then yes, they are I assume meant to break, normally when you are playing live. Everyone I know who owns one has had it break, the guitarist in my last band, the replacement of his, the 3 replacements of my current guitarist (grrr) and mine. I keep mine at home, I certainly wouldn't gig with it. And I get very annoyed that our current guitarist does.

My current cables (although I am generally wireless) were some I bought made with Vann Damme Cable and neutrik silent jack sockets from ebay, they are brilliant (and non expensive) and I wouldn't gig with anything else.

[Happy Jack]

13 minutes ago, NJE said:

For some reason all my guitarist friends go through cables at a ridiculous rate ...

That's because guitarists ALWAYS stand on their bloody cables.

[Yank]

I could be considered OCB when it comes to placing cables so I will not stand on them and it frosts my chaps to have other musicians think nothing of walking on mine,  and look confused and irritated when I inform them to remove themselves off of mine.  There's only a thin wire inside the insulation.  Why would any one assume they are meant to stand on as I know they can be felt even under heavy boots.   ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[Shambo]

My experience is that, the cheaper ones (even ones with a 'lifetime guarantee'), will always break. I broke one after six months and it had never been coiled, stepped on, rolled over or even left the house. It just sat in the corner of my living room between my amp and my bass and quietly broke itself. The trick for me is to find the best price/quality option and, in the UK, I like many people get OBMM of this forum to make them for me from quality components.

[Happy Jack]

1 hour ago, Conan said:

 

The reverse twist method is obviously the best solution BUT it's an absolute bugger to teach to your bandmates at 1am after three hours on stage, and they really don't want to know, and are you really going to stand there (hands on hips) supervising their coiling skills?

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Using the standard rope-coiling method is a great deal easier, and the fact that the cable then wants to spiral outwards when released is easily dealt with by tossing the free end of the cable away from you and allowing it to de-spiral.

[MacDaddy]

Every once in a while, run a wet wipe along the cable to give it a bit of a clean. Regularly gigged cables tend to get quite filthy.

[Happy Jack]

I lick them clean ...

[Dad3353]

It may be worth expanding on a point raised in a preceding post. It's really not a bad idea to invest in a quality wireless system; there are so many advantages, not least of which is the elimination of the risk of having cables trodden on..! One of the systems that have come up regularly with good, or even excellent, reviews is the
Smooth Hound system...
I have one (yes, I know; I'm a drummer  , so..?), and it fully justifies its reputation. As a bonus, it allows one to really hear what the bass sounds like from the audience point of view.
Just sayin'. 

[Dood]

I suffered my first ever cable failure after using the same type and brand of instrument and speaker cables.

It was only when I looked at the label and markings on the cable I was able to work back in my memory to when I bought it. It could be older but it was definitely part of my live rig (4CM) for a band that released an album in 2000. It has also been in use pretty much every day for the last 8 years in my teaching set up, that I know for sure.

So, if you look after your cables and you buy quality, you should be getting about... 18 years use! 

[chris_b]

I guess some of us have OCD when it comes to cables and some don't!

I play with several guitarists who stand on a pile of cables on every gig. And guess what? They're always crapping out during sound check and in the middle of gigs. At the other end of the scale, I also know 2 singers who won't let anyone touch their PA and instrument cables. If you try to help they have to unwind everything and do them again.

Whirlwind instrument cables used to be sold with a 25 year guarantee. I always thought that was a bit optimistic, but 5 years ago my Whirlwind came to the end of its guarantee period and it's still working just fine.

My OCD makes me hate when people run cables across my space on stage. All the guys I play with have finally got the message, any PA, power or instrument cables have to run behind my amp. 

[Dood]

10 minutes ago, chris_b said:

{snip}

My OCD makes me hate when people run cables across my space on stage. All the guys I play with have finally got the message, any PA, power or instrument cables have to run behind my amp. 

Tidy stage, tidy mind! 

Im not sure what the original phrase is, but I am totally with you. It winds me up when cables are just dumped on the stage. Piles of knotted cables around stage boxes or mixing desk just looks so messy - and a total nightmare when you are the one to have to root around fault finding in the dark. It grinds my gears to see people unable to coil up cables correctly, because it always ends up being a total mess in the cable storage. Not to mention a waste of space as nothing will lay flat. Of course as you mention, it’s also most likely to cause problems when cables are constantly stood on, knotted and pinched under speaker cabinets and other band hardware.

if I am running multiple cables back and forth, I’ve bought some re-useable cable ‘sheaths’. They look a bit like tubes made out of string vests ha ha! It keeps my stage area super tidy

[jacko]

5 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Using the standard rope-coiling method is a great deal easier, and the fact that the cable then wants to spiral outwards when released is easily dealt with by tossing the free end of the cable away from you and allowing it to de-spiral.

You go to all that trouble to care for your cable then run the risk of breaking the jack throwing it across the room? Weird!

[Happy Jack]

Years done = many.

Jacks broken = none.

YMMV

 

[Roger2611]

I tend to "end to end cables" until short enough to tie a very loose knot in, I have not had a cable fail in many years, but then I do buy good quality cables when I need them, I am currently using a couple of the Roland badged cables, they seem to be pretty decent and have out lasted our guitarists Planet Waves cables

[taunton-hobbit]

Done this one before, but if it helps - I have fair quality speaker cables, all in 10m lengths....

they live on plastic drums that used to contain light chain at my local hardware store

(free for a charity donation)

My bass lines have yellow insulating tape at both ends, so I know what's going where.

😎