Jack leads??

[Chienmortbb]

On 22/09/2019 at 20:58, lemmywinks said:

Neutrik connectors and Klotz cable, just get good quality basic stuff and it will last ages without costing the earth:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Klotz-Guitar-Lead-Cable-Neutrik-Straight-1-4-Jack-Plug-AC106-Colour-Ring-Option/251906401887?hash=item3aa6caa65f:m:mp6kdjMI5FastV8rMAXJ-iw

I would agree Klotz and Neutrik are good choices but for cable, Sommer and Mogami are also excellent. For plugs I use either Neutrik  or Amphenol. Both have good cable support. Switchcaft have a good reputation but I don’t like there cable support. 
 

I would also steer clear of any cable that uses sealed plugs or where the plug is shrouded with heat shrink. 

[nilebodgers]

On 22/09/2019 at 20:58, lemmywinks said:

Neutrik connectors and Klotz cable, just get good quality basic stuff and it will last ages without costing the earth:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Klotz-Guitar-Lead-Cable-Neutrik-Straight-1-4-Jack-Plug-AC106-Colour-Ring-Option/251906401887?hash=item3aa6caa65f:m:mp6kdjMI5FastV8rMAXJ-iw

My oldest guitar lead is a (blue) Klotz+Neutrik - it's 30 years old and good as new. I currently like the Van Damme XKE (classic instrument) cable, it's just as good and similar flexibility to the equivalent Klotz. (both have the extra semiconducting plastic shielding layer to reduce handling noise)

I always make my own cables, I'd never buy anything like that from a guitar shop.

Edited September 24, 2019 by nilebodgers

[ped]

I was given a Vovox cable a while ago. They sell for £90 or something crazy but you actually can hear the difference in the studio. I really didn’t think I would but the Vovox is noticeably warmer and fuller sounding. so it’s nice to have and I expect it to last forever especially as it’s only used at home or studio. 

 

For live use though I’d go with the suggestions above like an OBBM.  

[Dood]

Lots of great suggestions for quality cables - also worth noting is how you treat your cables! 

 

I treat all of my cables as if they are way more delicate than they actually are. Case in point, I have had just one cable failure in well over 25 years and that was my fault when a cable got stuck under a metal stool leg IIRC. I currently have a whole drawer full of cables "in active service" as it were.

So a few tips:

Learn the correct way to coil and store cables. Many prefer the over-and-under technique. I never figure of eight my cables and I cringe when I see anyone knot them or wrap them round their arm to coil up.

Don't throw cables in to a bag and forget about them - well, you'll spend way too long untangling next time anyway.

Plugs should be removed from sockets only by grasping the barrel casing and not by the cable or strain relief.

Don't sit down on say a settee to play where the cable can get bent over at an excessive angle.

Don't buy cheap, you'll buy twice.. maybe more. 

Don't stand on cables, yank them about or stand gear on them.

Speaker cables and Instrument cables are different even if they have the same 1/4" plugs on them. Don't confuse the two!

There are more tips I am sure, but these are good habits to form.

[itu]

12 hours ago, Dood said:

Learn the correct way to coil and store cables...

@Dood has several excellent points, that I want to comment.

About me and some background to my comments: I used to work in a local broadcasting company, so I learned cables the hard way (building, using, fixing...), like in studios, and cars that went round the Europe. Take a look at the surroundings there: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t_v9PE-pipOM2OJ5T8U3WrjSCS4-zQwF/view

 

When a cable is in professional use, its lifetime is decades, when used accordingly. Your professional mileage may vary, but there are no excuses if any of your cables is in bad condition.

The cables are a vital part of your equipment and your sound, if it still exists.

The cable is an investment that same way as your instrument. Your instrument is worth £20 000 on stage, so your cables need to be serious. You should always have minimum of two cables at hand (after all, that g-word player has never anything decent). Leave those branded Fenders and Harley Bentons to g-word players. Yes, buy at least two decent cables instead. Neutrik BAG is a quality connector. Cordial has functional products. https://www.thomann.de/gb/cordial_cai5bk_instrumentenkabel.htm

If you do not know how to coil a cable or why it is so important, go sailing to the sea in a sail boat for a month. This way you should be able to understand the reasons the soonest. Now take a two minute ride along with this guy. Repeat ad lib. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEd7ru24Vx0

A velcro is your friend and is very cheap. You can even write your name to it with a permanent marker. Remember when you tossed that 35th cable to the cable bag after last gig and you should be able to grab it now - in a hurry! "S***, it's a mess - and something broke. No spares, what?" https://www.velcro.com/products/back-to-school/900605__one-wrap-ties/?sku

The strain relief and the shrink tube are there for so called normal use and "just-in-case". Not that you should be able to grasp the cable. Yes, it may have worked before, but no more! You do not see this, but the thin wires inside the housing will be cut to pieces, one by one. The last will certainly break on stage.

When in use, the cable should move freely. You do not sit or stand on your instrument. If seeing the cable is hard in the dark stage or cave, buy a color coded cable. My cables are black, but also blue, red, pink, yellow...

If your amp and cab still use that poor plug power cable, put a label or cable ties or anything to it to separate it from other cables (can be found by hand on a dark stage). Now get back to your cables and separate power and signal from each other. Yes, put that label to both ends of it. Now. https://cableties-direct.co.uk/products/cable-ties-mounts/

Contact @obbm or buy something reasonable from some store. Do it today.

[Twigman]

On 21/09/2019 at 20:28, gjones said:

 

I fold them up, end over end, and then tie them in a loose knot.

Supposedly you're not supposed to do that.

But my leads last a long, long time.

So I'll keep on doing it 

 

I have a lead which I treat and store this way too. It's umpteen years old and works as well today as the day I bought it, which if I'm honest could have been anytime from the 80s through to the 2010s. It's not branded, just a generic cheap bright green instrument cable. I use it to connect my pedal board to my amp so it gets plenty of work.

[Twigman]

14 minutes ago, itu said:

Your instrument is worth £20 000 on stage

 

I don't know what kind of gigs you're doing but clearly you're doing better than me.

[BigRedX]

23 minutes ago, Twigman said:

I have a lead which I treat and store this way too. It's umpteen years old and works as well today as the day I bought it, which if I'm honest could have been anytime from the 80s through to the 2010s. It's not branded, just a generic cheap bright green instrument cable. I use it to connect my pedal board to my amp so it gets plenty of work.

In the early 90s, I made a load of leads myself using quality cable and Neutrik Jacks and XLRs and they have all been treated this way when packing up. They have been used on average once a week and after 25+ years are still working fine.

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, itu said:

If you do not know how to coil a cable or why it is so important, go sailing to the sea in a sail boat for a month. This way you should be able to understand the reasons the soonest.

I always wind a cable just as I was told how to hank a rope, giving each loop a satisfying half-twist.

 

Also, my speaker cables are just plain 13A twin flex - but BRIGHT ORANGE with heatshrink over the connector body and strain relief as a precaution against shorts if plugged into anything that isn't ring=earth.

[Woodinblack]

My main jack leads I have bought of the internet with Nutrik switching connectors and Van Damme cable, they have lasted since I got them 3 years ago or so and are still great. I have a whirlwind cable that was left behind in a room in a friends house in 1991 which is still good.

And then of course there are fender leads. They will replace them if they break which means you can just make a regular monthly appointment with your local music shop to get them replaced, although I don't get through them as fast as I would never use them for gigging.

[obbm]

2 hours ago, itu said:

About me and some background to my comments: I used to work in a local broadcasting company, so I learned cables the hard way (building, using, fixing...), like in studios, and cars that went round the Europe. Take a look at the surroundings there: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t_v9PE-pipOM2OJ5T8U3WrjSCS4-zQwF/view

Interesting.  I spent 40 years in broadcast engineering designing, project managing and commissioning systems.  Most of it for a major equipment manufacturer.  Sadly I never got to visit YLE.

[Huge Hands]

I cut my teeth in studio/live sound and learned how to make, coil and treat cables properly.

Unfortunately I'm also a heavy clumsy short sighted, bad-backed oaf who often accidentally stands on them, rests kit on them, trips over them, traps them in zips and spills drinks on them, even though I always try my best not to.

I even managed to wreck a couple of @obbm's lovely cables he made me within 5 years.

I've settled on the stiffer braided Fender type ones for now which seem to hold up to my level of accidental abuse a bit longer....

Edited September 26, 2019 by Huge Hands

[Oopsdabassist]

8 hours ago, itu said:

 

Cordial has functional products. https://www.thomann.de/gb/cordial_cai5bk_instrumentenkabel.htm

 

 

 

I am a muppet, I just looked at my 'Planet Wave' cables, as mentioned on page 1...and they are Cordial ones, but in same shade of green as a planet wave one I had years ago.

I can recommend Cordial as per my 1st post lol!

[bassfan]

On 18/09/2019 at 11:27, Reggaebass said:

I don’t shop anywhere now , I just contact @obbm and he makes me anything I want, all top quality fittings and cables , job done 🙂

+1. @Reggaebass has said it all right there. Which remInds me I need to order some more soon 😃

Edit. + 1 to everyone else that mentioned @obbm too. 👍🏻

Edited September 26, 2019 by bassfan

[Woodinblack]

7 hours ago, Huge Hands said:

 

I've settled on the stiffer braided Fender type ones for now which seem to hold up to my level of accidental abuse a bit longer....

Really? They are the worst cables I have ever had. I don't know anyone with one that hasn't failed and been replaced. No way I would use one live

[ahpook]

On 17/09/2019 at 20:52, itu said:

I have a cable that I soldered in early '90's. Still going strong. Key words:

- Neutrik

- Gotham (Cordial) silicone cable

- decent amount of shrink tube

- velcro to keep the cable tidy

Here be wisdom - make your own, use decent parts and they'll last for ages.

I have some cables I made myself that must have lasted 15+ years....at a guess, I've had them that long !

 

Edited September 26, 2019 by ahpook

[Stub Mandrel]

12 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Really? They are the worst cables I have ever had. I don't know anyone with one that hasn't failed and been replaced. No way I would use one live

I have a lovely surf green one I use for my practice amp.

I've just discovered it's impossible to unscrew it to check the quality of connections/strain relief without damaging the connector.

[Huge Hands]

14 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Really? They are the worst cables I have ever had. I don't know anyone with one that hasn't failed and been replaced. No way I would use one live

I think the point is I don't treat them badly in the sense of coiling them too tight, knotting them or twisting the connectors around, mine is more from clumily stepping on them or putting my amp down on them when I'm struggling to set it down with my dodgy back in a tight space.  

I think I bought one as an emergency purchase with no other decent choice and it worked for me so I got a couple more.  That is about it really, no more science than that.

[Woodinblack]

7 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I have a lovely surf green one I use for my practice amp.

I've just discovered it's impossible to unscrew it to check the quality of connections/strain relief without damaging the connector.

I love the look of them but discovered it was impossible to use them to play the bass with without damaging the connector!

[Stub Mandrel]

16 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

I love the look of them but discovered it was impossible to use them to play the bass with without damaging the connector!

They are very 'sticky out'. I like a 90-degree really.

But I have some pretty leads for use at home, like a cheap but lovely looking fabric covered Stagg one to go with my pseudo vintage and much modded Ibanez '335'

[Chienmortbb]

On 17/09/2019 at 20:55, Frank Blank said:

Definitely a combination of the quality of the lead in the first place and how you look after them, especially the coiling correctly. It’s worth investing in good leads initially because it makes you look after them.

Of course @obbm‘s http://www.rock-wire.co.uk/

and

https://www.amazon.co.uk/designacable/s?k=designacable

 

Designa cables look too good to be true for my liking. I am not sure you could make any money using Neutrik/Van Damme for those prices. 

Edited September 28, 2019 by Chienmortbb

[Chienmortbb]

On 26/09/2019 at 22:00, ahpook said:

Here be wisdom - make your own, use decent parts and they'll last for ages.

I have some cables I made myself that must have lasted 15+ years....at a guess, I've had them that long !

 

I always make my own but made the mistake of reusing a cable that someone else had discarded. I put Amphenol connectors on each end and the  unbranded cable went open circuit circuit on me on Thursday. ironically it was an ultra flexible cable and I don’t usually use those. 

Anyway I have ordered a number of cut length cables, both OEM and Sommer to evaluate. I will report back shortly. 
 

 

[mcnach]

58 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

Designa cables look too good to be true for my liking. I am not sure you could make any money using Neutrik/Van Damme for those prices. 

 

As an owner of a couple of their cables (red one and an orange one, as I was tired of getting my black ones 'misplaced') for several years now... fear not. 

To be honest, I don't see what's so off about their pricing. They're on the same bracket as OBMM and Cleartone (Award-Session) that a lot of us use here, with same/similar components.

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Chienmortbb said:

Designa cables look too good to be true for my liking. I am not sure you could make any money using Neutrik/Van Damme for those prices. 

THing is tehy are using base-level Neutrik and Van Damme components, which are probably little different from ordinary non-crap components.

The NP2x jack plugs are £2.04 each plus VAT if you order 50 from RS.

NP2Rx is £2.52.

Van Damme 'pro grade' XKE cable is 1.28 per metre in 100m reels.

So to make 3m cables in bulk leave about £1.60 to cover other costs.

But Designa will probably buy direct from Neutrik and Van Damme in much larger quantities so I think we can assume the £1.60 easily covers  the assembly cost, leaving a similar profit on the parts to whatever markup RS are putting on.

Edited September 28, 2019 by Stub Mandrel

[Frank Blank]

2 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Designa cables look too good to be true for my liking. I am not sure you could make any money using Neutrik/Van Damme for those prices. 

Well I’ve got four and they are excellent, I think @Stub Mandrel’s theory about bulk buying is almost certainly right, business models aside the designacables are top quality.