Best amp cables?

[Cheeto726]

I just bought a Hartke HA3500 Bass Amplifier, Hartke Series VX115 Bass, and Hartke VX3500 Bass off Facebook marketplace. The person I bought it from comes from a very musically inclined family and regularly performs and knows quite a biy. This specific rig was the uncle's that was used for gigs. Nothing wrong with it. He was upgrading and needed the space.

 

I'm working on some jam sessions and small gigs but I only have one SPEAKER cable so I'm in the market for a couple more. 

 

What's a good brand or type that I won't have to replace to soon lol. 

 

A professional touring musician friend of mine said I needed to look for 10 gauge minimum and would probably be best making my own if I can't find any. I'd rather not screw them up and try and buy some lol but everything is see is for instruments or is 12 gauge. 

 

I would also like to try and get some with two right angles but if not then I can always get an adapter. I attached some pictures of the rig as well! 

 

What do you guys think?

Edited April 4, 2024 by Cheeto726

[Cliff Edge]

I’ve had two of the amp heads and they were very reliable and to my ears anyway a great sound.  I suggest you get yourself a spare tube (valve) to carry for the pre amp, just in case.  I have no experience of the speakers. I’m loath to recommend instrument cables since there are so many to choose from. Someone will be along shortly with suggestions. 
 

[jrixn1]

Do you want speaker cable or instrument cable (or both)?  They look the same, but are different - you shouldn't use instrument cables to connect amps to speakers.  In the UK I always get my cables from designacable; I'm not sure what the USA equivalent is, or what the conversion to AWG is - but the specs should be in these links:

 

Speaker cable: designacable / van-damme

Instrument cable: designacable / van-damme

[tubbybloke68]

I think our friend Cheinmortbb on here makes professional cables to order, if this helps? 

Edited April 3, 2024 by tubbybloke68

[casapete]

@Chienmortbb on here is good for cables.

 

Look for those with good quality cable ( Van Damme , Sommer etc) and Neutrik connectors.

IMO avoid stuff like cheaper Fender, Planet Waves, and pay a bit more for good stuff - if

looked after they will last years. 

 

[itu]

Good quality silicone cable (Sommer/Cordial/Gotham) + Neutrik NP2X, a bit like Cordial CSI 3 PP Silent 3 m for instruments.

 

Cab cable, like pro snake TPL 1,0 LL. (Except your set has old plug connectors, instead of Speak-Ons.) I suggest 2x2.5 mm2, because people tend to think cables last forever, no matter how bad they are treated. 2x2.5 mm2 is too much now, but after some serious abuse and touring life, there may be 2x1.0 mm2 left.

 

 

An addition:

If you order your cables from @Chienmortbb, he really knows what is feasible and functional. You don't have to care about my previous comments.

Edited April 4, 2024 by itu
Cadd9

[SimonK]

Yes don't confuse a shielded instrument cable with a speaker cable. Get it wrong one way and it will be noisy, the other and it might melt!

 

For shielded instrument cables I've used Whirlwind cables for years. Yes they are £50 but at least two of mine are twenty years old and still going strong.

[Lfalex v1.1]

33 minutes ago, SimonK said:

For shielded instrument cables I've used Whirlwind cables for years. Yes they are £50 but at least two of mine are twenty years old and still going strong.

 

A friend of mine quit playing guitar and gave me some Whirlwinds over 25 years ago. They're still going strong.

Edited April 3, 2024 by Lfalex v1.1

[Dan Dare]

5 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

A friend of mine quit playing guitar and gave me some Whirlwinds over 25 years ago. They're still going strong.

 I have some whirlwinds that have lasted many years, too. However, I no longer use them as I found they have a high capacitance and definitely lose noticeable amounts of high frequencies. A shame, because they are well made and tough as old boots. 

[tauzero]

Just go wireless.

[Dad3353]

23 minutes ago, tauzero said:

Just go wireless.

 

Yes, that works well, connecting Hartke amps to Hartke cabs... not..! 

 

...

 

 

[tauzero]

19 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

Yes, that works well, connecting Hartke amps to Hartke cabs... not..! 

 

...

 

 

 

"I only have one instrument cable so I'm in the market for a couple more."

 

Didn't they teach you to always read the question fully before answering?

[Cheeto726]

4 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

"I only have one instrument cable so I'm in the market for a couple more."

 

Didn't they teach you to always read the question fully before answering?

I just realized I messed up lol. I meant to say I only have one SPEAKER cable and was the market for more. I have a lot of instrument cables. SPEAKER cables is what I'm in the market for! 

[Mykesbass]

As already advised, for speaker cables go to @Chienmortbb He has taken over from another Basschatter and makes cables from the highest quality components at very reasonable prices. Many brand names rely on snake oil to justify their high prices. These ones rely on reputation on here. I know which I trust more!

[Dan Dare]

Speakon cables are very simple to make. No soldering required. All you need is something to cut and strip the cable and a small screwdriver to tighten the terminals.

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, Mykesbass said:

As already advised, for speaker cables go to @Chienmortbb He has taken over from another Basschatter and makes cables from the highest quality components at very reasonable prices. Many brand names rely on snake oil to justify their high prices. These ones rely on reputation on here. I know which I trust more!

I have one of his on its way to me at present.

[PaulWarning]

looks like they're old style jack plugs from the photos, I make my own up from old l 2 core lecy cables, bell wire is not advisable but anything a bit more substantial will do the job, and decent quality jack plugs, of course you need a soldiering iron for this 

[Dad3353]

29 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

Speakon cables are very simple to make. No soldering required. All you need is something to cut and strip the cable and a small screwdriver to tighten the terminals.

 

17 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

looks like they're old style jack plugs from the photos, I make my own up from old l 2 core lecy cables, bell wire is not advisable but anything a bit more substantial will do the job, and decent quality jack plugs, of course you need a soldiering iron for this 

 

All simple enough, indeed, once one has the knowledge of which terminals to use (Speakon...) and which polarity to connect to where (Speakon and jack...). No difficult, but not to be improvised. Just sayin'. 

[naxos10]

Looking at the backplate of the speaker if you are mounting it on the combo as the photo shows a right angled jack plug may not be the best option as the depth of the plate could cause the cable run to go up then loop down. A straight jack may be better here.

[Dan Dare]

2 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

All simple enough, indeed, once one has the knowledge of which terminals to use (Speakon...) and which polarity to connect to where (Speakon and jack...). No difficult, but not to be improvised. Just sayin'. 

 

Every Speakon packet bears an illustration showing connection for the terminals. If a doofus like me can understand it, anyone can.

[PaulWarning]

23 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

 

Every Speakon packet bears an illustration showing connection for the terminals. If a doofus like me can understand it, anyone can.

don't know about anybody else but I need a magnifying glass to see the + and - on the plugs 😕

edit, and all this talk of speakon plugs is not much use to the @Cheeto726 as it looks like his gear has jack sockets

Edited April 4, 2024 by PaulWarning

[tauzero]

Can't see any Speakon sockets on the back of the amp, difficult to make out the recess in the speakers but I don't think there were Speakons in there either. You could probably manage right-angle jacks at the amp end but the speaker ends would almost certainly have to be straight jacks. It might be easier to have straight jacks at both ends if you're using thick wire. Bell wire or mains cable will do the job.

[tauzero]

PS. If making your own, you need to make sure the leads are connected with the same polarity. So the tip of one plug must be connected to the tip of the other plug - easy if you've got cable with (say) one red and one black core.

[NancyJohnson]

Just throwing this out there, I've been playing for more than 40 years and while my (current) preferred amp to speaker connection is Speakons, for the intervening years I just used a regular jack to jack cable.  When times were particularly bad (as a teen) it wasn't unusual to have hotwired cable using bell wire, electrical cable or whatever was on hand.  You know what?  Not one blown speaker or damaged amplifier.  Nada.  

 

At one point early on, I was running a particularly cheap and nasty bass combo and decided to connect another speaker to it.  In the spirit of Eddie Van Halen, I cut a 4" hole in the back of the combo, had about a yard of hi-fi speaker cable and hooked everything up sight unseen with little crocodile clips and electrical tape.  I suppose that 4" hole would now be considered a port.  No soldering, no idea what out of phase was.  Worked fine.

 

We really do need to stop getting our panties in a twist about what's right (or wrong), eh?

[casapete]

7 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

Just throwing this out there, I've been playing for more than 40 years and while my (current) preferred amp to speaker connection is Speakons, for the intervening years I just used a regular jack to jack cable.  When times were particularly bad (as a teen) it wasn't unusual to have hotwired cable using bell wire, electrical cable or whatever was on hand.  You know what?  Not one blown speaker or damaged amplifier.  Nada.  

 

At one point early on, I was running a particularly cheap and nasty bass combo and decided to connect another speaker to it.  In the spirit of Eddie Van Halen, I cut a 4" hole in the back of the combo, had about a yard of hi-fi speaker cable and hooked everything up sight unseen with little crocodile clips and electrical tape.  I suppose that 4" hole would now be considered a port.  No soldering, no idea what out of phase was.  Worked fine.

 

We really do need to stop getting our panties in a twist about what's right (or wrong), eh?

Agreed, although even back then we knew that using guitar leads for connecting speakers wasn't a good idea.