What cables do you use?

    My newest cables are "lifetime guarantee" inexpensive cables that I bought at Guitar Center.


    Before that, I used even cheaper (though they were hand made) Conquest USA cables. I still have many short ones I use in the studio that are well over 20 years old.


    From my perspective, quality cable with quality connectors is all that is needed. I don't think it is necessary to spend more than $25 for a reliable, quality guitar cable.


    Wire is wire. There, I said it! ;)

    In my humble opinion, cables can be judged on four criteria which affect quality:

    • Robustness
    • Microphonics
    • Flexibility
    • Capacitance per foot

    Even the cheapest cables these days do pretty well in all these departments. I also use store-brand Guitar Center cables, the cloth covered kind that look like vintage appliance power cords. They lay down great, don't tangle, and are really easy to spot on the floor or in a gig bag.


    The whole cable-sound thing is wearisome to me. After your first buffer, the capacitance doesn't even matter anymore. If I were running a 100' cord to my amp, I MIGHT worry about capacitance. But I used to run my unbuffered signal through a 100 foot snake and two 15 foot guitar cords. At worst, I would need to goose the treble or presence by a click. Any other spec besides capacitance is BS too. Take resistance: considering the 6-12kohm DCR's on pickups, adding a few ohms of series resistance is meaningless. And don't get me started about OFC or other audiophile nonsense. ;)


    I own a low-capacitance Elixir cable with a PTFE dielectric. For a nano-second, I convinced myself it sounded better, until my friend helped me out with a blind test. What I do know is that that cable still has a kink in it from how it was packaged and is stiffer than the Kemper CAT5 cable that came with the remote. I never use it.


    I'm also still using some Pro-Co's from the 70's (with new ends) and plastic molded patch cables from the 80's, the multicolored ones that came in a bag of 10 for $12. Not a single one of those pariahs have ever failed me.

    I hate emojis, but I hate being misunderstood more. :)

    Like 3

    l use Unobtainium. Encased in the gasses of the lower atmosphere of Neptune, that contain 99.99999999999999999% material that does not exist on the periodic table. This gas, sealed in a platinum polymer, creates the environment needed for the unobtainium to work at the optimum levels needed by today's demanding guitarist.
    No more misplaced notes with this cable, the unobtainium senses what and when you meant to play, and an added bonus with the kpa, decides on the optimum profile needed for that particular passage of music.
    This incredible cable is now on sale at an unbelievable festive price of 0.001 cents per Planck length.
    Exciting times for the discerning professional. :saint:

    Quote from roadrunner

    l use Unobtainium. Encased in the gasses of the lower atmosphere of Neptune, that contain 99.99999999999999999% material that does not exist on the periodic table. This gas, sealed in a platinum polymer, creates the environment needed for the unobtainium to work at the optimum levels needed by today's demanding guitarist.
    No more misplaced notes with this cable, the unobtainium senses what and when you meant to play, and an added bonus with the kpa, decides on the optimum profile needed for that particular passage of music.
    This incredible cable is now on sale at an unbelievable festive price of 0.001 cents per Planck length.
    Exciting times for the discerning professional. :saint:

    I'd love to go further with a joke on pick choice but I've learned recently on this forum that this is a very serious thing 8|