Noise problem solved: Stay Away From These Guitar Cables

mrstrat

mrstrat

Experienced
I was getting frustrated with the amount of noise in my presets which started a few firmware revisions back. I chalked it up to new firmware, maybe the new amp models had higher sensitivity or something. High frequency buzzing like when your guitar is too close to your monitor but all the time, no matter where I stood. So I tweaked all my presets to bring the noise gate up to compensate.

Anyway, had nothing to do with the Axe Fx.

Guitar Center was having a sale on their "Musican's Gear" cables a few months back...$5.00 a piece (Normally $15.99, 18.5ft.) So I bought a few.

Musician's Gear Instrument Cable | GuitarCenter

So tonight I thought, what the hell, let me try my trusty old George L's cable...:shock

No more noise...pure quiet...

Never for a minute thought it could be my guitar cables. :)

Anyway, thought I'd pass along my frustrating lesson in buying cheap a$$ cables. Just say no...
 
I was having some noise issues a while back, so I switched out a cable of unknown origin with a Mogami. Cut the noise in half. It's one thing to hear people say that some cables are better than others, but it certainly is an eye opener when you finally hear the difference for yourself.
 
It has to do, more than likely, solely with the shielding within the cable. Manufacturers can save money here by using inadequate shielding. I've seen it a hundred times. Some shielding doesn't even cover the entire surface area of the diameter of the core conductors. Cheap-ola. :(
 
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I bought a Vovox guitar cable some 10+ years ago for a what I thought obscene price, but not only did it "sound" better than my average-priced (meaning half the cost) cables I had before...after countless hours of use, gigs, rehearsals, studio etc. it is still in perfect condition. No noise issues, nothing. I actually spent a grand on Vovox Sonorus cables for a recording project I did and the mixing engineer told me that he seldom receives such good sounding material from pro studios he works for.
So what I want to say is: don´t try to save Money at the wrong place. And no, I am in no way affiliated with Vovox, the same goes for some other brands out there for sure.
 
And a 5 star ratings no less.. I use a crappy proco 25' cable that I swapped out a right angle neutrik silent jack on one end... I like it because it rolls up easily.

I'm not sure I buy into all the cable hype... I'm guess EVH and all the old timers didn't sweat cables as much as the current crowd does.

Glad you got it fixed though, that and ground loops can drive a person crazy.
 
A few years ago I bought a higher end Monster cable (yes, before I knew about all that *stuff*.)

FWIW I don't believe in thinking too much about this stuff, but it made no sense to connect a $3000 guitar and a $4500 rig with a $6 cable. So I picked up something higher end.

Since I can stick Monster with free replacements, I walk into Guitar Center every 6 months and get a new one.

R
 
electronpirate said:
A few years ago I bought a higher end Monster cable (yes, before I knew about all that *stuff*.)

FWIW I don't believe in thinking too much about this stuff, but it made no sense to connect a $3000 guitar and a $4500 rig with a $6 cable. So I picked up something higher end.

Since I can stick Monster with free replacements, I walk into Guitar Center every 6 months and get a new one.

R
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It sounds so sensible. However not all agree .. Oddly enough .... IMHO!!
 
I still like George L's best of all. I bought my first one after reading an interview with Eric Johnson. If there was ever someone who was a stickler for tonal quality it's him. I've never had an issue with one. The other thing that I like about them is you can buy their cable in bulk, buy a bunch of their ends, and make your own in whatever length you want when you need them with nothing more than a small screwdriver.
 
Rane said:
I was having some noise issues a while back, so I switched out a cable of unknown origin with a Mogami. Cut the noise in half. It's one thing to hear people say that some cables are better than others, but it certainly is an eye opener when you finally hear the difference for yourself.
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Same here

Just you dont need the ultra expensive (and they are not always noise free)-->just a trusted supplier

I am in there and all is dead quiet-->Death Valley Cable Company, the world's best guitar cable, handmade one at a time

Roland
 
So many of these cables are now made in China. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing but you have to carefully choose your source. If you go with the lowest bidder you are guaranteed to get a cable that is going to have a spiral shield with low coverage (80% or even less). A good braided shield will have 95+% coverage but costs a lot more.
 
FractalAudio said:
So many of these cables are now made in China. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing but you have to carefully choose your source. If you go with the lowest bidder you are guaranteed to get a cable that is going to have a spiral shield with low coverage (80% or even less). A good braided shield will have 95+% coverage but costs a lot more.
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Cliff can you recomend some brands - is "Klotz" or "Planet Waves" good cable? That's what i use....
 
mrstrat said:
I still like George L's best of all. I bought my first one after reading an interview with Eric Johnson. If there was ever someone who was a stickler for tonal quality it's him. I've never had an issue with one. The other thing that I like about them is you can buy their cable in bulk, buy a bunch of their ends, and make your own in whatever length you want when you need them with nothing more than a small screwdriver.
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I bought 2 pre-made 20' George L's cables about 10 years ago (had already been using them on my pedal board for a while), and have not used anything else since.

The only things I dislike are that they do have some "handling" noise and they also have more "memory" than most other cables.

But they sound great and the no-solder connections can be a life saver!


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I need to try the George L's. Someone recommended them years ago and I passed but I think I need to revisit this, especially playing in front of a computer.
 
Do you guys have any opinions on CBI cables? I'm currently using them since my transition to the AFX and have been happy thus far. I like the fact that they're produced in the US (NY) and are priced nicely, but still sound good, handle nicely and seem to be long-lasting. Just thought I'd get your thoughts if any of you have tried them.

Also, I have been wanting to try the George L's for awhile now for the convenience of custom length and have heard great things about them, but do they offer any type of stereo cable or is their line strictly mono?
 
Bestronics is a great value. I bought a bunch of bulk cable years ago and made a bunch of leads and patch cables. Excellent quality inside and out. They are durable, flexible, quiet, and roll up very nicely. I bought the CA-0393 which has equivalent specs to Mogami cable. Made in the USA too.

Best-Tronics Mfg., Inc.

George L's are great too, but I prefer to solder the plugs on. I personally don't trust solderless cables.
 
simple. high quality. Joe Naylor.

Armor Gold

Instrument_SS.jpg
 
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mr_fender said:
Bestronics is a great value. I bought a bunch of bulk cable years ago and made a bunch of leads and patch cables. Excellent quality inside and out. They are durable, flexible, quiet, and roll up very nicely. I bought the CA-0393 which has equivalent specs to Mogami cable. Made in the USA too.

Best-Tronics Mfg., Inc.

George L's are great too, but I prefer to solder the plugs on. I personally don't trust solderless cables.
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Yes, I use Best-Tronics as well for the connection between my Axe and CLRs. I also picked up a pair of their speaker cables for when I'm going power amp to speakers. Very high quality cables.
 
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