Just getting yall's opinion on the best instrument cables.

"If money was not an issue, I would use ____ cables because they ____"

thx

1. 1/4"
2. fit the jack

I currently use Monster cables because I bought into the hype a long time ago and they stand by their lifetime warranty. I've replaced them several times and I don't remember the last time I spent money on a cable. Several other companies offer similar warranties now. I wasn't aware of any others when I bought mine.

they're awfully expensive but the specs do seem pretty thorough

I do, too, because they eliminated a really loud, annoying hum I couldn't get rid of.

1. Planet Waves
2. are not Monster

Ernie Ball cuz I gots dem fo free

Snap-jack, because I hate loud noises.
Also, the quality of Audio sounds very good.

i like the circuit breaker action.

i think i'm using a hosa cable. it's whatever they had at the music store the last time i was there.

i did a comparison a while back between a planet waves cable and a 1m audioquest cable that i had. the AQ cable did sound a lot better in a recording, but for the noise i have in my live amp, it would be a big waste of money to use.

i also have been known to use my own cables. plugs are cheap and easy to come by, and bulk cable isn't that expensive. soldering is easy to do. and then you know who's at fault and how to fix it when the cable fails.

honestly, though, the best cable is the one that works.

robb.

You're a Hosa cable.

Sorry, Robb -- someone was gonna use that trope in here eventually. Thought I would get it out of the way.

Monster cable. Lifetime warranty. Never pay for a cable again.

(Although I'd say the same about any cable with a lifetime warranty.)

any that's available and that's within my budget, currently dimarzio and planet waves

1. Planet Waves or Monster.
2. Because I'll not have to buy another, that is if they honor their warranty.

I've used many different brands of cables including ones that I've made and really I've seen no clear differences in any sound wise except that the cheaper ones do seem noisier and seem a bit more fragile.

Planet Waves are my preference. Very rugged, solid connections. I also have a few Whirlwind and other storebrand cables I use if I'm running several instruments.
I will say that re-wiring my pedal board with a Planet Waves kit made a difference, from the hodge-podge of cables I had been using.

I've been using the same made by me from stock cable and SwitchCraft ends for years. I can't remember when I had a different cable. I've had this longer than any other gear I own.

I've been tempted to get a "better" cable but if it ain't broke...

I'm using Monster cables because of the warranty (which I rarely have needed to use since they last longer than most other brands I've tried), not because of the mystical advertising. However, at one point we did an A/B test in a quiet room and everyone in the room thought the Monster cables sounded better.

If money were no object, I'd try some of the $700 cables I saw at NAMM one year. However, they were hella thick. I don't really want cables that look like hoses coming out of my bass, especially with a Fender Jazz with the front-mounted jack.

Actually, if money were no object, I'd probably always use my X-2 Wireless and my roadie would put new batteries in it every few hours.

I'm currently using Hosa cables. Fortunately for me I know how to solder and can repair my own cables. And usually when I've had any kind of an issue with an instrument cable it has been at the connectors.

The one troubling thing about cables that I see all too often is that most people don't know how to properly coil them. And I think that's most likely the cause of a lot of people's problems. I see WAY too many people coiling instrument cable using their forearm and elbow as if they're coiling rope or twine. All cables, whether they're instrument cables, speaker cables, mic cables or extension cords have a memory. Given the way the cables have been handled since their manufacture, cables have a physical predisposition to be coiled. If you don't know how to coil your cables properly, check out this video.

I have been using Horizon Cables for many years. They are the cables with the cloth braiding...the also have a lifetime warranty which I tested and they honor their word.

I dont use George L cables..they always seem to short out on me...and I had my local music store guy help me...

You're a lifetime warranty

At my age a lifetime warranty could be a few days or weeks.
Rocky

Planet Waves. Mostly because of the lifetime warranty and that is what my favorite local shop had in stock.

I think that any of the big name cables will work fine. If you do some A/B test you may find some differences and may find that you prefer one or another, but that doesn't mean that the other others are bad. I think as long as your not dealing with extra long length (20'+) or cheap (<$20) cables you won't be losing anything.

I have a Monster cable I have replaced several times over the years. It cost me $50 once, and Guitar Center just keeps giving me new ones every time I ask for them. Not bad.

I don't think I'd buy another Monster cable, though, regardless of the company's return policy. I don't like its overly litigious behavior.

I also have a Mongami cable, which (knock wood) has never given me a problem. In fact, I actually like it better than the Monster cable because it's black, which, as we all know, means it is louder. And Mongami offers the same warranty as Monster.

That's a big one, right there.

The big things that kill cables usually revolve around how they are handled.

Coil them up right (so they don't twist internally and pull themselves apart), don't yank the cord out by the wire casing (puts all the stress on the solder joints), don't walk all over it (breaks down the casing and causes stress risers in the wires and casing), don't bend it in a tight loop (increases stress on solder joints that don't bend and wire casings that weren't meant to bend that tight) and even cheap cables will last a lot longer.

I might try a higher end cable next time I need one because a lot of them are constructed with better gauge wires and better quality connectors and such. But I've had my middle of the road cables for a couple years now with no issues other than they are a little shorter than I need (6').

I worked in the litigation arena as a court reporter for 25 years and was involved in a great many IP cases. Not to defend Monster, but that is generally how the patent game is played. Intellectual property can rank among a company's greatest assets, and patent infringement litigation is one way to protect it.

On the extreme end are "patent trolls," in the common parlance, who buy patents and attempt to make money simply by enforcing them against anybody whose technology even remotely resembles the patent claims in question.

In my experience, patent claims are invariably written in a way that begs interpretation at some point. It's a long and costly process to both prosecute a patent and also defend infringement claims. Mr. Denke was very wise in stating, "I am rational enough to know that I don’t want to go to litigation."

I may not agree with Monster's business practices; I'm just glad their cable got rid of my hum problem.

Two lovely examples involving Apple:

iPad Name Also Claimed by Fujitsu and Bra Maker

Court: Apple Doesn't Own the Letter "i"

Sometimes I call myself "mrebluebass".

I am suing everyone else who uses the word "blue" in their product name.

Yep.

I'm suing Kenwood, Kenmore, Kenworth, Kentucky Fried Chicken (twice), Kendra's baby and the nation of Kenya.

And that's just off the top of my head! Wait till I get Legal on it!

Haha. Good luck!

Here's another one of my faves, in which Goliath ends up biting the dust: Microsoft, Lindows Make a Deal

(Sorry to get so OT. I just get such a kick out of IP litigation. I promise that will be the last example...for this thread, anyway.)

Truer words never spoken.

What the heck ever happened to Whirlwind cables? They used to be pretty popular and I almost never see them advertised anymore.

In the 60's, I thought these were good cables: