Leads

jcoote

i'm gonna buy a new set of leads for my setup.

Anybody got any preference or ideas of whats supposed to be good

Doctor J

Leaving aside the popular big-brand names, I've heard a lot of good things about this place, not just durability, which seems to be a what the big brands go for, but more in terms of the quality of the cable itself and the clarity of the signal. I was going to get them to sort me out in the not to distant future.

Ancient1

Got this article in a HC newsletter, not a bad read.

Planet Waves leads with a lifetime guarantee is where the money's at imo

Ancient1

What's the hype with Planet Waves?

I just can't bring myself to dish out €30 for a simple cable.

jcoote

that looks interesting doc.the online ordering is offline at the minute tho.

i really only need 4 cables (one for the beginning and one for the end of the chain and the same for the loop).

still tho i don't think 120 euro would be spent on the 4 cables tbh

you'll never have to buy another cable though...

if you play guitar for 15 years, thats €2 per year, per cable..

bargain really

Ancient1

You could look at it that way.

But I've been using my main lead for 15 years now and never had a bother with it. Now that's quality.

jcoote

they are nice and quiet i assume

gizmo

Hrm, I went through 2 "cheap" leads in the past few years until I got a nice mid range Planet Waves last Summer and it hasn't given me a spot of bother since. Signal clarity seems great with no noise and the right angle option is always nice on my SG.

If you want a Planet Waves but don't want to spend a fortune just don't bother with the Ciruit Breaker model, while it may be handy it just seems a little bit overkill imo.

Johnny Storm

gizmo wrote:

...If you want a Planet Waves but don't want to spend a fortune just don't bother with the Ciruit Breaker model, while it may be handy it just seems a little bit overkill imo.

+1
And its always off when you want it to be on etc.

bombidol

Either Planet Waves or Monster Cables are the way foreward. think monsters are slightly cheaper but just as good

Ancient1

Johnny Storm wrote:

And its always off when you want it to be on etc.

?

You have to quit drinkin, Johnny.

jcoote

was lookin at these ones

http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_cordial_cbli_3_prsw_prodinfo.html

fish-head

Planet Waves have a good cheaper option, about €15 for 10ft, which isn't too bad. They're well made cables. I wouldn't buy one of those uber-expensive leads, I always lose a few cables at every gig due to general disorganisation, chaos and evil people from other bands.

Johnny Storm

Ancient1 wrote:

?

You have to quit drinkin, Johnny.

Do you know my wife, then?

Ancient1

I'm familiar with that domestic situation.

Remember Mississippi Fred McDowell singing "I asked her for whiskey, she gave me gasoline"?

gaffmaster

hey does anyone know of any good spiral coiled cables like they used in the 60's and 70's. they look cooler!!!

Eoin Madsen

They're pretty bad for your signal, so there are no good ones as such. But you can get a poxy one in Maplin as far as I know.

Karl Hungus

Another vote for Planet Waves here. They're solid as they come, and they will last you. John Petrucci uses these cables, so you know they're quality. Of course, the fact that I use them should be enough for you.

bombidol

yeah they are the way foreward. loosing cables sucks ass. ive lost a few planet waves over the years too.

Sofaspud

I have a few planet waves ones, but the bit inside the jack always seems to be breaking itself, I've fixed each of those leads about 20 times each in the past 2 years.

Leem, on the other hand. I bought a leem one a couple of years ago, at a generic price (about 8 quid) and the only problem I've ever had with it was when I seemed to forget that leads aren't infinite length, an ran away from the amp, perpendicular to how the lead was plugged in, and snapped the lead right out of the jack. A wee bit of soldering and all was hoopy, though. 'tis still my lead of choice. It's also a cool transparent-red plastic, and I can see the wiring inside.

jcoote

might get some planet waves so sound good

feylya

I use Neutrik cables. Steel shells and a mechanism that the more you pull the cable, the more the jack clamps on.

!_Brian_!

I bought 2 planet waves leads for 60 quid for the lot when I bough my cab 3 years ago, I'm still using the same leads today and after a lot of punishment. Their indestructable!

david

Honestly get yourself 30m of this
http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_artikel-158881.html
and 8 of these and you'll never need another cable again
http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_neutrik_np2c_prodinfo.html

Neutrik jacks are as solid as it gets and i've never had any problems with that cable, I use it on 10m runs and its still noiseless/click free.

SirLemonhead

feylya wrote:

I use Neutrik cables. Steel shells and a mechanism that the more you pull the cable, the more the jack clamps on.

Neutrik makes cable now?

feylya

They sell brand name cables using neutrik jacks and some cable that I think of.

Eoin Madsen

I just soldered neutrik jacks onto some Cordial Microphone cable from Thomann. Effective for the most part, but ironically, some of the leads became microphonic.

The Boarder Man

I must thanks a certain French gentleman for posting this outtake from an interview with Cesar Diaz (guitar tech for SRV) on another forum:

When we were doing the In Step album with Stevie [Ray Vaughan] , I had an endorsement with Monster Cables. They would send me all of this free stuff and I was very excited because I could manage these things for a guy like Stevie, who really didn’t even know how to wash dishes. All he knew how to do was play the guitar, but God bless him for that, because he really did something with what he knew. Anyway, I took these cables we got to Stevie and he said, “I hate these things.” I asked him, “Why, man, they’re the best cables in the world?” He said, “They pass to much electricity.” Those were his exact words, and I’ll never forget it as long as I live. “They pass too much electricity.”

They were too efficient…

Yeah, so he sent me out to the local Radio Shack and told me to buy every gray coil cord they had – not the black ones, only the gray ones. And I thought, “Hhmm, this freakin’ hick from Dallas is telling me this?” I got them and ran them through my capacitance meter and found out that they added like almost .05 mfd to the signal chain. That made it sound solid – it was like having a tone control, and the brightness and harshness that the Marshalls had was eliminated. There isn’t a single picture of Hendrix… back then they already had high-end cables, but there isn’t a single picture of Hendrix where you see him playing with a straight cable. Why?

So in short; get crap cables or get long cables.

Karl Hungus

The Boarder Man wrote:

So in short; get crap cables or get long cables.

Sorry man, but that's a ridiculous thing to say.

That made it sound solid – it was like having a tone control, and the brightness and harshness that the Marshalls had was eliminated.

All well and grand if you want that effect on a Marshall, but what happens when you're using an amp that isn't too bright and harsh for your tastes? Or what if you like your Marshall bright and harsh?

There's way too many variables. Just because using crap cables worked for one man, in one situation, doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone in every situation.