I hate buying leads.

Sandvich

They just tend to die so quickly for no reason, and I don't even play as much as possibly most people on here.

stephenshields2

Buy leads with a lifetime guarantee, keep your receipt, and then abuse the **** out of the lead!!

Then you go back and get a free one! Everyone wins, yay!!

stephenshields2

Also you can fix them if you are handy with the auld soldering iron!

Demeyes

I find that quality leads rarely break on me. There are a few things you can do that will help you get more life from your leads just by taking care of them. Don't leave them plugged into your guitar when you put it down, keep them tidy when not in use and try and not have them running at an awkward angle where they are plugged into something.
Also if you are buying cheap cables, you won't get much use from them. Cheaper cables sound bad and will break really easily, as was mentioned though cables are usually repairable if you can use a soldering iron.

shizz

Sandvich wrote: »

They just tend to die so quickly for no reason, and I don't even play as much as possibly most people on here.

Are you the kind of person who doesnt give the cable enough slack at the jack ends? or doesnt wrap the cable up properly and just shoves it into their bag in a lump?

If you want to get the most out of your cable it needs to be taken care of regardless of quality. Make sure there is lots of slack given to the cable after the rigid piece thats at the jack end, and even tape it down so that it wont change. Thats all there is too it really.

Dord

I used to buy cheap (quality) not price cables but they broke frequently or the material caused them to curl up and be unusable. A year or two ago I got some Cordial brand cables from Thomann and they're still working perfectly. Seem quite solid, reasonably priced and they don't curl up and get in the way.

Also make sure you get cables with connectors to suit your instrument(s). e.g. for a Strat you'd want straight plugs and for a Les Paul (or other guitar/bass with jack on the side) a cable with one angled plug works best. Additionally, running the cable through your strap with enough slack so it doesn't pull on the jack or plug will help. This will also ensure that if you do trip on the cable you shouldn't damage the socket.

goblin59

im trying to replace all my leads where possible with xxyz snap jack leads. i bought one just to see what they were like and iv had it for 4 years now havnt regretted buying it since. it cost about 30quid sterling on ebay


http://www.thomann.de/gb/snap_jack_guitar_cable_45.htm

i think the music shop beside music maker still has some in

Mr. CooL ICE

Planet Wave cables all the way for me. I did take care of them, but the only time I have had to replace them is when I lost them

feylya

I've used Cordial cables with Neutrik jacks for years. Never had an issue with a single one of them. Fantastic cables at a great price.

-=al=-

jsut look after the cables after use, wind them up correctly and buy a decent lead, i havn't bought a lead in about 6 years, planet waves ones too btw

dermo909

Dont wrap them up using the wrist and elbow technique. That does'nt describe it well but you know what I'm talking about. That will only twist the hell out of the lead and it'll end up a big coiled mess after a while. It'll break then because of that reason.
I use planet waves and have never had one go bad on me. The gaurantee is great too, its peace of mind if something ever goes wrong. Which it wont if you take care of them!

Malice

dermo909 wrote: »

Dont wrap them up using the wrist and elbow technique.

How do you wrap them up then?

dermo909

Take both ends of the lead, place them together, then grab the other end and fold that up to the other end. You are folding the lead in half that way and not twisting it. When it gets to around 3ft long, then tie it together loosely.
Or if you buy good planet waves leads you can use the hook and loop thing that they come with.

stephenshields2

Seriously lads, did ya's all miss my first post??

Thats what Ive been doing for years!


Although as some of the other lads said, musicstore cables are great (the ones with the right angle neutrik jack anyway!)

Malice

dermo909 wrote: »

Take both ends of the lead, place them together, then grab the other end and fold that up to the other end. You are folding the lead in half that way and not twisting it. When it gets to around 3ft long, then tie it together loosely.
Or if you buy good planet waves leads you can use the hook and loop thing that they come with.

Interesting. I must try that the next time I'm packing up a cable. I've been using the wrist-and-elbow technique for years and I haven't had many cables die on me in that time. I normally lose them at gigs or practice sessions.

-=al=-

yeah ypu dont wana wrap them like that at all, theres probably videos on youtube about how to wrap audio cables, kinda hard to explain but the easiest way is to just hold one end at the jack and feed it in on itself in a cicle, much easier if u see someone do it, this will help the cable tolast longer and avoid it getting all tangled up

balducci

http://www.planetwaves.com/PWMediaDetail.Page?MediaId=673

there's yiz go!