Guitar Cable Shootout!

[fibredrive]

Hey all,

Must be bored, so i sat down and recorded a simple riff, with different instrument cables i have lying around. Just wanted to see if cables really do make that much of a sonic difference. heh.

Well, basically, I used a Monster gold plated cable, a Planet Waves gold plated cable, an Ibanez Pro Series 96 Gold plated cable, and last but not least, a George Ls cable. settings all remain the same except for the cable change. close mic'd with an SM57, thru my LP and amp. using mackie's preamps on the mixer, and an echo mia midi soundcard.

and no post-eq added nor fx/compression etc added. raw. for your critical listening. hope this poll thing works...first time trying...heh.

ok have taken some good advice and combined all 4 samples onto 1 track.

the track plays as follows: -

1. George Ls
2. Ibanez
3. Monster
4. Planet Waves

The clip below
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=EEF0605B6FA806C1

cheers

 

[daryl]

think you missed a note for the georgels one. they all sound....the same. even when i listen real real closely i cant differentiate between them. except for the georgels one where you missed a note.

 

[ShredCow]

hmmm. Its would sound the same due to many factors.

1) its mp3, compressed audio, detail lost
2) the change of only 1 cable, might be too little change
3) speakers on the listener's side, not transparent

etc etc etc...

I haven't listened, and I wouldn't be @ work, I have CRAP speakers. :lol:

Maybe you could give us your thoughts fibredrive?

 

[fibredrive]

Hi daniel,

good point, kinda figured it would make very little difference if listener's spkrs were not good enough. plus its mp3...

some time ago, i listened to seymour duncan's soundclips for their diff pickups and wondered what the heck difference was there? recently i took another listen with my current setup and i could actually hear differences in the tonal qualities of the pickups. guess setup does matter a bit for sound tests.

OK, my humble opinion, and according to my ears of course... The Ibanez and Monster cables weren't to my liking. over pronounced low end and muddiness. its a tie for me between the planet waves and the george ls. although George Ls seems to have some clarity over the planet waves. but really, i think the difference is not that great. in any event, sound is subjective and some might prefer the ibanez clip over the george ls etc. so, i guess its really a matter of preference in the end.

lemme know whatcha think when u have the time to listen. cheers

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

hehe, is the truth out?

 

[penguin]

bro ...i think if u zip up the files much better..
i mean so ppl can download just a single file..and when it expires its easy for you to update..


ok heres my opinion..
yes the ibanez more low end and you did miss anote like someone pointed out..
the monster i feel is too forward sounding
while the george lynch is balance but the planet waves to me is the winner..

btw are the cable are of the same length?hmm what planet waves cables that you use...

interesting results..well for live playing the cables does matter..as for recording ,its not not critical as u can edit with an eq plugin ..etc...
wonder would it be the same if u plug in..say a bass..???

 

[gsonique]

George L is a cool concept but i seen enough frustration due intermitent issues and also it kinda brightenes up ur set up...in a yucky way..to my ears!! :?

 

[fibredrive]

penguin - thanks for the suggestion, should have thought of it. hehe. anyways, have combined all 4 clips onto one, and encoded at 256kbps, maybe clearer a bit. dunno.

cables were 3M in length for the George Ls and Planet Waves and 2M in length for the Monster and Ibanez. me thinks.

cheers

 

[godchuanz]

From the clip you have posted, the 1st and last sounds best. The 2nd and 3rd definitely sounds muddier. If I had to choose, I'll say the 1st cable sounds best.

I don't know, maybe if another instrument is played through the same set of cables, the 2nd and 3rd will sound better?

 

[fibredrive]

well 1st cable is george ls. lots of varying opinions here. planet waves seems to be topping the list now. heh. anybody else?

 

[theblueark]

It all depends on what's in the chain. Amp too dark, use bright cables. Amp too bright, use cool curly cables.

Then all the other effects into consideration also.

Salt only tastes bad when eaten on it's own.

I wouldn't say it's worthwhile to compare which is the best, but rather, the characteristics of each. Unless you are talking about reliability.

 

[subversion]

+1

i switch cable just to hear the difference which is suitable to what i'm going to play. if you can't hear any diff, stick to one, preferable a low-noise model.

 

[nickyseow]

hey! just my two sen worth. i chanced upon this 18 page discussion on cables that include some high end cables ala klotz, mogami, Evidence Audio Lyric, HG, and Melody etc etc. must take time to read it! haha

click here to satisfy cable qns!

other than that, ive been using and swearing by planet waves cables simply because i love the spring thingy that keeps the input jack into ur guitar jack. woot. it can't get better than that.

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

^^ +1 but I like the springs because they keep the cable plugged into my pedals, I have little trouble with cable > guitar applications.

 

[sanXp]

You got to try different cables personally to hear the difference in tone. Reason being different cables have different capacitances, and will react with your pickups differently. For example the generic gibson cable I got from swee lee has more mids than the custom made belden cables I got from sim lim square, but somehow the belden cables have more clarity.. You just got to try to know la, but it isn't really important. What's more important is the flexibility and the reliability.

 

[fibredrive]

other than that, ive been using and swearing by planet waves cables simply because i love the spring thingy that keeps the input jack into ur guitar jack. woot. it can't get better than that.

hey nick, gotta say thats a key factor for me too. my George Ls seem loose a bit, they move around in my input jack, causing some unpleasant pops and at half vol, it can be quite jarring..

 

[nickyseow]

tada. hahaha

gotta give those cables from abroad man.

i HEARD that spectraflex has the most mojo! esp the original ones! it has those weird cloth like shield that old electric appliances have. haha

retro is the way! 8)