My daddario cable just started wigging out and this is like the 5th cable ive been though in 7 years. I’m hard on my gear in general. What cables should I order next in particular?
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Good advice above - also make sure to wrap your cables the right way. Power cables are more resilient than speaker cables. If you apply to much force when coiling/wrapping them, you can damage internal components.
If you’re the crafty type, learn to solder. I’ve fixed dozens of (cheaply soldered) cables over the years, it usually takes all of five minutes.
Otherwise you can see if livewire still has their lifetime guarantee (only on the more expensive cables, but if they ever break they’ll replace it, forever).
Yeah i used to solder and maybe i should just repair my broken cables haha
If you know how to solder, pick up a Mogami cable with braided insulation and a pair of Neutrik connectors and solder them on yourself.
I made a 25 foot cable this way about 14 years ago and it’s still going strong, despite a cat chewing through the insulation at a couple spots.
This would be the most economical thing. And as far as soldering goes, it’d be hard to find a simpler project than a guitar cable. Sometimes it’s the actual solder joint that goes bad, but a lot of the time they go out because the wire gets beat up by the end of the jack housing, so it’s usually a good idea to cut the cable an inch or two below the jack then re-solder from there to get rid of any potentially damaged wire.
Get a pack of heat-shrink of different diameter, good soldering iron and lead free solder, good pair of flush-cutter pliers and you’re good to go
You often don’t even need heat shrink for guitar cables, they’re pretty simple.
For years and years I got whatever was cheapest and replaced them when they inevitably failed. Now I’ve been slowly replacing them with really high quality more expensive cables that I’m afraid of ruining so now they last longer 😆
Pig Hog have been surprisingly resilient with some steady gigging for a few years.
If you’re stepping all over your cables, there isn’t much of a point in spending a ton of money on cables since you’re probably going to go through them anyways. Something from Horizon should work just fine and they’re not super expensive.
I’ve picked up Boss cables from Musicians Friend’s “Stupid Deal of the Day” and they have been great.
I had problems over the years with D’Addario’s Classic and Custom series. It’s almost like plugs are a hair too short and don’t always properly lock in place in my guitars (especially my Teles) and certain pedals. However, their American Stage cables are fantastic, albeit pricey.
Going wireless might be an option, too. Over the long run it might wind up being cheaper.
@rabber I don’t know!
I bought one low-capacitance Runway Audio cable for $65 and noticed better treble.
I mainly use the cheap ones though and fix them when they break, too.I hate lead-free solder but would use it if I soldered every day. Normal soldering irons aren’t hot enough to work with it, and it has the consistency of peanut butter when it melts. I’ve damaged tips and parts I was trying to solder with it while waiting for it to melt. I got a big roll of 60/40 that I’ll never use up.
I can testify that Cordial cables can take a fair amount of abuse.
I personally never had a problem in the last 2 years with my Harley Benton cable but I’m also at the other end of the spectrum where I’m maniacally careful towards my gear
