I murder guitar cables.

TheMarlin

I don’t think I’ve managed to keep a guitar cable alive for more than a year. 

I’ve managed to kill three this week, oh joy. 

I’ll likely get my soldering iron out and make two good ones out of three bad ones, but maybe it’s time to invest in some ‘quality’ cables. 

Where should in be spending my money?  

What’s a decent cable that will still be fully functional in a decade?

Cheers

Marlin

octatonic

If you are misusing them then there isn't a cable alive (?!?) that will be working after a decade.
That said I've got a bunch of guitar cables made from Canare or Mogami cable and Switchcraft plugs that I have had for 20 years without any issues. 

How do you coil them when packing away?
Are you using heat shrink after you solder the plugs on?
Which plugs are you using?
I favour Switchcraft but Neutrik might be a bit hardier if you are rough on the plugs.

richardhomer

I think my youngest cable is from 1996. What do you do to them?

Going acoustic or wireless might be your best bet....

TheMarlin

Nothing much. I coil them in approx 12” circles and tie them with Velcro cable ties when not in use.  So not mistreated too badly. 

I generally buy mid priced cable, with long runs.  It helps attenuate the brightness of Filtertrons. 

I think i’ll Just buy some quality cables instead. Any brands you guys would suggest?

ICBM

In what way are they dying? Broken connections at the ends, shorts, or breaks in the length of the cable? Do you protect the joints by running the cable through your guitar strap?

Any cable made with good quality cable designed for the job and Neutrik plugs fitted correctly will last years or decades if not mistreated, in my experience.

TheMarlin

ICBM said:

In what way are they dying? Broken connections at the ends, shorts, or breaks in the length of the cable? Do you protect the joints by running the cable through your guitar strap?

Any cable made with good quality cable designed for the job and Neutrik plugs fitted correctly will last years or decades if not mistreated, in my experience.

Breaks at the ends, and rarely a break somewhere in the length. Mostly at the jacks though. 
Yes, I run the cable through my strap, and through the handle of my amp to relieve stress on the jack. 
My cables must just have cheap jacks. I’ll look out for Neutriks. 

The only one i have that has survived (five years so far) is my white coily cable, ala Gearmandude, and that’s the one that gets the most use!

MikkiMcMurderer

I have a Whirwind that appears pretty I indestructible after 20 years, still going strong...

Nerine

https://www.vdctrading.com/youspec/audio/audio-single-lead/choosecable/

ICBM

TheMarlin said:

Breaks at the ends, and rarely a break somewhere in the length. Mostly at the jacks though. 

Yes, I run the cable through my strap, and through the handle of my amp to relieve stress on the jack. 
My cables must just have cheap jacks. I’ll look out for Neutriks.

That does sound like poor cable retention allowing the connections to be twisted. Neutriks will fix that, they have the best of any plugs.

A break in the middle will usually be caused by damage like the cable being trapped under something and kinked sharply when it gets pulled.

John_A

Agree, Neutriks are loads better than anything else out there, get some made up by someone that is competent, designacable are reasonable and they should last years.  I've had a few mid-priced cables and the jacks are the first place they break it's false economy not buying the best.

zepp76

If you can find one the Lava vintage cables are great, very well put together.

rico

I use Sommer cables with Neutrik jacks and they seem pretty robust.

TheMarlin

Thanks all

Sassafras

Avoid Fender cables. The plugs are rubbish.
I've got a couple of Whirlwind cables that are still going strong after more than 30 years. You'd have to be very ham-fisted to break those.

TheMarlin

Two of the broken cables are Fender customer shop (allegedly). 
Going to seek out some quality cables

Jalapeno

Another Whirlwind fan here, no idea how old the last pair were, but they literally wore out (casing on the cable wore through to braiding - knew it wouldn't take long after that).

Now have a pair of Kabl leads with Neutriks that are serving well - think they're 3-4yrs old. (really miss Kabl for leads etc).

robinbowes

TheMarlin said:

Two of the broken cables are Fender customer shop (allegedly). 
Going to seek out some quality cables

I can make you some. I can even put Neutrik jacks on your Fender cables.

PM me with your requirements.

R.

robinbowes

Jalapeno said:

 (really miss Kabl for leads etc).

I'm offering a similar service, albeit much smaller scale. I can make cables with Van Damme or Sommer cable and Neutrik jacks. PM me if you need anything.

R.

stickyfiddle

+1 for Whirlwind - I've got a couple that I've had for 15+ years and still going strong. Also have a couple of Kabl cables with Neutrik plugs that do just as well too.

ICBM

TheMarlin said:

Two of the broken cables are Fender customer shop (allegedly).

Ah, well if you'd said that in the first place...

It's not your fault at all .

They're utter junk - it's the plugs that are the problem, the cable itself is actually very nice and it's well worth replacing the plugs. The only issue is that it's also very fat, and not easy to get into Neutriks, although it can be done - easiest with the NP2C if you want a straight plug, the slim NP2X is almost impossible to get on, although the NP2X right-angle one is OK.

I have repaired a lot of these cables so I've got used to the amount of force necessary to get the cable clamps to do up .

robinbowes

ICBM said:

 the slim NP2X is almost impossible to get on, although the NP2X right-angle one is OK.

I have repaired a lot of these cables so I've got used to the amount of force necessary to get the cable clamps to do up .

I found they went on OK, with sufficient force