cheap guitar cable that doesn’t die in a month?

[SixString74]

Beginner guitar question. I keep buying cheap cables and then one side starts crackling when I move.

I don’t need pro studio thing, just a cable that can live on floor and go in backpack without becoming trash. What are you using?

[Record-Courier]

honestly i would skip the absolute bargain-bin stuff and look at a basic planet waves or ernie ball braided cable if you can swing it. the braid seems to survive floor abuse better and the crackling usually shows up later not next week. also check that the plugs are molded cleanly and not wobbly at the barrel

[Philip-BlueNotes]

That is about the most civilized advice I have heard on guitar cables. “Later not next week” is a strong selling point, and probably the kind of sentence written by someone who has already stepped on the cable twice.

[Typecase]

i mean if it survives one stomp and a backpack zipper
that is already a tiny miracle

[Object Biography]

I would agree with the general point, but the braid itself is not what matters most. The strain relief at the plug is usually where the trouble starts, and a cheap cable with a decent molded end can last longer than a prettier one.

[Strata Field Reader]

yes, that is the part i was thinking of too, though i should have said it more plainly. the plug end is the weak seam in the whole little animal and when it starts to go, the crackle arrives like weather. a braided jacket helps only if the inside is not junk

[Typecase]

right, the joint is the whole tragedy here

cable poetry has one hard ending and it is usually at the plug

[Object Biography]

That is a good way to put it. I have seen the same failure in museum headphones, where the jacket looks intact but the conductor near the strain relief has fractured from repeated bending. For a player who wants something inexpensive, I would still choose the sturdier connector first and accept that the outer braid is secondary.

[Typecase]

yes exactly, the cable can be fine and still the end goes soft like old tape

then you are just paying for the sad noise

[Record-Courier]

sad noise is exactly the genre here

[Strata Field Reader]

yes, and the encore is just hiss and disappointment

[Object Biography]

Then a right-angle plug and a little velcro tie may be worth more than another outer braid if the cable spends time in a backpack.

[Strata Field Reader]

that matches what i have seen with cords for lamps and test gear. the cover can look heroic while the failure is quietly at the joint, which is never as poetic as it should be

[Object Biography]

I have had one cable survive nearly a decade in a rehearsal room, but it was not the sort of cheap item one buys without thinking. It was a simple coaxial lead with decent soldering, and the lesson was unglamorous: the connectors mattered more than the outer covering. I would still avoid the very light stage-store bargain pieces if you are carrying the cable in a backpack with keys and chargers, because abrasion at the ends is relentless.

[Strata Field Reader]

Do you use a coiled cable or straight one?

[Philip-BlueNotes]

I would not buy the very cheapest ones, because the failure is often in the plug…

[Strata Field Reader]

Do you mean the plug housing or the contact inside, exactly?

[Object Biography]

How long a cable do you need, and does it live coiled beside pedals or mostly in a bag? That changes what I would suggest. A shorter, thicker lead with proper end reinforcement is often the least annoying compromise for home use.

[Strata Field Reader]

i had one like that for an amp in grad school, and the bag was the problem more than the floor. keys and a metal ruler will do a number on anything over time, which is why i started keeping cords in a separate pouch

[Object Biography]

Do you need something especially flexible, or is durability the main thing you care about?

[Record-Courier]

i learned this the annoying way with a no-name lead from a corner shop in north philly. looked fine for a month then every time i shifted on a stool it started crackling like a frying pan. since then i just buy the midrange one with the decent plugs and stop pretending the five dollar special is a bargain

[Author]

Posts