There have been tons of different scientific and semi-scientific studies done to try and determine what the best guitar cable is. The problem with these cases is that what sounds good to a scientist (who’s a jazz player) isn’t always going to sound good to you (a thrash metal player). Instead of relying on someone else’s determination it’s important that you make up your mind for yourself on which guitar cable is right for you. In this post I want to show you how to decide for yourself.
The most important thing that’s going to determine what guitar cable you go with is your budget. It’s really easy to say that XYZ cable, that costs $175 for a 12 foot cord, is the best on the market. That’s out of most people’s price range, so we have to work with what we can afford. Before you get too far into this process figure out how much you want to spend, and whether or not that budget includes upgrading all of your cables.
Core materials and insulation determine a cable’s price and perceived “goodness”. Copper and silver are the best core materials since they transmit your guitar’s signal cleaner than all other materials. The insulation comes in dozens of different materials, and some are even marketed as “space age”, but you only need enough to block out local interference.
The key is to go out and play on the cables that are in your price range. If you have friends or bandmates that are playing on a cable, try it out. If not, go to Guitar Center and get the dudes to open up some cables for you try out on a setup that’s as similar to yours as possible. You’re only going to want the one’s that sound good to you. It’s your tone and your voice so you can’t let someone else’s opinion determine how that should sound.
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