Canare or Mogami for guitar cable?

[Stephonovich]

I recently discovered it wasn't my input jack on my Hartke amp that was busted, it was my crappy Horizon cables (I tried multiple cables, so I assumed it was the jack; turned out they were just ALL busted. Horizon sucks. Bigtime), so I finally have an excuse to make some.

Anyway, I had a thread on this before, and a lot of people recommended Canare GS-6, as well as some Belden. I found another contender that comes highly recommended on the internet, though... Mogami 2524. They're both the same price, both have a carbon insulator, and for all purposes, seem identical. Has anyone used the Mogami, and can comment on it?

There was quite a few people on review sites and interviews who said they used it for interconnects in sound studios. Apparently it's quite popular for that. Oh yes, this is going to be terminated in Switchcraft 1/4" mono, covered in 2:1 heatshrink, and finally, Chrome XC TechFlex for strength/shielding/looks. Übercables

Anyway, comments?

(-:Stephonovich

 

[Orpheus]

.....?--what makes you think the cable's busted? symptoms? i've used a large variety of cables, including the infamous Hosa cables, and i've NEVER had a single one that was faulty. you said you have many busted cables?--i find this very hard to believe.

and don't worry about shielding. your amp's job after all is to ADD distortion. who cares about some noise? you shouldn't need more than the standard spiral or braided shield. both cables you listed seem fine, though i would avoid Mogami... they're a RIP OFF. almost 2-3x the price of their competitors. only buy if you really can't find a competitor or you just want to brag you used mogami.

 

[Stephonovich]

Plugging it in and hearing nothing except occasional quick burst of static when you hit the cable is usually a good sign of it being busted

Yes, I tried re-soldering the connector joints. But the final kicker was trying a Ratshack cable (actually playing a Discman through it, and no, not through a Line-In jack) and it worked perfectly.

First, bass amps normally don't have distortion built in. Forgot to mention that; I play bass. Second, I don't like the idea of any noise that I don't want being added. Finally, Chrome XC will also give it strength. And as I said, it looks cool.

However, after doing a quick totalling up, it'll cost me $97.22 less shipping for 35 feet of materials plus connectors (for three cables; one 20 foot, one 10 foot, and one short right-right for pedals; the rest is spare) with the TechFlex. $66.87 less shipping without TechFlex. I'm thinking I'll add that later...

As for Mogami, as I said, they're both $0.75 a foot, so no problem there. Oh yeah, did your statement about them imply that they're awesome? Or no better than others, just higher priced [in most cases]?

(-:Stephonovich

 

[Orpheus]

hmm.... seems incredibly expensive. ...you sure you buying this for the best price? ask markertek.com for a quote... they got okay prices. and yeah, that fancy chrome stuff will cost you...but you can get the normal black techflex for i think $15/100'? from markertek. something like that.

good luck.

 

[Stephonovich]

First, updated prices; realized I had 35 feet of heatshrink in there. I only need to cover about 6" on each end. So the price now is $73.97 with TechFlex, $43.62 without. (ordering 4 feet instead of 35)

As for Markertek, I've read too many threads here about people going through hell with them. Wrong quantity/part shipped, and other such crap. Besides, I don't think they're much cheaper. I priced 'em once.

And I don't really want black TechFlex; as I said, the Chrome adds shielding. Call me anal, but I want it. Besides, it's so pretty... Will look like a perforated version of Samson Tech's Armoured Cable.

(-:Stephonovich

 

[Demolition]

Orpheus isn't saying that Mogami W2524 is any better than Canare GS-6. I think that he's just pointing out that your prices are on the high side. For example, Redco Audio has W2524 for $0.37 per foot. They also carry GS-6 for $0.55 per foot.

D.

 

[Stephonovich]

OK then, updated price lists...

50 feet cable: $18.50 - http://www.redco.com/mogami_inst_price.html - MOG W2524

4 feet heatshrink: $1.72 - http://www.redco.com/shrink_price.html - ST-3/8

4 Straight 1/4" Neutrik connectors: $9.48 - http://www.redco.com/quarter_price.html - NP2C-BAG

4 Right Angle 1/4" Neutrik connectors: $10.12 - http://www.redco.com/quarter_price.html - NP2RCS

Total: $39.82 less shipping.

Not bad for 5 cables. (one 20 foot straight-straight, two 10 foot straight-rights, one .5 foot right-right) No TechFlex, of course, but hey, I can get that later. BTW, the non-slimline right angle Neutriks are HUGE! They're like this giant ball with a 1/4" connector on them.

(-:Stephonovich

 

[Edwood]

Make sure to use plenty of heatshrink for strain relief. My guess is that's how you're breaking them.

-Ed

 

[Dr. Picker]

Stephonovich,

In my experience with guitar cables, shorter sounds better. Consider different lengths for different situations... practice, recording, gigs, etc.

Also, all guitar cables don't sound the same. Try out several (of the same length) before you choose.

I wouldn't worry too much about price. Of course, you want to pay a good price for the cable you choose. Just don't make your choice based on price.

Think of the hours you spend playing the guitar. A little extra time and money invested in your sound (cable) will pay real dividends. It's all about the music.

John

Oh yes, I own several Mogami cables. Guitar, microphone, etc. I also have several others.

 

[Stephonovich]

Yes, I'm guessing that as well. With Neutrik plugs and about 6 inches of heatshrink, do you think it'd be adequate?

Plus, don't forget the fact that Horizons are really put together crappily. Single conductor, no shielding, bad soldering...

On a bit of a sidetrip; do you think there's any benefit of using a 2-conductor design for an unbalanced mono cable? One fellow, Tony Farinella of Evidence Audio seems convinced it sounds better, since you aren't using the shield as a ground. Of course, his cables are also directional, which mine won't be. I know this would require getting different cables, but just a thought.

Dr. Picker, not sure if you know this, but I'm going to be making my own cables. That being said, yes, I know shorter is generally better. I like to have about 10 feet from my pedals, and 20 feet from those to the amp. Unless I'm at home, in which case I'll pop another 10 foot on there or so. I don't really have the budget to make a bunch of different cables; but a 10 and 20 ought to do it.

(-:Stephonovich