If your lead is not too long, then it wouldn't really matter what brand of cable you use.
Reason is, for long leads lower quality cables tend to have higher capacitance, thus attenuating your high-frequency signals, making your sound muffled. There are some good cables that are oxygen-free etc etc which could help to lower capacitance if you run very long leads from guitar to the amp.

Otherwise, you would be more concerned about the reliability of the cable, especially the jacks. I think the PlanetWaves cables are not too bad, and they even a compression spring jack which ensures that you always ahve a tight connection to the jacks you are connected to. You can even opt for angled heads if you like. The disadvantage is that their jacks are one piece plastic which means you cannot repair them if they are spoiled.

A no name brand cable would work to just make sure the soldering work is done properly and you can always replace the jacks when they are spoiled.

This post has been edited by supercolossal: Dec 17 2007, 10:18 AM

capacitance? do u mean impedence? not trying to pick u up but i'm new to guitar scene, so dont confuse me, hehe...

So, for acoustic-electric cable, should I buy the good one, or just find a common cable?

Never skimp on quality, no matter what you use.
A planet Waves should be fine, but don't get the one with the "noise cut". Just the regular cables will do.
The Noise cut has a button which cuts the tone completely. I had one of those, but it died on me.

Impedance includes resistance, inductance and capacitance. I stressed on capacitance because having high capacitance on your cables is like having a low-pass filter between your guitar and the amp, causing your high frequencies to be attenuated.

But if your cables are not that long like I have said, this effect is negligible.

i don't get it, so speakers have capacitance too?

Actually every electrical connection will have these three properties, it is just a matter of whether they are desirable or not. If not, to what extent they can be tolerated without affecting the sound quality.

tue true
hoping to grab the ibanez 96 series cable

LoL! You torture it?

====

I have compare cables before, tone and noise difference. Anyone can expand on this?

My cables are really tormented... The head always gets loose after the first week of playing.

Now I am more careful due to $$$

I went to jalan pasar to buy cables, heads
Gonna solder them myself =p
My first attempt !!

using planet wave rite now.. not really "cost u an arm n leg" kinda price tag, but definetly do better than those cheapo cables. using cheapo cables gav me a lot noice on the connector..

I torture all my gear. Hey, if it ain't road worthy, why buy them at all.
Ironic because I don't go on the road

For those wondering, capacitance is mainly contributed by the type of passive shielding (thickness and material) used. Generally, the thicker the shield the higher the capacitance, which as explained already, is not desirable. However, shields are needed to block out RFI and EMI; the thicker, the more effective. Like everything else, there's always pros and cons.

Anyway, the concept of making a good cable is simple. It's just striking the right balance between the forces that results in impedance (Z). That's where all the mumbo jumbo techincal sh1t starts. An example to the high capacitance problem above would be to attach filter networks, or go for active shielding.

Do note that the guitar cable is generally short length, carries a signal that is limited in frequency range, and is generally not used in electrically noisy environments. That said, I doubt all these theories can be applied.

if ur saying using mic cables
then...hrmm hope u dun mind the noise
my fren use to do tat, until he use a GUITAR cable

lower noise
unless ur saying GeorgeL cables haha

You got it right. Those parasitic effects can be negligible esp on short cables and more so with the limited frequency range from guitar signals. But, some people can hear the difference, and ultimately it's your pocket (and ear) that determines how expensive you cables should be.

Just soldered my cables.
It sounded SO Good !!! Sounds so much "fuller" and buzzing eliminated.
Much better than the "nice" Ibanez cable I'm having now.

It only costed me

4 meter cable = rm 12
2 Audio Jacks = rm 7

plus soldering tools that were pretty cheap

Was about to buy the Steve Vai signature cables, until I realize they cost more then my monster cables!!!!!!

Another added bonus is that they come with a lifetime guarantee or at least that's what my friend tells me. Never managed to save up enough for monsters so I'm on ibanez cables atm

What? Even cables have signatures???