Pricey Guitar Cables: Worth the Cost?
Electric guitar players search for many years, striving to find just the right guitar that provides just the right tone they desire. Most prefer tube amplifiers for their axes, because of the purity of tone and the clarity and ease of manipulation tried and true tube technology provides. After emptying their wallets and pocketbooks at their local music stores around town, does it make sense to plug a sub-standard, economy 1/4” cord into the boutique setup they’ve searched and searched for? The answer is a resounding “NO!”
Cheaply priced guitar cables are cheaply made. The inner cable is usually made from a less expensive, thinner gauge copper that will lose its integrity and fail at the worst possible moment whether it be on stage or in the recording studio. This thin copper cable also does not support the frequency response that a thicker gauge, copper cable provides. Since tone is an issue with all guitarists, attention to the entire frequency band should be essential. What’s the point of paying top dollar for the twelve-band equalizer on your favorite amplifier if the cheap guitar cable used merely supports the middle tone partials of the guitar’s broad frequency range? The thickness of the surrounding casing of the cable can be marginal in inexpensive cords as well, allowing for any twisting or bending of the cord at right angles to interrupt the signal immediately and irreparably without soldering the inner cable together again, costing much time and effort.
Most professional guitar players agree and would never use a cheaply made instrument cable on the road or in the studio, happily paying higher prices for higher quality cables because of the purer tone that the higher quality constructed cables provide. The amount paid for one, often lifetime guaranteed, guitar cable far outweighs the headaches incurred by choosing a less expensive, poorly made cable. Well-stocked retailers like Strait Music of Austin, Texas, carry many various options of guitar and instrument cables. When your favorite music store employee steers you in the direction of the higher priced instrument cables, it is not because they want to charge you this higher price unnecessarily. The higher quality cable is simply the better choice. Perhaps you enjoy often returning to your local music store, buying replacement cables; there are always friendly salespeople there who enjoy talking about guitars and amplifiers as much as you do. But if you’d rather enjoy playing and making music with your friends, a higher priced, better-made cable is the obvious choice.
About the Author: Clint Strait is a third generation owner and assistant manager of the Strait Music, Austin Music Stores, providing the best selection of instrument cables and other guitar accessories to Austin and the surrounding area for over forty years. For more information please visit www.straitmusic.com.
Cheaply priced guitar cables are cheaply made. The inner cable is usually made from a less expensive, thinner gauge copper that will lose its integrity and fail at the worst possible moment whether it be on stage or in the recording studio. This thin copper cable also does not support the frequency response that a thicker gauge, copper cable provides. Since tone is an issue with all guitarists, attention to the entire frequency band should be essential. What’s the point of paying top dollar for the twelve-band equalizer on your favorite amplifier if the cheap guitar cable used merely supports the middle tone partials of the guitar’s broad frequency range? The thickness of the surrounding casing of the cable can be marginal in inexpensive cords as well, allowing for any twisting or bending of the cord at right angles to interrupt the signal immediately and irreparably without soldering the inner cable together again, costing much time and effort.
Most professional guitar players agree and would never use a cheaply made instrument cable on the road or in the studio, happily paying higher prices for higher quality cables because of the purer tone that the higher quality constructed cables provide. The amount paid for one, often lifetime guaranteed, guitar cable far outweighs the headaches incurred by choosing a less expensive, poorly made cable. Well-stocked retailers like Strait Music of Austin, Texas, carry many various options of guitar and instrument cables. When your favorite music store employee steers you in the direction of the higher priced instrument cables, it is not because they want to charge you this higher price unnecessarily. The higher quality cable is simply the better choice. Perhaps you enjoy often returning to your local music store, buying replacement cables; there are always friendly salespeople there who enjoy talking about guitars and amplifiers as much as you do. But if you’d rather enjoy playing and making music with your friends, a higher priced, better-made cable is the obvious choice.
About the Author: Clint Strait is a third generation owner and assistant manager of the Strait Music, Austin Music Stores, providing the best selection of instrument cables and other guitar accessories to Austin and the surrounding area for over forty years. For more information please visit www.straitmusic.com.
Labels: austin music stores, Austin TX guitar Stores, electric guitars austin tx
posted by Strait Music at
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