The Steel Guitar Forum

Belden is good quality.

As far s finding busted cables go, i bought a Swizz arm cable tester about two years ago. Best $70.00 I've ever spent. Yo can find bad cords as quick as you can plug them in, and you can shake and twist like crazy for intermitents. It tests all the common audio cables except speak on, and it has a tone generator. Beats guessing and swapping, especially in a gig situation.

I started using the 4mm George L's cables when he first offered them for sale under his own name...I'm guessing it was 1985 or 1986...could be wrong. I've gotten so spoiled rotten on them that I'd never even consider going to a different cable. I've had one or two pull loose after tripping on them, but it takes 15 seconds to repair them and they're good for another decade of use. I also use their solderless speaker cables on my PA...wouldn't trade them for the world. IMO George L's is the best stuff out there...easily repairable and consistent in quality. I've been using their stainless steel strings forever and refuse to switch brands...they've just been there all the time for dependability. Same with their pickups...top shelf products all the way.
PRR

George L thin cable with their solderless connections.

I've used nothing but George L's except for a few stray Spectraflex ones and some cables a late friend made with all hospital-grade components (tested for low capacitance use on hear monitors). OFten in these threads someone posts about having all sorts of problems getting George L connectors to work right, which I can't figure - they're a no-brainer. I cut them with cheap wire cutters, roll the end around on a hard surface (they key to getting everything even) and hook 'em up. I think I've had two connection problems in 20 years, both fixed in under a minute.

Bill Lawrence cables are essentially the same thing since he was in on the George L design.

Cheap Carvin cables are very low capacitance and good for 6-string guitar-to-effects hookups where George L's only weakness shows up - tangling (although the heavier gage is far better).

Monster cables ARE NOT the worst. They are simply in the middle of the pack. However, if you consider bang-for-the-buck then they might be the worst *deal*. They're marketed very well, and it goes to show how buyers go for fancy packaging and all kinds of tech info that means nothing.

OTOH, you can use a high-capacitance cable to your advantage in some circumstances. Both Jimi Hendrix and Clarence White - both known as tonal giants - used cheap "curly cords" as guitar cables. The slight rolloff of highs from the cable put more "meat" in the signal. Not good if you want clear, airy-sounding treble, but great for beefy rock tones.

I myself never liked GL's cables, I don't like the mechanical conection, I feel a solder conection is alot better.

I understand the ease to make a quick repair, but I will carry extra cables with me.

I have a bunch of cables as we all do, the best ones that I use are probably 10-12 years old and where cheap, but they do the job well, I can't think of the brand right now.