The glorious world of instrument cables. I’m surprised there hasn’t been an HBO documentary written about them yet, as I have seen many a discussion from some people thinking it’s the most important piece of equipment a guitarist can own.

Some people are very particular about the cables they use. For example, Paul Gilbert is a huge proponent of the curly cables. Others couldn’t care less so long as the cables work and aren’t breaking up the audio signal.

I have seen cables go for as much as $2,000, which begs the question:

How important are your guitar cables?

First off, for the record, I don’t give a crap how important they are, $2,000 for a 20′ cable is outright obscene; if you buy one then quite frankly you’re an idiot. There, I got that out of the way.

For me, instrument cables come down to basically three things: price, construction, and reliability.

Price

As mentioned above, there is a limit to how much I’ll spend on a cable. If you’re spending more than $30 for a guitar cable then I want your day job. Maybe $40, but any higher than that and I think you’re wasting your money. If you take care of your cables then they will last for a very long time, so in purchasing a $30 cable and taking care of it you’re bound to keep it for a very long time.

Construction

This is where companies try to get away with justifying a huge price tag. They will try to convince you that the materials they are using are so important: silver this, gold that, double-plated whatchamacallits… hype, hype, hype!

Look, certain materials certainly conduct electricity and current better than others. Yes, gold is very nice. But do you need it in a guitar cable? I think not. As long as the soldering is, well, solid, and the wires aren’t defective, just about any cable will do. Don’t fall for the fancy marketing hype.

One thing to be aware of is that some of the shielding material – I’m talking about the outside protective rubber – is hard to wrap properly when being stored. Be careful with this, as it will force you to wrap your cables inefficiently, which causes a shorter cable life.

Reliability

Certainly, construction has something to do with the reliability of a cable, but I think more so than just how it’s made a question of how well it holds up under pressure comes into question. Can the cable still hold up and provide a clean signal path after being stepped on and thrashed around on stage? Most can, so it’s not really an issue, but I have come across a few brands of cables that just can’t survive the daily abuse.

What About Sound Quality?

Yeah, the sound quality. I’m sorry, but I just don’t get this part of the discussion. Never once in my entire life as a guitarist – and I’ve been playing for over 25 years – have I ever been able to hear the difference in sound quality between two working-condition cables. I’m talking about two cables that are functioning properly. Never! There have been some people who have tried to A/B test them in front of me to prove there are differences, but either I need to get a hearing aid or they are just screwing with me.

And I’m not talking about path noise, either, I’m talking about actual tone. Perhaps my ears just aren’t sensitive enough to hear the differences, but I suspect it’s just more marketing hype.

So How Important Are They?

Well, obviously, they are important, but I think they are important for reasons other than what the advertising and name-dropping make them to be. You want a reliable, well-constructed cable that is affordable and will last for a while. Monster Cable makes good stuff, as does George L. Then again, I usually just buy a cable from the nearest Guitar Center or Sam Ash and they work just the same.

For the record, I haven’t bought a new guitar cable in about three years, and the next time I do I’m certainly not spending an arm and a leg for one. Neither should you!