Good value cables with lifetime guarantee in UK

George · Post by **George** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:10 pm

Apologies if I'm rehashing an age old thread but coudn't find one when searching.

Anyone care to enlighten me on decent cable brands that have a lifetime guarantee? "Walk in, walk out" exchange/return policies would be great.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:18 pm

Planet Waves cables. When i've had ones that have broken before i've returned them to, I think, Stringsdirect who, I think, are the UK distributor and they have replaced to questions asked.

markleton · Post by **markleton** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:33 pm

Cleartone cables are my recommendation. Top quality components, cheap and last forever. Plus they're easy to fix if something does go wonky.

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:58 pm

markleton wrote:Cleartone cables are my recommendation. Top quality components, cheap and last forever. Plus they're easy to fix if something does go wonky.

Damn you beat me to suggesting these, they're really great cables.

George · Post by **George** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 2:07 pm

Do they have a lifetime guarantee?

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 2:12 pm

I don't know, sorry, but they're so reliable I've never worried about that. They have neutrik jacks as well, so if your cable breaks stripping it back a bit and re-soldering it to fix it is really easy.

James · Post by **James** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 2:53 pm

I think the thing to do is just spend money on a quality cable and connectors, perhaps even making them yourself (it's really quite a simple job even for a novice and works out cheap compared to the 'lifetime guarantee' brands), and just treating them well. Treated well a good cable will last you for years and give you plenty of value for money.

You can buy Van Damme cable relatively cheaply, and Neutrik connectors aren't all that much either. I bet you could make a top quality 3m cable for Â£15 or less.

There used to be an ebay shop that did exactly that. They bought large reels of the cable and made them up with various connectors (right angle jack, straight jack XLR etc) and various lengths. I think they closed when the ebay fees took a big increase. There are some similar but none quite as good unfortunately. Example link.

Whenh you buy Planet Waves or similar you really are paying an excess for the brand name, and you get pro quality from brands like Van Damme and Klotz (spelling?) at what can be significantly cheaper.

George · Post by **George** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:31 pm

Thanks for the info, I'm a bit put off Planet Waves after this one gave up on me although I didn't take great care of it but the free replacement still tempts me (don't have a receipt for this dead one). Do you make your own cables? I'm not particularly handy at that sort of thing but a small set up cost to be self-sufficient is tempting.

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:01 pm

Just spend the money on a good cable. Its the best thing i've done for my rig. The Lava Cables on my board are great, haven't failed me yet. And I recently switched to Monster cables for my long leads from guitar to board and board to amp. Lifetime guarantee, i get them fairly cheap through work but I wouldn't mind paying the full price.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:13 pm

Has anyone tried the GFS cables yet? I only ask because they look really cool, and I reckon I can probably convince myself that they sound better too, given that they look cool.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/belowimoxfrs.html

George · Post by **George** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:40 pm

Wow it's cool that "UK made" is a selling point. No experience personally. I'm a bit stumped as to whether paying alot of money is sensible. I'd like a tweed Lava cable.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:42 pm

i want to try their short ones. i just put in an order (twangmaster neck pup, and tuner pedal) and i should've snagged a couple. D:

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:26 pm

BacchusPaul wrote:Has anyone tried the GFS cables yet? I only ask because they look really cool, and I reckon I can probably convince myself that they sound better too, given that they look cool.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/belowimoxfrs.html

Not yet but on my next order I'm going to get the 20ft one you linked to, it looks high quality so even if its rubbish I can tell people its great and they'll believe me

hypermused · Post by **hypermused** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:35 pm

ClearTone cables look nice.
What about that SILENT feature they have? Is it any good?

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:37 pm

hypermused wrote:ClearTone cables look nice.
What about that SILENT feature they have? Is it any good?

I love it, makes changing guitars onstage seemless. Plus unlike the stupid planentwaves silent jack its automatic, you don't have to press a button, therefore eradicates the chance of onstage issues like oh fuck why isn't my guitar making any noise?

Post by **Doog** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:42 pm

mrperson wrote:I love it, makes changing guitars onstage seemless. Plus unlike the stupid planentwaves silent jack its automatic, you don't have to press a button, therefore decreases the chance of onstage issues of oh fuck why isn't my guitar making any noise?

No-one should be allowed onstage who doesn't have a tuner pedal that allows you to mute; simples.

I hate Planet Waves- I spent Â£20+ on one years back and it shit the bed within 6 months, stupid big fat jack was too tight a fit with 90% of jack sockets, and the damn things are moulded, making repairs impossible.

Fook that, gimme a Â£10-15 lead with unscrewable jacks and a soldering iron, and watch it last for yeeeeeeeeeears.

Post by **Doog** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:43 pm

BacchusPaul wrote:Has anyone tried the GFS cables yet? I only ask because they look really cool, and I reckon I can probably convince myself that they sound better too, given that they look cool.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/belowimoxfrs.html

I own one of these, bought locally a few years ago- still going strong.

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:54 pm

Doog wrote:
mrperson wrote:I love it, makes changing guitars onstage seemless. Plus unlike the stupid planentwaves silent jack its automatic, you don't have to press a button, therefore decreases the chance of onstage issues of oh fuck why isn't my guitar making any noise?
No-one should be allowed onstage who doesn't have a tuner pedal that allows you to mute; simples.

I'm skint and have neglected buying a tuner pedal so far, so for me its a cheap korg tuner and a A/B box, does the trick

Oh and I have a bunch of 20ft cables I bought for Â£2 at music live about 3-4 years ago that are still going strong, everytime they break I just unscrew them and re-solder the end on. However I've ended up with 15ft cables now.

chisa · Post by **chisa** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:23 pm

my experiences are that planet waves are crap, and don't last a lifetime, and are a ballache to claim.

the best cable i have had recently is a spectraflex baldee (i think it is called)

other than that, get some neutrik jacks, some high quality, low impedance, oxygen free cable and make your own

chisa · Post by **chisa** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:27 pm

hypermused wrote:ClearTone cables look nice.
What about that SILENT feature they have? Is it any good?

mine stopped working on me. the neutrik one that is, but i believe other people on here have had better luck with them