Cabling is one of the most crucial aspects of your sound. It is certainly not a glamorous aspect of the fun. Does it matter?
I ran A/B testing with a Tele through a Champ, no tone controls.
Mike at Another Recording Studio did the initial recording.
Why build a better cable? Sounds like reinventing the wheel. Well, if it's better than what you're currently using do you want one? This is one of the clearest sounding cables you'll hear, hand made locally with only the best components available. You can change pickups, play around with pedals, swap tubes, mod circuits...to me it all begins with cabling.
Another 1 minute capacitance test of two cables, quite different sounds:
Questions:
Q: Materials and components?
A: I studied this for quite some time, this is the
best stuff. And simple, no bells and whistles. I've developed a
meticulous 20+ step process to produce this.
Q: What's the durability?
A: I've used a similar George L with Switchcraft
plugs for 8-9 years, gigged on it with No Blood Orphan, Comme Reel, Mal
Madrigal, Sun-Less Trio, Virgasound. Never a repair or resolder.
Might not be the cable for hardcore or heavy dance. Though I've stepped
on mine a hundred times, closed it in the side of cases, etc.
Q: Is it really clearer, or are we adding
treble or taking away bass?
A: Cheap cables add capacitance to your instrument's
signal. This acts as a low pass filter, shelving high end and clarity.
This could be desirable, but why not control that at the corresponding EQ
circuit? Imo we want to deliver maximum harmonic content, output and
sensitivity. Transparency. We want the strongest, most pure
representation of the instrument, as it sounds at the instrument, getting to
the input jack/grid of the first tube. Once amplified we can manipulate
from there.
Q: How does it compare to other flagship
cables?
A: Mogami Platinum (40pf/ft.) $165, Asterope Pro
(21pf/ft.) $129, Monster Studio (48pf/ft.) $129, Pro Co Evolution $74, Planet
Waves Stage (28pf/ft.) $70, PRS/Van Damme (27pf/ft.), $67, George L (23pf/ft.)
$60, Lava Blue Demon (23pf/ft.) $45. These are great cables. I've
measured some Fender and cheap cables at 40/50+ pf/ft. Ours are around
17pf/ft raw, 21 with ends. Not sure if the others are measured raw cable
or with ends.
Another way to word that: say "cable X"
measures 1000pf of capacitance, rolling off high end accordingly. Our
cables measure 325pf. Using one "cable X" is the effect of
running three of our cables connected. If you're running two "X
cables" to and from your pedals it's more capacitance than running 100
feet of ours!
Q: Downside
A: I do think the pros outweigh all cons. The
cables have a different feel some may not like, I like it and they stay out of
the way. Some might perceive a thinner cable as weaker, I've yet to break
one. Might not be the cable for super high gain, though I can't say that
with certainty. Some might perceive restored high end as a treble boost,
it's not boosting but passing signal more clearly. Our bass player simply
loves his.
"Here is some audio, I was really surprised by how
much better Mike's cable sounds... It's not night and day by any means,
it's a subtle difference but in a studio setting the differences definitely
stand out...It is just my fano guitar direct into my small old Harmony, Coles
4038 Ribbon Mic, Coil SA-70 Tube Mic Pre..." Mike M. (Owner/Operator, Another-Recording-Company,
Omaha)
"Woah!!!! Thanks for sending this Mike. Great side by
side example. It sounds clearer to me for sure." Phil S.
(Proprietor, Ground Floor Guitar, Omaha)
"The clip with cable has more noticeable more
clarity/less mud, That's wild!" Steve B. (Audio Engineer, New York)
"Best guitar tone I've ever achieved; '75 Tele Deluxe
into a 30watt '54 Knight PA head, straight in with the Saklar custom cable
(believe the hype, we tested it; not subtle)." Ben B. (AudioEngineer,
Omaha)
"It's definitely easy to spot how much hi-frequency
content is lost in more standard cables when compared to yours. The first time
I A/B'd yours against some rapco horizon stuff I was pretty stunned. I had to
readjust my Bassman's EQ as I had been overcompensating for the frequency loss
with my older cables. I wish I could outfit my whole studio with it!"
Bryce H. (Audio
Engineer, Omaha)
"I think its way above anything I have . to be honest I didn't test it against anything because straight away , I could tell it is better than anything I have . I would describe it as... Very musical with a complete pure tone , None of that unwanted coloration crap. ive found over thw years that almost all cables have a coloration of some type , you just hope for the best really . But i think its a f...ing great cable and id really like to order a set ." Joseph G (Guitarist/Engineer, Omaha)
Mike, the Marshall is a blood thirsty animal. It's exactly what I needed from it. And the cable is phenomenal, everything to me is louder, more chimney and more harmonic. It's like I took a blanket off of my cabinet. John Claus (Touring and Recording Artist)
"Don't want to bury the lead: The cable is very nice. There
is a difference. More clear in all frequencies. Most noticeably the
high frequencies are louder, but I feel like even the bass is more present as
well. The neck humbucker has more clarity, the bridge is just more open.
It is hard to begin to form an unbiased opinion when I am
predisposed to other opinions, especially from a prominent engineer whose
opinion in this are would weigh heavy. It's just too easy to join the
bandwagon and expect similar positive results. With some time those
opinions begin to fade from my conscious memory and I began to formulate my own
opinions, though still admittedly somewhat tainted from the onset. At
worst I thought maybe I wouldn't hear much of a difference in my setup, but
that wasn't the case.
Your cable was tested against a Lava Magma cable, 20' in
length with 29.5 pf/ft. They were swapped as fast as possible between the
EGC and JMP with nothing in between. Also tested the cables between the
guitar and pedalboard, with another 20' Magma cable out of the board into the
amp. I was a bit weary of what the buffer in the DL4s would do to the
signal but the change in cable going into the board was noticeable here too,
which was most surprising to me.
The thinner cable feels a bit awkward compared to the
normal thick insulation of most other cables. However, it does wind and
lay on the floor with ease and less prone to tangles. Also doesn't drag
on carpet as much, which may be a weird note. The jacks and strain relief
feel very sturdy, probably could withstand a bit of abuse in addition to the
normal wear and tear.
I didn't want to look up the Magma specs before I tried the
cable to help prevent my opinion being influenced by the math:
Echoluxe 17 pf/ft x 18.5' = 314.5 pf
Magma 29 pf/ft x 20' = 580 pf
Double the capacitance for using two cables (into and out
of the pedalboard): Echoluxe at 629 pf vs Magma at 1160pf. That's almost
doubled! So running 37' of your cable is almost equivalent to using one
20' Magma. This is not taking the jacks into the equation, hoping they
are similar in capacitance.
The only question left is how much are you charging? I
see a benefit to making a change." Jeff P. (Audio
and Visual Artist, Omaha)
"I saw a Waddy Wachtel interview for Premier Guitar's
Rig Rundown series a few weeks back and his philosophy toward the signal path.
He stated that if he could, he would just plug straight into the mixing board
without any interference to his signal. When I use your cables I feel like I am
getting the clearest signal from guitar to amp. I have used the cables across
multiple guitar pickups and amps and I find a noticeable increase in output
with a more dynamic range in the tone. These cables are fantastic!" David
F. (longtime guitarist/enthusiast)
"Mike, the Marshall is a blood thirsty animal.
It's exactly what I needed from it. And the cable is phenomenal, everything to
me is louder, more chimney and more harmonic. It's like I took a blanket off of
my cabinet." John Claus (Touring and Recording Artist)
"I finally got around to test driving the cable over
the last couple weekends. Used it last weekend in Iowa, then last Friday
in Kansas. Had time to A/B it against a 20' Monster cable on Friday.
There was no comparison- yours sounded louder, clearer in the top end, and
fuller in the low end. Damn! Well done. I will take another - Let
me know how to pay ya for 'em." Jay H. (Touring Musician/AudioEngineer)
"I've been enjoying the one I purchased from you
awhile back on a almost daily basis . I would love to add my name to the list
and purchase two more cables." Joe G. (longtime
guitarist/enthusiast)
"It's like getting new pickups...in all your guitars in one fell swoop." My own comment
Update: I only know of two cables that broke, one was cut by a flight case (hanging out), one the cable was ripped out of a pedal (the right angle Switchcraft metal plug was severed in two, the solder joints & cable integrity still in tact?!).
Super Clean EP-2
EP-2
One with Sound on Sound, one without.
Three jacks, black power cable.
