BJFE / BearFoot fx Guitar Effects Community

What kind of cables do y'all use, both on the board and to/from the amp? Just curious to see what my fellow tone-seekers on this board make use of...

I use Evidence Audio Lyric HG from guitar to board and board to amp. HUGE difference in sound over my old Spectraflex. I also use EA Melody on the board. I didnt notice so much difference until my friend came over who used George l's. He played through my board and then went back to his. No bass and fuzz mids and trebles. He now uses Melody as well from guitar > board > amp.

Yes, they are expensive, but the cables let everything through! Like going from a garden hose to a fire hose. And, it does it is a very ear pleasing way. I did manage to short out a cable as I had one that didn't have a strain relief sheath. I found out they have a lifetime warranty and Tony is amazing at customer service.

I use a mix - mostly george Ls on the board and a vintage coily cord to balance it out

I use lava mini elc. Worth a look as well

I've been using George L since back when they were kind of the only game in town for custom length pedalboard connections. Very curious about newly available alternatives.

I found this comparative chart interesting:
http://www.lavacable.com/buying.html
Don't know that it represents much more than marketing, but might be a starting point for personal research.


Hey thesjkexperience, can you use the EA Melody cable with George L plugs?

thesjkexperience wrote:I use Evidence Audio Lyric HG from guitar to board and board to amp. HUGE difference in sound over my old Spectraflex. I also use EA Melody on the board. I didnt notice so much difference until my friend came over who used George l's. He played through my board and then went back to his. No bass and fuzz mids and trebles. He now uses Melody as well from guitar > board > amp.

Yes, they are expensive, but the cables let everything through! Like going from a garden hose to a fire hose. And, it does it is a very ear pleasing way. I did manage to short out a cable as I had one that didn't have a strain relief sheath. I found out they have a lifetime warranty and Tony is amazing at customer service.

Nice.. heard great things about the EA Lyric, and Melody cables. Is the Lyric HG too thick/bulky? Ive never tried one, because what I have read says that it is very inflexible, and coils easily on the floor as you walk while playing. So for that reason i havent tried one... Thoughts?

Strat-o-lux wrote:I've been using George L since back when they were kind of the only game in town for custom length pedalboard connections. Very curious about newly available alternatives.

I found this comparative chart interesting:
http://www.lavacable.com/buying.html
Don't know that it represents much more than marketing, but might be a starting point for personal research.


Hey thesjkexperience, can you use the EA Melody cable with George L plugs?

No, but they make a solid core patch cable called the Monorail that works great with George L ends. I used those for about a year, but as my board got to a more final shape I went for soldered Melody patch cables. Yes, they are expensive, but I am confident they will out live me. I cant say enough good things about Evidence Audio cables and Tony who owns it. Kinda the BJF of cables.

There was a HUGE difference in sound with the Lyric HG over my old Spectra-flex. I use EA Melody on the board (I prefer solder for reliability) and carry one in the case for bleuz jams. I didn't notice so much difference until my friend/teacher came over who used George L's. He played through my cable/board/cable and then went back to his. No bass, fuzzy mids and trebles, and half the volume. He now uses EA Melody from guitar > board > amp.

Yes, they are expensive, but the cables let everything through! Like going from a garden hose to a fire hose. And, it does it is a very ear pleasing way. I did manage to short out a cable as I had an early one that didn't have a strain relief sheath. I found out they have a lifetime warranty and Tony is amazing at customer service. Email him and you usually get a reply in a few hours (or minutes).

The only downside is they (Lyric's) are stiff in the beginning, but they do loosen up and you also get used to the feeling. They now have new offerings that are more flexible like the Melody and Forte. http://www.evidenceaudio.com/

Well this discussion is interesting and somewhat distressing, as I wonder from time to time if I'm losing tone to inferior cables but at the same time suspect there's considerable Hocus Pocus in marketing the high-end stuff. I just can't bring myself to spend $75 on a guitar cable in order to try it out and compare. Plus, they get beat up pretty quickly on the gig and are replaced frequently. I had a couple Mogami cables I liked but they didn't last and I ended up back with the allegedly tone-killing but quite durable Spectraflex.

In addition to those issues, my benchmarks for great tone mostly date from an era when none of the high end cables existed. Granted, we weren't chaining together a dozen fx pedals back then either. I remain conflicted...

But, I'm in need of some new cables so I just ordered a couple Canare GS-6 and some EA monorail. The Canare are not in the Lyric HG class, but I didn't have to choke too hard on the price. I'll let you'll know what I think.

last year i tried a bunch of higher end cables and settled on George L's from pedal to pedal, and from pedal to amp, with a regular Enrie Ball ultraflex or Spectraflex from guitar to pedal...nothing fancy going on, but it gave me the best tone to my ears...and it's easy to find and replace !!.....

sonictroubadour wrote:

Strat-o-lux wrote:Well this discussion is interesting and somewhat distressing, as I wonder from time to time if I'm losing tone to inferior cables but at the same time suspect there's considerable Hocus Pocus in marketing the high-end stuff. I just can't bring myself to spend $75 on a guitar cable in order to try it out and compare. Plus, they get beat up pretty quickly on the gig and are replaced frequently. I had a couple Mogami cables I liked but they didn't last and I ended up back with the allegedly tone-killing but quite durable Spectraflex.

Agreed, Strat-o-lux. I share your concerns, which were well-stated. I am considering, however, taking thesjkexperience's advice and giving the EAs a limited try, i.e., a few cables, a modest investment. If I like them/hear the difference, then I could make a more significant investment.

Cool, if you decide to take the plunge. This stuff is ultimately so subjective that one probably needs to hear the different cables in person; still, the more individual opinions offered (especially from discerning BJF forum members), the better. Please review them here if you get some. I'm somewhat more tentatively working my way up the ladder.

On the durability issue, it looks like Lava has a sort of "armor-plating" option. Looks good, but still more $$. Cost effective, perhaps, for the working musician whose cables suffer a fair amount of abuse.