Monster Instrument Cable, is it worth the money?

[javierj]

Hello,

I have only once purchase a mosnter instrument cable, for my Fender Stratocaster guitar and I also use it on my acoustic electric guitar, it was a Monster Studio Pro 1000, 12ft and costed me $58, kind of expensive. Anyway when I got this cable and since I had never had a known brand or supposely good brand of instrument cable, I felt like it was a really good cable and that it had been worth the money. I even made a glowing review on amazon.com out of it. So I mean I am not sure, now that I am in need to get another instrument cable, not because this Studio Pro 1000 died or anything, it's still works great, but because there is a Monster Acoustic Instrument cable, 21ft, for 70 dollars in amazon, and I wanted to see if it was worth getting it for my acoustic electric guitar, sound wise and quality wise. Basically now I am wondering, I mean, I think they make good cables, but for the price they charge, do you think Monster is more an advertising hype or are they really seriuos in cable making ?

Thanks

[The Real MC]

They are overhyped overpriced unreliable cables. These legal bullies are so overzealous in defending their "monster" trademark (forcing non-music businesses and websites to change their names) that people have refused to fund their legal warchest.

[MrMegaEli]

Advertising hype. Any good quality cable (that does not include Monster Cable IMO) will be fine. Mogami, canare, belden. I, or a lot of other people on this forum could make you a better cable for a lot less. (or you could learn how to make one yourself).

[dcollins]

I know a lot of guys that use this:

Welcome To George L's

Due to the high source Z and low level (technically called sans cojones) the wire actually can make a big difference here

Naturally, it works due to simple electronic principles. No woo-woo or hand waving needed.


DC

[javierj]

Ok so George L's cable is a good way to go ? Because honestly and stupidly, but thank god I was able to cancel, I had order a Monster Acoustic Instrument Cable 21ft for 70 Dollars ! Outrageuos ! Thank God I cancelled it

[javierj]

I have the chance to get a George L's Black Masters Series Cable 20Ft, instead of the 70 dollar Monster Acoustic bllcrap, because anyway, I don't believe that there is such thing as an special acoustic guitar cable, designed specifically for acoustic electric guitars.

[javierj]

I can get the above mentioned George L, at amazon.com, for $53.60 + $4.49 shipping ...

[AndyFromDenver]

For Christmas I usually get a gift card to musiciansfriend. I usually get nice monster cables. They're way over priced but I do think they are good quality. If I had to wire up a bunch of gear I'd make specific cables/lengths, but if you just need one or two guitar cords, I say just buy some.

[newdigitaluser]

Originally Posted by javierj

Hello,

I have only once purchase a mosnter instrument cable, for my Fender Stratocaster guitar and I also use it on my acoustic electric guitar, it was a Monster Studio Pro 1000, 12ft and costed me $58, kind of expensive. Anyway when I got this cable and since I had never had a known brand or supposely good brand of instrument cable, I felt like it was a really good cable and that it had been worth the money. I even made a glowing review on amazon.com out of it. So I mean I am not sure, now that I am in need to get another instrument cable, not because this Studio Pro 1000 died or anything, it's still works great, but because there is a Monster Acoustic Instrument cable, 21ft, for 70 dollars in amazon, and I wanted to see if it was worth getting it for my acoustic electric guitar, sound wise and quality wise. Basically now I am wondering, I mean, I think they make good cables, but for the price they charge, do you think Monster is more an advertising hype or are they really seriuos in cable making ?

Thanks

mostly advertising
brand name
maybe better quality and reliability

cheap cables will work just as well
take care of them they will last

home studios hobbyists do not need the prestige names to impress other people and can pick gear that just works well and sounds good even if it costs a lot less

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

I have an $80 Monster guitar cable, and a pile of other cables from Whirlwind, Conquest, Planet Waves, etc. I have a bunch of vintage guitars and quality amps, some serious mic pres and mics and converters and monitoring speakers. Through any recording rig I have, though any amplifier I have, I cannot tell the difference among the cables. I seldom use the Monster, because it is stiff compared to the others, and the Planet waves came with a nice built in cable tie. For years I made my own out of Belden 8412, because we had it around the shop, and Switchcraft ends.

[dlmorley]

SOMMER CABLE CLASSIQUE CQ19-0600 - Thomann Belgian Cyberstore

I got one of these. $30. Really nice connectors and has no side effects I can tell. Also comes free of monster hype.

[theBF]

I have started using Gotham Audio Cable for tube microphones. Made in Switzerland and used by Neumann back in the day. Not to pricey and VERY high quality.

My 2 cents

BF

[Nsound]

This cristmas my brother has get a jack-jack Monster Bass cable for them.
This morning I tried that and did a comparison with my cheap jack cables.
I conected his bass to the HI-Z IN of an API 3124
Belive me, the sound quality it's faaar faaaarr superior with the monster cable. The sound of the bass is more punchy, clear, live, opened up and detailed compared to my cables. But it's too stiff!
I never tried Mogami, gotham or any kind of expensive jack cables, I always do cables.

This is my experience.

[tINY]

Monster cable is decent quality - usually about as good as stuff that sells for around half the price.


-tINY

[javierj]

Thanks a lot people for your comments ! Yes I think we could almost all agree that Monster Cable is a decent cable for an instrument cable, but it is too stiff, definetely agreen on that, my Monster Studio Pro Cable can get uncomfortable sometimes it coils up, not flexible and on top of all that, it is too expensive and I can say I will also agree on that it's big marketing or advertising hype that make some people that do not do some research on the matter, think they are the best. On the other hand, I have been checking some cables made by a seller in amazon.com, Canare cable with Neutrik plugs/connectors, 20ft long, Canare Cable Model GS-6 Instrument cable for $42. I know I could make them, or learn to make them, but for now I think I will just make the investment and take good care of it. This guy from Premium Audio Cable (the seller in amazon.com) says he has been making audio cables for over 30 years, so I guess I would not be making my own better than him some time soon, so I guess it sounds like a good offer. Opinions welcome...

[Boschen]

I've made miles of AV cabling from scratch; XLR, TRS, BNC, you name it, etc. I also hold advanced fiber optic cabling certs, and I've learned a few things about best cabling practices, the quality differences in components and materials, and about when my money is best spend building my own cables, or buying them stock. I've found few outfits that can produce cabling at the level of quality I can myself, but there's also a diminishing return at work; my time is worth more when I'm not making cables all day instead of bidding jobs, doing real work, etc! At some point, you will reach the same conclusion, and apply a similar metric.

That said, I keep a few thousand feet stock cable, and lots of connectors. I like Neutrick parts and Canare wire, and I use good quality solder and a nice Weller solder station. When I need a vital cable linkage, I usually make my own, and give the extra attention to the details of careful assembly.

When two different cables use good component parts that are close to identical in spec, and are assembled correctly using best practices, I've not been able to hear any significant difference between them. I'm reasonably confident that in a blind A/B setting of this kind, no one else could either. I'm not talking about comparing the top of the line quality with the cheapest quality products here, I'm talking about same component specs, but different material or assembly processes, like when one wire is silver infused, and the other is pure copper, or when one wire uses proprietary assembly methods, but the same materials. After a certain level of quality, these differences are negligible.

That said, I do not assert that there is no difference; I simply can't hear any major difference, and therefore see no need to agonize over it. There are so many other variables that have a vastly greater impact on the overall tone of the guitar. I see no point in worrying about cables, but ignoring other parts of the signal chain that effect tone, like that mess of crap pedals spread on the floor, or the low-rent unshielded wiring paths inside the guitar itself.

[edwinhurwitz]

I don't patronize Monster because of their business practices. They use their patents as a weapon to intimidate those with no legal resources into licensing agreements. Thankfully, we have Blue Jean Cables who stood up to them. This is one of my favorite items of legal correspondence ever:

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/...onse041408.pdf

I especially like the last couple of paragraphs.

[ears2thesky]

I have used many of Monster's products over the years and generally found them to be substandard in jacket material and connector durability. The barrel width of their 1/4" plugs seems to be larger, since they don't fit (or fit tightly) on some jacks. This may be the reason I've seen more broken plugs of this brand than all others combined.
I don't like them for any price.

[mtl777]

To the OP:

For guitar cable, if you can solder, I'd recommend to make your own using Belden 8218 raw cable and Neutrik or Switchcraft connectors. This is based on the Bill Lawrence BL-150 cable which is on par with George L's. Check out this thread...

DIY Guitar Cable, a pleasant discovery

If you can't solder, just ask a local electronics shop or tech to do it for you, for a minimal fee.

[CameronCampbell]

I make my own Mogami cables and resell them on ebay. There is a lot of people that do. If you aren't up to making them yourself, then I would say find someone like me on ebay. We sell them a lot cheaper than retail.

[jruberto]

Wow, I'm now convinced that monster cables actually are crap.

Trying to track some guitars at home right now & having noise problems. Hum, hiss & awful noise coming out of the amp. Swapped out my "trusty" monster (run from guitar to amp) for a Mogami that i just made & all that junk went away. Totally clean.

I could trade it in for a new one free, but this thing is just going in the garbage, where it belongs. Might re-use the connectors, they seem actually pretty nice.

[enginefire]

for what its worth, i think this place is awesome:
monoprice.com 25 ft cable
dont let the price scare you, its as good as it gets imo
maybe if you make a wire out of silver or something

[nosleepPDX]

Originally Posted by Nsound

This cristmas my brother has get a jack-jack Monster Bass cable for them.
This morning I tried that and did a comparison with my cheap jack cables.
I conected his bass to the HI-Z IN of an API 3124
Belive me, the sound quality it's faaar faaaarr superior with the monster cable. The sound of the bass is more punchy, clear, live, opened up and detailed compared to my cables. But it's too stiff!
I never tried Mogami, gotham or any kind of expensive jack cables, I always do cables.

This is my experience.

Far, far superior?

[JohnRoberts]

far far har har

JR

[TRJanuary]

Originally Posted by ears2thesky

The barrel width of their 1/4" plugs seems to be larger, since they don't fit (or fit tightly) on some jacks.

YES

This is reason #1 why you should NEVER use monster 1/4" cable.
Once you start using monster cables on your instruments, they will slightly STRETCH the contacts inside your jacks, and eventually they will need to be replaced. I have seen instruments that now MUST have monster cables used with them because a normal (INDUSTRY STANDARD) 1/4" plug no longer makes good contact.

It makes me very angry just thinking about it.
F**K MONSTER

[fireberd]

I don't use Monster cables - I use George L's and have since they came out in the 80's. Before the George L's, I used Belden an switchcraft and made my own before George L's was introduced (it was introduced at the International Steel Guitar Convention in St Louis - don't remember exactly but around 84 after George Lewis bought out Bill Lawrence's part of L&L sales).

However, many 1/4 jacks used are "imported" jacks and they tend to be metric based rather than inch based. I'm a former amp tech and have seen a lot of the imported plugs and jacks to be slightly under the "standard" 1/4" jacks and plugs such as the US made Switchcrafts.

[TAVD]

I have some mid to high end guitar cables here and Monster cables sound smeared/mushy by comparison. I won't use them for various reasons, not least of which is the sound. Mostly, I use Gotham cable because 1) it was left over from wiring the studio and 2) it sounds the most neutral to me. I have some Mogami cables as well from left over studio wiring. A bit less treble than the Gotham. Somewhere in between is Lava cable, purchased because it was on sale and I was curious. Van Der Hul integration cable is the only one that sounds noticeably better from top to bottom but it's very stiff and extremely expensive.
Also, ever try to repair one? I tried to rewire a Monster elco-trs cable once and as soon as my iron touched the wire, the insulation took off like det cord. And like others here, I've made miles of cable, but this is the only time I've experience a insulator melting to this extreme.

[monsi]

Hey guys,
I'm new here and it's propably not the right thread.

I'm about to braze all my cables in my studio by myself.
Nearly done it, but there's this Avantone CV-12 tube mic with a 7pin xlr.
Does ANYBODY know, which two pins are for power input and heat and which two are for modulation?

If there's noone who can help me, can please somebody tell me, which one is the right thread?

thanks!

[The Real MC]

Originally Posted by fireberd

However, many 1/4 jacks used are "imported" jacks and they tend to be metric based rather than inch based. I'm a former amp tech and have seen a lot of the imported plugs and jacks to be slightly under the "standard" 1/4" jacks and plugs such as the US made Switchcrafts.

And the terminals inside the shell can be too close, causing intermittent shorts to ground resulting in audio cutting in and out.

[nosebleedaudio]

Originally Posted by fireberd

I don't use Monster cables - I use George L's and have since they came out in the 80's. Before the George L's, I used Belden an switchcraft and made my own before George L's was introduced (it was introduced at the International Steel Guitar Convention in St Louis - don't remember exactly but around 84 after George Lewis bought out Bill Lawrence's part of L&L sales).

However, many 1/4 jacks used are "imported" jacks and they tend to be metric based rather than inch based. I'm a former amp tech and have seen a lot of the imported plugs and jacks to be slightly under the "standard" 1/4" jacks and plugs such as the US made Switchcrafts.

No substitute for a clean tight connection...
Cheap 1/4" jacks also get loose quick because the metal is thinner and looses its shape very easy..
For speaker connetions they are the worst...