Does using Monster Cables make a difference?

[heisleyamor]

I'm using pretty much any cable I can find for recording. I use Livewire cables i believe for my monitors to my firepod...and random guitar cables and mic cables and 2 livewire cables for mics. Will upgrading to monster cables make a difference in sound quality?

Edit: or maybe George L cables? I heard those were good...let me know what you think about cables w/ recording

[Jonboy79]

Do a search, you'll find plenty of threads with people arguing either way on this subject.

[neilio]

yup.































































to your wallet.

[lord_bunny]

me and my bass player bought a whack of monster cables in 2000-2001. can't say i notcied any change in my tone. now, they're well made and i still have them... but even with my store discount at the time they were expensive.

+1 planet waves

[heisleyamor]

I also asked if they make a difference with the monitors and I don't see much info on that. I use just livewire cables from xlr to 1/4" ... should i get monster cables for that? and maybe research cables for guitar? how about mic cables?

[bunnerabb]

Monster has great advertising budgets.

Mogami doesn't need one.

You can wire the whole damn place with Mogami and never have a problem, IMHO.

[Steffmo]

"Back in the day" when the first Monster stuff came out I got some of the top line mic cables. Blindfold tested them on all sorts or people. And surprise, almost everyone, including lay folks could hear a difference. Then we wired a studio with it...silver solder pots and all, and it sounded great.


Cut to now. I no longer can find any real improvement from their current offering. In fact they seem very sensitive to any movement. Of course the musicians who rate them based on what they paid for them...love them. Seems to be just a name to me.

On a purely political note, the company tend to litigation happy thinking that they are now the only folks in America that can use the word "Monster". I don't have a lot of tolerance for that

+1 for Mogami, or any other quality wire. Just another opinion for the pile

[dfarness]

+1 for Mogami.

[allencollins]

I'm not a huge fan of monster per say but higher end cables make a difference
the better shielding alone eliminates noise. I have a couple monster cables and they are a very clean sound and well built. Mogami w/neutriks are my fav. but they are all good. But that's not to say less expensive cables cannot be as good because some are but most are not

[FFTT]

2 good places to shop

Redco Audio http://www.redco.com
GeorgeL http://www.georgelsstore.com/home.html

[peeder]

Planet waves connectors are banned from this facility.

[ScottTunes]

I tried a compareo between Planet Waves, Monster, and Mogami cables on monitors, guitar/bass, and microphones (dynamic, ribbon, and condenser). I'd recommend and use Planet Waves. For the price the difference isn't worth it.

I have well trained ears and I couldn't hear a difference when mixed, and even solo'ed it was very difficult to hear a difference. Once loaded to your iPod, there is ZERO difference!!! Six of one, half dozen of the other... Bragging rights is what you pay for unless you record classical solo guitar...

[elambo]

It definitely makes a difference to my ears. When I plug in Monster Cable everything sounds worse. Evidence Audio. Or Mogami and minimum. Worth the cost.

[heisleyamor]

ok So i should probably go with Mogami or George L? Which is cheaper? Any other opinions? Same place for mic cables and guitar cables? should I change my XLR to 1/4" Livewire Speaker cables for my monitors?

[heisleyamor]

I can't imagine buying a guitar cable for 60 dollars...that seems crazy...is the difference big in the recording? or is there something cheaper I can get with better results than what I'm using?

[slaves666]

SpectraFlex for guitars. I hear a difference.....really.

[xhavepatiencex]

I would look into making your own cables, thats the cheapest route for the best quality. I just ordered a whole mess of gepco cable direct from them for pretty cheap. I am interested in trying out their new x-band cable for my guitar set up, it has really good specs and was only 50 cents a foot. I ordered some of the x-band mic cable too, i wonder if there will be any difference compared to my canare cable.

[lord_bunny]

Originally Posted by peeder

Planet waves connectors are banned from this facility.

why is that?

[James Lehmann]

I can't speak for Monster cables but if you're still in any doubt that cables can make a difference then I suggest you check out my Vovox Cable Mic shoot-out thread.

[peeder]

Originally Posted by lord_bunny

why is that?

1) The connectors fall apart and won't go back together. I literally glued the grommets back on. This is ridiculous and a potential disaster on stage.
2) The sleeves have shards of metal sticking out of them. These shards can catch on the interior contacts. When you twist them in the socket they can damage or unscrew the interior contacts or the jack as a whole.

And "jackasshole" is a good description of the super-genius who thunk these crapsicles up. If I come over and you find all your P.U. connectors have been snipped off and removed by the garbagemen you'll thank me later.

[mrface2112]

YMMV

i stopped having RFI problems with my single coil equipped guitars when i started using Monster 500 cables. our bass player had a similar experience/result. that's not to say that similar results couldn't be achieved with Mogami, too. i don't buy into the marketing BS or the litigation nonsense or anything, but i'm certainly happy with the results. i'm sure i'd be happy if i'd grabbed the Mogami cable as well.

YMMV


cheers,
wade

[elambo]

Originally Posted by mrface2112

i'm sure i'd be happy if i'd grabbed the Mogami cable as well.

Not just happy... happier.