Your guitar cable is overlooked. And why not—it’s just the unassuming wire that does the *small job* of connecting your electric guitar to your amplifier! Guitar cables typically fly under the radar, yet they play a crucial part in moving your tone from your guitar to your amp. With this in mind, in this article we review 5 great choices for guitar cables. For this comparison, we tested cables from Ernie Ball, Fender, George Ls, Evidence, and Spectraflex (plus a bonus cable that isn’t made anymore). These cables span multiple price points, from budget choices to truly premium cables.
Do Cables Make A Difference?
Some guitarists truly feel that cables are a myth, and that “all cables sound the same.” While we respect this point of view, we disagree that there aren’t differences between guitar cables. After all, your cable does the important job of carrying the signal from you guitar to your amplifier. That said, we do not believe that price always equals quality. As you’ll see from our list, you don’t need to pay a lot to get a quality cable.
Cable Specifications
Before we get into the individual reviews, let’s talk about two of the most important qualities of a guitar cable: Capacitance, and Gauge.
Cable Capacitance
Capacitance measures the capability of a material to store an electric charge. In guitar cables, the capacitance measurement indicates how easily electrons are able to travel through the cable. Higher capacitance affects higher frequencies more, which we hear as as “roll-off” of the treble frequencies. A lower capacitance cable will actually be louder in volume. Capacitance is measured in Picofarads, abbreviated as “pF” per foot.
Capacitance is affected by the materials used to construct the cable, as well as cable length. Longer cables increase capacitance. Capacitance can be calculated and measured, but the ultimate judge, as with everything guitar, is how it sounds to our ears.
Cable Gauge
The gauge of a cable means the diameter (thickness) of the wire that conducts the electrical signal. This is not the thickness of the outer jacket, or any other part of the cable. There are cables that look beefy on the outside due to their thick jacket and insulating material, yet actually have small gauge wire inside. Gauge is measured with numerical designations, but get this: Smaller numbers equal a larger gauge! (don’t ask us to explain this!) Gauge is measured in AWG.
How We Tested
We tested each cable with a combination of different guitars and amps. The goal was to see if we could hear repeatable differences between them. All cables were tested in a 10’ length with straight to straight connectors, with the exception of the Ernie Ball cable, which was right-to-straight. We list wire gauge and capacitance for each cable, but relied on our ears for our judgement and impressions of the tone of each cable. The tests were conducted with an assortment of guitars, including a Strat, Tele, and Hollowbody, through both a Mesa/Boogie Tube amp and a Quilter SuperBlock US.
1. Fender Professional Series Guitar Cable
Capacitance: 28/pF
Gauge: 22 AWG
Compared to some of our other choices, this Fender guitar cable represents a budget option. But in the case of this Fender cable, budget doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing a whole lot. The Fender’s PVC outer jacket is beefy and smooth feeling, and the nickel-plated connectors are solidly attached. Fender also claims that the PVC outer jacket resists tangling, and we noticed that as well. The 22-gauge OFC copper that carries the signal imparts it with a present sound that worked well to bring out the twang in the Telecaster. This cable conveys the guitar’s tone well without feeling muffled, or harsh. The Fender was reasonably quiet as well, and we can recommend it as a budget choice.
Spectraflex Original Series Instrument Cable
Capacitance: 30/pF
Gauge: 20 AWG
Spectraflex has been around for a long time, and was one of the first cable makers to bring back the braided cable look. I have used Spectraflex in the past, but it has been out of rotation recently. According to the Spectraflex website, the cable is “designed for extended frequency response, low handling noise and ultra-quiet performance.” Happily, I found this to be true, as the cable was quiet and even-sounding. It didn’t accentuate any frequencies like the Fulltone, and was perhaps not quite as transparent as the George L’s, but this can be seen as a good thing: This is a traditional, quality cable that is shroud in a flexible and durable nylon braid. Having used Spectraflex over time, I can attest to its durability, and tonally it stacked up very well in this test. A solid performer that I can recommend.
George L’s .155 Guitar Cable
Capacitance: 16/pF
Gauge: .155 in.
These are the most distinct sounding cables I encountered in this test. Contrary to popular belief I don’t necessarily think these are “bright”, as much as they are transparent. And that may or may not be a good thing, depending on your guitar and ears. Eric Johnson is famous for using these cables, and he’s as picky about tone as anyone.
Like it or not, we are accustomed to the rolloff that many cables provide, and I believe that’s why George L’s can be somewhat off putting when compared to the sound of other, more familiar cables. This cable makes you want to tweak your amp and tone control settings, because this cable pulls the veil off of your tone.
The .155 cable diameter is thinner than traditional cables (due to the thinner outer jacket) but is great to use as a guitar patch cable on pedal boards, and can be purchased in bulk for this purpose. While perhaps not as rugged as cables with thicker jackets, George Ls .155 diameter is light and easy to manage, which is great for home or studio. George Ls cables are also available in .225 thickness for those who insist on traditional diameter cables.
The increased transparency of this cable can have a benefit when using effects. If you want the most transparent cable out there that lets you know what your guitar really sounds like, this is the one.
Evidence Cable Lyric HG Guitar Cable
Capacitance: 38/pF
Gauge: 20 AWG
Our entry in the truly premium cable segment, the Evidence did not disappoint. Apparently, Trey Anastasio of Phish is an Evidence cable user, and he is particular about his tone. The Evidence is a bit unusual in that it uses solid core copper conductors, instead of the typical braided conductors; this is to reduce “strand interaction”, which can introduce distortion.
Solid Conductors
Solid vs. Braided conductors is a much discussed topic in the home audio world, and I have personally tested solid vs braided conductor loudspeaker cables. This means that the wire that carries the signal is solid copper, instead of braided. Not surprisingly, I found a similar quality in the Evidence Cable as I did in the solid-core speaker: Smoothness. Not rolled-off, not muddy, but burnished in a very pleasing way. The highs are still there, but they sound polished, without loss of detail (must be the absence of strand interaction!).
The one criticism that some have of this cable is its stiffness, and while it is stiffer than most cables, that will not typically be an issue if you play primarily at home or low impact environments. Evidence also offers the Forte, which is a similar but less stiff option.
The Lyric is a well made, excellent sounding cable, and my personal favorite. It’s expensive, but worth it if you are particular about your tone.
Ernie Ball Braided Guitar Cable
Capacitance: 30/pF
Gauge: 16
The Ernie Ball was the most surprising cable in the test. This braided cable (model # P06081) is reasonably priced and nicely built, but what really stood out is the tone. We heard smooth highs with a nice presence and richness of tone with no harshness. The cable was quiet, and really brought out the tone of individual guitars. This Ernie Ball cable is offered in a number of colors—including outrageous neon pink, orange, and yellow! The cable is 99.95% OFC copper, and the outer braid is rugged and resists tangling. The cable comes with a velcro tie attached that is used for securing the cable after winding—a nice touch. With its quality braided exterior and great tone, and numerous color choices, the Ernie Ball Braided Cable is a great value. Strongly recommended!
Fulltone Musical Products Guitar Cable
Capacitance: Not Listed
Gauge: 14
Here’s our bonus cable! As you may know, Mike Fuller of Fulltone has recently hung it up and retired. He didn’t make cables for too long, but they can be found on the used market.
How to describe: The Fulltone cable made the Telecaster sound more “Fendery”… Really. I wasn’t sure if the effect was real, but I kept hearing it when I came back to this cable. My guess is that Fulltone isolated and ever so slightly accentuated the particular frequencies that make guitars sound a certain way. It reminds me of the Mosfet switch on some Fulltone Fulldrive pedals, though that is more pronounced. This is a quiet, high quality cable. The cable is low capacitance and comes with Neutrik connectors. According to Fulltone there are “2 separate wires carrying the signal”, which results in “twice the copper.” Unfortunately these are not produced anymore, but given Fulltone’s reputation for quality, they are worth seeking out on the used market.
Conclusion
We didn’t set out to identify the “best guitar cable”, and we don’t like to make bold statements about the “best guitar cable”. We consider this group among the best guitar cables, and you wouldn’t be the worse for it by choosing any of them. Our impressions were, of course, subjective, but we feel that there are noticeable differences in sound. All of these cables are well made, rugged, and good sounding, and you can’t go wrong with any of them. Happy Playing!