The purpose of a guitar cable is to carry electric currents from your pickups, through the guitar, and to your amp where the electric currents are magnified into the sound that comes out. Good guitar cables will provide as little interference and loss as possible to produce the highest quality and true sound.

Put simply, copper and silver will carry the guitar’s signal cleaner and truer than other materials. Most high quality guitar cables that you’ll come across have a copper (or copper blend) core that is soldered into the connectors. This is going to provide great sound without any interference. Silver core guitar cables are out there, but are extremely expensive.

Outside of the cables core, there is usually some sore of plastic wrap that is heat shrunk to the cable. This helps hold everything together and increase the life of the cable. The next key element to a guitar cable is the wrap and insulation of the wire. Some guitar cables will slap on a thin layer of vinyl that looks really cool, but does zero to prevent radio interference that will attack the signal that’s flowing through your cable.

Non-insulated cables can also work like an extra pickup and create a slew of extra noise coming out of your amp. Think about the last time you were really rocking and your cable smacked into something, remember the thud that came out of your amp? That’s from the lack of insulation. The impact is the same kind of vibration that your guitar’s pickups are getting every time you pluck the string.

The bottom line is when you’re looking for practice cables, a cheap vinyl cable will suffice. When you’re somewhere that you want to sound your best (live, in the studio) you should buy guitar cables that are going to help, rather than hinder your sound. Premium guitar cables carry a higher price tag than their cheap counterparts, but the difference in sound is worth every penny.

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The job of a guitar cable is to carry the fragile electric current that your pickups get from the strings to your amp. It may seem like a simple job, but there are all sorts of problems that can get in your signal’s way. Poor connectors, cheap cores, and lack of insulation are all going to create a major loss in signal and in sound quality. When jamming at home or practicing with your band you can usually get away with having a crappy guitar cable, but when you don’t want to sound like that when you have an audience!

As your cable gets longer it becomes more important that it’s made from high quality materials. A cheap guitar cable is prone to signal loss as soon as the current leaves the guitar, and the problem is compounded by longer cables. My practice cables are short since I’m not really doing anything other than playing. My live cables are much longer (30 feet+) so that I can move the stage. It’s worth every penny to buy a high quality guitar cable when you’re dealing with those kind of lengths.

Should you use a straight or right angle guitar cable? There’s a ton of debate around this topic. It’s really a matter of preference, but there are a few solid rules to go by. First, the amp side of the cable should be straight. This will help signal flow at that crucial point and you don’t have to worry too much about your amp getting smacked and breaking the cable. As for the guitar side, if your input jack is perpendicular to the body of the guitar you should use a right angle. Having a straight cable jutting out of the front of a guitar is a recipe to get it broken. If you have a jack that’s recessed into the front a straight cable fits a little better. Input jacks on the guitar’s sides can use either. Fender Telecasters almost always have to have a straight connector because the right angle ones won’t fit into their deep jacks.

Now that you know a bit more about your guitar cable choices you can make a much more educated decision on which is right for you. Save money with your practice cables so you can spend it on your live and recording ones. Spend the money when your sound really counts!

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