Does your guitar sound the way it should?

If the answer is no and you can't seem to get a nice clean sound, even after equalizing, ask yourself how old your cable is and how well you've been looking after it.

Cables inevitably get old and twisted inside breaking hairs in the mesh or shield. This contributes to making your instrument sound dull and lifeless. Also, do the tips on your 1/4" jacks rotate easily? This is a sure indicator that they need to be replaced - these are usually at fault if you get excessive buzzing when using overdrive and distortion. If you want to be on the safe side, just replace the whole cable with a new one.

If you want to know if your cable is at fault or the problem lies elsewhere, you can buy a cable tester, Which is a very good item to have especially if you do a lot of gigging, and put all your cables 'to the test'.

If you've got a multi-tester with an ohmmeter, you can measure the resistance from one end to the other using the finest setting. Start with the ground or shield and take note of the measurement.

Depending on the length and quality of the cable this measurement can vary, but lets just say that 0.5 to 1 ohm is quite typical for a 10 foot lead. Now let's measure the resistance from tip to tip. If the tip to tip measurement is exactly equal to or lower than the ground or shield measurement, this will cause your sound to be muddy and lack brightness.

If you solder your own cables you may want to know if the jack is at fault or the cable itself. Remove the jack covers and measure the mesh to mesh and core to core directly on the wires. The solder joint may also be a problem so check the resistance before and after the joint. This will tell you what needs to be replaced.

Take your sound seriously! Don't buy a 700 dollar guitar and put it through bargain brand cable. Neutrik produce some of the best jacks I've seen so far and I earnestly recommend them. As for cables, before buying a length of cable for your new jacks, have the attendant strip a little section of the cable and make sure it's got a good amount of mesh around the core. Lately I've been seeing a lot of China-brand junk cable with very poor mesh (maybe that's why it was so cheap!).

A braided mesh is very good for signal transmission, but these cables are stiffer than conventional mesh cables and not so good for guitar leads because the core can get broken inside more easily over time from back and forth movement.

Make sure you put your best cable between the guitar jack and the first stomp box in your effects chain, especially if you don't have active pickups, and use good, shielded, short cables to chain all of your effects together.

IMPORTANT NOTE
If you can only get cable with 2 cores, i.e. stereo or microphone cables, and you want to use it to make a guitar lead, add the unused core to the mesh. Don't leave it unused because it may end up picking up your local radio station, and if you add it to the other core, you may end up with less resistance in the core than in the mesh (see above).

Moral of the story: The more mesh (or shielding), the better.

The Roadie Wrap:

If you want your cables to last you a long time in good condition, take some time and learn how to do the 'Roadie Wrap'. It will leave your cables perfectly wrapped with no strain on them. The process explained here is for right-handed people, if you're a lefty just change left for right and vice-versa:

First, hold one of the tips in your left hand (or right hand if you're a lefty) with the rest of the cable leading away from you.

Make the first loop about a foot (30 cm) in diameter like you would normally do to create a loop, making sure that the cable is not twisted but falls naturally into place.

Then, grab a spot about a foot and a half (45cm) from your left thumb with your right thumb and index finger and bring the cable towards your left hand, turning your right wrist to the left as you do so -you'll find that this loop is now covering your right forearm. Then take this loop you've made into your left hand. Make sure there's no strain in the loop (rotate the cable if nessary to remove any twisting -the loop should be natural and round, not an 8 shape) and make sure it's approximately the same size as the first.

Make the next loop like you did the first loop and repeat the process mentioned above on every second loop until the cable is perfectly wrapped in an 'O' shape in your left hand (right hand for lefties).

NOTE: The first loop strains the cable and the second relieves the strain.

The first time you wrap your cables you'll probably find it hard to make the nice 'O' shape due to kinks and bends in the cable, but if you consistently use this tecnique, you'll find that sooner or later the kinks and bends in your cables will actually go away.

ANOTHER SUGGESTION:
once you've carefully wrapped one cable, take a shoestring, tie it around the cable with a simple knot. Make sure the jacks are almost together with the knot between them.

Wrap the next cable like you did the first one and place it on top and then make another simple knot, then on to the next.

When you've tied up all your cables make a slip knot (just like you would tie your laces) and all your cables will be in one bunch and ready to be put in a sports bag (or whatever) until you need them again.

*This way you'll never forget to connect a cable before playing and it's a good way to take inventory and make sure you haven't forgot one before leaving after a show.