What cables were used in the past?

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SadFuzz
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What cables were used in the past?

Post by SadFuzz » Sat Mar 16, 2019 9:15 am

Random thought, what cables did you use for gigging in the 80s, 90s? Was it Fender, DiMarzio, whatever? What was available then?
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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by gadabout » Sat Mar 16, 2019 8:08 pm

I started using ProCo Excellines in the 90’s. That’s pretty much all I’ve used since then.

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by countertext » Sat Mar 16, 2019 10:36 pm

I want to say that Horizon had the market cornered in the ‘80s and early ‘90s where I lived, but I’m not totally sure. My memories are fuzzy.

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by dinosaurkale-> » Sun Mar 17, 2019 4:13 am

as a little kid i didnt really pay attention to cable brands..just guitars and amps.
i wanna say it was mostly Dimarzio in the late 80s (?)

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by jvin248 » Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:56 am

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Hendrix was famous for using those coil cables. That's all I've got.

Other than taking a capacitance meter to a store when a buddy was buying cables and we measured up all the had -- the trend was the cheapest cables had the lowest capacitance per foot which means you don't muddy up your signal as much. Fancy cables make for darker tones that you can't dial out with the guitar tone knob.

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by higgsblossom » Sun Mar 17, 2019 8:09 am

I know that ca. 1999 I went to a Stuttgart based music store and they cut and soldered the cables / plugs there. They had enormous rolls of PVC coated cables. I have no idea about the manufacturer, but they seemed to last forever since I still have two 6m cables from back then, with new plugs though.
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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by marqueemoon » Sun Mar 17, 2019 9:19 am

Proco, Rapco, Whirlwind.

Most readily available premade pedal patch cables either had giant plugs or were molded garbage.

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by BVRI55 » Sun Mar 17, 2019 10:21 am

Going way back to 60s/70s UK I remember buying lengths of coaxial cable and jack plugs and making my own. That's what I used during my brief gigging career, and one of them was still OK when I started playing again, after a 20 year break in 2001.

Now I use Fender because they're cheap and functional and I just do home playing/recording.

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by TeenageShutdown! » Sun Mar 17, 2019 11:57 am

Ernie Ball in the late 90’s.

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by COLLIDES » Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:10 pm

I still have and use some private label cables from our old local guitar shop here that are about 25 years old now. I think they may be Peavey cables??

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by kimson » Tue Mar 19, 2019 10:31 pm

Proco in the early/mid 90s.

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by timtam » Tue Mar 19, 2019 10:47 pm

jvin248 wrote:
Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:56 am
Other than taking a capacitance meter to a store when a buddy was buying cables and we measured up all the had -- the trend was the cheapest cables had the lowest capacitance per foot which means you don't muddy up your signal as much.
It's got to the point where there is so much capacitance variation that has been measured - not always favouring expensive cables - that manufacturers need to start specifying their capacitance, as well as providing A/B sound tests so we can get a better idea of how much difference it makes. Failing that I think taking a multimeter with capacitance capability to the store to find the low capacitance cables is a very sensible idea.
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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by Fendereedo » Wed Mar 20, 2019 12:03 am

An old white coiled cable my dad gave me. No brand name on it, or it had worn off.

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Re: What cables were used in the past?

Post by mynameisjonas » Wed Mar 20, 2019 12:19 am

I still own and use the first proper cable I bought. I think it's Whirlwind, but I'm not sure (none of the markings are visible anymore). I must have gotten it in '95 or so, and I've used it for every gig and every rehearsal since then. Still works flawlessly.

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