What are the best guitar cables?

I know my question probably has no easy one-size-fits-all answer, but I'd love to get some opinions on what guitar cables you guys are using and liking.

I just wrote a review on the ones I currently like, the Monster Legacy S-100 1/4" Straight Instrument Cable. I'm at the point where I need a couple more, and I love those Monster ones, but just thought I'd ask you guys. I'm not a cable expert after all.

I know Monster is the subject of a lot of hate-fests, and I in large part agree (especially if you look at their ridiculous offerings in the consumer audio/video realm).

One caveat for recommendations - I have no interest in building my own cables, so please don't suggest that! :-P

that can be subjective

I think from a purely scientific standpoint you want the solid-core cables David Gilmour favors... but every cable can be something of a tone filter, so use your ears IN A BAND SETTING.

also, building cables is really easy even if you have never soldered in your life, the only thing easier is fixing your own output jack... seriously, building a fuzz face is so easy that a novice could do it with a diagram and a handful of parts from smallbear electronics. None of this stuff is difficult to understand or execute, it just seems intimidating! Which is great for techs, keeps them in work. Soldering takes less coordination than guitar playing. Don't be intimidated by electronic or set-up work, fortune favors the bold. Print some instructions, get a few tools and jump the hell in. The water's fine.

Dem coily cabs, though.

Never tangle and trip ever again...

Dem coily cabs, though.

Never tangle and trip ever again...

Yeah, I like Bullet's coily cables to go from guitar to polytune. They sound pretty good and they don't tangle or trip me. For most other applications, as you can guess, I mostly build my own cables. My second pick for stage work is Spectraflex. They have minimal tangling, are unbreakable and use pretty decent cable inside. Not Mogami good, but just as good as what's in the Monster you have now.

Thanks for the replies, I'll have a look at Bullet Cable and Spectraflex.

jimmarchi1 making my own cables is def something I want to get in the habit of doing, just haven't made time for it, so for the time being I'm willing to pay for someone else to make cables for me :)

Since Equipboard is my go-to for gear stuff they should do a write-up on this. Not just a few guitar cable suggestions, but also clearing up cable confusion for people (instrument vs speaker, how to shop for cables, what to look for, etc).

Also, it would be awesome to be able to sort item types by number of pros using them and/or number of community members using them. So in this example I want to go to the instrument cables page and have a lot more sort options.

Just some random thoughts!

Since Equipboard is my go-to for gear stuff they should do a write-up on this. Not just a few guitar cable suggestions, but also clearing up cable confusion for people (instrument vs speaker, how to shop for cables, what to look for, etc).

Also, it would be awesome to be able to sort item types by number of pros using them and/or number of community members using them. So in this example I want to go to the instrument cables page and have a lot more sort options.

Just some random thoughts!

add both those good ideas to the suggestions thread in the general forum

A friend of mine swears by Bullet Coils. I own a LAVA Coil and the craftsmanship isnt up to snuff.

The best cable I own is a Pig Hog Xlr to Xlr. Very high quality, very happy with it's results, and it wasnt an arm and a leg.

A friend of mine swears by Bullet Coils. I own a LAVA Coil and the craftsmanship isnt up to snuff.

The best cable I own is a Pig Hog Xlr to Xlr. Very high quality, very happy with it's results, and it wasnt an arm and a leg.

I do NOT like the Lava cable, don't get why they charge so much.

Agreed. I thought for 60 bucks that I would get something really nice. They actually installed the parts backwards on one of the jacks, so there is a spring that sticks out and pushes against what it's plugged into. If it's a bass, it will usually get pushed out. Only way to fix it is surgery and I don't have the want to do that yet.

And I have an old Roland cable from several decades ago.

Maybe that's why my sound sucks...