Monster Cable?

**Pacer Guy** · 09-05-2009, 02:00 PM

Just curios if anyone has used or is using Monster Cable Rock Instrument cable??

My Dilemma... I've been battling a little bit of noise in my rack setup, particularly with one of my guitars that has a little bit of a hotter output humbucker in it... So as I said in the shielding thread, I went ahead and shielded the guitar... Still noisy

The other issue I had with the guitar was it was muddy on the bottom end...

So anyway.. for the past few weeks I've been using my wireless (I like to play while I watch TV at night, amp is at the back of the house, TV is at the front

) So I used the Monster cable to plug the wireless into the Mp1... Well, I was bored today and thought I'd go ahead and build a few balanced cables for the rack... Well my local guitar shop only had one TRS end and no TRS patch cables

But I did remember that my wireless has an XLR output, and the Mp1 has a balanced line input on the back... So I picked up a 5 foot Balanced TRS cable, and a female XLR end... Came home, cut one end off the balanced cable and soldered the XLR end on

Plugged the XLR into the wireless and set it for Line out, plugged the TRS into the Mp1 line in... Fired everything up... No Noise

I was blown away... And the guitar is no longer muddy on the bottom end..

So out of curiosity, I unplugged the wireless, plugged the Monster cable into the guitar and the front input on the Mp1... Noise was back

mud was back....

So... Now I'm wondering if the Monster cable has been the culprit the whole time... I don't think it is the front input on the Mp1 as I had the same noise problem when I had two Mp1's in my rack and was switching back and forth between the two...

So anyone else using Monster Cable and having noise issues???

**unchained1984** · 09-06-2009, 04:15 AM

That's a strange one Don,monster do high end cinema cables & the like but if all you've got is geetar to monster cable to MP1 & the noise is back (& the MP1 input is still fine) then it has to be the cable carrying more hum from the higher output humbucker. With the wireless box though does it have some extra grounding in there when the jack sleeve enters that's helping to cancel out unwanted noise ?

I remember replacing the front input jack on my mp2 as the connected rear input was seeing some serious noise , so much so the noise limiter was kicking in way earlier than it should have been.

**Pacer Guy** · 09-06-2009, 08:56 AM

It is weird Sandy

I don't have any other amps to try plugging into with the Monster Cable so I can't be certain if it's the cable or not... I do have a few other cheaper cables (Planet Waves and Peavey) that I'll try out today and see what happens

I don't really think it's the front input on the Mp1. I had the same symptoms with both Mp1's

Not sure on the Wireless... It's an older Shure UC4 (in the dreaded banned freq zone

) Using the regular 1/4 instrument output from the Shure and using the Monster cable from there to the front input on the Mp1, I have noise... Using the XLR output on the Shure set to line, and a balanced cable with a 1/4 TRS into the balanced line input on the rear of the Mp1, the noise is gone

I'll try out my other cables today and see what happens

**Pacer Guy** · 09-06-2009, 10:42 AM

Ok... tried out my other cables

Looks like the Monster Cable is the culprit

pretty bad when a 20 dollar Peavey and 25 dollar Planet Waves cable outperforms and is quieter than the 50 dollar Monster Cable

Once again... the over hyped over priced cable disappoints

First spendy cable I have ever bought... Won't do that again

**KramerBassFan** · 09-06-2009, 11:30 AM

It's alllllll about marketing....

Ever heard of power strips that are meant to improve your tone???

**unchained1984** · 09-06-2009, 11:47 AM

Those planet waves aren't too bad, I've one I've been using on & off for a little over a year & only now starting to get some issues with it. I've still got some dayglo pink cables from back in the day, I don't need a rack light with those

**Pacer Guy** · 09-06-2009, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by KramerBassFan

It's alllllll about marketing....

Ever heard of power strips that are meant to improve your tone???

You got it

Back in the early to mid 90's I was heavily into Car Audio, doing the competition circuit, and I tried a few different high end cables... I finally settled on building my own cables... Mogami twisted pair cable and Canare RCA ends all bought from the pro audio shop in town... Cost about a third of the high end brands and I had much better quality, plus being able to make the cables to the lengths I needed

I had a couple of friends working at a Car Audio shop... They told me the cost on the high end cables were next to nothing... but the accessories where were they made the money... So I'm sure it's the same in the Guitar industry as well... Cheap accessories and sell them for top dollar

**KramerBassFan** · 09-06-2009, 12:27 PM

Bingo.

And the whole thing with Power Strips that effect your tone....

Like those $40 Fuses that improve your tone also....
I never knew their was such thing as "cheap" AC.

:happy1

**mikethaninefive** · 09-06-2009, 01:02 PM

Doesn't Monster have a lifetime warranty?

**KramerBassFan** · 09-06-2009, 01:30 PM

They do... but IMHO that is of NO use when one of their cables goes out during a gig.

**jc_lbc** · 09-06-2009, 05:59 PM

Monster cable is just overpriced junk. It's no better then the cheapest crap on the market, they just spend a bunch of money making it look better then the competition. If quality is what you're after (and at a reasonable price) I would recommend a pre-made George L's .255 with straight ends. These cables are a little brighter then most... and IMO just sound a little bit better then the average $20 cable. But of course those are always fine too. We're talking very minute differences here. The nice thing is that if it ever goes bad, the ends are solderless so you can usually fix them really easily. I've never had one of the pre-made straight end cables fail on me though in well over a decade of use.

**Pacer Guy** · 09-06-2009, 06:17 PM

Jc... I agree with you on the George L's cables

I've used the build your own George L's cables and ends in the past with good results

Don't really know why I quit using the George L's stuff

**JGB** · 09-06-2009, 10:27 PM

I use Monster...just send the cable back and they'll give you a new one.

**Pacer Guy** · 09-06-2009, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by JGB

I use Monster...just send the cable back and they'll give you a new one.

I wondered if that may be possible... Thanks for the Headsup

**EVHSHREDDERF1000** · 09-07-2009, 12:52 PM

A friend of mine use to use monster cable and i borrowed it one day and it was horrible lots of noise and very bad sounding. like someone else said here just overpirced junk!

**_xxx_** · 09-07-2009, 01:00 PM

It's not the monster cable but balanced vs. unbalanced connection.

The easy way to be sure, just try some other cable for comparison. Can't be hard to find one.

**Pacer Guy** · 09-07-2009, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by _xxx_

It's not the monster cable but balanced vs. unbalanced connection.

The easy way to be sure, just try some other cable for comparison. Can't be hard to find one.

Did that

Had a cheap 20 dollar Peavey cable and a 25 dollar Planet waves cable on hand... I tried all three and the Monster cable was the worst of the three

The Wireless is by far the quietest though... But I'm sure the Balanced input has a lot to do with that as you said

I may have a bad Monster cable

I'll get in touch with Monster cable and see if I can return this one for a new one and see what happens

**KramerBassFan** · 09-07-2009, 01:38 PM

Just take it in to guitar center.
They will swap it out, no questions asked, no receipts needed...

**Pacer Guy** · 09-07-2009, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by KramerBassFan

Just take it in to guitar center.
They will swap it out, no questions asked, no receipts needed...

That makes it easy

**Dr. Greenthumb** · 09-11-2009, 01:51 PM

Don....Monster cables can go bad. I had a bass one crap out on me, then I did some research and have moved away from monster cables all together.
You can return them without a receipt or package, I took it to GC and they gave me a brand new one (like KBF said)
no questions asked. Eventhough I have a brand new one I don't use it anymore. I prefer George L's like previously stated....or my favorite cable which I had made at Bayou Cables...IMHO the Bayou Cables are the bomb, check out his site:
http://www.bayoucables.com/

I have heard many bad stories about monster cables lately. There is even one company that makes botique high end bass amps(Phil Jones Bass)
that states that monster cables plugs are larger than a normal 1/4 inch plug, and with repeated use you will screw up your jacks on your amp and axe. He will not warranty his amps if you use monster cables, how he would know, I have no idea.

Anyway...I stopped using them.

Mike

**Pacer Guy** · 09-11-2009, 02:03 PM

Thanks for the link Mike

I've been looking for someplace to buy cable and ends so I can make up a few short patch cables. May as well order from Bayou

I plan to take the Monster cable back to GC

I don't really see any reason to use the new one so it may never make it out of the package

I'm happy with using the cheap cables and the wireless. They work

**jc_lbc** · 09-12-2009, 12:09 AM

The Bayou cables look great... Canare wire and good quality Switchcraft plugs. Can't go wrong either of those.

**Lightningdan** · 09-12-2009, 04:06 AM

That is just odd. I've heard nothing but good things about Monster Cables.

As an anecdote.. I've been using the same 4 "Music Yo" patch cords that I bought back in '99, almost 10 yrs ago.. and no noise. Go Figure. I think they were like 6 bucks each.

**KramerBassFan** · 09-12-2009, 08:48 AM

And for what it's worth.... the only Monster cable I ever bought gave out after a MONTH of light use.

**Kramerican** · 09-12-2009, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by Dr. Greenthumb

Don....Monster cables can go bad. I had a bass one crap out on me, then I did some research and have moved away from monster cables all together.
You can return them without a receipt or package, I took it to GC and they gave me a brand new one (like KBF said)
no questions asked. Eventhough I have a brand new one I don't use it anymore. I prefer George L's like previously stated....or my favorite cable which I had made at Bayou Cables...IMHO the Bayou Cables are the bomb, check out his site:
http://www.bayoucables.com/

I have heard many bad stories about monster cables lately. There is even one company that makes botique high end bass amps(Phil Jones Bass)
that states that monster cables plugs are larger than a normal 1/4 inch plug, and with repeated use you will screw up your jacks on your amp and axe. He will not warranty his amps if you use monster cables, how he would know, I have no idea.

Anyway...I stopped using them.

Mike

I thought I was the only one who thought the Monster cable plugs were slightly larger than normal. I've screwed up a couple of Kramer barrel jacks that way. You put a "normal" plug in after using a Monster and it only makes intermittent contact.

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