So, it's late at night, I've had a couple beers 
drew and after reading a few threads on cabling, I thought I'd help you fellas sound better and have some extra beer money at the same time.
Where do you get cable?
Bulk Instrument Cable | Redco Audio
Which do I get?
Here's the truth, all five of those options are great. I've tried just about all of them, from the .44$ a foot to the $3.65 a foot. Know what the real difference is? Just about nothing in 99% of scenarios, tonally. From a quality perspective, I feel the slightly more expensive (bust still cheaper than $3.65/ft) cable is more rugged.
What's the difference between the .44$/ft and .84$/ft cable?
Diameter. The more expensive cable is the thicker, less flexible cable, where the cheaper is thinner, super flexible stuff that's great for pedalboards and patch bays.
Alright, so you picked your cable. Now what? Well, now you have to pick the business ends, which you'll find here: TS Connectors | Redco Audio.
What connector should I get?
Honestly, I usually cheap out here, as connectors are all pretty similar from my experience and believe it or not, the $1.00 Redco brand 1/4" jacks work just as good (and reliably) as the $4.46 Canare brand 1/4" jacks, and the Redco ones are actually a little easier to solder and re-solder down the road. If you want to be all baller and shit, you can grab the $20 Neutrik with the crystals on them.
But, I'd recommend sticking with Redco and the cheaper, smaller Neutrik options, such as the 224L. Nothing wrong with the more expensive Neutrik stuff, other than they're kinda bulky. I'm also no longer a big Amphenol fan as I find them a little difficult to solder (not a lot of elbow room) due to their super compact end.
So, I have a shit ton of cable, and enough connectors to sink a ship. Now what? Now it's time to grab some tools.
First, you'll need a cutter. This will do: Eclipse 902-084 | Redco Audio. Though, a stripping feature would be convenient, like on this guy here: Eclipse 200-007W | Redco Audio.
Then a soldering iron: Eclipse 900-035 | Redco Audio, will be great, but a $5 Radioshack iron will do just fine for this task. Even a solder gun if you want to go all Rambo.
And of course solder: Rosin-Core Solder (1.5 Oz.) : Soldering Tools & Supplies | RadioShack.com.
If you're new to cabling and feel like doing it like a pro, grab one of these too:Behringer CT-100 Cable Tester | Musician's Friend. That little box is awesome.
Alright, you got all the shit, now how the hell do you do this?
Not going to lie, there are a hundred other YouTube videos of this task, but I chose this one for the music. Enjoy.
They use some other tools in this video, but I typically substitute those with a safety knife and my hands. I ain't afraid of no shielding.
Now shred away on your new awesome cables.
But Max, I want to make speaker cables!
Then get these cables instead: Bulk Speaker Cable | Redco Audio. You can use the same connectors posted above. I'm not going to go into detail, but NO, instrument and speaker cable are different, don't substitute one for the other. Trust me.
drew and after reading a few threads on cabling, I thought I'd help you fellas sound better and have some extra beer money at the same time. Where do you get cable?
Bulk Instrument Cable | Redco Audio
Which do I get?
Here's the truth, all five of those options are great. I've tried just about all of them, from the .44$ a foot to the $3.65 a foot. Know what the real difference is? Just about nothing in 99% of scenarios, tonally. From a quality perspective, I feel the slightly more expensive (bust still cheaper than $3.65/ft) cable is more rugged.
What's the difference between the .44$/ft and .84$/ft cable?
Diameter. The more expensive cable is the thicker, less flexible cable, where the cheaper is thinner, super flexible stuff that's great for pedalboards and patch bays.
Alright, so you picked your cable. Now what? Well, now you have to pick the business ends, which you'll find here: TS Connectors | Redco Audio.
What connector should I get?
Honestly, I usually cheap out here, as connectors are all pretty similar from my experience and believe it or not, the $1.00 Redco brand 1/4" jacks work just as good (and reliably) as the $4.46 Canare brand 1/4" jacks, and the Redco ones are actually a little easier to solder and re-solder down the road. If you want to be all baller and shit, you can grab the $20 Neutrik with the crystals on them.
But, I'd recommend sticking with Redco and the cheaper, smaller Neutrik options, such as the 224L. Nothing wrong with the more expensive Neutrik stuff, other than they're kinda bulky. I'm also no longer a big Amphenol fan as I find them a little difficult to solder (not a lot of elbow room) due to their super compact end. So, I have a shit ton of cable, and enough connectors to sink a ship. Now what? Now it's time to grab some tools.
First, you'll need a cutter. This will do: Eclipse 902-084 | Redco Audio. Though, a stripping feature would be convenient, like on this guy here: Eclipse 200-007W | Redco Audio.
Then a soldering iron: Eclipse 900-035 | Redco Audio, will be great, but a $5 Radioshack iron will do just fine for this task. Even a solder gun if you want to go all Rambo.
And of course solder: Rosin-Core Solder (1.5 Oz.) : Soldering Tools & Supplies | RadioShack.com.
If you're new to cabling and feel like doing it like a pro, grab one of these too:Behringer CT-100 Cable Tester | Musician's Friend. That little box is awesome.
Alright, you got all the shit, now how the hell do you do this?
Not going to lie, there are a hundred other YouTube videos of this task, but I chose this one for the music. Enjoy.
They use some other tools in this video, but I typically substitute those with a safety knife and my hands. I ain't afraid of no shielding.
Now shred away on your new awesome cables.
But Max, I want to make speaker cables!
Then get these cables instead: Bulk Speaker Cable | Redco Audio. You can use the same connectors posted above. I'm not going to go into detail, but NO, instrument and speaker cable are different, don't substitute one for the other. Trust me.
