curly guitar leads?

[indysmith]

I might give a curly chord a go; tame the highs on the '800 a bit.

[38thBeatle]

I am with Mr Bump. I switched to straight leads when they started becoming the norm.The curley ones I used were forever tangling up and the jacks were of poor quality ( at least those that I bought)/. I prefer to keep my tone intact and change it with eq as I see fit...but horses for courses.

[TwilightOdyssey]

I am with Mr Bump. I switched to straight leads when they started becoming the norm.The curley ones I used were forever tangling up and the jacks were of poor quality ( at least those that I bought)/. I prefer to keep my tone intact and change it with eq as I see fit...but horses for courses.

The difference being that an EQ has (hopefully) a very linear rate of decay at a given frequency. The curly cord is much more complex in that the rate of decay is very nonlinear across the audible frequency band. It has 'holes' which change depending how the cord is laid out, stretched, etc

Yes, the cables are heavy, cheap, and prone to tangle/breakage. But they are also musical in a way that an EQ cannot replicate.

I like using one curly lead somewhere in my cable run ... definitely changes the tone a bit. Whether it is an improvement is up to the player.

[Kilby]

I always felt that they warmed the sound a little in a way that Eq and tone controls can't.

A bit like a clean valve amp has a warmth that most solid state amps can't manage

[38thBeatle]

Well it is many many years since I had one of those leads and I bow to your superior knowledge.My grouse though was with their tangling and the fact that they lasted a short while. I suppose with decent jacks the latter would be fine  but I shall stick with straight cables.

[Gary]

So. I bought one to try on the basis of this thread - only £20 so no great loss if it turned out to be rubbish. I really like it so far. I've yet to A/B it with my usual monster cable but it sounds fine and, almost as important, looks very cool.

Here's the problem: when I hook it round my guitar strap it looks a little unsightly. I can't use the angled end as I use a Strat as well. Any suggestions?

[MrBump]

... and can you please include a shot of your head?  Has your hair gone curly?

[bucketshred]

I am with Mr Bump. I switched to straight leads when they started becoming the norm.The curley ones I used were forever tangling up and the jacks were of poor quality ( at least those that I bought)/. I prefer to keep my tone intact and change it with eq as I see fit...but horses for courses.

The difference being that an EQ has (hopefully) a very linear rate of decay at a given frequency. The curly cord is much more complex in that the rate of decay is very nonlinear across the audible frequency band. It has 'holes' which change depending how the cord is laid out, stretched, etc

Yes, the cables are heavy, cheap, and prone to tangle/breakage. But they are also musical in a way that an EQ cannot replicate.

I like using one curly lead somewhere in my cable run ... definitely changes the tone a bit. Whether it is an improvement is up to the player.

Ben, I love you to bits but I swear sometimes you and Phil make shite up just to see if we'll go out and but it all (and I mean this in the best possible way)

[PhilKing]

So. I bought one to try on the basis of this thread - only £20 so no great loss if it turned out to be rubbish. I really like it so far. I've yet to A/B it with my usual monster cable but it sounds fine and, almost as important, looks very cool.

Here's the problem: when I hook it round my guitar strap it looks a little unsightly. I can't use the angled end as I use a Strat as well. Any suggestions?

Pull it a bit tighter after you thread it through and plug it in.  It will stretch and look better.

[goddamn electric]

I've always prefered the look of curly cables but ive always used straight purely because they're easier to get hold of good ones. can anyone reccomend anywhere to get a good quality curly cable. i might have to buy one just for the look!

[PhilKing]

The new Vox ones are excellent - they are much heavier duty than the old ones.  I am just looking into the Eastwood guitar ones, and as for old ones, I've picked up a few NOS ones on ebay.

[Gary]

The one in my photo above is the vox reissue. It's a lot heavier and thicker than it looks. I was worried about having it go to a pedal board (in front of me) rather than straight into the amp (behind me) but it's no problem at all and I actually trip over it less than the straight ones I've been using.

I got it from ebay for just under £20. They had black as well but I thought the white one really looked the part.

[goddamn electric]

i might have to try a vox out then! anyone have any experience with the Fender Koilcord  cables?

[gingataff]

The Bullet Cable from Core One is supposed to be a high-end curly cable. http://www.coreoneproduct.com/pages/cableweb/cablehome.html