You can buy a cord for $15 or $150, or anywhere in between. Nobody wants to lose tone, so what's the right call to make? I don't know, but you be the judge.
Following are sound samples for four cords.
They are, from left to right, the Mogami Platinum, the PlanetWaves Circuit Breaker, a Fender cord that comes as case candy, and a Guitar Center bargain cord.
Bargain Cord
It's about 10 feet long, and purchased because of it's brilliant color. Some of these I've had before have had their connections come loose or stop working.
Fender Cord
Appeared like a single sock, apparently from nowhere. It's about 10 feet long too. I had another a long time ago, and the connection on one end became intermittent, so it went to the big jam in the sky. This one still represents.
PlanetWaves Circuit Breaker
About 20 ft long, and so facing a bigger challenge here than the other cords, this cord is pretty expensive. It can set you back 40 or 50 bucks at guitar center. Definitely the ends seem more sturdy than the first two cords. The big feature is the "circuit breaker" button that if pressed silences the cord so you can do silent guitar swaps or just turn your guitar off without touching the amp. No more big banging noises from your cord tip. Another feature is the nice bungie attached to the cord so you can secure it rolled up. The tips look like Cylon technology.
Mogami Platinum
This is 12 ft of cord goodness, and weighs in at $100. The cable is the thickest, and it sports some strong looking ends, one of which is a neutrik silent connector. It has a spring loaded sleeve that silences the cable whenever it is not plugged in. Avoids the popping when you plug in to your amp or switch guitars. Same effect as the Planet Waves. The package comes with a warning that you have to adjust your settings due to the awesome transparency of the tone transmission. I didn't do that. This cord looks like the cord Delta Force would use if they parachuted into your Club and miked up.
Testing procedure:
They got plugged into a custom shop strat, sporting Custom Shop '69 strat pickups and RS guitarworks electronics. Neck pickup, all pots wide open.
I ran them straight into the Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue, no pedals.
I start by plugging the guitar in (so you hear the pop, and lack of pop on the more expensive cords), then played a couple of open chords, some low notes, some barre chords and then a few high notes, and then unplug. This goes for about 30 seconds. Then I repeat the same thing, but with a twist. The cords pass through an RF crucible.
I cut this work light on and then call my cell phone from the wireless phone. Honestly, the phone call (like most phone calls) seemed to be of no importance, but the light added sound in the mix. It could have come from the guitar, but I believe it was from the cable. Then after those two samples, I do a few seconds of the guitar plugged in and then the light cut on next to the cord, left on a few seconds, and then cut off.
So, are they worth it on tone? The more expensive cables seem better built and have the anti-pop feature. But the PlanetWaves sets you back about $50 and the Mogami is a cool $100.
Below are cord samples.
The first is a Guitar Center Bargain Cord. (10 ft)
The second is a Fender, like you get as case candy. (10 ft)
The third is a Planet Waves Circuit Breaker. (20 ft)
The fourth is a Mogami Platinum. (12 ft)
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