George L's Vintage Red Effects Cable Kit

The benefits are pretty enticing: better-quality, custom-length patch cords. And all you have to do is cut to length & screw together? Let's go!First, I allowed two hours as project time. Set up the pedal board, carefully plotted cable lengths. Needed at least ten so I bought two sets of these.Cut & assembled, testing each one immediately for functionality (guitar > amp). And there my troubles began.Most took several attempts -- as many as half a dozen, sometimes requiring re-cutting. Which creates its own problem, because if you cut precisely what you need, the re-cut is then too short. Fortunately there is way more cable than needed [I used only one set's cable, with the other left over], but that does mean measuring & cutting again.Two hours later, I had ten tested & assembled cables. Plugged in everything, hooked up all effects, turned on amp, and strum. Noise, no signal. This after having individually tested each cable as it was assembled.Meanwhile, I had band practice to make, so I put them all aside & used my previous factory cables, all of which worked fine, some of which I have been using for over 15 years. That's 15 years of reconfiguring pedal boards, plugging & unplugging, throwing into boxes etc. Compared to these brand-new ooo-la-la custom cables.Recently I pulled out the George L's again. Testing four of similar length showed *none* of them passing a signal, which seemed pretty incredible when I knew they'd already tested successfully upon completion. So I immediately tested all four again, and three passed.Just for reference, I was once trained as a certified electro-mechanical assembler (to military & NASA specs), so it's not like I don't know what constitutes electrical continuity. As I screwed & unscrewed these plugs over & over, I was wishing I could just grab a soldering iron instead -- then I'd know it was done right & would work.I don't question the glowing reports by others here -- I read all the reviews before I bought them, so I expected it could take a little trial-and-error to get them right. I don't doubt that if you get them working once, don't put any bend on them during installation, and never move them again, they might work fine.But as I look at my current board, I see one -- that's right, one -- of my George L cables in current use [it's the right length & those right-angle plugs are sure handy]. I do use some of the others sometimes, but I don't know that I'd want to bring them to a gig. If I set up my rig on stage & there's no signal in my chain, the last culprit I want is a fancy DIY cable that worked fine when I assembled it.

Great sound. Definite improvement over my stock cables. Greater clarity and smoothness. However still a bit of a pain to get the jacks attached properly. You need to check each cable as you assemble it, because only about half work on the first try. But once they work, they usually function properly. However, I wouldn't recommend using them on any connections that will move, like from your guitar to an amp or pedal board. That constant movement will cause problems after awhile. They work best in a pedal board, where the pedals are stationary. They are also very pliable and fit into the tight spaces of a pedal board very easily.

I've been a musician for over a decade, i have seen the far corners of the world looking for great practical cables, turns out this wonderful option is not only the most simple to put together but it's also the greatest for sound, no dirt or hiss.Loved them!!