Slightly off-topic - Gold pltaed plug

[Phorhas]

I head a disscussion betwwen a few players yesterday about guitar cable. all of the we're into gold plated $100 per ft. cables. I told the that the golden tip means nada and I personaly use Klotz cable which are both cheap and very hi quality (I use NuTrik plag - not gold plated)...

Sience the real expert are hear, I wnated to ask - gold tips - does it worth the $$$?

[markr04]

I head a disscussion betwwen a few players yesterday about guitar cable. all of the we're into gold plated $100 per ft. cables. I told the that the golden tip means nada and I personaly use Klotz cable which are both cheap and very hi quality (I use NuTrik plag - not gold plated)...

Sience the real expert are hear, I wnated to ask - gold tips - does it worth the $$$?

Absolutely not. The gold guitar cables are both hype and myth. Do some searching on the internet and you will find tons scientific data that clearly debunks the so-called "advantages" of gold-plated cables (and the myth about 99.999% oxygen-free cables too). There is an advantage to gold, but it has nothing to do with sound/tone/anything you would ever hear: gold doesn't oxidize like other materials. This would be an advantage if guitar cable tips actually oxidized - and cut out because of it, but I've never seen one. RCA cables and jacks though, by design, are inherently more susceptible to oxidization. That's why most of these are gold-plated.

Unfortunately, the ones who buy into these sorts of myths and defend them have merely bought into the hype created by the cable manufacturers' marketing departments. People who got suckered into this aren't likely to admit it to themselves or others, and they will vigorously defend their big purchases. You can't blame them though - it's human nature. Your best bet is to always ask around, as you did.

I hope this helps.

[Phorhas]

That sire explained a thing or two

have you got some link to cable related articles?

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

have you got some link to cable related articles?

Here's a start: www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/cables.htm

[markr04]

That sire explained a thing or two

have you got some link to cable related articles?

I'm sorry, I don't. I'll elaborate some though, and give you some figures which are accurate. This is based on conductance, which is a very important factor in cables.
(lower numbers are better)
Silver: 1.59
Copper: 1.72
Gold: 2.44
Auminum: 2.84
Platinum: 10.0
Tin: 11.5

Aluminum isn't used, but I added its conductance to show the minute difference between it and gold - shocking, ain't it? Copper beats gold, and silver is best. Platinum is barely better than tin. lol... where are the platinum cables?

It's all about what is going to grab your attention and convince you to buy the product. The markup on gold in the audio industry is atrocious. But is silver or copper going to be more appealing than gold? Not likely. Or maybe it will be now that you've seen the real numbers.

You won't likely find silver connectors because it tarnishes and oxidizes so badly. Specialty, high-end audio and video cables do have some silver in the wiring. I haven't seen any for guitar.

This part is my own opinion and experience: shielding, flexibility, and good tip connections are the most important factors in a cable. Stick with copper and avoid the marketing hype.

Mark

[markr04]

Actually, I left this out because I assumed it was common knowledge - and it probably isn't. This is about gold-plated tips:

You could have a 10' guitar cable made with an ounce of gold in the tips and, let's say, platinum wiring. The conductive/resistive/etc. properties of that guitar cable will be comprised of its weakest link: the platinum.
Likewise with copper wires and gold tips (which is probably what you were referring to begin with). The better copper properties would be reduced to gold's properties.

My example was extreme, and there could be some exceptions to the rule with extreme lengths of wiring. (I wonder if I could 'ex'change more 'ex'pressions to type more 'ex' words. lol)

I'm off. It's late. I hope I was of help to you.

[cd]

You don't even need the gold for anti-oxidation purposes if you keep a rag or scouring pad handy to keep your plugs clean.  I have seen/used a lot of cables with dirty/oxidized plugs that cut in/out, cleaning them always fixes them up good as new.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Something about gold plated plugs, the plating is REALLY thin usually, and some plugs are rated for as few as 10  or so times use, for example the cheap gold plated RCA connectors for hi-fi, the idea is that you will only be setting up your hi fi a few times. For rock & roll use, i think you would need EXPENSIVELY thick gold  

[sir_modulus]

ya and as I think someone explained: you have like 10' of wire, isn't that more important than like the 1 inch of connector. Besides, your going to have a wire with a whole 2 ohms of resistance extra. If your lucky and use 1M resistors in your pedals, you may only get 2-5K extra. Wouldn't that 2k - 5k of extra resistance affect your signal? Thats my 2uf on the the issue.

[petemoore]

I dunno sept to say I've seen some dinjey looking old cables that had troubles making connections..same goes for the jacks.
 They get cruddied, and exposed to elements and chemicals, and can lose the sheen and conductivity to a great extent...cleaning sometimes fixes them.
 The gold ones I bought into [monster] don't seem to have faded even the slightest amout, and all work very well still. They are definitely the least problematic cables I've ever had.
 As long as you're using newer quality stuff, I think you'll get long term performance.
 I still say spending on the gold tipped monsters was a great move.
 I've seen many cable issues, but after years of use, none with the monsters yet.
 Right now I have a 'regular' plug tip issue...I'll have to try cleaning it. It needs to be pulled/twisted or touched for it to work..the jack is in a new Yamaha Keyboard.

[niftydog]

all of the we're into gold plated $100 per ft. cables.

well, unless they're also into modifying their pedals, amps and DI boxes it's a complete load of bulls#*t.

Gold plated plugs won't stop your cheap ass nikel plated sockets from oxidising! :|

So you've got your guitar socket, plug through two or three effects, into a DI box, into your amp, from your amp to the speaker...

there's 11 or so cheap ass nikel plated jack sockets that could ALL be oxidised to some extent... not to mention what's going on with the sound reinforcement equipment (which is what most people hear at a big gig anyway!)

What they need is some CRC 2-26 or some Deoxit Dn5 or similar, and some steel wool or very fine grade wet and dry garnet paper.