Best Budget Guitar Cable – A Comprehensive Guide

FACTS CHECKED BY  Jose George​

Guitar cables, pedal choices, and amp play a crucial role during a setup.

They ensure a consistent and undisrupted tone and character to the sound.

A quality cable strand is a long-term investment and will suit your everyday needs depending on your use. 

Come along as we explore the best budget guitar cable in the market.  

Table of Contents

Factors to Consider When Buying

Keep the following in mind when buying a guitar cable;

Flexibility

Stiff cables twist and kink, exposing the internal copper structure and reducing the cable’s functionality.

Thus, a good quality cable should be flexible. 

Length

The length of the guitar cable will vary depending on the area of use.

Often, lengths over 20ft diminish the signal quality and become noiseless, hence may not be recommendable for guitar players. 

Connectors

Different types of connectors with similar functions have various bobs and bits at the ends, plus shapes and sizes.

Some include;

  • Speakon Connectors – The connectors boast special ports and locks for easy identification, a 30-amps rating, and specific high-power signal transmission between devices. 
  • RCA/Cinch/Phono Connectors – Besides transmitting DC power, RF, video, and audio signals, they also have color coding (Yellow-Video, Black/White-left audio, Red-Right audio). Unfortunately, due to being unbalanced, you’ll need a pair for signal or audio transmission. 
  • TRS Connectors – They can send stereo-balanced signals when necessary and transmit a second cold signal due to the added middle ring. 
  • TS Connectors – They send mono and unbalanced signals via their tips while the function of the sleeve is as ground. 
  • XLR Connectors consist of three pins; ground, cold, and hot within a circular housing. Additionally, they can send stereo information and transmit balanced audio signals crossway balanced cables. 
  • Types of Cable Shielding

Generally, Shielding helps in eliminating signal interferences, examples being;

  • Foil Shielding – It offers 100% aluminum or copper coverage, protecting the signals from EMI sources. However, due to their less flexibility, they may break when mishandled. 
  • Serve Shielding is the cheapest and offers the most flexibility but is susceptible to string sources of EMI or radio inference
  • Braided Shielding is flexible, durable, and offers approximately 70 to 95% protection from EMI interference. 
  • Balanced Vs. Unbalanced Guitar Cables

A balanced cable has a ground and two signal wires.

One of the signal wires transmits ‘hot’ signals while the second transmits ‘cold’ signals. 

Contrarily, an unbalanced cable has a ground and a signal wire.

The ground wire completes the circuit of an unbalanced audio signal carried from one cable end to the next.

Price

With guitar cables, the price point will determine the quality.

For instance, a cheap cable may bend sooner or break easily, whereas an expensive one will guarantee strength, flexibility, durability, and incredible features. 

Best Budget Guitar Cables

Mogami Gold Instrument Cable

Best Budget Guitar Cable:  Amazon purchase link

Features and Benefits 

  • First, it has a lifetime warranty.
  • Then, manufacturers use Mogami 2524 instrument cable to make it while incorporating a conductive polymer sub-shield and an ultra-high density spiral shield.
  • It also has a carbon-impregnated PVC that eradicates handling noise.
  • It is highly transparent and durable due to its oxygen-free copper core. 

Disadvantages 

  • It is expensive. 

Customer Review 

“I am amazed that a cable can make a difference. This one does.

My slightly noisy Jazz Bass gets quiet when I use this cable. Nice!”

Ernie Ball Instrument Cable

Best Budget Guitar Cable: Amazon purchase link

Features and Benefits 

  • It is durable and thus can withstand rough handling.
  • Secondly, it comes in several vibrant colors.
  • Also, it has a tangle-resistant design.
  • The tough braided exterior offers extra durability.
  • Lastly, it has low noise due to the multiple shielding layers. 

Disadvantages 

  • It might be heavy for some players. 

Customer Review 

“So far, the cables are the best ones I have. No noise or cracking noise from an amp.”

D’Addario PW-CGTPRO-10 Classic Pro Cable

Best Budget Guitar Cable:  Amazon purchase link

Features and Benefits 

  • It uses spiral shielding to ensure a noiseless signal.
  • It has oxygen-free copper conductors.
  • Additionally, it comprises Geo-Tio Neutrik connectors that assist in reliable connections.
  • It guarantees pure signal transparency because of its innovative in-out technology. 

Disadvantages 

  • None 

Customer Review

“I bought a couple of these a few years ago and have successfully used them in my home studio and on gigs.

They work just fine. Never had any issues with the plug fitting any device I use, and no shorting out, very quiet.”

Fender Performance Series Guitar Cable

Features and Benefits 

  • It has sturdy connectors and highly durable outer Shielding.
  • Other than being flexible, it is also affordable. 
  • Its outer PVC jacket protects the cable from wear and tear. 

Disadvantages 

  • Its thickness is prone to breakage when mishandled. 

Customer Review

“Classic, solid, dependable, and good price point.”

George L’s 155 Guage Cable with Straight Plugs Superbly Crafted Cables

Amazon purchase link

Features and Benefits 

  • First, it has a solderless connection and comes in vibrant colors.
  • Furthermore, it has thick outer PVC insulation.
  • The ultra-pure copper acts as a high-density braided shielding.
  • It has a crisp sound quality and ultra-low capacitance. 
  • Lastly, it has a durable construction, is flexible, and is tough. 

Disadvantages 

  • They’re on the pricier side. 

Customer Review

“High-quality cable. No noise. Quick transaction. Thank you!”

Orange Crush Instrument Cable

Best Budget Guitar Cable:  Amazon purchase link

Features and Benefits 

  • It is cost-effective with nickel-plated and hand-soldered jacks.
  • Its oxygen-free copper is of the highest grade.
  • Moreover, it has several PVC and PE cover layers that reduce interference, crackle, and noise.
  • Then, its heat-shrunk outer covering protects it from stress and damage. 

Disadvantages 

  • None

Customer Review

“Works the way they’re supposed to and looks great too.”

Lava Cable Ultramafic Cable

Best Budget Guitar Cable:  Amazon purchase link

Features and Benefits 

  • It has excellent not articulation and a minimized high-frequency roll-off.
  • Its low capacitance value lies at 23 picofarads per foot.
  • Furthermore, it has a 97% silver-plate copper shielding and a silver-plated low-strand-count copper conductor.
  • Its dielectric and purple outer jacket is a special designation that permits uninterrupted signal flow.

Disadvantages 

  • None 

Customer Review

“A very good quality, great company.”

Best Budget Guitar Cable: Monster Rock Instrument Cable

Best Budget Guitar Cable:  Amazon purchase link

Features and Benefits 

  • The outer Duraflex jacket protects the cable against rough handling. 
  • It has a corrosion resistance feature thanks to the 24-carat, gold-plated plugs. 
  • There are added wire networks that enhance and retain the tone character of the instrument.
  • There’s low handling noise courtesy of the carbon-infused polymer shield and transparent plus clear tone due to the high-density 95% copper braided shielding. 

Disadvantages 

  • A little weighty. 

Customer Review

“I have a very large pedalboard, and I needed the best quality to avoid loss of tone. I use it for live shows, and the truth is that there’s no problem.”

Best Budget Guitar Cable: Asterope Pro Studio Series Cable

Best Budget Guitar Cable: Amazon purchase link

Features and Benefits 

  • It has PVC jackets that greatly stabilize the conductor.
  • The barbed collar bracket ensures reliability and durability.
  • The twin-axial 99.9% ultra-pure oxygen-free copper also has a 10’ cable with 95% cross-braided tin copper shielding. 

Disadvantages 

  • None 

Customer Review

Awesome quality cable. I haven’t had any issues with it, and the sound of my amp is amazing.”

Best Budget Guitar Cable: GLS Audio Professional Series Guitar Cables

Best Budget Guitar Cable: Amazon purchase link

Amazon purchase link

Features and Benefits 

  • It is very affordable and has an oxygen-free copper core.
  • It also has a sturdy, tweed outer jacket.
  • It further relieves pressure from specific cable points using a triple strain relief system while also handling noise via dual copper shielding. 

Disadvantages 

  • It can tangle up easily. 

Customer Review

“I was impressed by the price for the quality of the goods. To my ears, it works as well as the cables costing 2 to 3 times as much.”

Conclusion

Every guitarist dreams of having a quality guitar cable despite being on a budget.

Luckily, looking into a few essential factors like Shielding, flexibility, length, and connectors should keep you ahead of the game.

Moreover, you may start your search by using our top ten list. 

If you need more clarifications, kindly contact us.