When Good Signal Chain is Necessary: Find out the Best Patch Cables for Pedalboard

In this day and age you can hardly do a stage performance that involves an electric guitar without having some sort of effects pedal in front of you.

In most cases it’s going to be at least a tuner, wah pedal, some kind of overdrive or distortion, compressor, and a delay. Figuring out the effects pedal order is a whole another dimension of guitar world, but one thing keeps coming up over and over. Patch cables.

What sound you are going to get with your setup doesn’t only depend on the type of pedals you have in front of you, or what kind of pickups you have on your guitar. The connection between every single element in the chain, starting from the guitar and ending at the amp, can determine whether you will have great clarity in your sound or there is going to be some noise.

One thing that can really make a difference is your choice of patch cables. If you opt for a cheaper kind, something that goes $5 a pack, you are bound to have some interference in your chain. More expensive patch cables have better connections between the cable itself and the 1/4″ jack.

We decided to show you best patch cables for pedalboard you can get. Actually, the best aftermarket patch cables you can buy. The absolute best are the ones that are custom made.

That is something you will have to look for and find in your area, or send the specs you need to a well known manufacture and have them make you some custom cables. Anyway, if you want something that is premade and readily available, check out these patch cables.

Check Out These Selection

EDITOR’S CHOICE

– Hosa CPE-112 –

Since we already stated that custom made patch cables are the absolute best you can get, the nest best thing would be something like Hosa CPE-112. These cost a bit more, but generally offer a great experience. For those who need a serious set of patch cables, Hosa CPE-112 will be a perfect choice. They are affordable enough for you to have a spare set in your gig bag, but chances are you will play many gigs before you need to replace these.

 Build Quality

Build quality of these cables is impressive for a factory made set. They feature a modular design which means that you can take them apart for maintenance and repair if something goes wrong. The plugs are securely connected to the cable with a pretty long metal shroud and an additional plastic sleeve. Hosa used Oxygen Free Copper in these cables, both in the conductor and for shielding in general.

You can expect reduced EMI and RFI interference than with a more basic set. The shape they went with is a typical horseshoe design which has its benefits and drawbacks. Overall, we wouldn’t mind using these cables on stage, even for a more important gigs. The sound is crystal clear and there is virtually no interference or noise being generated.

– GLS Audio Pedal Board 6 Inch Patch Cable Cords

In terms of general quality and overall sound, GLS Audio pedalboard 6 inch patch cables are pretty great for a premade set. Sure, they don’t offer the same quality you would find in a custom made set, but these will get you through many gigs without an issue. General consensus is that these cables do a fairly good job overall. They are somewhere in the middle of the price range, but closer to affordable at the current moment.

 Build Quality

You are looking at heavily shielded set of patch cables that come with true balanced output. The plugs are of the angled variety, which is pretty standard, but the casings are made of decent quality metal.

These are not the most polished patch cables in the world, but the plugs and the plug casings seem to be rugged enough for continuous use over a long period of time. The cable itself is coated with a durable rubber jacket so you don’t have to worry about shielding failure anytime soon. Overall, these cables are pretty good, especially at this price point.

– Donner Guitar Patch Cable 6-Pack

Lastly we have Donner Guitar Patch Cable 6-Pack which is a middle-of-the-road solution. These cables also feature a horseshoe design that may or may not fit your pedalboard depending on how you decided to connect the whole chain. It may appear that these Donners are too long, but that’s something you’re going to have to deal with since you’re getting a pre determined cable length.

 Build Quality

Build quality on Donner Guitar Patch Cable 6-Pack is decent to say the least. The cable thick with just the right amount of flexibility. The plugs sit in decent metal casings that are angled just like most patch cables. The only thing that we don’t like about this set are the metal shrouds that screw onto the plug itself.

The threads don’t inspire too much confidence, and we feel like these could have been made better overall. In terms of sound you get, Donner patch cables offer a pretty decent isolation. These are by no means professional grade patch cables, but if you don’t plan on touring around the world anytime soon, you should be more than fine with a set of Donner Guitar patch cables.

Conclusion

Patch cables are an equally important part of any serious setup. If you can get custom made cables, we strongly suggest that you do. You will be hard pressed to find something that is equal to them in terms of quality and noise reduction.

However, if that’s not something you can do at the moment, these three sets of cables will get the job done just fine. They are probably the best patch cables for pedalboard when it comes to premade models.

As long as you plan your pedalboard well and leave enough room for these cables, you shouldn’t worry too much. We say this because its better to have enough space on your board to let the cables sit freely than force them between pedals and thus put strain on both the cable and plugs.