Newbie needs your help …
Which cable length should I buy … 10ft. or 20ft. ?
Also, should I buy a (straight/straight) or… (straight/right angle)?
That’s all I need to get started with my first bass lesson.
Thanks,
4th Stringer
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If you are going to be sitting while playing then ten feet should be fine. If you are standing in a bigger space and moving around then maybe 20, but most of the time a ten foot cable should fine.
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a cable long enough to go from where your bass will be to where your amp/audio interface will be.
I like straight plugs because they fit all my basses/guitars, if you only have a front output jack on your bass you could get a 90 on one end if you like.
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Whatever you buy is never long enough.
Go big, thank me later.
I like the straight/angle cables - straight end into pedalboard, angle into bass - makes for looping through strap easier and cleaner. If a bass needs a straight end, I just flip it round, best of both worlds.
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Go long!
Some basses are better suited for straight plugs and some for right angle plugs. I have a bunch of all different configurations. For starters, go with the straight ones until you get it sorted. You’ll eventually end up with as many cables as I have.
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I second this.
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Never in my life did I think I would ever have hundreds of dollars worth of cables, but here we are.
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+1 The angle end always is tolerable someplace and is really nice in some cases.
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I’ll hop on board, I like straight/angle because then I have options. None of my bass jacks are recessed into the bass body, so I generally use the angle side into my bass whether the jack is on the front or side. Sometimes the straight sticks out to far and gets in the way, especially if I am standing by a table.
As for length, I started with a 10’, next bought a 15’, and now I buy just 20’s
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All my cables are too long, I wish they were shorter 
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I have 2 cables and I only use one of them 
and I’m sure I spent less than $30 on both of them.
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that’s going to let the electricity leak out 
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If the smoke doesn’t get out, there’s no problem.
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Me, too. I’ve got two 10-footers. One is a spare.
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I have three. Two are in a drawer never used. I would sell them but they are so cheap there’s no point.
I would go straight/angle myself. I do have one bass where an angle won’t work but that’s no problem, I just flipped the cable around.
As a general rule of thumb, if the jack is recessed straight works better; if it is not and is in the side of the bass then angled works better; if it is on the front, mileage varies.
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I’ve got two 10 footers and one 20 footer. All are right angle/straight plugs. I haven’t used any of them since a went wireless.
If you have an Ibanez SR type input jack, straight/straight might make more sense.
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Myself. 99% wireless these days.
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10ft is plenty long until it’s not. But if you need longer sometime 20ft is not long enough. So skip the long ones and just get 10ft. When you need it for stage then get one longer.
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Wise words, Al.
1 Like