As I await the arrival of my Jet King bass, I decided to sink a few bucks into an item that will help to complete the entire retro-package look. It's the Bullet coiled cable - classic black.
I've been testing it out on my other basses, and so far, am duly impressed.
First, a description from the manufacturer's website:
BULLET CABLE - CLASSIC BLACK
The Original Vintage Coil Cable that helped the resurgence of retro-coil cables in the market. A modern improvement on the classic "telephone cord cables" loved by rock legends,
Bullet Cable retro Coil Cables feature oversized kink-free coils and polyethylene-potted .44 mag bullet connectors that won't pull loose during active sessions. With advanced audio technology that includes 99.99% oxygen-free copper conductors and spiral shielding in a coaxial design for clear tone, and corrosion-resistant 24K gold-plated connector tips to preserve signal strength, Coil Cables display excellent bass weight, hit hard in the mids, and caress high notes.
For a distinct effect in your signal process, we recommend that the Bullet Coil Cable be used with Guitar, Bass, and Keyboard instruments.
Bullet Cable Black Classic Coil features:
- Expands to 30 feet (9.14 meters)
- Oversized relaxed coils do not kink or lose shape
- Durable audiophile-grade materials preserve and elevate sound
- Lab-formulated jacket resists abrasion and damage from heavy stage use
- High-end audio technology maintains powerful signal without treble loss
- Polyethylene-potted connector design provides exceptional strain relief
- Precision-machined strt brass .44 mag connectors withstand the toughest abuse
- Custom-voiced for basses and guitars
- Lifetime warranty
The first thing you notice about this cable is how heavy it is. Though I didn't weigh it, it feels a good two times heavier than my Planet Waves cable of similar length.
There is a downside to this weight, but first - the good stuff.
When you plug it in, the coils drop to the floor. As you play and walk about, they uncoil only as much as is needed. The rest stay on the ground, held down by their own weight.
As you step back toward the amp, the coils will automatically retract, meaning there is never any tangling of cable under your feet.
Now, I normally play while sitting down, but every once in awhile, if the tunes are invigorating, I'll get up and groove about the room for awhile, until my back gives out.
With regular cables, if I'm on my feet, I'm always wary of tripping over or tangling up in the lengths that spread out all over the floor in my wake. This doesn't happen with the Bullet cable as it is always expanding and retracting just enough to get the job done.
You can walk away about as far as 25 feet, and as you return, the length reverts back to its original length, which is approximately 8 feet fully coiled.
No tangling and no excess cable to get underfoot.
This feature alone is worth a big thumbs up!!
Okay, the weight issue as a negative:
This cable is heavy. Really heavy. If you walk about the room or stage, the coils will mostly stay on the ground, except for the plug ends to the amp and bass. However, once you start to test the lengths of its stretch (if you walk more than about 15 feet from the amp) the cable begins to lift off the ground. This means it's now going to start putting that weight on the plug ends.
The amp end has given me no trouble.
It's the plug at the bass end that seems to bear the burden of all this uncoiled weight. It's safe to say you do not want to use this cable without support for the bass-end plug. Make sure you tuck the cable in behind your strap to take off the pressure, or you're likely going to have to deal with some plug-being-yanked-from-the-jack issues.
I have a little device that does the same thing without tucking the cable behind the strap. It's just a cheap leather strip that cost me about $3.50, but it keeps the tension of the Bullet cable off the plug.
There's also a little extra play not available if your cable is tucked behind the strap. And you don't have to continuously adjust the loop's positioning either.
It's six of one - half a dozen of the other in terms of which you prefer. My Cable Caddy is shorter than this exmple because it's looped around the entire strap, not just through a hole, so the cable doesn't hang off the back end as much as in this picture.
Point is: the Bullet Cable is going to need some support at the bass jack end.
Okay, bottom line. Love the Bullet cable. No tangling underfoot, self-retracting coils, great sound, retro look. The cost of my cable was about $55.00. I imagine this will vary depending on location, model, etc.
The Jet King's gonna love it!! I'm ready for my trip back to the Seventies!!!
Visit Bullet's website for more info on their cables:
http://coreoneproduct.com/shop/index.html
And Levy's leathers website for info on their accessories:
http://www.levysleathers.com/music
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