D’Addario is the world’s largest maker of strings for musical instruments, and the company has also long offered an impressive line of accessories. In addition to producing capos, tuners, picks, and instrument care products, D’Addario has become one of the premier manufacturers of cables for stage and studio applications. Recently, the company added the new Braided Instrument Cable and Coiled Instrument Cable to its already extensive catalog.

The Braided Instrument Cable is styled after cloth-covered vintage cables and is available in gray, tweed, and black colors. The cable’s braided-nylon exterior provides great protection and is much more flexible than most rubber-covered cables. The cable has a coaxial, oxygen-free copper conductor with two layers of noise-rejecting shielding and a low capacitance, which are typically associated with clean sound and tonal transparency. The cables are available in lengths of ten, 15, and 20 feet, with prices starting at $29.99.

As its name implies, the Coiled Instrument Cable ($39.99) features the coiled cable design popular in the 1970s. Using the same coaxial, oxygen-free copper conductor, two layers of noise-rejecting shielding, and nickel-plated ¼-inch plugs as the braided cables, the Coiled Instrument Cable has a black rubber exterior. With a length of 30 feet when stretched out, the cable has the slightly higher capacitance of a long cable (which some believe results in a warmer tone because it reduces high frequencies) without the risk of getting tangled or becoming unwieldy, like standard cables of that length can be.

I checked out both types of cables using a Lowden O-10 guitar with an LR Baggs Anthem SL pickup, which I plugged into a Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge amp. With both cables, the high quality was immediately evident, and they both performed with great clarity and without any pops or crackles when moving around. D’Addario’s new Braided Instrument Cable and Coiled Instrument Cable are great additions to the company’s cable line, and with their high-quality components, solid construction, and good looks, they’redefinitely worth checking out! daddario.com.

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