Lava Cable Solderless Patch Cables?

[Wooley]

I have had a pretty miserable 2-year run with George L's patch cables, which has finally culminated in my band-mates insisting that I replace them.

What is the consensus on The Lava Solderless cables I see for sale at ToneFactor?

Do people find these reliable, or should I expect more of the same from any solderless cable (ie, ear-splitting pops, crackles, and/or hum that is louder than my guitar signal, blowing band-mates and the audience away whenever the cables get bumped)?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Bobster]

hmm, being solderless, i dun see how much more reliable it is gonna be as compared with the George Ls that you currently have. If you're pedalboard is always changing, i suggest getting soldered ones with neutrik heads to give you greater reliability.

[elkym]

My guess without much experience is the connectors themselves and how they're put together the first time... as I have a used set of George L's and I've never had any problems... :dunno

[starfish]

I recently converted to the Lava Mini ELC solderless. They are rock solid and there is no comparison strength wise or sound wise to GL's. The sound is very clear and balanced whereas the GL's have an upper mid focus, which isn't necessarily bad. It's a matter of tonal preference.

However, the Lava solderless are in a reliability class of their own. Once you create a couple cables you get the hang of it. It is very different from assembling a GL. The shield connection is 360º so the cable does not short out. This was the flaw with GL where the shield connection is made by the thumbscrew cutting through the jacket and hitting the shield in a single point which can fail ultimately due to any number of factors.

I never really had complete cable failures with GL's. However, over time my signal strength would fluctuate and if I wiggled the cables to test, I often found a weak connection. It just became weak with movement over time since they were solid after assembly. This became a source of frustration which was ultimately cured by switching to Lava solderless.

[cbpickin]

I recently converted to the Lava Mini ELC solderless. They are rock solid and there is no comparison strength wise or sound wise to GL's. The sound is very clear and balanced whereas the GL's have an upper mid focus, which isn't necessarily bad. It's a matter of tonal preference.

However, the Lava solderless are in a reliability class of their own. Once you create a couple cables you get the hang of it. It is very different from assembling a GL. The shield connection is 360º so the cable does not short out. This was the flaw with GL where the shield connection is made by the thumbscrew cutting through the jacket and hitting the shield in a single point which can fail ultimately due to any number of factors.

I never really had complete cable failures with GL's. However, over time my signal strength would fluctuate and if I wiggled the cables to test, I often found a weak connection. It just became weak with movement over time since they were solid after assembly. This became a source of frustration which was ultimately cured by switching to Lava solderless.

+1 to everything, including the same issues with George L's. The Lava is totally reliable and can't come apart by design. You can bend them and route them however you want and they stay solidly connected. Big tonal improvement also. I noticed a difference immediately and I didn't expect to. It was dramatic.