Who Makes the Actual Flattest Patch Cables in 2022?

[johnetone]

So far, EBS still appears to be the winner of this category. But has anyone seen a depth comparison of the current contenders in the flat patch cable segment?

Mahalo!

 

[Flatscan]

EBS has been better than Warwick or Donner for me. The highest-end Warwicks are very, very stiff and the plugs are not small (returned them).

I run EBS' lowest capacitance cables before buffers and their Golds after.

The Golds have a smaller footprint and their cables can be more readily folded to fit in tight spaces.

 

[nnnnnn]

Are you asking about how flat the cables are or how flat the plugs are?

 

[johnh]

I love my EBS gold patch cables. I like the fact that the cables are quite flexible and the plugs are tiny. I’ve also found the to be very reliable. I sold all my EA patch cables and I’m very happy with the EBS.

 

[antinul]

In my experience I’ve actually been able to get two pedals closer together using Tour Gear cables. But it’s not because they’re flatter, but because the ends of the cable are smaller. M Maka is similar to tour gear (and some others I think) but I got a bad M Maka cable once and once was enough. They probably all come from the same factory in China anyway, who knows?

 

[Kristal_McKinstry]

I can see wanting flat patch cables from an ergonomic perspective, but as electronic design it makes no sense; You'd just be increasing the surface area of the wire &/or shielding relative to the conductor cross-section area and inviting radio interference.

 

[johnetone]

Are you asking about how flat the cables are or how flat the plugs are?

Plugs

 

[johnetone]

I can see wanting flat patch cables from an ergonomic perspective, but as electronic design it makes no sense; You'd just be increasing the surface area of the wire &/or shielding relative to the conductor cross-section area and inviting radio interference.

The copper inside is not flat. The rubber ribbon jacket is. Or at least this is how the EBS is done:

 

[Kristal_McKinstry]

The copper inside is not flat. The rubber ribbon jacket is. Or at least this is how the EBS is done:

View attachment 638567

Well I'm glad the core is sound, but unless the outer jacket is just there to have something to grab, or at least stop flexure on one axis, wouldn't something like a tighter diameter braided-nylon shell make more sense?

 

[Purple_Plexi]

Well I'm glad the core is sound, but unless the outer jacket is just there to have something to grab, or at least stop flexure on one axis, wouldn't something like a tighter diameter braided-nylon shell make more sense?

The EBS noodles look cleaner.

 

[johnetone]

Well I'm glad the core is sound, but unless the outer jacket is just there to have something to grab, or at least stop flexure on one axis, wouldn't something like a tighter diameter braided-nylon shell make more sense?

I think it is somewhat negligible. But they do kinda fold and tuck nicely. since most of the noodles I use between cables tend to be on a flat plane, the flat cabling seems to be just fine.

 

[dancehall]

Anyone actually compared EBS to Ernie Ball? They seem almost the same size.

 

[Kristal_McKinstry]

Plugs

Oh. Well this thread went south then.

 

[johnetone]

Nah, I think it's cool to discuss all the aspects of them. I just am basically wondering which ones actually take up the least amount of depth if they are plugged in directly next to each other.

I just don't really care for those one piece 1/4" male turnarounds because even in a situation where the exact same brand is being used side by side, a flexible pedal board can lead to a bit of unwanted stress on the pedal.

All of this comes from not wanting my board to be any bigger than 24" wide, but still wanting about 12 - 14 full sized pedals on it. I wish everyone did topjacks and this wouldn't be much of an issue. But Spaceman still does sidejacks and therein lies my rub.

 

[Jess 1971]

Nah, I think it's cool to discuss all the aspects of them. I just am basically wondering which ones actually take up the least amount of depth if they are plugged in directly next to each other.

I just don't really care for those one piece 1/4" male turnarounds because even in a situation where the exact same brand is being used side by side, a flexible pedal board can lead to a bit of unwanted stress on the pedal.

All of this comes from not wanting my board to be any bigger than 24" wide, but still wanting about 12 - 14 full sized pedals on it. I wish everyone did topjacks and this wouldn't be much of an issue. But Spaceman still does sidejacks and therein lies my rub.

I would be careful about trying to cram too many pedals too closely together. While it certainly makes for a nice and tidy-looking pedalboard, in practice, having so much so close together can pose other problems. No one wants a huge and unwieldy board, but I'd personally rather have something that's slightly wider if it means a much more ergonomic and practical layout of my pedals.

I recently rewired an entirely new pedalboard with the Ernie Ball flat cables, and it's been great. Very tidy and secure. I did need to make one custom length Lava cable, but otherwise the EB flats completely covered me. While I guess they're not the flattest plugs, they're flat enough, IMO.

 

[johnetone]

My board is fairly ergo. Everything is oriented regularly except a couple mini pedals. Basically I’m trying to fit 25” of pedals on a 24” board. And these flat patchers make it work pretty well.

 

[chromewaves]

Anyone actually compared EBS to Ernie Ball? They seem almost the same size.

just pulled out my calipers.

EBS Gold plug - 0.2"
EBS regular - 0.225"
Ernie Ball ribbon - 0.2565"

 

[Flatscan]

Appreciating the science, I have not noticed an increase in radio interference and I'm now making extensive use of EBS on multiple boards. My perception is that the radio-interference issue is "pedal-dominated" in the relevant range.

The lower capacitance of the highest-end EBS cables is definitely worthwhile pre-buffers (fuzz for me) if you can tolerate the increased plug size.

 

[supergenius365]

All (maybe 5-6) of my Gold EBS have exposed wire where it meets the plug. None of the Silver/regular ones have that problem.

 

[JRC4558Dude]

It's like, "How flat can it be?"

And the answer is: "None. None more flat"