Okay, new update.
It occurred to me while fussing with this stock Fender speaker wire that it's pretty thin and seems like the weakest link in my whole signal chain. Why would the weakest point be right at the speaker terminal, where signal has been amplified the most? Seems dumb, but who am I to argue with decades of collective wisdom?
Well today I happened to drop by a local guitar shop for the first time in almost a year. I had nothing really in mind, just thought I’d poke around. Then I saw these on the cables rack. Divine Noise Handmade Combo Amp Cable.
So I brought it up to one of the employees, and his eyes lit up. “Those are awesome and they’re hand made here in Portland! The guy who makes them literally delivers them himself.” Then he did a demo with one, comparing to stock wire on a EVH head + cab. The difference was profound. Everything just seemed to come through clearer; sparklier highs and punchier lows.
Here it is compared side by side to the Fender stock version.
They’re not inexpensive, but have lifetime warranty. $49.50 for a 1-speaker set, $59.99 for two speaker. There are also 3- and 4-speaker options, and he does custom orders. I had some store credit and was able to get a couple with no cash out of pocket.
We spend so much time and money chasing tone with different amps, speakers, pedals, etc., but I gotta say that this one little upgrade has made a bigger difference to me than most of that stuff.
Here’s the product page. There are links to audio demos.
https://www.thedivinenoise.com/divine/p ... -amp-cable
Lots of other cables available there, too.