List Price: $49.99
Street Price: $34.99

Within the last few years there has been an instrument cable renaissance. High end and boutique cables have become all the rage and vogue. And in turn the prices are usually very high and availability seems to be a little low due to the fact that usually only high end stores are carrying premium cables.

Fender Musical Instruments has decided to jump into the boutique cable game with two entries - the Gold and Platinum series cables. The Gold series is a mid-priced premium cable. Fender seems pretty smart with this excursion, not only do they have a huge market share in the music store, with which to better place these new products, thus overcoming the availability issue, but they also have introduced a cable at a lower price point. Seems like a win-win situation.

The first thing one notices about these cables is the packaging; they come in a nice, attractive box with a flip open lid which nicely displays the product. The lid is magnetic which keeps it shut until someone wants to open or look at the product. I have to admit it is one of the best presentation/packaging efforts I have ever seen, especially in the music industry. The packaging gives the cables an instant high-end look, feel, and appeal.

The cable itself is look very well made and exudes quality. I really like the proprietary right angle plug (I have always been a fan of right angle plugs). This cable is thick and feels almost gig-proof, although is anything really gig-proof?

An interesting aspect of this cable, and a few others on the market, is that it has multiples of cores. The idea is that different sized cores carry different frequencies. Large cores carry bass better and smaller cores carry the mid and upper frequencies. The Fender Gold Bass cable has two large cores for bass and four groups of smaller cores to carry the mid and upper frequencies. Fender uses 99.99% purity Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) conductors, which is par for the course in cables. For maximum noise isolation from electromagnetic and radio frequency interference they also utilize two separate shields. It also has a built-in/sewn-on cable tie.

I play bass in a Hawaiian Band/Polynesian Revue with dancers and fire dancers...the works; I was looking for a new cable to replace my ailing one and happened upon the Fender Gold Bass Cable. I decided to give it a try. To be honest with you, I have avoided the whole boutique cable movement, not seeing enough of a quality increase to support the price. With this cable price being only slightly more than the usual cables I buy, I decided to try it.

I devised a plan to test the cable on my way home. I took four cables ranging from cheap to this mid-priced premium cable, plugged my bass directly into a recording input and recorded the same bass line four times, once with each cable. The cheap cable was one of the cables you get free in your inexpensive guitar purchase. You know they type, molded ends, one straight and one right angle. These are about as cheap a cable as they come. The other cables were cables available at most retailers everywhere. The quality of these cables were listed as "Standard" (a Quantum Brand Cable) and "Ultra" (a RapCo Road Hog cable with gold tips).

I recorded the bass lines, being sure not to change any settings what so ever. I used no preamp, EQ or anything; I was going for the purest tone I could get. I then sent these test tracks out to various players I knew through out the US, I ended up with 10 testers, most musicians; one was a self-proclaimed audiophile of a bass playing buddy. I put all of the recordings onto one track and told everyone they were randomly placed, I actually placed them from cheapest to most expensive. We'll get to the results in a minute.

In my recording experience I noticed quite a few things:

• As the cable quality went up, the sound became better. It became more true to the instrument. The cheap cable signal had a lot of overtones and upper frequency to it and not a lot of bass. As the quality went up so did the bass and the unwanted tones were cut, the tone was purer.
• The signal from the cable to the input became progressively hotter with each cable, they were sending better signals.
• From my studio monitors I noticed the following: The difference from the cheapest cable to the "Standard" was a large improvement. "Standard" to "Ultra" was not as noticeable a difference, but it did offer better bass and a hotter signal. The difference between "Ultra" and the Fender Gold Bass Cable was even less, the signal was not hotter, but my bass was more defined across the entire spectrum, it was not a huge difference, very subtle in fact.

As for the listening results - 8 out of 10 could not tell any difference, the audiophile included. I was one of the ten; the other was a good bass playing pal of mine. He noted that the last recording (the Fender cable) was too bassy and that he liked the first take (cheapest cable) because it had better range and more of a tone he liked. Interesting, to say the least. Remember I did not change any settings, and setup the initial recording for the cheapest cable, so I agree it may have been too bassy from that aspect. The Fender Gold Bass Cable did as promised and offered more bass signal.

In the boutique cable world one has to wonder where the quality and price barrier ends. Is a guitar cable worth upward of $100+? Is the quality that much better? Does an $80 cable perform better than a $15 cable? Ultimately the decision is for the buyer and user to make.

The Fender Gold Bass cable did as promised offering a truer bass tone. When I first plugged it in and used it at a gig I had to change the setting on my amp to compensate. I am happier with this cable for my bass. For me it did make a difference. I would recommend giving the new Fender Premium cables a try, remember though, only your ear can tell you what is best.

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