George L’s 225 Guitar Cable Review

The cable company George L’s epitomizes the small, boutique manufacturer. The company was began by George L. Lewis, and it quickly invented a revolutionary technology: the solderless cable tip contact. Though numerous companies now use this technology, George L’s was one of the first to push the technology. They also realized the potential the solderless contacts offered for customization; with no previous electric knowledge or equipment, customers could cut their cables to any desired length and easily reattach the tip in seconds. George L’s was widely lauded throughout the music gear industry for this innovation. Additionally, George L’s distinguished itself by using smaller gauged cables. Their most popular series is the 155 cable, which is nearly half the diameter of a standard guitar cable. However, the company also offers the 225 series, which is a more standard cable diameter and the focus of this review.

Sound

George L’s cables are generally considered to be one of the better sounding cables on the market. During the design process, the company emphasizes clarity. This translates to a relatively flat response, with little to no attenuation of the higher frequencies. While this may improve the tone of a guitar or bass, it also makes the cable quite suitable for user with a mixer or console.

Build Quality

We’ve already alluded to the high quality of all of George L’s products, but the 225 series feels particularly rugged. George L’s cables utilize a thick plastic jacket, which can stand up to years of heavy use.

Internally, George L’s cables are both similar and unique compared to their competition. As we’ve already mentioned, George L’s 225 cables feature solderless contacts. While this sounds like it would detract from the durability of the cables, George L’s proprietary tips actually clamp the wire down quite firmly, insuring a solid contact with minimal noise. However, many of the other technologies within the cable are found universally. For instance, the 225 series also features a good deal of ground shielding, meant to reduce noise and bias due to external electrical activity. Furthermore, George L’s cables utilize only ultra-pure copper, which minimizes loss of higher frequencies. These cables sport ultra-low capacitance ratings, meaning they store little to no electricity within the cable itself. While neither the ground shielding or ultra-pure copper are in any way unique to George L’s cables, they are critical in producing the crisp sound these cables are known for.

Options

Several different options exist to allow consumers to customize their cable to suit their needs. Their prepackaged cables come in 10, 15, and 20 foot options, as well as in spools of 50 to 100 feet for customers that wish to cut their own lengths. In addition, the cable comes in five colors: black, red, white, purple, and blue. For whatever reason, the blue version of the 225’s is almost always a few bucks more expensive. Finally, consumers can choose between straight and right angled tips.

Value

Due to their near legendary status, George L’s cables enjoy a much wider distribution now than ever before. Many major retailers often carry George L’s 225 series, especially in shops dedicated more to audio equipment than instruments. As one might expect, the best deals tend to be found online at places such as Amazon.

Because George L’s 225 series are custom made, boutique cables, they tend to cost substantially more than other cables. SOmetimes you’ll find a deal, but generally speaking you should expect to have to pay to play. Though this makes the cable several times more expensive than other products, its performance matches the increased price. George L’s 225 series instrument cable is definitely a luxury product, but if that’s what you’re in the market for, there are few better options.

Click here to see more pictures, read more reviews, and see prices.