The above are examples of common shielding methods and options. Not only does the methods affect the tone, but the winding density and the strength will also affect the noise and the flexibility of the cable which is a key factor to the cables.

With all the information above, we can tell from the facts that each winding method has its own characteristics and difference in sound. But the key element to the tone/sound is said to be the combination of the cable capacitance and the guitar pickups which creates the LC resonance. Broadly speaking, if the capacitance of the cable is lower, the resonance frequency will be higher, which sounds relatively flat with a bit of the high frequency being added. On the other hand, if the capacitance is higher, the resonance frequency will be lower, the high frequency tends to be a bit nasally. At the same time, it feels like the mid frequency and the low frequency is emphasized which gives you a rich and fat tone. But this doesn’t mean that the low capacitance will be preferred or recommendable. We believe that the manufacturer will decide how they wish to tune the capacitance and aim for the ideal sound. In addition, the material of the conductors, insulators, structure and the thickness of the cable will also affect the tone. Checking the cables with your own equipment/instrument by ear would be the best option to suit your style.

We decided to select the “Double-Spiral Shield” method for our Allies Cables. The double-spiral cables tend to work for the guitar players using them on stage. It works well to reduce the excess noise while keeping sufficient flexibility in the cable. Plus, the sound was very natural. For roughly three years, we tested all of the possibilities regarding density and the strength of the copper wire. At the same time, we were developing our Allies plugs, combining both the cables and plugs to test and search for the sweet spot. The flexibility and the noise balance were also a determined factor. Instead of lowering the capacitance, we mainly focused on testing and comparing the actual sound/tone of the cables by ear. As a result, we figured out that the lowest capacitance cables were not the best and suitable sounding for guitar cables. To achieve the sweet spot we figured it needed a fixed amount of capacitance.

Through countless trial and error, we came to a conclusion to proceed with a straight and natural sounding cable. Of course, it’s simple to explain in words, but this nuance can be defined differently to certain people. So, the question is “What is the foundation for getting started to develop the ideal sounding cables?” Cable engineers are not top pro-musicians, we don’t have the experience of playing over 100+ gigs a year or even being able to play in sold out arena. What we achieved was ask new friends and top guitar players to test them in their live gigging situations. We asked how the cables sounded, what they would except and desire in a cable, not only the tone but what features would make it much more usable product for touring musicians. We would like to thank all the musicians who contributed to this ongoing tone quest for our Allies cables.

After receiving feedback from the musicians, we were able to narrow down the cables and figured out where we wanted to step forward. We wanted to fulfill their necessities from their comments. We reconsidered how we can make our plugs even better for the touring and gigging scene. (Please see further details concerning our plugs). We developed, tuned and tested countless numbers of plugs and cables including other manufactured products and finally managed to accomplish the “Allies Cables”.