Instrument Cables

American Musical Supply is excited to be your stop for 1/4" instrument cables – including guitar cables, bass cables, keyboard cables, and cables that can be used with drum machines, samplers, and other audio hardware. We offer True 0% interest payment plans - applying is easy. Use your own debit or credit card, enjoy fast and free shipping, and add 1/4” instrument cables to your creative setup.

We make buying 1/4" instrument cables quick and easy - in-stock items that are ordered before 5PM will ship out the same day! (see our Shipping Information Page for more details) Do you have questions about 1/4" instrument cables and want to know which items would be best for you? Give us a call at 800-319-9043 - our experts are standing by.

What is an instrument cable? A 1/4 inch instrument cable, also known as a TS (tip-sleeve) cable, is generally used to move unbalanced mono signal. These TS cables are straightforward - having audio signal travel over the positive ‘tip’ (T) with a ground in the ‘sleeve’ (S). However, due to this unbalanced TS design, extra noise and audio inconsistencies may occur over very long cable runs. It helps to keep your TS cables on the shorter end of things while still remaining comfortable and flexible during your performances.

Most commonly, electric guitars, acoustic-electric guitars, electric bass guitars, keyboards, and audio devices use 1/4 inch TS cables to connect to amplifiers. Most keyboards have two 1/4 inch outputs – which means you’ll need a cable for both the ‘left’ and ‘right’ to move signal in stereo. Otherwise you can just connect one cable to the properly marked output and move that signal in mono. In addition to amplifiers, you can also use these cables to connect your instrument directly to an input channel on a mixer or audio interface (many of these devices allow either unbalanced or balanced 1/4 inch connections).

If you’re an instrumentalist looking for an extra layer of stability and flexibility in your signal chain, a direct box changes the signal from unbalanced to balanced, which helps eliminate the noise issue over long distances. There are both active direct boxes (powered) and passive direct boxes (unpowered) that are suited to different applications and connection types. An example of a DI box in action would be connecting your electric guitar cable and its unbalanced guitar signal to a direct box input and then running the now-balanced direct box output to a mixer/house PA system at the back of the performance venue.

Patch cables (sometimes called effects pedal cables) are short 1/4 inch TS cables ranging from six inches to two feet long for chaining your guitar effects or bass guitar effects together. These cables make it incredibly easy to arrange your effects in order on a pedalboard, making setup a breeze. Simply go from your guitar or bass into the input of your first pedal, then go from the output of that pedal into the input of the next pedal. Repeat as needed until you get to your last pedal output, which will now run into your amplifier’s input. For additional information on properly ordering the placement of your pedals in the signal chain, be sure to take a look at the AMS ‘Pedal Flow 101’ Buyer’s Guide.