Monster Cables Twisting in the Breeze

Keith Cordell · Post by **Keith Cordell** » 22 Apr 2008 10:44 am

I read the letter and the interview linked at the bottom. I wish this guy made instrument cables, I'd buy from him just as an applause for the guts shown. Monster has been forcing these companies to pay or die for a really long time. When I worked for Guitar Center I could have great sales numbers but be "counseled" if I wasn't selling enough Monster product with the guitars and effects. It is pervasive in the industry these days, and I seriously think that every small cable maker/distributor should be showing some serious respect.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 22 Apr 2008 11:55 am

What I especially hope for is for this story to go viral. I originally picked it up on another BB and have done my part in trying to propagate it. Everyone seems to have bad experience with Monster or at least just a bad taste in their mouth about them. Seems like there's a whole lot of people that can appreciate the karma play unfolding before their eyes. Ideally this puts a serious hurt on the bozos at Monster. Oh crap--now Bozo's gonna sue me. Krusty'll save me.

Oh crap, now Rupert Murdock's suing me.

I'm a Monster.

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 22 Apr 2008 7:20 pm

There is a sucker born every minute.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 22 Apr 2008 11:02 pm

Bo Borland wrote:There is a sucker born every minute.

I think these days it's closer to "every second" instead of "every minute".

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 16 Mar 2009 9:41 pm

Ok somebody put your money where your mouth is and tell me the name of a way cheaper cable that compares to the Monster besides George L's which I quit using years ago.
Who needs a life time warranty? I never wear one out. I lose them as in they get borrowed and never returned, sometimes when I'm not looking.

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 16 Mar 2009 10:27 pm

Bo, Why did you quit using George L's?

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 16 Mar 2009 11:17 pm

I like the Quantum Audio Designs Q2100 Oxygen-free series pretty well. They're not much more than the usual inexpensive suspects and sound a large cut above them to my ears.

QUANTUM AUDIO DESIGNS, INC.--P.O. Box 130, Benton, Missouri 63736. Telephone: (573) 545-4404. Toll-free telephone: 888-545-4404. Fax: (573) 545-4411. I can't recall how we got these, but I imagine they can tell you where to get them.

A bunch of places like Elderly's carries Quantum cables, but I'm not sure they're the same exact ones I have. I like the Q2100 series specifically. To my knowledge, they make their own wire.

I know that some people don't like the George L's cables because of the small diameter and the fact that they can get twisted up. But they really are great cables from a signal clarity point of view, to my tastes.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 17 Mar 2009 6:42 am

Cable snobs - how did music ever make it in the days before all these esoteric products were available? Once again, progress has succumbed to marketing.

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 17 Mar 2009 8:06 am

Brint Hannay

Bo, Why did you quit using George L's?

Brint, I liked the solder less jacks from B L & G L but I had that skinny cable that we all used years back and I purchase a lot of it and had to use it with both B L & G L jacks. I’m not sure but I think it was B L cable.

My issue was with the cable. It just didn’t seem to fit any of the jacks right and
seemed to rob volume and tone.

I changed to the” buy em by the dozen” molded patch chords and whatever was on the shelf 10, 15 and 20 ft cables.

My sound was noticeably better with off the shelf and people didn’t steal as many of my non-fancy cables as they did my B Ls and G Ls.

I’m gonna look in storage and see if I can find some of that cable and check the name on it before I go bull istic on somebody’s cable.

Jim Peters · Post by **Jim Peters** » 17 Mar 2009 1:51 pm

Bo, try a Carvin cable, if you don't like it, I'll buy it from you. JP

Frank Freniere · Post by **Frank Freniere** » 17 Mar 2009 4:41 pm

What a hoot!

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 18 Mar 2009 12:21 pm

Meanwhile it's fun to think about Monster squirming while the world watches.

I've watched thousands of movies. Take it from me...the monster always gets killed in the end.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 30 Dec 2009 2:16 pm

Do any of you Forumites know how this turned out?

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 31 Dec 2009 11:33 am

Lee, try this link.
http://www.audioholics.com/news/industr ... rikes-back

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 31 Dec 2009 12:25 pm

I believe that's the same link Jon referenced in his original post. I just wonder if Monster ever responded to the letter or if they decided to drop it. There are several other cases of Monster suing other companies, for using the word "monster". Such craziness.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 1 Jan 2010 7:32 am

Lee, this statement appears on Blue Jeans Cable's home page. Apparently, Monster is content to let sleeping dogs lie, at least for the time being.

Monster Cable recently (March 28, 2008) wrote to us claiming that we had infringed various design patents and trademarks owned by it or by its intellectual property holding company in Bermuda, Monster Cable International, Ltd. We reviewed the patent and trademark filings submitted by Monster Cable, and found that Monster's claims were completely frivolous--so frivolous, in fact, that there was something amusingly appropriate about the fact that Monster's letter had arrived in our mailbox on April Fools Day.

We wrote back to Monster's counsel on April 14, 2008, to demand that if Monster wishes to convince us that we have infringed its intellectual property, it at least take the trouble to identify the correct patents and trademark registrations on which it relies, and explain its position in a way that identifies some plausible, nonfrivolous claim. Along the way, we also let Monster know that we have no intention of being bullied by anyone, no matter the size. To our surprise and delight, our long and (to our eyes) boring six-page letter became the focus of a great deal of positive attention from our customers, the online audio/video community, and others concerned with the abuse of the intellectual property laws.

As of this writing, there has not been a further peep from Monster Cable. If this is the end of the matter, well--good riddance, Monster. If it is not, we will be sure to update this page from time to time to give our customers and others interested the blow-by-blow account of any ongoing conflict with Monster Cable.

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 18 May 2010 1:21 pm

I was reading this thread a while back and figured I'd add a log to the fire and rekindle it to the top.

I just got a beautiful Rick Johnson cabinet loaded with a JBL K-130 from forumite Lynn Stafford. I was just looking up speaker cable info and read this article. The Stereo Review Dares To Tell The Truth (1983) at the end is very interesting. The test by McIntosh (the audiophile amp maker, not Apple), compares Monster to ordinary wire.

"...So what do our fifty hours of testing, scoring and listening to speaker cables amount to? Only that 16-gauge lamp cord and Monster cable are indistinguishable from each other with music..."

I can see spending good $ on Instrument cables, but not Speaker cable.
Clete

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 18 May 2010 11:22 pm

I have 1 Monster cable. It is a 15 foot microphone cable I bought from Guitar Center, only because it was the only "short" cable they had in stock. I also use a 30 or 50 foot cable, also from GC, that is not a Monster, and I use them both in my home studio and there is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE in the sound quality. Monster Cable is the biggest brainwashing farce in electronics history. And the fact that they are A-Holes just makes it worse.

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 18 May 2010 11:30 pm

That letter to Monster was just as good the second reading as the first. I bet that guy was a good lawyer. I love the part about their Bermuda tax scam. If that doesn't get Monster to leave this guy alone, they are idiots besides being A-holes. Glad I always make my own cables.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 19 May 2010 6:58 am

Monster Cable is the biggest brainwashing farce in electronics history. And the fact that they are A-Holes just makes it worse.

Richard, I concur.

Ron Randall · Post by **Ron Randall** » 19 May 2010 2:14 pm

That's good

Tommy Shown · Post by **Tommy Shown** » 26 May 2010 9:42 pm

I have one of their power strips for my HDTV,I think it cost me about $80.00.

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 28 May 2010 1:49 pm

Monster cables and cables in general are definitely in the Forum archives.

I made the comment back then, when Monster cables were new and all the rage - I wouldn't buy anything, anywhere, no matter the price even, with the word "monster" in the name.