Recently Sinasoid sent us a pair of their Flagship Slate Series Instrument Cables to test and review. We have been watching Sinasoid Pro Audio Couture for the past couple years. They were a new startup making high-end cables in an already saturated market so we had our doubts whether or not they could last. Well it is no surprise that they have survived and in fact they have flourished.
In a boutique market that is saturated with high prices, long build times and sometimes poor customer service Sinasoid has built their reputation on high quality and they must work their butts off because their communication is excellent and their build times are much shorter than the current industry standard. Yes the price is higher than what you could hop on Amazon or Musicians Friend and find an instrument cable, but the quality is un-surpassed.
Early on in my guitar playing career I was fascinated by guitars. I would drive to the local shop and play guitars for hours and dream about someday owning them. One of those visits turned into a conversation that changed how I approach tone and gear. I was purchasing a cheap $6 instrument cable and the owner told me this: “You can have the most refreshing water on the block but if you pump it through a thin hose that has rust and debris buildup it will always taste terrible.” He was referring to cables. I ended up going with higher end cables that day and 12 years later I still have them.
Appearance
That same quality comes to mind when I picked up the Slate series by Sinasoid. The G&H plugs are incredibly well made, the shrink wrap around the solder joints and even the pvc coating on the cables screams high-quality, durability. Upon moving the cables about we found that they tangle far less than flexible cables and the pvc coating is slightly glossy which resists stains and dust buildup. As mentioned before the heat shrink around the solder joints is durable and they haven’t tried to cut costs by only heat shrinking the first 1″ or so. The heat shrink in fact extends nearly 3″ down the barrel of the cable after it exits the jack cover. Their gold logo sets the whole thing off.
Tone
I have always been back and forth on whether cables can make your tone better. I have always believed that good cables last longer, but sound better? That is a different story. Well over the past year as I have experimented with different cables I have found that each has unique tonal characteristics. For instance Lava patch cables are more round and balanced in their frequency response while George L’s seem to allow more top end through giving them more bit in the mid-range and top end.
The Slate series from Sinasoid is very balanced. I A/B tested them with a pair of cables I had custom made for me out of Canare GS-6 Cable and Canare F-15 connectors. I used the same amp, pedals, guitar and settings throughout the test. The Sinasoid were better balanced across the tonal spectrum and had a ton more clarity in the A/B test. This clarity was not from an increased top end but rather something that I cannot entirely explain. They just sounded better.
Summary
Overall, I cannot say enough good things about Sinasoid as a company. As mentioned above, in a world where customer service has been shoved off for either better quality product or lower prices Sinasoid’s approach to business is refreshing. Their Slate series instrument leads rest on that and have far exceeded our expectations in both build quality and tone. While I wouldn’t necessarily run out and drop hundreds of dollars on all new cables, as I phase out old cables, they will get replaced with the slate series.