Ernie Ball Flat Ribbon
Ernie Ball 3″ Flat Ribbon Patch Cable
Recently I’ve been noise hunting and optimizing my pedal setup, will these patch cables help me reduce noise and maximize space?
Let’s put them through their paces!
Feel and Build
These feel great in the hands. They have a good weight to them – not heavy but substantial enough to exude reassuring quality, premium-feeling patch cables indeed.
The flexibility is quite alright for flat cables. They are not the softest feeling wires I’ve tried but since these are fresh from the mail I expect these to soften up after some use. Also, being 3 inch cables, they’ll most probably be relegated to simple right to left setups that aren’t too reliant on extreme flexibility.
Here are the cables in action. Without the pedals secured to some kind of board, the patch cables displayed some resistance pushing the pedals away from each other.
Being flat cables, they quite prefer being flexed up and down than side to side. Twisting okay too but not as natural feeling as your regular rounded cables so this will definitely work better with some layouts over others.
Based on my experience with patch cables, no one type is best for all layouts but flat cables are a space-saving good bet for many of your typical configurations.
The cable texture reminds me somewhat of a stick of gum. The slightly textured matte white has a tinge of cream – I feel like due to the color, these could get dirty quite quickly and easily.
The all-metal plugs are slightly brushed on the top part and feature a cute etched ball logo – cool little details that just add to that premium feel.
Check out that cool brushing and embossed iconic beach ball graphic
Sound
These sound good enough. They’re not introducing any more noise than my pedals are producing already and seem to be better shielded from interference than my old patch cables. Also, my signal feels a bit more present – I don’t know how much of this is due to the shorter cables having less capacitance thereby reproducing the highs better just ever so slightly or how much of this is just a placebo.
Length
Not exactly 3 inches (a bit over 5) but being a bit longer is surely better than a bit shorter than advertised.
3 inches seems to be referring to the wire excluding the plugs. But it’s still not exactly 3 inches.
Overall – Ernie Ball Flat Ribbon Patch Cables Review
I’m very pleased with these short, little flat ribbon patch cables. Approximately 3 inches might be enough for most simple setups, but if you’re serious about building complex boards I suggest buying an assortment of lengths, optimally of different colors to signify the lengths at a glance. These Ernie Ball 3″ Flat Ribbon Patch Cables don’t take up a lot of space, sound transparent enough, and feel robust and high quality. I give these a 96 out of 100.
Specifications
- Plug: Low-Profile Right Angle
- Conductor: 99.95% OFC
- Cover: PVC Jacket
- Shield: Dual Shielding
- Length: 3″
- Variants: 3″, 6″, 12″, 24″
Cons
- 3 inches is not long enough for complex setups
Pros
- Solidly built – premium feel and detailing
- Low profile plugs and short, flat cable works with well with most simple pedal configurations and saves space
- Relatively transparent sounding and noise-free operation
This certainly is a fine piece of cable – I can’t wait to try this out on the stage!
About the Author
Alden Acosta
I'm a drummer and former lead guitarist of the band Callalily, a platinum selling multi-awarded band from the Philippines. I also studied music for 6 years majoring in percussion and jazz studies with a minor in classical piano.
Gearank High Notes
- 2022.09: Equal Highest Rated Guitar Patch Cable
Tied With:EBS PG-10
Gearank Recommended – Ernie Ball Flat Ribbon Patch Cables Review
The Ernie Ball Flat Ribbon Patch Cable first appeared on our recommended list for Guitar Patch Cables in November 2020 and they’ve remained there ever since.
