Sometimes an item come out, and it falls under the “huh?” category. It somehow feels like it fills some made up need, but then it comes to hit you that it’s not such a bad idea after all. Jack Caps came up with a unique way to protect cable ends, but they also solve a common problem with cables. Let’s take a look…
So, it’s pretty basic: a plastic cap that sits over the end of a cable (in this case a standard ¼” instrument cable), to secure it from falling off and getting lost, tethered by a plastic strap with a collar that acts as a retainer. The cap protects cable end from damage. Simple, right?
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Now this is where most players/musicians/users will say, “I’ve never had any issues with my naked cable ends in all my time in playing”. OK, true. However, count all the bad cables you’ve had over the years, and where they failed. Yep, at the ends. From getting twisted, bent, crushed, or just tweaked enough to make it unreliable. At some point players make the jump from the typical “buy one, get one” cable deal at a local music store, to something more upscale and expensive. Dare we say “booteek”?
At one point in the late ’90s, cable companies went crazy with gold ends, soldered in a vacuum chamber, with distilled unicorn tears. You get the idea, and with that craziness, came with crazy prices. It’s seemed to settle down a bit, but quality cables are still expensive. A set of these could prevent damage to cable ends in transit, while they’re rattling around in a pedalboard case, or the typical musician’s caddy: the milkcrate. Consider all the great studio headphones (not earbuds) that don’t come with detachable cables. The reason they’ve failed is usually the cable end, getting stomped on. One of these could have easily prevented that.
One great side benefit is that by putting one of these at each end of a cable, the retaining strap can act as a binder to hold the cables in coiled form. No more Velcro strips that get gross on beer-soaked stages.
A set comes in at $11.99, and for protecting an expensive cable, it’s not bad. But the ability to have the cable end protected, and neatly coiled up, ready for the next gig, it’s totally worth the peace of mind.
PROS:
Protects cable ends, retaining straps keep cables neatly coiled.
CONS:
None.
STREET PRICE:
$11.99