Ethernet cable I can use at a gig

[franzbassist]

My new GR Bass Dual head has a footswitch that uses an ethernet cable.  My experience of these cables is they likely aren't very suitable for lying on a stage floor; they're won't lose their coil or lie flat, and will stay a trip hazard as a result.  Anyone know of any ethernet cables that are more like a guitar lead, so suitable for life on the floor of a stage?

 

Or maybe I should invest in something like this instead?

Edited May 7 by franzbassist

[jrixn1]

https://custom-lynx.co.uk/product/tukrj45-cat5e-tukrj45/ ?

[franzbassist]

38 minutes ago, jrixn1 said:

https://custom-lynx.co.uk/product/tukrj45-cat5e-tukrj45/ ?

That looks the biz, thank you!

 

[prowla]

You could search for armoured or military-grade ethernet cable.

[BigRedX]

IME no ethernet cable is as robust as a good quality Jack or XLR lead. I have jack and XLR cables that I made myself in the 90s which have been in use continually for gigs and rehearsals over the past 30 years that are still going strong, whereas the best ethernet cable in a similar environment lasted about 12 months.

 

As you have discovered the typical office ethernet cable is completely unsuited to the rigours of gigging. It's designed to connect a device to a wall-socket in an office and never be touched again until the device is replaced. In the days when I was using a rack mounted BassPod with the Floorboard footswitch unit I was going through a cable every 2-3 weeks. Eventually I bought two very expensive Van Damme coil-able ethernet leads with heavy duty shrouds on the plugs which were supposedly designed for gig use. Each of these lasted about a year at which point they would stop being coil-able and then fail very shortly afterwards. Luckily for me the failure of the second cable coincided with me replacing the BassPod with a Helix Floor. I deliberately chose the floor version of the Helix so I wouldn't have to deal with ethernet cables in a gig situation again.

 

A coil-able cable with heavy duty shrouds would be the minimum spec I would go for and I would always carry a spare. As soon as your lead shows any sign of less than 100% reliability chuck it in the bin and buy a replacement. Be aware that plugs with some of the chunkier shrouds do not always fit snugly in some sockets, but the locking mechanism on un-shrouded plugs will break with moderate use rendering the connection unreliable. If I was using ethernet cables ideally I'd like them to be fitted with EtherCon plugs, but they only work if your equipment is also fitted with the corresponding EtherCon sockets and for some reason very little supposedly gig-worthy equipment with ethernet connections has these.

[pete.young]

Or go for the volume approach: buy a reel of cable, a crimp tool and some RJ45 connectors, and make yourself a new cable for each gig.

[rwillett]

On 08/05/2025 at 09:08, BigRedX said:

IME no ethernet cable is as robust as a good quality Jack or XLR lead. I have jack and XLR cables that I made myself in the 90s which have been in use continually for gigs and rehearsals over the past 30 years that are still going strong, whereas the best ethernet cable in a similar environment lasted about 12 months.

 

As you have discovered the typical office ethernet cable is completely unsuited to the rigours of gigging. It's designed to connect a device to a wall-socket in an office and never be touched again until the device is replaced. In the days when I was using a rack mounted BassPod with the Floorboard footswitch unit I was going through a cable every 2-3 weeks. Eventually I bought two very expensive Van Damme coil-able ethernet leads with heavy duty shrouds on the plugs which were supposedly designed for gig use. Each of these lasted about a year at which point they would stop being coil-able and then fail very shortly afterwards. Luckily for me the failure of the second cable coincided with me replacing the BassPod with a Helix Floor. I deliberately chose the floor version of the Helix so I wouldn't have to deal with ethernet cables in a gig situation again.

 

A coil-able cable with heavy duty shrouds would be the minimum spec I would go for and I would always carry a spare. As soon as your lead shows any sign of less than 100% reliability chuck it in the bin and buy a replacement. Be aware that plugs with some of the chunkier shrouds do not always fit snugly in some sockets, but the locking mechanism on un-shrouded plugs will break with moderate use rendering the connection unreliable. If I was using ethernet cables ideally I'd like them to be fitted with EtherCon plugs, but they only work if your equipment is also fitted with the corresponding EtherCon sockets and for some reason very little supposedly gig-worthy equipment with ethernet connections has these.

 

This is as good an explanation as you'll read. Normal Ethernet is not designed for the rigours of anything apart from sitting in an office environment not being disturbed. It's mostly solid core with a minimum radius bend. It has a outer core designed for lift shafts and trunking and once it's laid down, it doesn't expect to ever move. Patch cables are different but are not designed to move much.

 

I wouldn't trust office Ethernet cable for more than a few weeks if it's in constant use. I have a more vocal view of the locking mechanism on Ethernet cables than @BigRedX that is wholly unprintable.  This is based on being responsible for the design and management of 25,000 ports across 22 sites around London circa 1997, and when a decent intersite network was 35Mb ATM MAN connections. I still have a nervous twitch thinking about this.

 

I think I'd rather trust a damp and frayed string holding an elephant 2m above my head than trust Ethernet in a gigging environment. I'm sure people use better cables now but I wouldn't want to use standard or cheap stuff in front of my Aunt Nellie.

 

Anyway, @BigRedX is spot on

 

Rob

[franzbassist]

Thanks for the comments folks.  Funnily enough I ended up returning the footswitch anyway as I decided it was an unnecessary accessory 👍