Hello there, welcome back to yet another cool instrument cables comparison article! This time, we will be looking at a simple blind test comparing Ernie Ball, Cordial, and Shnoor instrument cables. My regular visitors are probably aware that I love comparing guitar accessories, as I believe it gives a clear, solid impression of how particular products perform under the same conditions.
Table of Contents
Check out all the content that falls under “A/B Audio Tests” here
For those who have never heard of these brands mentioned at the beginning of this article, here’s a quick introduction. Ernie Ball is an American company that mainly focuses on guitar/bass-related accessories such as guitar/bass/ukulele strings, straps, instrument cables, and various effect pedals.
The cable I will be featuring is the Ernie Ball instrument cable, which is one of the best-selling guitar cables by the company. I already released an article on this particular cable and even did a comparison against my Shnoor cable.
Check out Ernie Ball Instrument Cable (Braided) Review & Blind Test article here
Shnoor cables is a Russian company mainly focusing on audio/instrument cables. I was lucky enough to meet them in person at the 2017 Frankfurt Musikmesse exhibition, and they were kind enough to give away an instrument cable so I could try it.
I have been using the Shnoor IC124 JMEJME cable without an issue. Also, check out the blind test that I did for that cable against the Ernie Ball instrument cable via the link above. I must say they are pretty solid and can be easily compared to industry-standard cables by those big brands! Last but not least, my recent favourite cable brand! Cordial cables is a German company that focuses on all sorts of cables one could imagine. So if you ever need a very specific cable for a very specific scenario, Cordial will probably have it in their catalogue already.
Recently, I have been using their Cordial CSI 6 PP Silent cable with Neutrik connectors. Very solid, excellent-sounding cables, all made in Germany!
Check out my Cordial CSI 6 PP Silent 6m Instrument Cable review here
As you can see, I’m comparing three different instrument cables with slightly different specs. I believe many people will think that I shouldn’t be comparing these against each other, as one of them has Neutrik connectors, 6m long. The others are short in length and feature different connectors. But I just take these as a simple side-by-side comparison of three different products that are supposed to do the same job! So please don’t get offended by the simplicity. 
In this video, I have used my Fender American Standard Stratocaster, Epiphone SG Custom Ebony, ENGL E570 and ENGL Cabloader and directly recorded crunch and lead II channels into Reaper using my RME Babyface PRO audio interface.
Ernie Ball vs Cordial vs Shnoor Cables Blind Test Video
As you can see from the video, I haven’t uncovered the correct match. So it’s a cool opportunity for you to take a guess here! 
Cables 1, 2 and 3 have been ordered in the exact same way in the second part of the video. So you can also do a comparison between crunch riff vs heavy riff and see if the sonic attributes you have picked up reflect the same things in a driven sound as well. In my opinion, these still sound very, very close to each other. I don’t think most people would even hear a difference. But we, guitar nerds, can sometimes hear these little things! 🙂 I tend to hear cable 1 as a bit crispier and brighter, but very slightly. Cables 2 and 3 sound very close to each other, but still different. 
In order to provide more proof that they sound slightly different from each other, I am also presenting here a snapshot of the sonic spectrum taken at the same bit of the guitars’ sounds. Would you be able to guess any of the cables included in the test? I wouldn’t be able to do that! As you can see from the snapshot, they are very, very close to each other with a few differences in the core frequency ranges. That actually makes us hear things differently. 
But at the end of the day, these differences wouldn’t be a selling factor for anyone! All three cables sound great, work great and are very durable, but are priced differently too!
Which cable would you choose if you didn’t have any brand or price info available?
Correct Answer
[Drum Roll] Here is the correct matching of the cables!
Cable 1: Cordial CSI 6 PP Silent cable
Cable 2: Ernie Ball instrument cable
Cable 3: Shnoor IC124 JMEJME
Pricing & Availability
As you can see, I use these cables regularly. Since I got my Cordial and Ernie Ball cables, I have been using them more heavily than the Shnoor. But it has nothing to do with the quality. Shnoor is difficult to supply, to be honest! But for Cordial cables and Ernie Ball ones, it’s very easy to supply and get more once you need them in your ever-changing setups. Currently, I’m using a pair of Ernie Ball instrument cables to connect my pedals in the FX loop section. I also use a pair of Cordial CSI 3 (3-meter version) of the PP silent cables to connect my guitar to my pedalboard and to my amp. I bought all my cables from Thomann, so I can recommend you do the same! 🙂
Check out Cordial cables on Thomann here
Check out Ernie Ball cables on Thomann here
You can also check out Reverb, as there are many resellers there listing these brands.
Check out Cordial cables on Reverb here
Check out Ernie Ball cables on Reverb here
Last but not least, please also check out Amazon, as there are many resellers for these brands. However, Cordial
Check out Cordial cables on Amazon here
Check out Ernie Ball cables on Amazon here
Unfortunately, Shnoor cables are not available due to the ongoing war, as the company is located in Russia. As I mentioned, I met those guys at the Frankfurt Musikmesse back in 2017, and I really wish them the best. I hope they can get back in business again soon. Last time I checked their website, it was still under construction. But feel free to contact them at the official Shnoor website here.
I hope you have found this article interesting and helpful! As I have mentioned many times before, I have no endorsement deals or paid promotion requests yet, so I’m not trying to boost one of the products over the others. Thanks for visiting my blog and supporting me so far! I will hopefully see you in the next review here!
