MIDI Cable question

[Delaytone7]

Does it really make a difference if I use a $5 MIDI cable or a $20 cable in my rack? I understand the reason with instrument cables, but MIDI only carries information not "tone".

[deadhead420]

The $20 cables are probably much more durable.

[Sunset_West]

Thats a good question. And I don't really know the answer. All I know is that I really trust my Planet Waves guitar cables and since I'm so impressed with those, I'm using an expensive PW midi cable based on that. I like the lifetime guarantee part. If for some reason a cheap (midi or not) cable screws up, you're going to spend more time/effort/resources/money on getting new gear.

Also, we all spend so much money on our rigs and especially on rack gear. I spent so much to be able to have so much control on my sound and tone. Why not buy the slightly more expensive/reinforced/guarrenteed cable to ensure I can do what midi/racks allow?

Not the best argument, but a good enough one for me to buy into.

Oh, and I wouldn't buy any midi cable any longer than 20ft as I read somewhere that it could distort presets/screw up sync's or something like that.

[ASHJN]

I was in the same position and i went with the cheaper ones. I went with the Hosa ones because:
1) They are left set up in my rack, untouched, therefore they didn't need to be ultra-durable
2) MIDI does not transmit audio noises
3) I was on a budget

Now I don't know if there is a huge difference, but that is just what I did