Long before Asher Del Buono started his bespoke Caulfield Cables company, he was a journeyman guitarist in San Francisco. With an impressive set-up of guitars, amps, and pedals, he was continually frustrated with unreliable and noisy cables. To begin his new company in rural Northern California, he researched and tested every cable he could find.
Pictured are Sarah and Asher Del Buono in their customized cable workshop.
“When we started Caulfield Cables,” Del Buono explains, “We did extensive research on virtually all the music-related cables. We wanted a cable brand that we could stand behind. As we got deeper into the research, we found Sommer Cable, ordered some product, and we loved it. My entire stage and recording rigs are now set up with Sommer, and we’re finding that our customers are loving it as well.”
Del Buono adds, “I play guitar, bass and keys, and my entire pedal board rig is set up with Sommer. I run guitar pedals, but also a lot of MIDI control pedals, as well. The instrument cables that I run from either my guitar or bass are all Sommer Spirit LLX cables and I run that into my pedal board. All the patch cables use Sommer and my MIDI control gear that is run out to a direct box is all built with Sommer cable.” Learn more about Spirit LLX: https://www.sommercable.com/product/en/Cable/Bulk-Cable-Instrument/Instrumentenkabel-SC-SPIRIT-LLX-LOW-LOSS-300-0091.html
For Del Buono’s stage configurations, he uses balanced AES3 XLR cables.
“The XLR cable that I use is built with Sommer cable,” he continues. “I run everything to a Strymon Iridium, because I don’t have an amp on stage. I then run that to a Pinstripe Pedals re-amping box, and then connect the XLR from that box directly to the FOH console.”
Del Buono has found that the length of cable invariably affects the quality of the resulting sound. “In our Caulfield HD series, the distinctive clarity in the high frequencies is especially evident when using a longer 20-25 foot cable. You still get that high-end punch that sticks out nicely in the mix.”
When Caulfield customers request speaker cable, Del Buono chooses another Sommer Cable. “We use the Meridian 13AWG Twin Axial for our speaker cables. It really just comes down to clarity and neutrality, because with cheaper, mass-produced cable, the performance tends to get muddy. Our speaker cables are specifically designed for guitar cabinets and are ultra-flexible with premium copper for the highest sonic integrity.”
Learn more about Sommer’s Meridian cable: https://www.sommercable.com/product/en/Cable/Bulk-Cable-Speaker/Lautsprecherkabel-Meridian-Mobile-SP225-425-0051.html
Del Buono is seen performing with his custom guitar rig.
Del Buono concludes, “As musicians, we spend all this time and money on our gear, perhaps thousands of dollars on a pedal board, several thousand on a custom handmade guitar, and then we plug it into a quality amp set up — with a $10 cable. We love Sommer because of the clarity that it brings to the entire sonic equation. It doesn’t color the sound at all. You’re getting what you want out of it. Even at long runs, you get that insane clarity out of those cables.”
Learn more about Caulfield Cables: https://www.caulfieldcables.com
ABOUT SOMMER CABLE
Sommer Cable Germany is an enterprising development and manufacturing company of innovative and unique cable, connector and electronic products for the Studio, A/V Installation, Live Sound, Broadcast, Video, Music, IT and HiFi markets, with business partners in over 50 countries. In 2015, Sommer Cable America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sommer Cable Germany, was established in Santa Rosa, CA. Jed Larson is COO of the new company, which supplies the North American markets with Sommer’s wide range of innovative and high quality products. 707.200.4020 http://sommercable.com/en
