Chord Company has opened the doors of its Wiltshire factory to touring musicians Blue Nation and MeMe Detroit, giving both bands the opportunity to build their own instrument cables and rewire their pedalboards using technology derived from the company’s audiophile Hi-Fi products.
Better known in the custom installation and Hi-Fi sectors for its high-performance AV and audio cables, Chord Company has in fact been hand-building instrument cables in the UK for more than 20 years. The range grew partly from the number of active musicians within the company, who saw an opportunity to apply its established cable engineering to instruments, studios and live performance.
Audiophile Engineering Goes on the Road
The Chord Company Cobra instrument and patch cable range uses silver-plated copper conductors, low-loss FEP insulation and dual-layer foil-and-braid shielding in a twisted-pair configuration, designed to maintain signal integrity in demanding stage and studio environments.
Durability is equally important, with the cables designed to withstand touring and regular setup and breakdown. Bespoke patch cable plugs have also been developed to accommodate tightly packed pedalboards, including the setup used by Blue Nation guitarist Luke Weston.
The crossover between the company’s audiophile and professional music activities extends beyond signal cables. Chord Company’s shielded Hi-Fi power cables, incorporating high-grade conductors and proprietary ARAY technology, are also being used to feed guitar amplifiers in studios and on tour.
During the factory visit, members of both bands worked alongside Chord Company technicians to cut, solder and test their own leads before tackling the more intricate process of rewiring their pedalboards.
Neil Murdoch of Blue Nation says, “Chord Company gets us and gets our sound. From the word go, they wanted to get to the bottom of what we wanted and how they could support us to level up not only our live sound but also in the studio.
“The power cables are like nothing on earth and the amount of comments and feedback we get from sound engineers and stage hands about the build quality is scary. That is when you know you have a great product on your hands, when it stops people in their tracks.”
Blue Nation’s Luke Weston adds, “I loved the visit to the Chord Company factory; it’s always nice to be able to ‘eye a gaff’ properly. They make incredible products, though. And I love taking things apart, so it was great to put some cables back together!”
MeMe Detroit comments, “Choosing to work with Chord Company was an easy decision. They’re such an ace company that we, as a band, can both rely on and trust. They’re attentive to our needs, ensuring we have all bases covered when it comes to our cables, and their cables not only improve our sound substantially – goodbye old hums and fizz – but they’re also hard-wearing enough to last us when touring from show to show.
“Getting to visit the Chord Company factory recently was such a buzz! Seeing behind the scenes of how our cables are made and meeting the amazing team and talent that handcraft our fabulous leads was really eye-opening and inspiring. The Chord Company blatantly take real pride in the quality of their work and it definitely shows!”
From the Listening Room to the Live Stage
Blue Nation and MeMe Detroit join a growing roster of musicians using Chord Company cable technology, including jazz guitarist, composer and arranger Rob Luft and singer-songwriter Reema. The company says feedback from working musicians is being fed directly into its development process, helping ensure products can withstand the realities of touring as well as meet its expectations for sound quality.
It’s an interesting extension for a company much more familiar to Essential Install readers for its presence in premium residential AV and Hi-Fi systems. The move also highlights how engineering developed for high-performance home audio can find applications well beyond the listening room. Signal integrity, shielding, build quality and reliability are just as relevant when the system happens to consist of a guitar, pedalboard and amplifier – particularly when that system has to perform night after night on the road.
Chord Company Cobra instrument cable is available now with straight or 90° jacks and in custom lengths, with prices starting from £155 for a 3m cable.
There is a wider industry trend at play here. A growing number of AV and Hi-Fi companies are looking beyond traditional audiophile and custom installation audiences and finding new ways to connect their brands with the contemporary music scene. Monitor Audio and Armour Home have both explored music-led partnerships and marketing activity, and Chord Company’s work with touring artists is another example of this developing approach.
It makes plenty of sense. Associating products directly with working musicians provides a useful bridge between the technology behind music reproduction and the people actually creating and performing it. For established audio brands, it also offers an opportunity to reach different audiences, demonstrate products in demanding real-world environments and reinforce their musical credentials beyond the traditional listening room.
