Do guitar pedals come with cables?
Usually no, but deals and bundles might include them.
In most cases, guitar pedals do not come with cables. But sometimes they'll be bundled with short cables called "patch cables" or other accessories. This depends on the brand of the pedal and the retailer that is selling them.
Traditionally, guitar pedals don't really come with anything aside from the pedal itself. Most of them don't even come with a power supply, which every guitar pedal needs to operate. I'd recommend checking out this article on Pro Sound HQ to explore that issue.
So cables are typically not included.
Just to be clear, you need at least two cables to actually use a guitar pedal, hooked up as we see in the following diagram:
You need a cable that goes from the guitar to the pedal, than from the pedal to the amp.
So this brings up the kind of cables you're looking for. Do you want long instrument cables, or shorter patch cables?
Patch cables are short, usually about a foot long, meant to run in between multiple pedals.
When cables are included with a pedal purchase, they're usually patch cables.
Here's an example of a bundle that includes both:
In this bundle you get a patch cable, a 10' long instrument cable, picks and some kind of polishing cloth, I guess?
Do guitar pedals come with cables? (the simple answer)
In most cases, no.
So as you can see by the above example, there are certainly exceptions, but most guitar pedals are sold as a standalone product. No cables, no power supplies, no nothing.
But again, the bundles are available on occasion. Where and when depends on the following:
- The specific pedal in question
- The pedal brand/builder in question
- The retailer selling the pedals and cables
We see this more in Amazon than other retailers. They all do it, but Amazon seems to do it a lot.
Quality of the cables
One of the main reasons I avoid pedals bundled with cables is because the cables tend to be really cheap, and usually from brands I don't recognize.
This is not so much a problem on Sweetwater, because they only carry reputable brands. But it's a big problem on Amazon, with so many of the cheap brands from overseas.
In a lot of those cases, I wouldn't even trust the pedals.
Buy them separately
Cables are easy enough to come by.
Get the pedals you want and then just buy the cables separately. If you see a bundle that works out for you, there's certainly nothing wrong with grabbing it.
But, personally, I'd rather choose my own cables rather than rely on freebies.
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