I’ll admit, this isn’t the sexiest gear topic. But when you gig as much as I do, you’ll end up carrying quite a few instrument, mic and power cables. No matter how neatly you put ’em away, without cable ties, your gig bag quickly turns into a frustrating mess, slowing down set up and tear down. Velcro straps work well, but I was always irritated by the prices music stores would charge for these things. For instance, even on sale, Guitar Center charges three bucks (exclusive of shipping) for only five velcro straps. To me, that’s like paying three bucks for five paper clips. So when I recently ran short of velcro straps, I stopped by Lowe’s to check out their velcro offerings. Sure enough, they sell velcro cable straps at the same price point…but with a quantity of fifty!
Just goes to show the value of looking for generic alternatives for “specialty” items!