daveq Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 I've been seeing a bunch of expensive cables advertised lately. They are usually made out of some strange material (not regular wire). George Lynch is going to be selling his own brand this month and I have seen others available also. How much of a difference will one of these cables make for the average basement player? Do you need to replace all cables or just the cables leading into your preamp (do you need them for effects loop)? I guess it's more than a noise reduction thing, right? Supposedly, they help with harmonics, tone, ... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 The biggest improvement IMO that you can do is to stop using instrument cables between your head and cabinet. Alot of people do this and instrument cables aren't made to handle the high power an amp produces. as far a pre-amp cables go I think comon sense should prevail. let your ears tell you not the manufacturer hype Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_ed Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 Howdy, I used to sell home audio gear, both mid-range and then high-end. And I can say this: Cables matter. In both home stereo/HT/audio as well as guitars, and between components. You do want to be careful and match quality all around. After all, a cheap Asian Strat knockoff is still going to sound like a knockoff with a $300 cable running to your amp. But a high end Fender Strat will sound a heck of a lot better with that $300 cable than the $20 cable your dealer will probably show you. For those of you who are engineers and don't believe me: I realize that at the theoretical level, the physics, copper is copper is copper. The problem is that such thing such as the weight of the copper, the die-electric, and shielding all matter. Even coax vs. twisted pair can make a difference. In the computer biz. this issue is called "skin effect." But the bottom line is this: Can you tell the difference? Not just at home, but also gigging or in the studio. The conditions in different locations can vary, and can change what sounds good, cable wise. Thanks for letting me mount my soap box. Guitar Ed Advice worth what you paid for it. Nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPL Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 Check out These. Good quality and good price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 For those of you who are engineers and don't believe me: I realize that at the theoretical level, the physics, copper is copper is copper. The problem is that such thing such as the weight of the copper, the die-electric, and shielding all matter. I'm not an engineer but I believe most of what you're saying. The di-electric properties of the cable's insulation will determine how much treble loss the cable has since thicker and better quality insulation between the wire and the shield will have less capacitance to by-pass the highs. This is especially important between the guitar and the amp input since we're dealing with relatively high impedances, though less critical with active pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 Here's a sane article explaining the issues of cables in general: GuitarNuts.com - Instrument Cords Oh, and just to be devil's advocate, that cheap coiled cord that Hendrix used was a big part of his sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Page_Master Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 i make my own cables. i buy high quality insulated wire, and high quality gold plated plugs, solder and insulate the connections with epoxy then heat shrink. it works a treat. i am no engineerer btw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 The best thing i ever did to my rig was to switch to george l's cables for my pedal board. They're the fancy deals you make yourself. Suddenly I can use my pedals with no noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 i went out and bought myself 2 Planet Wave cables for £45 in total. some of the best money ive ever spent. pretty much all the noise that i could notice when i was playing my guitar was from the cable moving around in the jack plug on my guitar. those nicelly designed planet wave plugs with those cool compression springs = no movement and so no noise. also i will almost certainlly never have to resolder these, as i did with my old £5 cable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 The best thing i ever did to my rig was to switch to george l's cables for my pedal board. They're the fancy deals you make yourself. Suddenly I can use my pedals with no noise. "George L" is different from George Lynch, correct? The reason I am asking is that I recently found out that George Lynch is going to be selling "high-end" cables this month - Lynch Cable I just don't know if they will be worth the investment for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrock Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 Well I am an engineer and I believe what you're saying. The amount of oxygen in the cable also plays an effect. All cables are not created equal and (not sure about guitar cables, but certainly stereo cables). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 The best thing i ever did to my rig was to switch to george l's cables for my pedal board. They're the fancy deals you make yourself. Suddenly I can use my pedals with no noise. "George L" is different from George Lynch, correct? The reason I am asking is that I recently found out that George Lynch is going to be selling "high-end" cables this month - Lynch Cable I just don't know if they will be worth the investment for me. The 2 are not related at all. George L's cables you buy the ends and assemble yourself and are totally solderless. George L's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 The 2 are not related at all. George L's cables you buy the ends and assemble yourself and are totally solderless. George L's Thanks, that's what I thought. BTW, eeew, what an eye sore that GeorgeL's site is!! Try sticking to some sort of a color scheme - yowsers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 I bet that site still sucked back in 97 when it was designed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 The amount of oxygen in the cable also plays an effect. I've heard something of that sort before about hi-fidelity cables but never knew why. How does the amount of oxygen in the cable affect it other than eventually corroding the copper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted January 20, 2004 Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 Oxygen-free copper is (slightly) lower in resistance - that could make a difference in a speaker cable, but it won't affect an input cable in any audible way. In my experience, George L cable and gold contacts are both excellent in static applications like pedalboards and racks, but they both break down quickly if they're moved much: after 6 months of weekend gigs, my gold plated, high dollar connectors have worn through the plating, and the George L cables I run to the snake from my rig are noisy. The same stuff inside my rack is as clear as it was brand new. And these cables get lovingly and carefully rolled up after each gig, by yours truly, so I know they haven't been abused. OTOH, my 10 foot SpectraFlex cable has been going strong for almost 4 years now, with no appreciable degradation in sound quality, and it cost me less than the short cables in my rack. I've A/B'd it with a Monster Cable (over $100.0) from a friend's music store, and we couldn't tell any difference (of course, we're both working musicians, so we may have some hearing loss ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted January 20, 2004 Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 I agree on the george l's for only the pedal board. I run either a spectraflex or the planet waves back to the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrock Posted January 20, 2004 Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 Hope this is of some help: http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/cords/index.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted January 30, 2004 Report Share Posted January 30, 2004 personall i make my own cables and if anyone wants some wire in the us i am giving away 25 feet of 18 gauge two conductor shielded wire with drain for the price of postage.. 5 bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.