Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

[mantis]

Hello all,
Curious if anyone has done any listening tests with Instrument cables? I typically use Whirlwind cables not for the sound quality but for built quality. They seem to last forever. Not to mention years ago I had this really cool one that glowed in the dark.
I try to stay away from the budget cables as in the past I had them fail.

 

[Securb]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I was at a jam session a couple of years ago and had two cables fail on me I flipped out and bought all new quality cables and patch cords, all of the cheap cable hit the trash. The problem turned out to be the input jack on my Marshall. But at least I have nice cables now.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

It's a controversial topic. Capacitance to some degree will dictate the "tone" of the cable (lower capacitance = brighter, higher capacitance = darker) as a general rule. I'm a firm believer in using the best cables you can, but I'm probably more on the extreme side than most folks.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

The capacitance is certainly relevant. In a passive guitar the capacitance of the cable is added directly to the capacitance of the pickup (they are in parallel). The pickup being a second order low pass filter with resonance peak with have the frequency of the resonance peak lowered with a load capacitance.

 

[LReese]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I've been using Whirlwind for a a year or 2 since migrating from Bill Lawrence and George L cables. Also made up an eighteen foot Mogami 2524 and a bunch of patch cables.

Whirlwinds sound fine to me vs the Mogami, which is a popular brand of cable.

If you like brilliance, go for Bill Lawrence. Easy to make, but a very bright cable. I just did not like this cable with a Telecaster. Strats were certainly OK with this cable, but I've grown used to the Mogami/Whirlwind.

 

[BTMN]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

Mogami for me.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

The capacitance is certainly relevant. In a passive guitar the capacitance of the cable is added directly to the capacitance of the pickup (they are in parallel). The pickup being a second order low pass filter with resonance peak with have the frequency of the resonance peak lowered with a load capacitance.

There is an anecdotal story about how SRV's tech got a delivery of some then new Monster Cables. Stevie did not like them, and told the tech to go buy the cheap cables from Radio Shack. The tech obviously was taken aback, the Monster Cables were the new "best" thing available, but SRV wanted the old crappy cables. If course, we know the story that once the tech realized that the cheap cables had higher capacitance and rolled off a bit of the high end, he understood from a technical standpoint why Stevie preferred them in a general sense.

I remember when I was younger and was used to playing with a 10' cable, I got a Vox wah and two nice long cables (probably the cheapies) and I was shocked how much high end I lost. (No buffer in the wah, probably tripled the length of cable total...)

 

[erksin]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

Oh there is most certainly sonic differences between cables, the question is since you EQ at the amp and if you are happy with your sound - does it matter?

 

[uOpt]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

Well, using a simple EQ that just has some not too specified "treble" is really something different than moving the frequency of the resonance peak.

Re: the SRV story. I believe that absolutely. A Stratocaster played dirty using a less-than-spaceship rig sounds REALLY BAD if you leave the resonance peak as high as it is with very low capacitive load. You can't just go to somebody who has dialed in his sound with a good chunk of load capacitance and simply cut the capacitance in half or to 1/4 - which is what easily happens if you switch between random cables and explicitly low capacitance cables.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I can't say much about "tone" in terms of cables because I myself am almost going deaf..

but I can talk about durability. I've bought some cables that have lasted years

some cables have lasted nothing in my hands

, and I am very gentle with them. I store them securely and do any sudden tugs or anything like that.

 

[mantis]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I think when I get extremely bored , I'm gonna demo a few different brands for the sheer hell of it and see if they alter my tone. I'd like to have the cables in my system who simply pass along the signal unaltered.
Basically a transparent cable.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I think when I get extremely bored , I'm gonna demo a few different brands for the sheer hell of it and see if they alter my tone. I'd like to have the cables in my system who simply pass along the signal unaltered.
Basically a transparent cable.

That will sound very ****ty. The winds on your (passive) pickups have been picked so that they sound right with a typical guitar cable, which has about 0.5nF, a value significant to the capacitance of the pickup.

Simply removing all load balance will make it sound like a cheap preamp inside the guitar.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I like durability the most. As long as the cable is shielded properly I don't mind the sound. If I loose a bit of high end there is always treble/presence/knobs and EQ pedals. I have never had the problem of significantly less high end that absolutely requires a better cable.

I also care very much about how much the cable tangles. I like cloth covered cables because they don't end up like tied shoelaces in my experience.

I think I am going to go wireless eventually though. Seems like a nice and worthy luxury and I haven't heard any significant difference in tone when others have used it.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I had Monster Rock cables, and prefer the flat response of Mogamis, which I upgraded to.

I like George L on my pedalboard, and Im using a Pedalsnake in conjunction with a few buffered pedals on my board

 

[erksin]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I had Monster Rock cables, and prefer the flat response of Mogamis, which I upgraded to.

I like George L on my pedalboard, and Im using a Pedalsnake in conjunction with a few buffered pedals on my board

Ever do a test of that George L's cable compared to any others? I made up a 10-footer and compared it to several other 10s I had laying around and the GL cut a significant amount of bass. If you're not using the Mogami's across the board, you're losing bass and making up for it at the amp. Not saying that's a bad thing - but it's a thing to consider when you go out and only 'upgrade' a fraction of the chain.

Personally I quit worrying about that stuff. I have a mix of cables in my rig - Lava Soar, GLs, Canare, Solid Cables, DiMarzio. That is a wormhole I'd rather avoid going down.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

At this point it would probably be best to run before/after clips through an analyzer.

There shouldn't be bass cutting going on but hey this stuff is complicated

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I go dimarzio cables they work great.

 

[erksin]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I go dimarzio cables they work great.

Overall, they're without a doubt the cables I've ever used. Long lasting, don't kink, perfectly acceptable EQ spread. Great cables!

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I just put my meter on a 3" patch cable and a 25' cable from the same manufacturer that I happened to have laying near my desk (Lifelines brand which use ProCo cable. I use Mogami in my studio. I'll have to measure next time I'm in.).

The 3" measured .3 ohm while the 25' measured 1 ohm. So basically using the 25' it would be like having my volume pot measure 500.001 Kohm.

The capacitance was 1.5nF for the 25'. (note that is in nanofarads, not microfarads) So that's like having a 0.022uf tone cap that measures 0.0235uf. I've got Sprague Orange drops that measure from 0.0234uf to 0.02495uf and still sound great.

I think the effect could be noticeable to some players, but not that significant in the overall scheme, IMHO. I think there are much bigger tone dragons to slay first.

 

[Securb]

Re: Instrument cables , anyone notice any differences in tone?

I think I am going to go wireless eventually though. Seems like a nice and worthy luxury and I haven't heard any significant difference in tone when others have used it.

I have a wireless unit I traded for a carton of cigarettes (no, I wasn't in the Blues Brother's prison band) The only time I use it is when I want to crank the stack and walk around the backyard.