Cables...do you think they make a difference?

If I use a cable, things generally tend to sound a little louder, so I'm on the side that says they do make a difference.
 
I have to admit that there was a bit more to me bringing this up on here the other than just because we were talking about it on another forum.

I just wonder how many times someone's complained about not being able to dial in a tone that they like because they have a cable that isn't conducive to that tone; specifically in regards to the AxeFX because unlike tube amps we all have what should be the exact same capabilities out of this box. I'm not talking about personal tastes because that's something beyond this, I'm talking about something like someone saying that the Fender amps aren't sparkly enough or something.

It costs about $10 to get a shorter cable and 2 seconds to plug one in and at least eliminate it and realistically most of us have piles of various cables laying around. It's not the end all be all solution to dialing in your magic tone, but it's something that we can at least eliminate as being a culprit.



Anyway, the point is that people can get so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they don't stop to think if they should
I know, I'm of the opinion that instead of worrying about dialing in a dead on replica of the amp that's being modeled and more worried about just getting a decent sound that I can play with. But I'm an electronics nerd (at least I used to be more so of one) and this is interesting stuff to talk about.

And for the record I'm very happy with my tone.
 
If I use a cable, things generally tend to sound a little louder...
I know what you mean. If I use a cable, things get a lot louder. If I don't use a cable, I can't get any useful volume at all. :)
 
Another thing to consider is that the roll-off in extreme high frequencies might actually be desirable. So higher capacitance doesn't automatically mean crappy cable. Gilbert uses (and Hendrix used) a _coiled_ cable, and he sounds all right to me. Myself, I put together my guitar cables myself out of neutrik plugs and Mogami cable I buy from Markertek. Cheap and good.
 
That's because they have different capacitances. Nothing more, nothing less. "Low capacitance" covers quite a bit of ground.

With Vovox I can also hear directionality..... opps..... I must be going crazy.
I didn't want to believe it but my ears tell me otherwise.
Let's not debate this, it's pointless.

:|
 
I'm sorry, any company that writes this about speaker cables:

Thanks to the special cable design and the wide conductor spacing it transmits amplified signals with a maximum of punch and definition.

is by definition full of shit.
 
And here's what they say about their power cords. Cracks me up.

VOVOX® initio power
Solid-core power cord. Uncovers unimagined sound qualities of various audio components.
 
Yeah, the funny thing about getting a heavy gauge power cord is you would actually need to upgrade the wiring in your house or whatever outlet you are plugging into to make a real difference.
 
Another thing I had the experience of finding out was that SPEAKER CABLES make a difference too! :eek: Happened twice...once in the studio and once when I got my vox night train. On both occasions, there was just something missing....couldn't tell what it was, and when we changed SPEAKER cables, a whole world opened up. On both occasions, the speaker cables were thin and you could tell they weren't heavy duty (including the one that CAME with the night train wtf! :S), so i'm guessing they just couldn't pass the current needed.
Well, yes .. and No! It's really about the distance the signal has to travel - just like AC power cables. 100' of 12-gauge 120v 3-core will have far less voltage loss than would 100' of 18-gauge 120v 3-core. Same rule applies to speaker cables over distance. I run 14-gauge Speakons on my PA, with distances under 50' from amp. It's not about passing the current, it's about signal loss.
I challenge you to open up your speakers enclosure. I guarantee that you will find wire from the input jack to the speaker terminals that is mostly between 18 and 24-gauge [depends on speaker wattage]. This is due to the distance between the points. Would I use that gauge from the amp if my speaker was 30 feet away. Of course not. But over 2-3 feet [inside the speaker enclosure] it will handle the load and you would never know it was even used if you didn't open the box and look.
Even if you used 12-gauge speaker cable from amp, you still have the last 2 feet that uses small gauge wire.
 
You're both right. The smaller the wire, the higher the resistance per foot. The higher the total resistance the less current the wire can safely carry without a significant voltage drop (signal loss).

Wikipedia said:
Many supposedly audible differences in speaker wire can be attributed to listener bias or the placebo effect. Listener bias is enhanced in no small part by the popular manufacturers' practice of making claims about their products either with no valid engineering or scientific basis, or of no real-world significance. Many manufacturers catering to audiophiles (as well as those supplying less expensive retail markets) also make unmeasurable, if poetic, claims about their wire sounding open, dynamic, or smooth. To justify these claims, many cite electrical properties such as skin effect, characteristic impedance of the cable, or resonance, which are generally little understood by consumers. None of these has any measurable effect at audio frequencies, though each matters at radio frequencies.
 
Funny thing is, if more people actually studied physics (like I did), they'd know that neither power cabling nor house wiring can make a difference, even if you put finger thick silver wiring all the way to the generator. Nor can speaker cables make any audible difference (except on volume if they're extremely long or thin and you're using very low impedance speakers). Not that it needs debunking for anyone familiar with the RLC filters, but the effect of speaker cables has actually been debunked in a well publicized experiment where high-end speakers were connected to multi-thousand dollar monoblock amps with a _coat hanger_, and the self-nominated "golden ears" couldn't tell the difference in double blind testing. That's because there was no difference.
 
Another thing to consider is that the roll-off in extreme high frequencies might actually be desirable. So higher capacitance doesn't automatically mean crappy cable. Gilbert uses (and Hendrix used) a _coiled_ cable, and he sounds all right to me. Myself, I put together my guitar cables myself out of neutrik plugs and Mogami cable I buy from Markertek. Cheap and good.
Yep +1.

And I feel kind of bad about bringing up the part about not being able to dial in a tone because of high frequency rolloff because of course that kind of elludes to high capacitance cable all being a bad thing. It's a matter of taste and there are plenty of examples of people using high capacitance cables to get amazing tones because of the resonance shift.

I remember seeing Brian May running around stage with what looked 50' of coily cable as well.

Funny, it had quite a different effect on me...
I think I pulled a hamstring watching it....
 
Well Brian May has a Huge long cable that he trails about the stage, Jimmy' always used those long curly' coiled ones that rolled of the top' and gave him the sound , I found one in a box from the 70's and it definitely sounds smoother and nicer than modern ones,
it's in the ears I suppose.
 
Here's my take on it all from most important to least important

Instrument (unbalanced) cable: with real amps it's debatable, each amp reacts differently, with the axefx the differences can be huge! Get a couple low end cables and borrow a few high end ones from friends and do a taste test. The differences between them can be very big. With the cables I've tried the lava cable Sommer Grindy Cop Beast has nailed it, i know the name is nuts and it is not a "heavy metal" cable. This cable is the perfect balance between tightness, thickness and clarity for my setup. But there are some other great cables are out there. The klotz LaGrange is a great all around cable. You just need to do a little sampling.

XLR (balanced): the differences here aren't very big. I've used some cheapo mono price XLRs and compared them to some high end sommer lava cables and there is a difference that's instantly noticable, but between mid range and high end cables the differences are slim to none. I would get a decent balanced cable from a know company and never think about it again.

Speaker cables: the ONLY thing that matters here is gauge. Once you have a hefty gauge that is getting all your signal to your amp the rest is splitting hairs. I've tried a ton of speaker cables and once you are using a correct gauge the differences are imperceptible.

Power cables: this is basically the same deal as speaker cables and only applies to power amps. Get a thick gauge cable and stop worrying, its all minute after that.

I hope this helps!
 
Everything used in your signal chain, including picks will make a difference. Some people can't hear the difference on certain things like picks or strings but my eagle ears can:D
 
Cables make a huge difference. Try not using one with your electric and see how quiet it gets.
 
Got a Mogami Platinum cable after reading Guitar Player cable shoot out. Kind of thought BS, but was pleasantly surprised. I feel that the big difference is in reactive dynamics, volume knob response and pick up interaction. I hear the Fralin PAF's value more now and all guitars feel a little more connected and responsive. It is almost like some attack portion of a compressor, or a limiter was removed and it all got just a little more wide open and dynamically responsive. Little, subtle yet important sonic areas with big differences realized. I also love the Neutrik "Silent" plug. My 3 cents
 
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