Di Box into Axe Fx

[jamesmarshall]

If I’ve spent thousands on a guitar, and thousands on an amp or modeler, I’ll spend over $50 for a cable.

The thing is not everyone is willing to spend $50 on an instrument cable. And you shouldn't assume others will either. Most players are fine with a $10 cable that is made with quality parts and not cheap connectors.

I personally use Mogami cable and neutrik connectors for everything in my studio and my rack is also wired with them, the Axe Fx III as well. My instrument cables included.

I kind of equate the whole "this cable sounds better than this one" to a lack of understanding. I have heard people say a $10 cable does not sound as good as a $10,000 power cable. Yes I have personally heard that before.

Same goes for the George L cables all the hype with improved high end, etc. is BS. Yes you can get better tone with a cable that transfers a proper strong signal and does not lose signal or causes a weak signal to arrive at it's destination. It should not "change" the tone for better or worse, only transfer proper signal so the amp can start with a strong signal without loss.

The only reason I even pointed it out to begin with was the OP said he was using a TRS/balanced cable to connect his guitar to the Axe Fx 3. That is not the best choice for an instrument connection. It will not make good contact with the 2 connections, properly and some signal loss due to that is inevitable.

 

[unix-guy]

Same goes for the George L cables all the hype with improved high end, etc. is BS. Yes you can get better tone with a cable that transfers a proper strong signal and does not lose signal or causes a weak signal to arrive at it's destination. It should not "change" the tone for better or worse, only transfer proper signal so the amp can start with a strong signal without loss.

Sorry, but this is wrong.

It's not a "strong" signal, it's a full signal.

You get that by using a low capacitance cable such as George Ls or a number of others.

With higher capacitance you lose high end and you can't "add" that back in, so it definitely can change the tone.

 

[langohr]

you can use balanced cables for unbalanced purposes right?

It depends.

If both (!!!) connections are unbalanced and of type TS:
Yes, you might, but I don‘t recommend it.

If one connection is balanced and of type TRS:
No, you can‘t. And never, never, never do ….

If you connect a balanced connection to an unbalanced connection via a balanced cable then one connector of the balanced side is “up in the air“ unconnected. This will introduce signal break and much noise.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

Same goes for the George L cables all the hype with improved high end, etc. is BS. Yes you can get better tone with a cable that transfers a proper strong signal and does not lose signal or causes a weak signal to arrive at it's destination. It should not "change" the tone for better or worse, only transfer proper signal so the amp can start with a strong signal without loss.

The only reason I even pointed it out to begin with was the OP said he was using a TRS/balanced cable to connect his guitar to the Axe Fx 3. That is not the best choice for an instrument connection. It will not make good contact with the 2 connections, properly and some signal loss due to that is inevitable.

Care to educate us on the physics and electrical characteristics of cables, and also how a TRS cable and connector can not make good contact and will cause inevitable signal loss? I'm interested.

 

[simeon]

if it was me, i'd actually try to you know, troubleshoot it. plug your phone or ipod into input 2 on the back of the axe fx and set up a preset that has the input 2 block feeding the output block and nothing else. if it sounds terrible, then you've managed to rule out some of the variables and it may point you in the direction where you need to look for a solution.