Quality Guitar Cables?

Peatrical · 09-19-2006, 09:15 PM

planet waves cables... life time gaurantee and all.

Hopeful · 09-19-2006, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peatrical

planet waves cables... life time gaurantee and all.

Life time guarantees are fine except cables tend to fail at inopportune times. Like Major Tom said, they usually fail at the connections leading to the ends. The nice thing with my George L's is I don't have to take the time to drive to a music store to trade them in - which cost you really should consider. Like I said before, in under two minutes, I can repair my cable on the spot if needed. Plus, they are very high quality cables used by many pros and I stand by them.

mattbatt · 09-22-2006, 12:49 PM

Ok, as I said before, I'm using new Monster Cables, but not the highest quality gold tipped ones (they're still like $28 a piece). Problem, last night at band practice I ran ABY into my Orange AD30HTC and Fender HRD (which runs a PODXTL through it). I found that plugging directly into the Orange was brighter and contained more shimmer then running though the ABY and then Ernie Ball volume pedal.

Is this just the nature of splitting the guitar signals into 2 paths, or is it a cheap Morelly ABY or should I use gold plated tips? Major Tom?

Cables really make a difference! Anyone who knows Orange knows that the last thing you want is a diminished tone, especially for a hand built 2k amp. I want the best signal flow! (1 reason I won't run digital thru it).

**thesteve** · 09-22-2006, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattbatt

Ok, as I said before, I'm using new Monster Cables, but not the highest quality gold tipped ones (they're still like $28 a piece). Problem, last night at band practice I ran ABY into my Orange AD30HTC and Fender HRD (which runs a PODXTL through it). I found that plugging directly into the Orange was brighter and contained more shimmer then running though the ABY and then Ernie Ball volume pedal.

Is this just the nature of splitting the guitar signals into 2 paths, or is it a cheap Morelly ABY or should I use gold plated tips? Major Tom?

Cables really make a difference! Anyone who knows Orange knows that the last thing you want is a diminished tone, especially for a hand built 2k amp. I want the best signal flow! (1 reason I won't run digital thru it).

It's probably not your cable's fault. Something in your line is buffering poorly (or perhaps not buffering at all). Have you tried to see how it sounds if you take the volulme pedal out of the line, or just ran the volume pedals to the Orange without the ABY?

mattbatt · 09-22-2006, 03:21 PM

I'll try it with just the volume pedal in front of the amp and see. Someone was talking about different length cables: I have 1 regular (something like 12' ) going from guitar to ABY then a .75-1' from ABY to volume, and then another regular.

So does this loss of tone sound abnormal when using an ABY or is it just the name of the game?

Major Tom · 09-22-2006, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattbatt

Ok, as I said before, I'm using new Monster Cables, but not the highest quality gold tipped ones (they're still like $28 a piece). Problem, last night at band practice I ran ABY into my Orange AD30HTC and Fender HRD (which runs a PODXTL through it). I found that plugging directly into the Orange was brighter and contained more shimmer then running though the ABY and then Ernie Ball volume pedal.

Is this just the nature of splitting the guitar signals into 2 paths, or is it a cheap Morelly ABY or should I use gold plated tips? Major Tom?

Cables really make a difference! Anyone who knows Orange knows that the last thing you want is a diminished tone, especially for a hand built 2k amp. I want the best signal flow! (1 reason I won't run digital thru it).

I would suspect the volume pedal is causing at least part your problem. There's basically 2 types of volume pedals, one is for passive guitar pickup input (high impedance), the others for buffered - like from a pedal (low impedance). I think Ernie Ball pedals use a 250K pot for the passive, I think most use a 25K or 50K forlow impedance. If you have a low impedance volume pedal, and don't use a buffering device in front of it, it will sound awful. Even using a "high impedance" one with a 250K pot will trash some of your highs, especially if you roll back on the guitar volume, which does that some anyway, and/or actually use the volume pedal to reduce volume. And then of course, a weakened signal isn't going to drive your amp the same....

As far as the ABY box, I don't know what kind of circuitry is in there, but if its splitting a passive guitar signal into 2 outputs, without having any buffering, I would think that would cause significant loss of highs and oomph. Is it an active splitter?

A passive pickup's output is very weak to begin with - when you lower the impedance of the pickup's circuit with a volume pedal, or splitting it, or both, it causes too much load, which weakens the signal, most noticeable in the loss of highs. Yoo much load means the circuit is trying to draw more current than the pickup can create; pickups aren't capable of creating much current. You need to use a buffering device before that other stuff. Any non-true bypass pedal effect, or an eq pedal, etc. will work;even when switched off, they buffer the signal. Buffering means that it boosts the curent, so lower impedance stuff downstream in yer chain won't load it down.

My rule of thumb: guitar>cord>amp is good. Adding stuff in between the guitar and amp? In that case, guitar>cord>buffering device>whatever>whatever>amp.

mattbatt · 09-22-2006, 04:18 PM

My guitar is passive. The ABY has a 9 volt battery . . . just for LED lights. So it's not an active device. Is my Ernie Ball low or high impedance?. I don't have any analog pedals, what would be a buffering device? It has to be non-true bypass? (everyone seems to want true bypass). Is there such a thing as an active ABY switcher and if so, would I need a buffer?

Learning a lot,
Thanks guys!

You know, I found some other people out there in guitar internet land with the same problems with their Morely ABY switcher sapping tone.

One guy bought a Voodoo 4 way amp switcher and said it solved the problem, but those are $250.

I found this for a little more:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/pro...ull_sku=153931

Anyone have these problems? A good ABY switcher? Should I start a new topic with this one?

The problem is quite huge when you think of it: spending $$$ on amps and having tone destroyed by a $45 switcher!

**thesteve** · 09-22-2006, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattbatt

I found this for a little more:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/pro...ull_sku=153931

Anyone have these problems? A good ABY switcher? Should I start a new topic with this one?

The problem is quite huge when you think of it: spending $$$ on amps and having tone destroyed by a $45 switcher!

I don't know anything about that switcher in particular, but I know that Radial has a reputation for putting out a high quality product.

Major Tom · 09-22-2006, 07:32 PM

Its not the splitter's fault, its doing what its supposed to do.

I think Ernie Ball pedals come in both low and high impedance versions - either way, I strongly suggest using a buffering pedal in front of it. Ever notice how when you turn the guitar's volume down, it loses high end? Passive pickup into high impedance volume pedal does the same thing.

Non-true bypass pedals buffer the signal whether switched on or off. True bypass pedals don't buffer when they are off, they are essentially out of the circuit, and don't change the impedance of the circuit (load). Buffering pedals will color the sound somewhat - my analogy is like a copier; the first generation copy is pretty good, but each time you make a copy of the copy, it degrades a bit. Same with non-true bypass pedals - the more you put in the chain, the more degraded the signal will be, because each one degrades/changes it a bit, and then the next one degrades the already degraded signal, and so forth. Most knowledgeable pedal geeks will tell you that the first pedal in the chain of a sizeable pedal rig should be buffering.

Say you have a generator, gas powered 120 volt at 20 amp. The limit of the load you can put on it is 20 amps, when you start exceeding that, the voltage will begin to drop, because it can't meet the demand. Guitar pickups actually generate a minute amount of electricity, They operate well with a very small load, aka high impedance. The total load includes the guitar's own volume control, tone control, and then whatever else is in the chain. In your case, the volume pedal lowers the impedance, and then the splitter connects it to the input circuitry of 2 amps. That's too low of an overall impedance, too much load. A buffering pedal first in line boosts the amount of current available downstream by a significant amount - now you can put volume pedals, splitters hooked up to a couple amps and so forth without overloading the pickups. The 20 amp generator has a circuit breaker or fuse to protect against overload. The guitar doesn't - nothing would burn up, it will just sound bad.

ANy non true-bypass pedal will buffer; distortion, OD pedals, chorus, etc. etc. I recommend a Dan'O 7 band eq pedal - its only 30 bucks. It buffers, great solo booster - it has up to 15 db of boost even with the eq bands at 0. Its probably about as transparent in the chain as anything else.

Soap · 09-22-2006, 10:13 PM

Planet Waves always worked for me. I have 20', works great.

CobbofSHAKEN · 09-23-2006, 02:35 PM

I have been using one of the 21 ft. Lower end s-100 Monster cables for a year and a half now of playing everyday as well as touring and playing shows almost every weekend and it is still working perfectly. i have never had a problem out of it and it has definately seen its share of abuse. both ends are slightly bent and such but its still sounds as good as new. from this experience i will definately be buying more monster cables in the future.

gtr-playr · 10-25-2006, 03:58 PM

Hi, Rapco Road Hog Cloth without a doubt. They are expensive, but less expensive than Spectraflex. Worth every penny in my opinion. They can be ordered in several lengths with any combination of connectors. When my worship team is up, I carry my own set of these instrument and mic cables with no problems in three years.

Ax · 10-25-2006, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtr-playr

Hi, Rapco Road Hog Cloth without a doubt. They are expensive, but less expensive than Spectraflex. Worth every penny in my opinion. They can be ordered in several lengths with any combination of connectors. When my worship team is up, I carry my own set of these instrument and mic cables with no problems in three years.

I would never pay another dime for a rapco cable... i'm sorry to day but i've never had good experience with these...

jmjlai · 10-25-2006, 07:32 PM

i know that others may be great but i love tourflex http://www.digiflexcables.com/digifl...s_en/tour.html . they have a good weight to them and the reflif on the jack is amazing and the connectors never screw up. others may dissagree but these are the best if you want to play with an arm and a leg attached!