Cables cables cables

  • Beware, there is a lot of hype and snake oil in selling "high end" cables. The only things that matter are the specs and construction.


    Speaker cable with "magic copper" is complete bull. Nobody can hear oxygen free copper...unless the placebo affect counts as hearing. This is so common in car audio. Stupid money is spent on super cables. As long as the specs are correct, the electrical signals, amps, and speakers don't care.


    Signal cables with proper specs can be had at a fraction of the hyped boutique cable prices and electrically are the same or better. Quality construction is important of course.


    Cables are important. Its just unfortunate that "audiophile" fake claims are used to sell overpriced cables....and some are not educated and fall in the trap. Blind tests have shown that we can't really hear these "differences" unless the comparable cable is out of spec junk.


    Buyers beware! Buy quality not hype.

  • After reading this thread, I started looking into cables and I'm trying to determine the best cables for my personal setup. I'm trying to find the best bang for the buck cables for the following:
    1. Guitar to pedal board
    2. Pedal Board to Kemper
    3. Kemper to Yamaha dxr10


    Can anyone suggest what "specs" I need to look for with these cables (ie. ts, trs, capacity/resistance- I don't really understand this). Can anyone recommend cables that are best brands. I don't plan on spending 100 plus dollars on one cable, but don't want to buy bad cables either.


    Is there a need to look for HIgh quality midi cables or are they all the same spec wise?

  • I am in the US. I'm wondering if cables like George L or magomi cables have been successful for kemper users. There is so much hype on this subject that I'm trying to get a good quality cable without over paying.
    I'm also wondering if I need the exact same cables going in front of the kpa as I have going to my yamaha dxr10 (instrument ts)?

  • I am in the US. I'm wondering if cables like George L or magomi cables have been successful for kemper users. There is so much hype on this subject that I'm trying to get a good quality cable without over paying.


    I use Mogami in my studio for all patching/interconnects, balanced speaker connections, microphones and instruments. I bought the cable bulk and built my own cables and saved considerable cash. Very happy with the results.

    Gettin' funky up in here..

  • I have a set that I use live... the Kemper interconnects and guitar. They work just fine.. I'm not on the road like some though.. I live mostly in the studio with light travel.

    Gettin' funky up in here..

  • yes Tip Sleeve (TS) for the guitar inputs.. and as I understand it.. the 1/4" outputs in the back are TS not TRS.. so yes, the same cables. The XLR outputs (balanced) from the Kemper can go XLR or TRS if you convert to 1/4" on the board side. So this would be more preferred to greater than 25' runs.. i believe that most patch XLR's to front of house and either patch monitor outs to stage/amp or if you're doing stereo, the main 1/4" TS cables from the Mains..

    Gettin' funky up in here..

  • After reading this thread, I started looking into cables and I'm trying to determine the best cables for my personal setup. I'm trying to find the best bang for the buck cables for the following:
    1. Guitar to pedal board
    2. Pedal Board to Kemper
    3. Kemper to Yamaha dxr10


    Can anyone suggest what "specs" I need to look for with these cables (ie. ts, trs, capacity/resistance- I don't really understand this). Can anyone recommend cables that are best brands. I don't plan on spending 100 plus dollars on one cable, but don't want to buy bad cables either.


    Is there a need to look for HIgh quality midi cables or are they all the same spec wise?


    First of all, you should obviously go for decent cable construction and good termination, but most any....decent brand offers that.


    1. Nobody can tell you what you need, that's entirely up to you, your guitar, amp etc 8) The audible difference being a result of total capacitance, measured in pF/ft. A 10 ft 60 pF/ft cable will sound the same as a 20 ft 30 pF/ft cable. In short, lower capacity will yield "crisper" sound; it will retain more high frequencies and the resonant peak will be at a higher frequency. Where this resonant peak ends up may make a huge difference to the sound. A little image to describe:
    [Blocked Image: http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/lemme/secrets15.gif]


    (This applies when using a guitar with passive pickups. With active electronics it doesn't matter.)


    2. Unless you have only true bypass pedals, it doesn't matter. If you have only TB pedals, the capacitance of this cable will add to the cable from your guitar when all pedals are off. If you do use only TB pedals I'd suggest adding a buffer at the end on the pedalboard.


    3. Whatever 8)

    Edited 2 times, last by Trazan ().

  • Thank you guys a ton. This is very useful information to me! Very much appreciated. I love the kpa community forum.


    Yeah.
    While it's important to choose a good cable for your guitar socket, a pre's output delivers a line-level signal at a lower impedance, and it has been showed that the cable doesn't make much of a difference.
    The above provided that the cable is well manufactured, that is:


    Good shielding, no "holes";
    Good plugs, good contact;
    Very good soldering;
    No oxidations;
    Resistance to daily use (warping, coiling, pulling, curling...).


    With a cable where the above is even partially not true, performance is going to get worse in the time. So you sometime pay more not because the cable sounds better (even tho it might), but because it's not going to sound worse within a year or two.


    :)

    Edited once, last by viabcroce: Lots of Pad typos :p ().

  • Reliability is better with well built cables that use Switchcraft or Neutrik connectors, instead of the lighter duty "generic" connectors that tend to be on "store brand" cables.


    Well built cables have no handling noise, and there is no sense of missing high end or flubby bass.


    You can get quality cables for low bucks: ZZounds sells the Conquest H Series Instrument Cable, 18 Foot, for $19.20 Even this inexpensive line has a lifetime warranty, and they are quiet and reliable.