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Post by adamjbrass on Aug 15, 2020 6:43:18 GMT -6
Accusound GX-2 for my lap steel setup made a huge difference to an instrument and amplifier that were made in 1950
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Post by subspace on Aug 15, 2020 8:52:38 GMT -6
I favored a couple guitar cables since I learned to play, once I learned about gear I discovered they were both Belden 9778. I have plenty of Mogami/Canare I use after buffers, but I only hang 9778 on the output of a passive pick-up.
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Post by svart on Aug 15, 2020 9:25:35 GMT -6
I like Van Damme cable. But then again, I find that instrument cable that's too clean makes guitars sound too crispy. I've had pros tell me the same thing. Some of them tend to steer away from the top end guitar cables and like the tone of the mid range products. After figuring out that short low-cap cables were too bright sounding, I switched back to a 10$ 25ft cable I bought back in the 90s. Sounds like a guitar should using that cable.
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Post by Guitar on Aug 15, 2020 9:28:50 GMT -6
The cable I've been using for 10 years or more is a Gotham, I really like it. It's a DIY.
Also really like the various coily colored cables sold at Musician's Friend.
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Post by ragan on Aug 15, 2020 9:33:37 GMT -6
I vastly prefer the ones that are within reach and don’t break on me.
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Post by Ward on Aug 15, 2020 11:06:04 GMT -6
Rudy's didn't have an special guitar cable recommendation. I'll have to see if there are any good guitar cable comparisons when I have a little spare time. I might just go for a Mogami, but I'm no rush, so I'll look around. but, good old Belden sounds better . . . just picks up a little more noise, IME.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Aug 15, 2020 12:53:57 GMT -6
While I'm looking into this, I bought a D'Addario cable that was at a closeout price. I needed strings, so I figured this will be good enough for now. It was only $12 reduced from $23. I still want to test a few high end brands, but meanwhile, this was the hype from their ad:
D’Addario Classic Pro Instrument Cable Features: Exclusive In=Out technology provides low capacitance for pure signal transparency Geo-Tip Neutrik connectors accommodate imperfect jack tolerances for reliable connection Ultra-pure oxygen-free copper conductors Spiral shielding for incredibly reduced noise handling Durable construction with flexible jackets and single-molded strain relief plugs
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Post by stormymondays on Aug 15, 2020 13:29:54 GMT -6
That’s a good cable as well. You’re going to find bigger differences with cable lengths than with cable brands, in my experience.
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Post by notneeson on Aug 15, 2020 22:30:51 GMT -6
While I'm looking into this, I bought a D'Addario cable that was at a closeout price. I needed strings, so I figured this will be good enough for now. It was only $12 reduced from $23. I still want to test a few high end brands, but meanwhile, this was the hype from their ad: D’Addario Classic Pro Instrument Cable Features: Exclusive In=Out technology provides low capacitance for pure signal transparency Geo-Tip Neutrik connectors accommodate imperfect jack tolerances for reliable connection Ultra-pure oxygen-free copper conductors Spiral shielding for incredibly reduced noise handling Durable construction with flexible jackets and single-molded strain relief plugs This is exactly what I do: score premium cables at reasonable prices. Not married to any brand.I have some Audio Technica guitar cables that are good and affordable. Martin, you might try the ground lift on a quality DI as well. I don’t mind what the transformer does to the signal and they can be real problem solvers with ground issues.
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Post by mattbroiler on Aug 16, 2020 3:27:21 GMT -6
likewise I grabbed some Kirlin cables on sale awhile back - very nice quality but I would not have bought them at the regular price. Another handy accessory to go with a good quality cable is the Radial Dragster which is great for adjusting the sound of different guitar/pickup combos
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Post by Guitar on Aug 16, 2020 9:16:15 GMT -6
While I'm looking into this, I bought a D'Addario cable that was at a closeout price. I needed strings, so I figured this will be good enough for now. It was only $12 reduced from $23. I still want to test a few high end brands, but meanwhile, this was the hype from their ad: D’Addario Classic Pro Instrument Cable Features: Exclusive In=Out technology provides low capacitance for pure signal transparency Geo-Tip Neutrik connectors accommodate imperfect jack tolerances for reliable connection Ultra-pure oxygen-free copper conductors Spiral shielding for incredibly reduced noise handling Durable construction with flexible jackets and single-molded strain relief plugs This is exactly what I do: score premium cables at reasonable prices. Not married to any brand.I have some Audio Technica guitar cables that are good and affordable. Martin, you might try the ground lift on a quality DI as well. I don’t mind what the transformer does to the signal and they can be real problem solvers with ground issues. Please don't take this as snark but I'd like to talk about what a DI does to a guitar/(pedals)/amplifier setup. Usually a passive DI passes the "through" signal right from the "in" signal. It doesn't go through the transformer. But the transformer will still add a load to the input, in parallel, which could darken the top end of the guitar. That's probably what I assume you're talking about in this context. Some active DI's like the Bo Hansen or the Avenson ISO-DI will pass the signal through a transformer or some other active electronics to isolate the through signal as well as buffering it to a low impedance to drive long cables and so on. The Radial J48 also does this. These will often require phantom power to do all of this. But yeah, if the ground lift "works" then it works. Those things seem like magic to me sometimes, or some black art. I guess you're supposed to image all the ground connections in your room and how they are actually connected within your walls and so on, your racks, your power strips, before they finally return to the earth rod in your yard or whatever.
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vox66
Full Member
Posts: 18
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Post by vox66 on Aug 16, 2020 9:52:28 GMT -6
I bought a couple of Pete Cornish cables. They sound great and are very rugged. Jimmy Page and Sir Paul both use them so they must be pretty darn good. A 20 footer is around $100. www.petecornish.co.uk/hdgtr_bass.html
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Post by notneeson on Aug 16, 2020 10:19:10 GMT -6
This is exactly what I do: score premium cables at reasonable prices. Not married to any brand.I have some Audio Technica guitar cables that are good and affordable. Martin, you might try the ground lift on a quality DI as well. I don’t mind what the transformer does to the signal and they can be real problem solvers with ground issues. Please don't take this as snark but I'd like to talk about what a DI does to a guitar/(pedals)/amplifier setup. Usually a passive DI passes the "through" signal right from the "in" signal. It doesn't go through the transformer. But the transformer will still add a load to the input, in parallel, which could darken the top end of the guitar. That's probably what I assume you're talking about in this context. Some active DI's like the Bo Hansen or the Avenson ISO-DI will pass the signal through a transformer or some other active electronics to isolate the through signal as well as buffering it to a low impedance to drive long cables and so on. The Radial J48 also does this. These will often require phantom power to do all of this. But yeah, if the ground lift "works" then it works. Those things seem like magic to me sometimes, or some black art. I guess you're supposed to image all the ground connections in your room and how they are actually connected within your walls and so on, your racks, your power strips, before they finally return to the earth rod in your yard or whatever. Ah, thanks! Not snarky at all. My post was unclear and not technically rigorous. But what I have experienced is: 1. It can definitely solve ground problems, almost magically like you say. It’s not clear if that’s Martin’s issue. 2. Both outputs (to amp and mic pre) ultimately sound a little different than plugging right into your amp, but not in a way that I tend to find objectionable. I do think the active DIs tend to have a little “hardness” to them, but it’s subtle. Nothing sounds quite like plugging right in to the amp, but sometimes there are good reasons to go a different route. For instance, if you capture a DI track then you can reamp or blend in sims with your amp and sometimes those are good options to have.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Aug 16, 2020 11:58:17 GMT -6
Thanks vox66. Wow, McCartney, Knopfler, Sting, Jimmy Page, that's quite a list. Did you get yours by ordering from England?
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vox66
Full Member
Posts: 18
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Post by vox66 on Aug 16, 2020 14:52:01 GMT -6
Yes, I bought them direct and they were shipped to me within 10 days. I won’t need to buy any other guitar cables......ever! They’re that good!
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Post by jeremygillespie on Aug 16, 2020 17:57:26 GMT -6
Hey Martin, when you unplug everything from your amp and turn it on, that will be the quietest you will get it. If it’s still making noise, try a ground lift on the amp - the little grey thing that only has the 2 prongs on it. The older ones are nice cause you can flip them upside down and that sometimes helps with the noise. Move the amp around the room to find where it is the most quiet.
After that plug in just your guitar. Depending on pickups and the types of lights in your room/environment, moving around the room or turning in your chair may change the amount of noise you get.
Things get complicated when you add a pedal board using wall power, a di that is plugged into a mic preamp that is then plugged into a compressor, into an interface, into a computer, and so on and so on.
Start slowly adding equipment and carefully checking the ground noise until things are quiet.
I’ve spent hours getting a guitar signal quiet in the studio and having the guitarist blame my equipment before realizing it was a loose input jack on one of his boutique pedals (that didn’t sound all that good in the first place). It can be aggravating but there is always a solution to get rid of the noise. If it’s not a blaring loud thing, it’s generally not going to be the cable.
I generally use those Diaddario ones myself and get them on sale when I can.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Aug 16, 2020 18:43:08 GMT -6
While I'm looking into this, I bought a D'Addario cable that was at a closeout price. I needed strings, so I figured this will be good enough for now. It was only $12 reduced from $23. I still want to test a few high end brands, but meanwhile, this was the hype from their ad: D’Addario Classic Pro Instrument Cable Features: Exclusive In=Out technology provides low capacitance for pure signal transparency Geo-Tip Neutrik connectors accommodate imperfect jack tolerances for reliable connection Ultra-pure oxygen-free copper conductors Spiral shielding for incredibly reduced noise handling Durable construction with flexible jackets and single-molded strain relief plugs Where did you get it?
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Post by notneeson on Aug 16, 2020 18:50:10 GMT -6
Hey Martin, when you unplug everything from your amp and turn it on, that will be the quietest you will get it. If it’s still making noise, try a ground lift on the amp - the little grey thing that only has the 2 prongs on it. The older ones are nice cause you can flip them upside down and that sometimes helps with the noise. Move the amp around the room to find where it is the most quiet. After that plug in just your guitar. Depending on pickups and the types of lights in your room/environment, moving around the room or turning in your chair may change the amount of noise you get. Things get complicated when you add a pedal board using wall power, a di that is plugged into a mic preamp that is then plugged into a compressor, into an interface, into a computer, and so on and so on. Start slowly adding equipment and carefully checking the ground noise until things are quiet. I’ve spent hours getting a guitar signal quiet in the studio and having the guitarist blame my equipment before realizing it was a loose input jack on one of his boutique pedals (that didn’t sound all that good in the first place). It can be aggravating but there is always a solution to get rid of the noise. If it’s not a blaring loud thing, it’s generally not going to be the cable. I generally use those Diaddario ones myself and get them on sale when I can. I was tracking basics in this room one time and the guitarist insisted on leaving the iso both doors open so he wouldn't have to plug into the tie line that runs from the live room to a 1/4" on the wall plate. Probably 8' of "extra" cabling. This fellow built (lame) guitars and was a big fish in a small gigging pond, had a high estimation of his own abilities and had wanted to track it all at his project studio. He gave me a dissertation about how it would ruin his tone with the extra capacitance— to a Hot Rod Deluxe, not even a particularly interesting amp, but I digress. Long story short, it was a band that the drummer put together just for basics and nothing the guy played made the cut, he does not have one note on the final mixes. But, I still had to fight his bleed in the overheads on every mix like an obstinate ghost. I hate having to fight for credibility, it's such a drag and leads to so many bad decisions on the other side of the glass. Of course, these guys have all had someone tell them to turn down live a million times so they can "mix the band." They are aren't born distrusting AEs.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Aug 16, 2020 20:10:17 GMT -6
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Post by jeremygillespie on Aug 17, 2020 8:04:47 GMT -6
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Post by Martin John Butler on Aug 17, 2020 8:18:12 GMT -6
Thanks Jeremy. I was thinking of that one! Since the other one was on sale, I figured I'll grab one for now. I need a few cables for when people come by to rehearse, so I'm still thinking on which "better" cable to try.
Those PeteCornish cables sound interesting. If Jimmy Page and Mark Knopfler uses them, I'd sure like to try one for myself.
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