A BLIND SHOOTOUT THAT WILL STUN YOU!

[Wolfeman]

It's all about resistance, capacitance, and inductance. Different thickness cable, different length cable, changes all those variables.

So tonally yes, you will hear a difference if you change cables around. I've found that for shorter cables, I like using thicker wire. For longer runs, I've found that I can get away with thinner cable to keep the tone the 'same'.

Good test Greg, I figured it would be cable type or cable length you changed.

 

[lolzgreg]

Cheers, Wolfe. Hope business is going well on your end.

 

[AD Chaos]

So,

I'm supposed to pay for an order tomorrow, 2 speaker (Monster) cables included. The short one I ordered (3ft) goes for almost 16 bucks. The Van Den Hul on LavaCable goes for.. $145.95!!
Does it REALLY make that much of a difference?? (I know you were comparing instrument cables, but still)

I'm looking at the equivalent 3' in Mogami for $43.95.. should I be going for that one instead?

 

[Ermz]

Eddy is right, when we're dealing with distorted tones the cleanest, brightest signals don't always equate to what we're after. In this case thought I think it was a matter of decongestion - though I didn't run any of them through an amp.

Kind of sucks how every part of the chain matters so much, from power distribution all through the gear and even the cables. You could spend a fortune setting a place up.

 

[lolzgreg]

Eddy is right, when we're dealing with distorted tones the cleanest, brightest signals don't always equate to what we're after. In this case thought I think it was a matter of decongestion - though I didn't run any of them through an amp.

A was definitely less congested; the Monster is robbing high end and coloring the midrange. A cleaner top end will get you more clarity without having to go overboard on amp settings IMO.

Kind of sucks how every part of the chain matters so much, from power distribution all through the gear and even the cables. You could spend a fortune setting a place up.

Been there, done that

The next reamp I do will require an A/B test of cable

 

[Boneman]

How do they work?

Different magnets will alter the pickups tone. The best example is putting an Alnico 5 into a Duncan Distortion which makes it a JB. (gotta change the spacers too)

I thought in this case that maybe A was a more open sounding pickup then by changing the mag it scooped the mids a little....but I was completely wrong.

Amazing test, Im now GASsing for cables!!

 

[AudioGeekZine]

B sounded best to me. A and B were very close but A was slightly tighter. C was just really flabby in the low end compared with the others as the primary difference.


I knew what the answers were before listening but still had at preference for B. Could just be the performance though.

Is that monster cable directional?

 

[Wisheraser]

Different magnets will alter the pickups tone. The best example is putting an Alnico 5 into a Duncan Distortion which makes it a JB. (gotta change the spacers too)

Pretty sure that he was just making an ICP joke.

 

[Boneman]

Pretty sure that he was just making an ICP joke.

ICP ??

Im not cool enough for acronyms

 

[John_C]

ICP ??

Im not cool enough for acronyms

and obviously way too cool for wikipedia, and just to be a proper dick http://wiki.schalkburger.za.net/?q=ICP+magnets
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/fcking-magnets-how-do-they-work#.TfhwCYIoOYk

 

[Boneman]

Those clowns are still around....geez.

Ok thanks for the internet pwnage, been a bad day for me. I took a crap this afternoon and got poo on my hand, even my toilet owns me.

 

[KHE]

i noticed a similar difference when i was switching from my 6m-Neutrik-Cable to a 6m Vovox.. (passive guitar => DI-Box)
expensive cables, but they are worth it (but, if the Vovox-company not would be located in my city, i think i wouldn`t spent 120bucks for one cable...)
i may find the comparison-files on my drive which i recorded...

thanks for this test greg!

 

[MarkG]

a chain is only as strong as its weakest link

You just gave me flashbacks to my father going over my report card in highschool.

On topic, I've always been using cheap cables. Looks like its time to step it up when I get my new job. Thanks for the shootout Greg, very very useful!

*edit*

Now I also wonder about my wireless...

 

[John_C]

I did my own test to widen the sample variety:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/equipment/692926-my-version-cable-shootout.html

 

[colonel_claypoo]

Sorry, short german part incoming:
Bloß weil solche kleinen Unterschiede auf Englisch manchmal missverständlich sind: So wie ich das sehe hat er schlicht den Part zweimal gespielt und aufgenommen. Beim ersten Mal eben mit Kabel A und dann mit Kabel B (und C). Das wieder-aufnehmen wie du es gemacht hast ist zwar auch interessant (hätte da dann auch Unterschiede erwartet) aber - glaube ich - nicht wie Greg den Test gemacht hat.

ja, is manchmal nich leicht das alles auf englisch verständlich rüberzubringen.
aber ich habs auch so verstanden wie du. jedoch dachte ich, dass der test besser wäre, wenn jeder testclip exakt der gleiche ist. deswegen wollte ich eine DI spur haben und diese noch einmal aufnehmen. somit ändert sich ja nur eine variable. bei gregs test gabs ja 2 variablen, anderes kabel, andere takes. keine ahnung warum ich keine unterschiede festgestellt hab, wie greg.
vielleichts macht das kabel nur was im zusammenhang mit der impendanz der gitarrenpickups. das heisst, dass man wirklich immer neue takes mit der gitarre spielen müsste und dann die kabel wechseln sollte.

ok, enough german now, sorry guys.

 

[amarshism]

Eddy is right, when we're dealing with distorted tones the cleanest, brightest signals don't always equate to what we're after. In this case thought I think it was a matter of decongestion - though I didn't run any of them through an amp.

To he fair I'd rather have everything there and adjust my tone to suit then knowing I'm lacking from the beginning.

 

[jipchen]

@colonel_claypoo:
Yeah, it's obvious that the the signal is lost on the way from the guitar to the DI Box. And it seems like using the same "low-quality" cable again won't result in further loss, or at least no audible loss. I would've expected the signal to be even worse if you re-record the signal through the standard cable again. On the other hand, it's quite logical: Using a high-end cable for the re-recording won't result in a better signal because what's lost is already lost and a different cable won't add new frequencies (or restore the lost ones of course).

I hate to seem so lazy, but I'd really do the test if I had a low budget instrument cable here So if you've got the time, a shootout with the Sommer cable would be much appreciated

 

[Ermz]

Its not necessarily 'lacking'.

My EMG 707s always sound more hi fi than 81s going in, but that doesnt mean everyone thinks the 707s are better pickups. We have to put this into context, otherwise the results are misleading.

 

[AD Chaos]

Ended up getting a long speaker Monster (20ft), and a second 3', a Mogami gold (already have a 3' Monster)
We'll see if there's difference

Thanks?

 

[ForHerDeadEyes]

Ended up getting a long speaker Monster (20ft), and a second 3', a Mogami gold (already have a 3' Monster)
We'll see if there's difference

Thanks?

You stay classy, San Diego. I'm Ron Burgundy?