How to find wattage rating of cables?

Electricblue · #1 08-08-2011, 02:04 PM

I got some speaker cables with my Fender Mustang V guitar head.

They don't have a wattage rating on them, or in the manual.

It's a 2x 75w head, so will this be the rating of the cables?

KramerBassFan · #2 08-08-2011, 02:11 PM

Cables don't have "wattage ratings".

As long as they are of a reasonable size, then you should be good to go.

JimmyM · #3 08-08-2011, 02:13 PM

You're putting too much thought into it. If they wouldn't work with the head, they wouldn't include them. You really only need to be concerned with that with heads that are 500w and up, and even then, it should only be a passing concern since almost all heads over 500w have speakons and pretty much all speakon cables are thick enough to handle the wattages.

Electricblue · #4 08-08-2011, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KramerBassFan

Cables don't have "wattage ratings".

As long as they are of a reasonable size, then you should be good to go.

I'm sure they would have a wattage rating.

You can't blast a buttload of watts through a cable and expect it to be fine

Each side of the cable is about 2mm thick.

It's a 2-core-side-by-side kind of cable.

Electricblue · #5 08-08-2011, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

You're putting too much thought into it. If they wouldn't work with the head, they wouldn't include them. You really only need to be concerned with that with heads that are 500w and up, and even then, it should only be a passing concern since almost all heads over 500w have speakons and pretty much all speakon cables are thick enough to handle the wattages.

Hi, I'm not concerned about using them with the head they were supplied with. I was going to use them with my 300w Ashdown head. They have right-angled ends so I can push the cabs right back to my wall without bending my massive-ass cables at the plug.

JKos · #6 08-08-2011, 02:16 PM

At 75 W, you could use 18 gauge zip cord. You'll be fine.

- John

JimmyM · #7 08-08-2011, 02:16 PM

You're not blasting a buttload of watts through it, though. 300w is not a buttload, either. I use to wire my SVT into my cab with a speaker cable I made out of two 1/4" plugs and a broken extension cord. When you get a buttload of watts, get something thicker. Till then, don't worry about it.

Rick Auricchio · #8 08-08-2011, 02:16 PM

No, there is no wattage rating for cables.

If they're 16-gauge or bigger (lower gauge number), they will pass tons of power.

Look at the power cord for your toaster...it's about 18 or 16 gauge, and that passes close to 1000 watts!

The only concern with cable gauge vs. power is that smaller cables will heat up with heavy power; this can melt the insulation. We're talking thousands of watts.

Smaller cables also have some resistance, which will affect your amplifier. But the resistance of any reasonable cable---18 or thicker---will be negligible. 18-gauge cable is about 0.006 ohms per foot, so you'd need hundreds of feet of that cable to make any difference there.

Electricblue · #9 08-08-2011, 02:19 PM

Ok, I should be fine then

if the cable is being overpowered (?) will it get hot?

As long as I don't underpower the cable, I should be fine

JKos · #10 08-08-2011, 02:23 PM

Wires could care less about "wattage." They only care about current and voltage, separately. Current causes a wire to heat up, not "wattage" or voltage. If the voltage exceeds the insulation ratings, then you can get arcing.

- John

Phalex · #11 08-08-2011, 02:26 PM

Cable is rated by ampacity. Conductor size, material, ambient temperature, all play a role. I wouldn't worry about it as long as you're using a speaker cable and not an instrument cable.

DD_BigBottom · #12 08-08-2011, 05:08 PM

I guess I'm weird as I consider everything connected to my rig as worth thinking about.
I'm willing to bet quite a few of TBer's have spent $100 or more on their guitar cable.
Your speaker cables are an important part of your rig. The quality, wire gauge and length
of your speaker cables helps your amp control the speakers hooked up to it. The speaker
cable pretty much determines the damping factor of the amp.

ElectricBlue asks a good question and with everyone's permission I'll attempt to give a
general answer. I'll assume a 6 ft. multi-strand speaker cable length and also assume we're
using 1/4" connectors. I'm also considering worst case where the speaker load could go
down to 2 Ohms. I'm also assuming that we've all spent hard earned dollars on our
instruments and gear and want it all to sound and perform as good as it was designed
to.

18 Gauge cables -
Good up to 150 Watts. Bigger is always better. I personally would not consider using
18 gauge speaker wire for Bass Guitar.

16 Gauge - Good up to 250 Watts, upper limit 300 Watts

14 Gauge - Good up to 500 Watts
600 Watts is the upper limit. 14 gauge is easy to find, not expensive and a good all around
choice. Use Speakons if you have the option.

12 Gauge - OK up to 2000 watts. With this kind of power you should be using Speakon
connectors.

In an emergency use anything you can get a hold of.

I make my own cables and start choking if I have to spend more than 60-70 cents per foot for
good quality speaker wire.

billfitzmaurice · #13 08-08-2011, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DD_BigBottom

18 Gauge cables -
Good up to 150 Watts. Bigger is always better. I personally would not consider using
18 gauge speaker wire for Bass Guitar.

16 Gauge - Good up to 250 Watts, upper limit 300 Watts

14 Gauge - Good up to 500 Watts
600 Watts is the upper limit. 14 gauge is easy to find, not expensive and a good all around
choice. Use Speakons if you have the option.

12 Gauge - OK up to 2000 watts. With this kind of power you should be using Speakon
connectors.

Close. To get the correct minimum gauge you need to consider the amp power, load impedance and cable length. Then you can figure out the gauge required for adequate current capacity and inaudible insertion loss, using a calculator like this one:
http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/spe...rassistant.swf

You can use more than the minimum gauge, but you won't hear any difference, so there's no point in doing so.

DD_BigBottom · #14 08-08-2011, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

Close. To get the correct minimum gauge you need to consider the amp power, load impedance and cable length. Then you can figure out the gauge required for adequate current capacity and inaudible insertion loss, using a calculator like this one:
http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/spe...rassistant.swf

You can use more than the minimum gauge, but you won't hear any difference, so there's no point in doing so.

That's an excellent and very handy calculator. Thanks for sharing the link. According the calculator, a 200 watt amp
driving a 4 ohm load could use 22 gauge speaker wire and still have less than 1 dB loss. I hope you're not
suggesting that we use 22 gauge wire to hook up our bass rigs.

I was kinda looking at amplifier power and the current it can drive through a speaker cable.
The info posted by me was only intended to answer the original question in a general way and not intended
to be a White Paper on insertion loss. Thanks again for the link to the calculator, I like it!

billfitzmaurice · #15 08-08-2011, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DD_BigBottom

I hope you're not
suggesting that we use 22 gauge wire to hook up our bass rigs.

I wouldn't because of the durability aspect. But you could. Most cabs are internally wired with 18 ga.

JimmyM · #16 08-08-2011, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DD_BigBottom

I guess I'm weird as I consider everything connected to my rig as worth thinking about.
I'm willing to bet quite a few of TBer's have spent $100 or more on their guitar cable.

Only those who buy into the nertz that $100 cable companies spew.

Quote:

Your speaker cables are an important part of your rig. The quality, wire gauge and length
of your speaker cables helps your amp control the speakers hooked up to it. The speaker
cable pretty much determines the damping factor of the amp.

Who told you that? Never listen to them again.

Quote:

ElectricBlue asks a good question and with everyone's permission I'll attempt to give a
general answer. I'll assume a 6 ft. multi-strand speaker cable length and also assume we're
using 1/4" connectors. I'm also considering worst case where the speaker load could go
down to 2 Ohms. I'm also assuming that we've all spent hard earned dollars on our
instruments and gear and want it all to sound and perform as good as it was designed
to.

18 Gauge cables -
Good up to 150 Watts. Bigger is always better. I personally would not consider using
18 gauge speaker wire for Bass Guitar.

16 Gauge - Good up to 250 Watts, upper limit 300 Watts

14 Gauge - Good up to 500 Watts
600 Watts is the upper limit. 14 gauge is easy to find, not expensive and a good all around
choice. Use Speakons if you have the option.

12 Gauge - OK up to 2000 watts. With this kind of power you should be using Speakon
connectors.

Again, where did you get this info? I've played pro for almost 35 years and never once heard anything of the sort.

Quote:

I make my own cables and start choking if I have to spend more than 60-70 cents per foot for
good quality speaker wire.

Now that part I agree with, even though I still buy them. But I just buy the ones on sale.

will33 · #17 08-08-2011, 09:45 PM

If we're talking about regular bass rigs and normal cable runs, just remember a piece of 16AWG lampcord will do the same thing technically. As far as being able to be pulled on, stepped on, wound up and stretched out every night, that's where your value comes in, not in some majical tone thing.

Mybikeisblack · #18 08-08-2011, 09:52 PM

As a mechanic, I only use thicker wire for higher amperage connections or when needing the wires to stretch a longer distance.

Rick Auricchio · #19 08-08-2011, 10:08 PM

+1 to all of Jimmy's comments.

grendle · #20 08-08-2011, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DD_BigBottom

I guess I'm weird as I consider everything connected to my rig as worth thinking about.
I'm willing to bet quite a few of TBer's have spent $100 or more on their guitar cable.
Your speaker cables are an important part of your rig. The quality, wire gauge and length
of your speaker cables helps your amp control the speakers hooked up to it. The speaker
cable pretty much determines the damping factor of the amp.

ElectricBlue asks a good question and with everyone's permission I'll attempt to give a
general answer. I'll assume a 6 ft. multi-strand speaker cable length and also assume we're
using 1/4" connectors. I'm also considering worst case where the speaker load could go
down to 2 Ohms. I'm also assuming that we've all spent hard earned dollars on our
instruments and gear and want it all to sound and perform as good as it was designed
to.

18 Gauge cables -
Good up to 150 Watts. Bigger is always better. I personally would not consider using
18 gauge speaker wire for Bass Guitar.

16 Gauge - Good up to 250 Watts, upper limit 300 Watts

14 Gauge - Good up to 500 Watts
600 Watts is the upper limit. 14 gauge is easy to find, not expensive and a good all around
choice. Use Speakons if you have the option.

12 Gauge - OK up to 2000 watts. With this kind of power you should be using Speakon
connectors.

In an emergency use anything you can get a hold of.

I make my own cables and start choking if I have to spend more than 60-70 cents per foot for
good quality speaker wire.

That is electrically correct. Run the thickest gauge you can and you'll be fine.