Cable Length and Signal Loss

[sammcgrath]

The guy at the store told me that any cables longer than 18ft result in signal loss.

Can anyone confirm or refute this???

I ended up buying an 18ft cable, but i have a 25ft at home and I want to know if I use it coming out of my effects pedal will I loose any of my tone??

I saw some of the forums talking about certain cable types that result in loss of highs.

[Staccato]

I've heard 15 ft. or less is okay, anyone?

[NateS]

it depends on the capacitance of the cable - i want to say a low-capacitance cable is better, but i've only picked up on glancing knowledge, so i might be the opposite of right, i cant' remember off hand...

it also depends on what pedals you have, whether your bass is active or passive, etc. Lots of things to look into and a cable is only one aspect.

you don't loose signal, either way - the signal will travel it. the cable's capacitance will eventually start to cause you to loose high-end signal, but NOT all of it. you just might sounding duller... which if you like a bottom heavy sound, might be ok. again, there are lots of aspects to look at, not just how long the cable is.

if you have an active bass with a buffered output, it won't matter either way, for instance.

[sammcgrath]

I'm using an active Fender Jazz, Source Audio Bass distortion and i've tried it at home, sounds fine, but I guess the gig this weekend is the true test.

This all came about because I bought my first effects bass pedal.

[NateS]

ah, welcome to the disease of effects pedals.

i'd say not to worry about it. I run a 21 foot cable between my bass and my pedal board, through 8-10 pedals, then through another 21 foot cable, and i don't even think about it.

from what i can find on the Source Audio, it's "active analog bypass", so i don't know about how it's buffered, but since it's an active bass at least that part should be buffered and you won't be affected all that much.

Rock on, and be sure to post in the "show your pedalboard" thread in the effects forum once you'r symptoms start showing

[sammcgrath]

Originally Posted by bassk81976

ah, welcome to the disease of effects pedals.

i'd say not to worry about it. I run a 21 foot cable between my bass and my pedal board, through 8-10 pedals, then through another 21 foot cable, and i don't even think about it.

from what i can find on the Source Audio, it's "active analog bypass", so i don't know about how it's buffered, but since it's an active bass at least that part should be buffered and you won't be affected all that much.

Rock on, and be sure to post in the "show your pedalboard" thread in the effects forum once you'r symptoms start showing

Hahah.
that thread is so AWESOME!!! you seen the guys with the LED lights and stuff??

[NateS]

yep, i need to take a night pic of my board, as soon as i get it back together. Lots o' fun

[JimmyM]

if you're using an active bass, then the length of the cable is moot. and personally, i think too much is made of signal loading with long cable runs. ok, so your dog might be able to hear the difference between a 30 ft and a 15 ft cable. i'll remember that next time i play for dogs.

[WayneP]

Originally Posted by sammcgrath

The guy at the store told me that any cables longer than 18ft result in signal loss.

Can anyone confirm or refute this???

Certainly. It’s nonsense. End of story. It’s not even an issue until you're dealing with really long runs, maybe over 100 ft, if then.

Signal loss is just that: A level-lower signal – i.e. voltage - at the end of the line that causes some attenuation. Guess what? You get the same thing by turning the volume knob on your bass!!!

Signal loss, if there is any, can easily be reacquired by increasing the input gain of your bass amp.

Capacitance is similar, only an issue with really long cable runs (assuming the cable is high-quality to begin with). But as with signal strength, any slight high-freq loss due to long cable runs can easily be reacquired with the bass amp’s tone controls.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt



Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Tobias Club
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly

[line6man]

Instrument cable has a certain parasitic capacitance per-foot. (The longer the cable length, the greater the capacitance.)

This capacitance causes an attenuation to the high frequencies, not the overall signal voltage.

If you are using an active bass, however, the preamp should provide a low impedance output, which will not be susceptible to the treble loss associated with high cable capacitances.

[TL5]

Originally Posted by WayneP

Certainly. It’s nonsense. End of story. It’s not even an issue until you're dealing with really long runs, maybe over 100 ft, if then.

Signal loss is just that: A level-lower signal – i.e. voltage - at the end of the line that causes some attenuation. Guess what? You get the same thing by turning the volume knob on your bass!!!

Signal loss, if there is any, can easily be reacquired by increasing the input gain of your bass amp.

Capacitance is similar, only an issue with really long cable runs (assuming the cable is high-quality to begin with). But as with signal strength, any slight high-freq loss due to long cable runs can easily be reacquired with the bass amp’s tone controls.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt



Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Tobias Club
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly

Agree.

I remember setting up my pedal board with my usual home made belden cable and switchcraft connector cables. I had several tell me I needed George L because of the high end loss.
I switched to George L, and sure enough I noticed the signal was a little brighter.. and I ended up rolling off some high on the EQ.

[delta7fred]

I use medium priced 20' cables. I measured the capacitance of one as 600 pf (pico farads).

This will not be a problem with an active bass, but could drop a bit of treble with a passive one. As TL5 says if you use a lower capacitance cable you will probably have to reduce the treble on your amp to get 'your sound' back.