Silver and Gold

[kevbru]

Hi everybody.

I have a question between using silver or Gold jacks on my cables. I have a Monster Cable cable now and I just picked up a Zoom pedal and a Fender floor tuner. When I went to GC and wanted a couple of extra short cables and the said I would Loose Low note tones by using silver jacked ones. My Monster Cable has a gold jack and they are of course more money. What do I loose or gain between cables? If I buy a silver jack cable and use another gold jacked one don't I loose tones or powers anyway? thanks

[Herbie 80's]

Cables are cables.

[Jsn]

Originally Posted by kevbru

When I went to GC and wanted a couple of extra short cables and the said I would Loose Low note tones by using silver jacked ones. My Monster Cable has a gold jack and they are of course more money. What do I loose or gain between cables?

What you lose is the money spent on pseudo-fancy cables. You're paying out the nose for different-colored metal, that's all. Doesn't surprise me GC salesmen want to sucker you in to unnecessary expenditures.

[DoubleMIDI]

If there is any reason to use one or the other it is mostly this: use the same metal which is on the other side (jack) to avoid building up a battery with different metals (which might lead to faster corrosion). But who really cares about that?

[robobass]

The silver jacks are actually tin or chrome plated brass (sometimes plated or stainless steel). The gold ones are just gold plated. The only difference is that gold does not corrode. This makes a slight difference for Hi-Fi gear, where the connecters stay in place for years, but for guitar cables this is a non-issue since you are regularly plugging and unplugging, and any corrosion gets scraped off in normal use. The idea that gold plated jacks transmit more low end is about the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

[fdeck]

I believe Switchcraft and Neutrik use heavy nickel plating on brass. The difference in conductivity is negligible. I've personally never seen one corrode.

[GrowlerBox]

You should definitely do what the GC-guy says. And I have 3 of these you should also buy.

[robobass]

Originally Posted by GrowlerBox

You should definitely do what the GC-guy says. And I have 3 of these you should also buy.

I wonder who buys stuff like that. I still have yet to sell one of my Neutrinos

[GrowlerBox]

Originally Posted by robobass

I wonder who buys stuff like that. I still have yet to sell one of my Neutrinos

The problem is, you're damn near giving them away. $3500 shipped for a 10' cable? No-one believes the science if they're only expected to part with pocket change.

[robobass]

Originally Posted by GrowlerBox

The problem is, you're damn near giving them away. $3500 shipped for a 10' cable? No-one believes the science if they're only expected to part with pocket change.

Yeah. You're right. I need a marketing consultant. Maybe if I make the ad a little slicker and raise the price to $5k I'll start seeing some action

[bssist]

If Viktor and Markos use them, that's all I need to know. I was saving up for lessons but I think I'll buy your cables instead. Send me three before the price approaches FMV.

Originally Posted by robobass

I wonder who buys stuff like that. I still have yet to sell one of my Neutrinos