Power cord guage affecting sound?!

[PolkaHero]

Here's a new one for me. My bandleader said at our last gig that the extension cord I'm using is too "thin" and that a thicker, heavier power cord would give me a punchier, fuller sound. Of course, this is the same guy who prescribes to the "heavier power amps sound better" theory. Is he on to something here? What guage extension cords do you guys use?

[JimmyM]

You don't use heavy gauge power cords because they sound better. You use them because they're less of a fire hazard.

[Time Divider]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

You don't use heavy gauge power cords because they sound better. You use them because they're less of a fire hazard.

Absolutely. Use of a thinner extension cord will either a) melt the insulation on the cord, or b) pop a circuit breaker or fuse.

Polkahero, your bandleader may be a good musician, but he doesn't understand much about electricity and electronics.

[Lyle Caldwell]

Just use 12 or 14 gauge wire in good condition with good plugs. Nothing heavier will matter, as the Romex wire in the walls of whatever building you're in won't be thicker than 12 gauge anyway.

[PolkaHero]

Originally Posted by Time Divider

Polkahero, your bandleader may be a good musician, but he doesn't understand much about electricity and electronics.

Nah, he's not that great of a musician either!

[Munjibunga]

You shouldn't be using anything other than Tara Labs power cables.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

You shouldn't be using anything other than Tara Labs power cables.

And only plug into a white wall socket, anything else will just muddy up your sound to hell

[WillPlay4Food]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

And only plug into a white wall socket, anything else will just muddy up your sound to hell

So if I plug into the black wall socket I won't need to buy a distortion box?

[Stanley Design]

Blue ones act as a flanger.

[Gard]

I like the compression I get from those orange colored wall plates...the Tara Labs power cables really enhance that tone too!

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by WillPlay4Food

So if I plug into the black wall socket I won't need to buy a distortion box?

Id say the black ones give more an overdrive than distortion

[cheezewiz]

BWAHHAAAA! !!!!! Tara Labs cables rule! I use one to run my microwave. It heats up coffee 33 percent faster!

[Gard]

Originally Posted by cheezewiz

BWAHHAAAA! !!!!! Tara Labs cables rule! I use one to run my microwave. It heats up coffee 33 percent faster!

Dude, I run my coffee maker with one...and the coffee is so much stronger, I use half the grounds I used to!!!!

[Thor]

I could see that one coming from the title ...

[steveksux]

Ok, you guys can laugh, but a too small extention cord creates more than just excess heat, the heat is from voltage dropped along the cord, so the amp may only see 100V instead of 120. The cord being too long has the same effect as if it was too thin.

So YES, indeedy, the extension cord can have an impact on the sound. Think of it like power compression.

I have the furman power conditioner that raises low voltages, and lowers high ones, as well as the stock surge protection.

We played an outdoor gig, somebody ran an extention cord from "across the parking lot to the back of the store" kind of thing, a rather thick orange cord (14 or 16 ga?), standard outdoor power cord. Being the only source of power, amps, pa, the whole 9 yards, it was a bit too thin, and too long.

I was watching my lights on my power conditioner, there's a different light that lights to display the voltage shifting from 75v to 140v or so. Every time I would hit a low B-low E loudly, the voltage would drop down below 100V. My amp was the biggest thing on that circuit and I was overloading that sucker big time. That was the first time in 20 some years that thing has indicated a problem with the power, and I've played some dive bars in my time. But it finally made itself worthwhile.

So generally speaking, you'll see voltage drop that is disadvantageous to your sound BEFORE you see the smoke and flames of the fire hazard thing.

Randy

[Petebass]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

You shouldn't be using anything other than Tara Labs power cables.

LOL... I'd almost forgotten all about the Tara Labs challenge.

TARA Labs cable challenge!!

It's long but it's well worth the read.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Too long or too thin a power cord will not audibly affect the sound except that the voltage drop will cause the power amp to clip at a lower output voltage than normal. It's not like power compression.

IOW, it'll clip prematurely on peaks and loud passages. That's not good.