Bass cable

[Michael Eisenman]

...since you're purchasing a new cable, learn to wind up your cables properly and you'll rarely ever have an issue with a twisted or knotted cable.

 

[Grumry]

so my bass has arrived, with the amp, stupidly forgot to order a cable, any suggestions what cable I will need the amp is a fender 100 bass amp and the bass guitar is an ibanezsr800 ..really sloppy amateur mistake I know just need to know what size jack/musician cable it takes and a good one to go with please???

It's copper and it passes signal. Not much more to think about.

 

[Honch]

The only thing I can reasonably think of regarding cables that, they think it's just as important with line cables as with speaker cables, which beats me. While there may be some merit to - say gold plugs, or anything that keeps them from verdigrising (!?) up in the years, it's cables and plugs that doesn't move at all. If you unplug/plug them regularly they get the motion practice they need to keep that mold at bay (copper may turn green due to oxidizing). And, only and only, the one only thing I can think of regarding speaker cables is that they are kept as short as possible, but that applies to both cheaper cables as well as posh ones. The ones who claims cables should be as short as possible I can very well understand, and that's about the only thing I can understand when it comes to speaker cables. But when it comes to instrument cables that are supposed to transfer signals from magnetic pickups that doesn't go above 7 khz in frequency response, and especially when active pickups or system are applied, you can have almost any cable, and you won't be able to tell the difference. However, to have a mechanically sturdy cable that have good plugs, good rf rejection, good pull relief, and doesn't go weak when you tie them up is, I think, of way more importance in this case, but as it is, most cable does this anyway, today.

The only other "snake oil" thing that I want people to avoid is the so called perceived "better sound" when having solderless plugs. I have never ever understood this, as the copper inside may turn that green verdigris over time and put a veil on the top end. Big time, on top of that. The copper from the cable touching the steel in the plug, is in open air, and exposed to more oxygene than a soldered joint. The tin solder protects the copper from oxidizing, and keeps the form turning green for years to come. And the little impact tin solder may do on any sound, if any, is so subtle that it is neglible, and on "buffer" from an active bass, it's totally non-existent compared to solderless. And that includes - of course - all of G&L cables and plugs. I use their cables, but solders them on to neutrik plugs. And I've heard numerous instances where a G&L cable and plug has been done properly, but - say - pedal patch cables, all of a sudden, without being moved in the pedal, after a couple of years, they start to go south, and lose their connection with a huge loud ugly mains hum present, and you can't really know where it's coming from or which cable. And then people go "hey if so, then it's just to open it up, cut that part loose, and stick them in again". What's wrong with having a spare patch cable just as a spare string? It's faster just to change it out to a functioning one.

- - - - - -

I'd wish I had the old Evidence blog on solderless plug. It was the founder who had a rant. After a year or two, they removed the blog as they were selling patch solderless cables themselves. I'd really wished I did a full html save on that site. That is gone now, sadly, he said the best things about solderless I've ever heard. But alas, once they had it in their products they needed to delete that tweet, I can't find it on historical web backup sites either. They did discover the major gaffe, and removed the rant against solderless plugs.

 

[Honch]

It's nothing to ruminate about, or lose sleep over.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Go to Parts Express. Order cable, Neutrik jacks and soldering iron. Youtube will teach you to solder. Now you are a cable making genius and never need to pay more than cheap cable prices for premium cables if 20 min of your time is worth roughly zero like 99.99% of us.

 

[chadds]

I was checking in to see if we are at Pt.5 or if old age had taken any of the youngest posters. I'm sorely disappointed.
I'll check back next week.

 

[johnpbass]

I thought this debate was settled a long time ago. A guitar playing friend of mine spends an enormous amount of money on cables, claiming he can clearly hear a difference between any cable. Audio cable, instrument cable, speaker cable, everything. Of course, he can't differentiate between two different guitar parts in a song, soo...there you go.

There are some debates and questions on TB that are never put to rest. "Why can't I mix a 410 with a 115 - Flea does it", under powering, "how many watts do I need", etc.
As I mentioned earlier, I can't hear a difference between my Monster Bass Cable and my plain old CBI Instrument cable.

 

[popgadget]

Hard to go wrong here-
Guitar and Instrument Cables
One my favorite suppliers. Great Quality AND Prices, a rare combination.
Not to mention that they're excellent to deal with.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Also, since you're purchasing a new cable, learn to wind up your cables properly and you'll rarely ever have an issue with a twisted or knotted cable.

Yes, winding cables properly is very important. I use over-under.

Mic and instrument cables have an outer shield. Stress in the cable caused by knotting and twisting can cause the shield to loosen and it becomes less effective at doing it's job. This allows noise to get into the cable which isn't a good thing.

 

[BurningSkies]

...but a cable isn't just a cable, it has to look cool. Just like Bill's basses.

I actually keep my cables down to a low roar. In my case I buy bulk Canare and cut my own...Seems to work out for the best and the manufacturer's warranty is pretty sweet.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I actually keep my cables down to a low roar. In my case I buy bulk Canare and cut my own...Seems to work out for the best and the manufacturer's warranty is pretty sweet.

I like Canare as well. I recently did a batch of balanced (XLR to TRS) patch cables and used Mogami. Canare has a braided shield, Mogami uses a thick layer of fine strands twisted. Both seem good.

 

[Ken Morgan]

Heh...

I minimize cable runs to less than 8", by using a pretty decent wireless. But, from bass to transmitter is whatever Shure uses (Canare someone told me) and everything else is Canare with Neutrik connectors...

At the component level one piece doesn't seem to make that much difference, but systemically all cables/connectors combined, I think there's a difference, so get the best you can.

 

[BurningSkies]

I like Canare as well. I recently did a batch of balanced (XLR to TRS) patch cables and used Mogami. Canare has a braided shield, Mogami uses a thick layer of fine strands twisted. Both seem good.

I've gone back and forth. The Mogami is a few cents more a foot, but I can't really tell any performance difference and I don't have a materials preference in comparing. Either way, it's not enough to break the bank one direction or another. I mostly hate doing balanced cables. Just fussy enough to be a pain in the @ss.

I wouldn't suggest to any first timer that it's worth making their own for basic home and practice use. It became more important for me when I needed to do things in quantity, like insert cables, multiple mic cables or runs of line to our powered speakers. I also tend to over-engineer a bit. shrink on the inside, and another layer around the shell. In my bridging Y-cable for my IPR, I did use red and green for the amp terminus and then blue for the cab terminus. That way I can always remember 'right red' (aka right red return from my time on a boat) when I'm setting up on stage.

 

[Al Kraft]

Heh...

I minimize cable runs to less than 8", by using a pretty decent wireless. But, from bass to transmitter is whatever Shure uses (Canare someone told me) and everything else is Canare with Neutrik connectors...

At the component level one piece doesn't seem to make that much difference, but systemically all cables/connectors combined, I think there's a difference, so get the best you can.

I'd agree that weak point in many approaches is not recognizing what I characterize as the stack-up effect of tolerances. Terminations/transitions and connection points always seem to be problem areas IME. This is one of the reasons I like Neutrik Speakon connectors for speaker cables...very solid, pretty much idiot-proof in assembly and use, and very reliable, at least in my applications. Maybe someday there will be a similar kind of solution to replace 1/4 connections - perhaps some streamlined XLR-like deal that provides a positive locking feature and larger contact area than the old phone plug.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I was doing quad cable last time, two wires per contact. Even more delicate when building cables. I build them because I want specific lengths.

 

[BurningSkies]

I was doing quad cable last time, two wires per contact. Even more delicate when building cables. I tend to build them because I want specific lengths.

All of my speaker cables are quad, which can be a pain with heavier gauge cabling. In a couple cases I've actually managed to double up on the +/- of speakons and other times I've used the '2' +/- set to anchor but not stripped off the insulation. I always carry 2 1+/1- and my bridging cable just in case...I also pack a standard 1/4" speaker cable 'just in case'. Fer instance this weekend we'll be on a festival stage and I know they'll have some form of 8x10...but who knows if it'll have speakons. I find it easier to use a provided cab and my own amp setup rather than whatever random head they provide. I'd rather know how to get what I want.

...Also, I'm not against buying 'generic' Redco speaker and mic cabling...If I need short lengths (effects and under 6' patches) in low-duty places...or when someone else in the band asks me if I will make/give them a cable.

 

[Al Kraft]

I was doing quad cable last time, two wires per contact. Even more delicate when building cables. I build them because I want specific lengths.

Very significant differences, and much more than I expected.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Very significant differences, and much more than I expected.

When doing a rack such as in a studio with many pieces of gear, ideally I want to keep inputs on one side of the rack and outputs on the other. Some pieces of gear have 120V power cordes, others have external power supplies of different types. It can be difficult to avoid close cable encounters. It helps to take whatever measures may help.

 

[Al Kraft]

When doing a rack such as in a studio with many pieces of gear, ideally I want to keep inputs on one side of the rack and outputs on the other. Some pieces of gear have 120V power cordes, others have external power supplies of different types. It can be difficult to avoid close cable encounters. It helps to take whatever measures may help.

I'm out of my area of expertise here, but to pull off this type of resistance to external noise I would imagine the 4 cores are tightly twisted so as to better balance exposure to interference picked up by the two pairs at any point along their run. Just having two core pairs, assuming equally effective shielding and the same twist as the two core wire wouldn't seem to be as significant an advantage in my mind. Additional wires and a tighter twist would seem to be the way to get the most out of this approach.

The only downside I could see would be in unusually long lengths where I would imagine the capacitance of the cable might be higher (than two core and shield) and could at some point begin to attenuate higher frequency signal content. Although in typical live performance runs (20-150 feet) I can't imagine any drawback at all.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I'm out of my area of expertise here, but to pull off this type of resistance to external noise I would imagine the 4 cores are tightly twisted so as to better balance exposure to interference picked up by the two pairs at any point along their run. Just having two core pairs, assuming equally effective shielding and the same twist as the two core wire wouldn't seem to be as significant an advantage in my mind. Additional wires and a tighter twist would seem to be the way to get the most out of this approach.

The only downside I could see would be in unusually long lengths where I would imagine the capacitance of the cable might be higher (than two core and shield) and could at some point begin to attenuate higher frequency signal content. Although in typical live performance runs (20-150 feet) I can't imagine any drawback at all.

The only way that you would really know if it works for an application is to A/B them like in the video. Based on my tests, I use it to gain whatever advantage I may obtain. The price is more attractive these days, if I pay an extra $20 on a 100' purchase, it isn't a big deal. I use quad on shorter length cables, such as patch and microphone cables. My big concern is reducing any interference from power supplies in rack equipement.

The quad that I use also has five plastic rods in the cable. They are supppsed to hold the relative positions of the quad wires to optimize cancellation. Quads that I tried in the 70's didn't have this. Perhaps it makes a difference.

A quad cable is supposed to have around 1.5 times the capacitance of a standard dual cable so long runs can be an issue with high frequency rolloff. You needs a pretty long run for it to be an issue.