Completing setup- cords etc

[Ggaa]

Always take at least one more instrument cord than you need in case your wireless fails (then you'll connect your bass to the amp with the cord), or in case one of your pedal cords gets whacky. And it has to be an instrument cord; there are speaker cables with 1/4" connectors that look like instrument cords, but the two should never be interchanged.

Also have a backup for your speaker cable(s).

And have that instrument cable at the ready by the wireless receiver.
I use a Shure PGDX wireless occasionally to eliminate some cable clutter. IME it's easier and cleaner to swap between guitars with a wireless(each ax needs its own xmitter)than with an AB box.
Have some soldering gear, at least at home. As your rig evolves you'll find where 90* and straight plugs work best, you can solder up your own ends as needed. Use plugs that at least say Switchcraft. I had 3 no name plugs I poached from identical cables from a nationwide music store, one had different threads, another had the next size up threads.

 

[Engle]

A decent quality wireless system is transparent and provides a buffer at your bass so long cords and pedals don’t affect your tone.

 

[agedhorse]

A decent quality wireless system is transparent and provides a buffer at your bass so long cords and pedals don’t affect your tone.

The key point is the quality of the system.

 

[Engle]

The key point is the quality of the system.

I’ve been running a Line6 G30 for years, with the receiver on my pedalboard. Sometimes I bring my pedalboard to rehearsals just for the wireless.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Capacitance in the cabling is different n its effect than the capacitor in your tone circuit in a few ways. The capacitance in your cable affects the tone of the instrument at all times - if it's taking out high end, the tone control cannot be used to compensate - it can't add stuff back in, unless your bass is active. The capacitor in the tone circuit only affects the tone of your instrument when you're at less than "full tone" - indeed, the value of that capacitor doesn't even matter much at "50%" tone in most cases".

I don't think we really have a disagreement here.

Cable length is not super critical, though a little capacitance is added as the length increases. This is like adding a bit more capacitance to the tone cap in your instrument. In most cases, adjusting the tone controls on the bass or amp will compensate, if any difference is noted at all.

The capacitance DOES affect the signal at all times, even if it's not audible. But the longer the cable, the more the effect. As much as we all seem to like our tones rolled off, a number of us will be operating in the lower 50%.

Just sayin', IMO I think we have a lot more common ground than first meets the eye.

 

[themickster]

At a gig theres so much noise and stuff going on it doesn’t matter. Recording though. No wireless.
Having said that i use a sennheiser g4 for my normal monitor, no amp, but am using a normal cable to plug the bass into my pedalboard/preamp on club gigs. I like an easy load out.

I've recorded through a Boss WL-20 wireless without any losses and without any noise.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

A decent quality wireless system is transparent and provides a buffer at your bass so long cords and pedals don’t affect your tone.

Yes, this ^
If you are going wireless, the quality of the system you use will far outweigh the quality of any cables used.
Wireless also takes a LOT more research. Even a quality wireless system can be poorly set up which can result in poor performance and the potential of FCC violations. With wireless, you're kind of putting yourself "out there" for all to interfere with.
Not sayin' you can't have excellent results with wireless, but there's a whole lot more homework and real work to getting it. Reputable companies will be very helpful with all of that.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

Wireless means less fiddling at each end of the gig. I don't hear any loss of quality with mine.

Agreed! They've come a long way. I use a Line 6 G10S, and neither I or my band mates can hear a difference, once you add the band, anything someone else might hear is definitely gone. I HATE stepping on cables. I hate standing one wires enough that I even use the G10S while practicing at home.

It's funny, though... 35 years of using wireless, all the way back to Nady 49 MHz with the huge antenna, I still hang that 20' cable on my guitar stand, just in case... I've never needed it.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

Go on any professional tour...

I prefer Mogami or custom cables from my friend Butch at Bayou Cables in Baton Rouge. They cost more, but they last forever, sound great, and are almost bullet proof.

Yup... They don't have to cost a lot either... Switchcraft or Neutrik connectors, good quality wire. They'll last a lifetime and are easily repairable.

And... Spares are cheap and should always be on hand. All you need are one spare speaker cable that fits your rig, a 12" and 24" pedalboard cable (think right angle connectors) and a spare 20' instrument cable. You can replace the pedalboard cable later, but a 12 and 24 will reach from anywhere to anywhere on the board.

If you're using a pedalboard with a power supply, add one each of each power cable variation.

 

[Gizmot]

A decent quality wireless system is transparent and provides a buffer at your bass so long cords and pedals don’t affect your tone.

The old soundman’s rule is to never use wireless unless it’s absolutely necessary. Although i personally don’t think wireless has the sound quality and dynamics that you get with hard-wired connections, the simple fact is that you open yourself to RF interference and various frequency coordination issues.

 

[Windreaper]

What is the best option for linking the bass to the amp? Can wireless retain sound quality, or is a cord still better? And if so, how does the cord length affect sound quality?

The best wireless systems in the world sound almost as good, and are almost as reliable, as a $20 cable.

Very long unbalanced (instrument) cable runs tend to pick up noise, but wouldn't worry about it if it's just 15-20 feet.

What are the best types of cords to use? Are gold or platinum plated tips advantageous, or any other type? Which manufacturers produce the best cords for a bass setup like mine?

Neutrik connectors all the way. Don't want precious metal contacts for something that gets plugged and unplugged all the time (no benefit, wears off quick).

Would recommend relatively flexible cord for instrument cables (stiffer cable tends to not stick to the stage floor as well, forming all kinds of annoying loops).

 

[Leigh Semmens]

Reliability is king!!!! Many cheap connectors are interference fit between the sleeve and the post, also tip and post, consequently they come loose fairly early in the piece introducing noise and, often, open circuits. Spend your time on ensuring that the connectors are good quality. Comments above regarding the actual cable construction are valid and I could not add anything to them. I can make my own cables.

 

[Engle]

The old soundman’s rule is to never use wireless unless it’s absolutely necessary. Although i personally don’t think wireless has the sound quality and dynamics that you get with hard-wired connections, the simple fact is that you open yourself to RF interference and various frequency coordination issues.

Understood from the sound man’s pov. If I was a Soundman, I’d rather not see every dude rolling in with various sketchy wireless units.

But I take care of my own stuff. If my wireless were to crap out I wouldn’t make that someone else’s problem.
It’s been really solid for me. I can overdrive the pre on my amp when I dig in. The dynamics are there.
And I can walk out front to check the sound!

 

[Joeywhat]

Yup... They don't have to cost a lot either... Switchcraft or Neutrik connectors, good quality wire. They'll last a lifetime and are easily repairable.

And... Spares are cheap and should always be on hand. All you need are one spare speaker cable that fits your rig, a 12" and 24" pedalboard cable (think right angle connectors) and a spare 20' instrument cable. You can replace the pedalboard cable later, but a 12 and 24 will reach from anywhere to anywhere on the board.

If you're using a pedalboard with a power supply, add one each of each power cable variation.

There's a lot to be said about building your own cables. If you need more than a few, the cost savings become apparent quickly, even if you have to factor in a soldering iron into the cost.

 

[Chris Y]

Also worth considering some way to ID your gear at multi-band shows, eg, my cables are red. Or simply use a coloured velcro wrap.
Amp to cab speaker cable - Neutrik Speakon connections on both ends (red) with 1m 10.7mm cable.
Bass to effects board and board to amp - 2 x 20ft Canare cables (red) with Nickel Neutrik jacks 90deg both ends.
Spare power cables for effects and amp, spare cables for both instrument and speaker. Note my instrument cables are all the same length so also interchangeable.
I get my cables custom made rather than off the rack, the price is much the same but I get the connections etc that I want and guaranteed quality.
Pedalboard is all EBS flat patch cables, I carry a couple of spares but if the unthinkable ever happened I would simply bypass the board.

 

[UrthCrimson]

Neutrik connectors on instrument cable. Decent lenght to allow you to stand off the amp. 15ft min, imv, 20ft even better. Pkenty of guys make them up custom with decent cable.
Neutrik Speakons of about 3ft..it only needs to go amp to cab. Assuming amp and cab take speakons.
I normally get mine made up.

Hey, thanks for the guidance. So by getting yours made up, you mean the cords are actually customized? Please elucidate!

 

[UrthCrimson]

Wireless means less fiddling at each end of the gig. I don't hear any loss of quality with mine.

At a gig theres so much noise and stuff going on it doesn’t matter. Recording though. No wireless.
Having said that i use a sennheiser g4 for my normal monitor, no amp, but am using a normal cable to plug the bass into my pedalboard/preamp on club gigs. I like an easy load out.

Cool, good to know. I don't have plans for a gig soon, necessarily, though I have discussed with my part time musician friend he might use a bassist for a performance at some point! I really like his music, so that would be fun XD

So yeah, I will be working in a studio setting, actually contemplating the potential for a one man project, with luck!

Thanks again!

 

[N4860]

Upon a quick skim of most of the comments, I didn't really see much about the value of a good warranty. I like to buy some decent quality cables that have warranties where they will replace the cable for free if it stops working. Here in Canada I usually buy Yorkville cables as they are built well, not terribly expensive, and if you keep the receipt and it stops working, you can just bring it in to a store and get it replaced because of its lifetime warranty.

 

[HolmeBass]

The capacitance of a cable run has more impact on high impedance signals. One of the main advantages of active electronics is a much lower output impedance as compared to passive. For passive you are definitely losing high end with a 20’ instrument cable, but with an active bass, which sends a buffered signal, you can drive 20’ without any appreciable loss.

Once it hits your pedalboard at least one of your pedals probably has a good buffered bypass, so it can drive a pretty long cable back to your amp.

One advantage of wireless systems is that it is much more difficult to get shocked in the mouth by a mic in a place with bad grounding in their electric wiring.

 

[UrthCrimson]

Capacitance in the cabling is different n its effect than the capacitor in your tone circuit in a few ways. The capacitance in your cable affects the tone of the instrument at all times - if it's taking out high end, the tone control cannot be used to compensate - it can't add stuff back in, unless your bass is active. The capacitor in the tone circuit only affects the tone of your instrument when you're at less than "full tone" - indeed, the value of that capacitor doesn't even matter much at "50%" tone in most cases".

#1, Use the correct type of cables for all applications. For example, don't use an instrument cable as a speaker cable, and don't use a speaker cable as an instrument cable.
#2. Don't buy junk. There are extremely cheap cables you can buy, but they tend to have/or cause problems.
There are also super expensive cables that don't really give you a significant advantage, so don't waste your money. You just need quality cables.
#3. Use the shortest cables that meet your needs. Shorter cables are easier to work with. They are neater and don't get tangled as easily. In some instances, long cables degrade the sound or can be more sensitive to hum. Also if the cables are really long, you will waste time untangling them and coiling them back up.

- If your effects always stay in the same order, use short jumpers between them. If you like to experiment with the order, consider getting a few longer cables (may be 3' or so).
- If your amp always sits on top of your cab, get a speaker cable that is just a bit longer than needed. If you sometimes separate your amp and cab, you will need a longer cable.
- If you typically stay close to your amp, a 7' instrument cable is probably sufficient. If you roam around, you either need wireless or a long cable.
- Carry appropriate spares. For example, it's a good idea to have at least one spare instrument cable, power cable, and speaker cable. You might want a few extra effects cables. Consider getting longer cables for spares to handle contingencies.​

#4. Use cables ties or other measures so cables are organized and neat.

​

Rattlesnake cable. Then you’ll never have to worry about it failing at a gig or rehearsal. Use Neutrik ends. For your cab also don’t cheap out. If you have nice gear you can justify quality cable.

So I looked up capacitance, and I gather it's an excess of signal which may adversely affect tone?

So I usually have a good sense for these things, and Mogami and Rattlesnake brands both look high quality. Are these too extravagant? Are there any other competitors to consider?