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Does Cables Matter for a Bass

#101
Mark Reccord said:
Regurgitated ad copy from high end cable manufacturers doesn't answer my question. I've read/heard all of this before. What I've never seen is a proper analysis showing that these very real EM phenomena do have real effects at audio frequencies. I'd wager that the reason for this is because there isn't one.
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I don't have the equipment to prove anything to you. Frankly, I don't care either.

But don't tell me I'm a liar, deaf, pursuaded by placebo, or whatever else you want to throw at me to disprove the fact that I did indeed hear a difference.

Enjoy your $10 dollar cable, and I'll enjoy my $100 dollar cable. End of story.
 
#102
Modern Growl said:
I don't have the equipment to prove anything to you. Frankly, I don't care either.

But don't tell me I'm a liar, deaf, pursuaded by placebo, or whatever else you want to throw at me to disprove the fact that I did indeed hear a difference.

Enjoy your $10 dollar cable, and I'll enjoy my $100 dollar cable. End of story.
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You probably are "persuaded by placebo" to assume you're immune to the placebo effect is nothing but sheer arrogance.

Economic aspects aside, it really does matter. Would you use talkbass if it were full of misinformation?

The fact is you're making outrageous assertions based on inconsequential anecdotal evidence and in quite an unsavoury manner. I personally don't care if you think you can hear a difference but I do care if you go around saying that there definitely is a difference and to say otherwise is irresponsible and foolish.
 
#103
applerocks said:
You probably are "persuaded by placebo" to assume you're immune to the placebo effect is nothing but sheer arrogance.

Economic aspects aside, it really does matter. Would you use talkbass if it were full of misinformation?

The fact is you're making outrageous assertions based on inconsequential anecdotal evidence and in quite an unsavoury manner. I personally don't care if you think you can hear a difference but I do care if you go around saying that there definitely is a difference and to say otherwise is irresponsible and foolish.
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+1
 
#105
I'm not saying that expensive cables are worth the money or not ... but if a $100 cable sounded 10x better than the $10. I'm guessing we'd all hear that kind of a difference.

If you want to talk about build quality, that's much less abstract and subjective.

But, to each his own. I got no disrespect for the way someone spends their money. And if someone heard something, I'm not gonna dispute that.
 
#107
Modern Growl said:
Go re-read post #81. You'll find placebo is completely taken out of the equation.
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FWIW – to take my “mind” out of the equation, I asked my wife to switch cables on me multiple times while I closed my eyes and every single time I could pick out what cable she connected me with. EVERY TIME. It was very apparent to me.
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I think our views on what is and what isn't decent testing are quite different.
 
#109
applerocks said:
You're not at all sure, that's the whole point of this thread. You need to have some evidence beyond "well I can hear a difference" or rather, just some evidence.
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Of course I can not speak for YOUR ears, but every one I experimented on(A/B, A/B/C/A etc) heard the difference.
Obviously I don't know how acute your sense of hearing is.

However, in some cases the difference really is not all too subtle.
:)
 
#115
Wow, I've never seen so much ignorance in a thread before. Psychoacoustics is a well studied and documented phenomenon, which explains many of the subjective differences in sound people hear. Until you can provide solid evidence to your claims, then they're nothing but hogwash.

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#117
I'm a working bassist...not a technician or scientist. I used to use "decent" cables...you know the ones. I take good care of my equipment, so I ended up using the same two 15 foot cables for years then they both died at the same time! (side note: one of the most annoying experiences of my life...I checked everything for the problem!)

Long story short, I finally broke down and bought two of those Monster bass-specific cables. I think they color my tone a little, but in a good way. They definitely work well with my passive EUB's, Kala Ubass, Fender Jazz and with my Fishman Pro Platinum Preamp. I've been sold on "better" cords ever since...not the "best."
 
#118
poopcorn.gif
I really love cable threads :)
 
#119
Modern Growl said:
Go re-read post #81. You'll find placebo is completely taken out of the equation.

Also, were not comparing a $10 dollar cable to a $100 here.

Both were of similar cost, just different constuction. And hey applerocks - guess what? I heard a difference :)
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I hope that you don't think that "your wife switching out cables while you had your eyes closed" means that this was a proper actual double blind study with all outside factors taken out. I keep trying to stay away from this discussion because this argument is going nowhere. The people saying there's a difference between cables will not be persuaded otherwise, same thing with the people that say there's not.

Me personally, as long as a cable is reliable, that's really all I care about.

I spent a summer working in a GC, and the one thing that I DO KNOW FOR A FACT is that cables are their bread and butter. They will try to convince you all day long that you NEED a Monster cable because the markup on them is absolutely ridiculous and they make a HUGE profit on them. A 20ft. standard straight-straight gold tipped cable that they charge $50 for? Yeah, their cost on it is $16. That's over 100% markup, which is why they push them so hard. That I know for a fact.

Does it sound better than their $15 cable? Me personally, I don't hear a difference, but I'm also running through pedals, and playing on a $300 bass. It sounds just fine to me, and I'm happy with my tone, plus I play live way more than I record. Personally, I think that people that go on this crazy hunt for the most minute things to improve their tone should spend more time practicing, because in the long run, that's what's going to give you the best sound. If you record something and you're not happy with your tone, the absolute last place I would look would be the cable, that's all. But hey, whatever puts the cream in your Twinkee.
 

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