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ESP MusicCord

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#681
I'm less concerned about the people who buy it and insist that they're happy and it improves their tone keeps them in tune and all than with players hoping to learn getting bad advice. It's like if you want to go blow a few grand on a fortune teller helping you make life decisions, fine, but don't go trying to sucker others into thinking it's the key to improving their lives, too.

IMHO, if you believe you need a particular power cord to improve your tone, it'll hold you back. It's relying on voodoo. It's a hindrance to understanding. It's barking up the wrong tree. Even many pros have no idea how their rigs work and what causes tone, and so they're susceptible to some ego stroking (you deserve to buy yourself an exotic power cord for your golden ears). Learn where tone comes from and where it doesn't, and you'll save yourself time and money, and improve your employability as a bass player at the same time.

We all love shorcuts. But not all shortcuts marketed to us are actually shortcuts. If a special power cord had even a chance of improving tone, they'd be everywhere. But as I mentioned in a previous post, the ideal power cord is none at all, just a direct connection to the AC mains. The next best thing would be a power cord that's virtually indistinguishable from a direct connection, and that would include all those $4 and $5 power cords as well as the ESP cord. They do the same thing equally well. I'm not saying the ESP cords are bad or don't work; they're every bit as good as any other generic power cord that costs a small fraction of what it does.
 
#682
Spot on Bob. And, as I said earlier, the music market is already confusing enough and sometimes we've got to do some policing.

There are so many newbies who don't know how their gear works, even more salespeople with a minimal idea of what half of their products do, many many hard working musicians with a desire to try out the latest fad when they should be making payments on their new apartment and, of course, companies with an easy way to easy money through misleading or even downright untrue marketing claims. This is what we are combating here.

For those who have bought the cable and are happy with it, I don't mean to make you any less happy, but I believe that keeping the possibility of mutual trust between producers and consumers open is a little more important. We all invest large quantities of time and money in the tools of our trade, let's try and make our choices in as informed a way as possible. And let the money you spend go to a company that actually does research and development in order to offer new and improved products for the benefit of music.

And if your cable made your playing sound better without actually doing anything, rest assured that your playing will still be awesome even when you know it's not because of the cable.;)
 
#684
So, I'm wondering if the Taralabs cable I spent 2 bills on at the L A Bass Exchange is pixie dust, too. All I can go by is Real World experience, and both cables do seem to improve the sound, particularly for recording.
That being said, it's never a good idea to assume you can spend your way to awesome bass playing. The only thing you can spend that works is time in the practice room or rehearsal hall.:bassist:
 
#686
That ain't cool to start calling people out on their intelligence. Not everyone knows electrical engineering as well as some. But when it comes to playing and learning how to play and teach, Roy's got us all beat. So we all have intelligence gifts in certain areas and deficiencies in others.
 
#687
Roy Vogt said:
So, I'm wondering if the Taralabs cable I spent 2 bills on at the L A Bass Exchange is pixie dust, too. All I can go by is Real World experience, and both cables do seem to improve the sound, particularly for recording.
That being said, it's never a good idea to assume you can spend your way to awesome bass playing. The only thing you can spend that works is time in the practice room or rehearsal hall.:bassist:
Click to expand...

Comparing your instrument cable and ac cable is really completely incongruent. Your instrument cable actually carries audio signal which DOES have a role in your tone. That ac cable that plugs into the back of your amp never passes any audio whatsoever! It gets immediately converted into filtered, regulated dc.

The law of diminishing returns applies significantly to instrument (audio) cable.However, differences in various cables such as noise rejection, capacitance, etc... are entirely real, documented and measurable.
 
#688
JimmyM said:
That ain't cool to start calling people out on their intelligence. Not everyone knows electrical engineering as well as some. But when it comes to playing and learning how to play and teach, Roy's got us all beat. So we all have intelligence gifts in certain areas and deficiencies in others.
Click to expand...

+1!
 
#690
kuys said:
Do you understand how science works? How conductors work? How electricity works?

I don't discount that you "heard" a difference. I'm sure you did; but what the simple fact of the matter is....a cable, unless your replacing a defective one, can not alter the sound of the amp. It's not scientifically possible. A thicker gauge cable will allow for higher amperage but since this cable doesn't rewire your amps transformers any change you heard is in your head.

I've showed my dad this thread (an electrical engineer) a few days ago after we got through weeding the garden and he recreated the best, *** facepalm I've ever seen. I was surprised my 59 year dad knew what the face palm was; but you know what, If it makes you feel good, so be it. I'm not going to beat my head against the wall anymore.
Click to expand...

Tell you what-I will take my Studio Bass rig-(Modulus Graphite 6-Eden Navigator) and record 2 identical bass tracks on Sonar. I'll not touch anything. The only thing I will replace will be the power cord. I will use the Taralabs cable on both (btw, the Taralabs connects bass to preamp so it does affect tone). I'm a very honest guy, so you all will have to trust that I will touch nothing. I'll use the identical MP3 Codec and post them. I will also do this after the NAMM Show because I'm a busy, busy guy and I have some NAMM Events to coordinate and a recording project this week.
Silly me, I'm only 4 years younger than your Dad and I've only been doing sessions for 35 years, so I have some experience on the playing and sound side of things-not electrical engineering. It's also good to note that sometimes the most electrically inefficient designs (tube amps, magnetic pickups, etc.) have the most effective tonal results for Music.
For the record, I'm a Science Teacher's kid so I'm not a total ignoramus. I'm not an electrical engineer, but if I'm not mistaken the guy who designed the cables is. I'll ask him in detail this week when I see him and see if he'll weigh in here as well.
A random thought: if the power source doesn't seem to matter when it gets to the audio gear, then why use power conditioners in studio and live sound racks?
 
#691
Honestly Roy, I don't look forward to that happening. He has been tipped off about this thread more than once and hasn't shown up. I can only assume he works best when not being directly challenged by those who have the knowledge to directly challenge him. But if you can get him on here, I'm sure those engineers would love to chat with him.

In any event, it's not a question of intelligence. It's a question of not being trained in something musicians really don't have to know combined with a hell of a sales pitch. But in these situations, I always look for someone who has the knowledge before I drop dollar one. And I take the word of engineers before I take the word of a salesman ;)
 
#692
Roy - very interested in the results of your test. It would be even better if you could first record your bass direct and then play back that recording through the amp twice and record that. Kind of like reamping with different power cords. That would remove any playing differences.

I know that the tone out of my fingers before and after warmup or on different days can be quite different, so unconscious variation can creep in, even between takes, even with a seasoned pro playing.

Just to be clear, I totally trust you but I really want to hear a 100% valid comparison with only one variable ( the power cord).

Thanks for doing this!
 
#693
JimmyM said:
Honestly Roy, I don't look forward to that happening. He has been tipped off about this thread more than once and hasn't shown up. I can only assume he works best when not being directly challenged by those who have the knowledge to directly challenge him. But if you can get him on here, I'm sure those engineers would love to chat with him.

In any event, it's not a question of intelligence. It's a question of not being trained in something musicians really don't have to know combined with a hell of a sales pitch. But in these situations, I always look for someone who has the knowledge before I drop dollar one. And I take the word of engineers before I take the word of a salesman ;)
Click to expand...
I'll do what I can, since I'm talking to him face to face (and can show him this thread) we may be able to get him on here. I'd be interested in that conversation, too.
 
#694
smeet said:
Roy - very interested in the results of your test. It would be even better if you could first record your bass direct and then play back that recording through the amp twice and record that. Kind of like reamping with different power cords. That would remove any playing differences.

I know that the tone out of my fingers before and after warmup or on different days can be quite different, so unconscious variation can creep in, even between takes, even with a seasoned pro playing.

Just to be clear, I totally trust you but I really want to hear a 100% valid comparison with only one variable ( the power cord).

Thanks for doing this!
Click to expand...

Good idea! I'll do it that way.
 
#695
Roy,

Mike is aware of the forum.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the heads-up about the TalkBass thread. Rich Snyder (cybersnyder) emailed me about it over the weekend, and I have checked it out. 27 pages about a power cord - it has really grown! I'll take another look at it in the morning.

Peace,

Michael

Michael D. Griffin, President
Essential Sound Products, Inc.
 
#696
Paullee01 said:
Roy,

Mike is aware of the forum.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the heads-up about the TalkBass thread. Rich Snyder (cybersnyder) emailed me about it over the weekend, and I have checked it out. 27 pages about a power cord - it has really grown! I'll take another look at it in the morning.

Peace,

Michael

Michael D. Griffin, President
Essential Sound Products, Inc.
Click to expand...

Face to face in a conversation might have more impact.
 
#697
Well here are two videos of him marketing his product.

‪NAMM '09-Essential Sound Products MusicCord Power Cords‬‏ - YouTube
‪MF Music Marketing - ESP MusicCord‬‏ - YouTube

We are going to revolutionize. 'Cause we are going to take it another level that you can not go to without this cord
Click to expand...

Good gear deserves good power. Let's be real for a minute. You just provided your client with some high end quality gear or a killer guitar & amp combo, and you're gonna let them chintz out on a cheap a/c cord? dude. Come on. Friends don't let friends use wack power. Be a friend to your clients.


Victor Wooten & Keith Jarrett love them, by the way....

In fact, Look for the "Victor Wooten Edition MusiCable" real soon....
Click to expand...
:hmm:
 
#699
Roy, with sincere respect I'd ask you to take a moment away from your hard-earned identity as an expert musician. I know, that may sound impossible or even ridiculous, but please humor me--for just a few minutes, imagine that you're a plumber, or a gardener or something.

Now go back and read the posts from Mark Reccord in this thread, keeping in mind that you are (for now) just an average non-musician guy.

I think sometimes it's necessary to step out of our own skins in order to umderstand things we may be missing.
 
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