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How much difference does a cable make?

#85
chadds said:
First point, all things can be explained by science. Sometimes we have to design the tech to measure or discern the effects we see.
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I agree. Effects that vanish under objective testing can still be explained scientifically. One possible hypothesis is that those effects are caused by psychological bias. The tech for measuring those effects already exists: Psychological testing. But while psychological bias is a valid scientific explanation, it is not a politically correct explanation.
 
#87
A good cable is worth it

Monster is arguably overkill, $-wise, though a lifetime guarantee is pretty sweet. I.do monster, because I dont mind investing in my profession.

Cheap cables are cheap, sure. But do they perform so much worse that theyre worthless? Absolutely not
 
#88
fdeck said:
I agree. Effects that vanish under objective testing can still be explained scientifically. One possible hypothesis is that those effects are caused by psychological bias. The tech for measuring those effects already exists: Psychological testing. But while psychological bias is a valid scientific explanation, it is not a politically correct explanation.
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Effects that don't vanish under objective testing but science can't explain that day, require new tech, procedures and patience.

I've experienced first hand the placebo effect.
It was a very funny and enlightening moment in a studio while we heard more and more eq on a channel that wasn't on. We "heard" it because we expected to.:)

Conversely the very cables mentioned here I hear a difference between. The same show a capacitance difference that is measurable and whose difference is audible exactly where the difference lies. All science.
 
#89
i bought a pricey (~$100 CDN) fender cable 3 yrs ago with my first bass. it is supposedly extremely high-quality. the cable itself is shielded in a woven fabric cover. feels durable. can i hear a difference on my line 6 studio 110? no. do i like the lifetime warranty? yes. has it failed me yet? no.

the little "Fender" emblem on the angled head fell off though...now nobody knows it's a fender!! XD
 
#90
From my experience the difference is in the reliability due to construction over time.. I have a monster cable that I have been using for the past 10 years and it has no issues at all.. I have bought cheaper cables that started to buzz after a year or so of constant use. There probably are differences in the signal but I can't tell..
 
#91
chadds said:
Effects that don't vanish under objective testing but science can't explain that day, require new tech, procedures and patience.

I've experienced first hand the placebo effect.
It was a very funny and enlightening moment in a studio while we heard more and more eq on a channel that wasn't on. We "heard" it because we expected to.:)

Conversely the very cables mentioned here I hear a difference between. The same show a capacitance difference that is measurable and whose difference is audible exactly where the difference lies. All science.
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I think we're in agreement!
 
#92
northernmonkey said:
Good Afternoon TBers

As a Noob, I was wondering if it is possible to tell the difference between a cheap instrument cable, and a more expensive version? I can get them for £10 or £100, but do they really make any noticeable difference?

NM
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They are only worth the difference in price if you can tell a difference. I can tell you that in a live band situation I don't believe that anyone could tell a difference. If you are sitting in the mix in a high-end recording studio, listening on top of the line speakers, maybe some people could tell a difference, but I doubt it. I can tell you that I've never lost an audition because the band didn't like my cable. :D

I remember reading an interview with Eric Johnson a long time ago. He didn't like to use a wall plug for his distortion device, or a new battery. There was a point when the battery had lost power that he liked. Not too much juice, not too little. You can be as anal as you want to be but chances are no one will know but you.
 
#93
I have a few cheap ones and one or two high end cables, like Phil Jones. The more expensive cables are quieter/cleaner and tend not to twist up as easily as the cheaper ones but they are very expensive to me.

I recently did some research and found that it's not that expensive to buy and assemble your own cables if you're at all handy with a solder pen. Canare GS-6 cable and either Neutrik or Switchcraft plugs will get you a high quality custom length instrument cable for a fraction of the price of a boutique cable.
 
#94
OP here. After 5 pages of discussion and seemingly no conclusion, I'll continue to pick my cables using my old critera, that of colour. I like the colour of the Fender vintage reissue, or whatever they are called. As long as it makes so little difference to my crappy playing, colour is as good a measure as any.
 
#95
lfmn16 said:
I remember reading an interview with Eric Johnson a long time ago. He didn't like to use a wall plug for his distortion device, or a new battery. There was a point when the battery had lost power that he liked. Not too much juice, not too little.
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The interesting thing about that is that with certain transistor-based distortion pedals (like he uses), the amount of voltage biasing the transistor has a direct relationship to its clipping characteristics, and this is easily shown on a scope.

So while your point is still quite correct that usually the musician tweaking his rig is the only one who can hear any difference or care, some tweaks actually "do something" and are not just imaginary. :D
 
#97
Live wire cables have served me well since I started playing 4 years ago. The patch cables between pedals work fine too. Never had to replace a cable, and they have lifetime warranty. They're also pretty cheap and I can tell literally no difference sound-wise between them and custom made gold wire cables that cost 10x as much.

I just tape the ends so that the sleeves don't loosen up while I'm playing.

Don't spend a ton of money on cables, it's all just marketing hype.
 
#98
lfmn16 said:
I remember reading an interview with Eric Johnson a long time ago. He didn't like to use a wall plug for his distortion device, or a new battery. There was a point when the battery had lost power that he liked. Not too much juice, not too little. You can be as anal as you want to be but chances are no one will know but you.
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Not exactly true. For something really different I use one of Danelectros variable powersupplies for my OCD and Echo Baby pedals (guitar, haven't tried it with my basses). It makes a huge difference on some pedals. Here's a link with sound clips, the difference a minor voltage drop makes on some pedals is quite noticable...
Link Removed
 
#100
bill reed said:
I was the workshop manager for a hi-fi company "Audio Aids" for many years and tested many cables on out Feragraph test rig, it had an double channel Oscillator, with one line going to input of double beam Oscilloscope and the other through the cable to the other line of the scope and it compaired any signal loss. there was never any change in signal over the whole freq/speck.
that was in 3 meter to 20 meter cables
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Shocking.



Is this the part where I should say "told you so"?
 

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