Let's try this again: Do you like 'em loose or tight?

Man, I thought this thread was about women until I opened it!

I wrap them loosely. I have been told the same thing that your guitarist said, about breaking the wires in the braid, and possibly even breaking the conductor.

 

My signature notwithstanding, the tighter you wrap the cord, the more stress you put on the sheilding, whether it's spiral wrap, braid, or foil. The sheilding may unravel and bunch up under the insulation. Foil shielding is especially susceptible to damage from tight winding, and may break. My mic cords and instrument cords get wound at about a 10- to 12-inch diameter. Speaker cords can be wound tighter if they're unshielded 2-conductor cables.

Now, on the other issue, I stick by my signature.

 

I generally wind(?) my cables so they fit comfortably in the big pocket of my gigbag.

Which puts that at...what, 10"? 12"?

 

Hey! That thread title is flagrant false advertising!
Anyway, mine seem to be overly thick, so are pretty stiff, (the cables that is. ) so I cant wrap them tightly, they have to looped loosely.
Jim

 

I was told by a guitar player (they're not all idiots) a long time ago that tight wrapping breaks down the shielding and conductors. SO I went with big loops (18-20") and I have cables that I have used for 10-12 years and they all work fine. The guys that help us with sound have a nasty habit of wrapping up mic cables very tightly. We have to buy a few new mic cables every year and have a whole box of dead ones.


Another thing nice about big loops is that the cable gets trained to lay on the stage flat. If you wrap them up tight, they tend to bunch up on stage and make it easier to trip over.


I think there may be something to the loose wrapping thing.

Chas

 

Loose winding = longer use

plus.. i have TSR cables ( 1x lead + 2x ground ), which are even more expensive than " normal " mono cables..

Read bassplayer Sept '01 issue, page 8.. there's a small article on cable-maintenance on it.

 

i thought the thread was about strings..

 

I use only 30' cables. I never ever wrap them. I lay them out completely straight, without one wrinkle. Then, I place them into a specially made hardshell case, (32' long), that I carry around. It's awkward, but gosh darnit, that's what I do.

 

jazzbo, kinda like them straight strings that they used to market back in the early or mid 1970's, eh?

I wonder why that never caught on. You could go into a music store, buy a package of bass strings, and they would easily fit in a coat pocket, or briefcase, or bass case, gigbag, etc. But wouldn't it be much cooler to have the strings in a package 38" long, that wouldn't fit in anything?

 

Fair to middling. Usually whatever the space requirement is. If it's my gig bag, then fairly tight. If it's in a box or something, then loose. I was not aware of the implications of cable winding. Maybe I'll be more carefull form now on.

 

Not to change the topic, but yes I too was upset that this was about cables, when you replace your strings do you do one at a time or take them all off.

I take them all off so I can clean the bass, many guitar players I know say you should not do this because it will warp the neck. It this is going to warp the neck then I paid to much for my bass.

 

Yeah, I took them all off and the cheap@ss plastic neck on my Zon warped.

 

jazzbo ~

Do they carry those cases at GC, or do you have them custom made? I think SKB makes 'em ... I saw some in the MF catalog.

I recomment the curly cords down at Radio Shack.

 

That is just mean.

 

Anything to protect the sanctity of my equipment!

Custom made all the way, baby! I usually have them lined with purple valour. It just, oh I don't know, it just feels right.