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Perfect Length for stage performance cable?
- Thread starter bump_in-thump
- Start date
my answer is you'll never find the perfect length. my solution is to carry 4 different cables. 2 x 12' and 2 x 20'. usually i can get the right combination with those 4. i do, however, play a wide range of stage sizes every month. some are small, some are medium, and some are in large venues that nationals play.
There is no proper answer. It depends on more than the size of the stage, like, do you move at all?
The shortest that you can get by with. For me, it is about 20' for my hardcore band, and maybe 10' at church. I wouldn't recommend anything much longer than 20', though. You start losing a ton of top end after 20'.
I usually have a 15' cable to my pedals and a 20' cable running back to the amp. The extra length lets me lay it somewhere out of the way.
15' sometimes isn't enough so I'll use another 20' but I try to keep the run to my pedals short because I mostly use passive basses.
15' sometimes isn't enough so I'll use another 20' but I try to keep the run to my pedals short because I mostly use passive basses.
Live, 20 feet absolute max for me. I think the longest one in my bag currently is a 15.
But then I'm pretty much your "stand back by the stack" player who doesn't move around much and doesn't play stages big enough even if I did.
In studio, 10 feet or shorter.
But then I'm pretty much your "stand back by the stack" player who doesn't move around much and doesn't play stages big enough even if I did.
In studio, 10 feet or shorter.
be careful with using a couple 20'+ cables if you have a passive bass. too much cable and you'll notice some degradation of your signal.....especially on the high end. before i switched to an active onboard preamp i used a buffer pedal 1st in my chain to help with the signal loss.
Depends on the stage. I carry a bunch of cables and use what's appropriate for the gig. That could be a 15' straight to the amp, or it could be a 5' from the stomp boxes to the amp, and a 15' or 20' from the bass to the pedal board, or it could be a 10' on either side of the pedals. One can never have too many good cables.
Just depends on how the stage is laid out.
John
Just depends on how the stage is laid out.
John
+1 v. important, I do this.
FWIW I sing too so I set up at the front of the stage, hence the need for 20' cables. If I was back by my amp then I wouldn't need so much.
I have all sorts of cable lengths,...without checking I know I have 2x20' (one with a right angle and I usually use the to plug my bass in since it's a bottom mounted jack). A 15' and a 10' plus a couple of shorter cables (I'm running a feedback loop and a multiple board two tiered setup). I know I usually have one unused cable when I get everything setup (usually the 20' straight to straight). It's nice to have a backup should any of my cables short out before a gig.
I like to tape cables down that run from my board to amp with painter's or gaffer tape so I'm not tripping on them.
I like to tape cables down that run from my board to amp with painter's or gaffer tape so I'm not tripping on them.
Wow, everyone likes long cables. I prefer a 5' cable which goes to my tuner, then a 10' to my amp. But I'll use just the 10' sometimes. I don't like 20's or anything longer than that, I hate clutter on the stage.
i think all the talk you may hear of using only short cable runs because of long cables cutting high end is relevant only if you play to an audience of dogs. i've had as much as 50 ft worth of cable in my signal path and never noticed any loss of high end compared to smaller cable runs. i don't think it makes much sense to use more cable than you need, but there are a lot of things that, while true scientifically, don't add up to much in real world application, and this is one of them imho.
20' for me, no matter what stage im on (Even if there isnt one) just makes my life easier to have my gig bag permanently packed and so i can wander around if i want. Going to be getting a wireless sometime soon though, so it'l be as THUNDERGODX says.
Liam
Liam
I don't agree with that. When I used to run 2 x 20' cables with just a true bypass box inbetween them it made my basses sound lifeless, like I had a very bad tone-sucking pedal (old BMS amounts of suck) in the signal path. Even with active basses. Plugging just one 20' cable straight from bass to amp made the difference obvious.
