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Power Cable for a Bass Amp Question

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#41
No he's right. Here's my proof:

I replaced the power cord on my coffee maker with a $200 power cord from (company name deleted so I can use them exclusively.)

Now I can buy the cheapest store brand coffee and it tastes like $18 / lb. coffee. It even comes out pre-frothed, creamed, and sugared, just how I like it. Also, the caffeine output has increased by 37.56%

Its heaven I tell you, HEAVEN!

All Hail The Power!
 
#42
This is my last response to this.I can't believe how closed minded people can be without trying something before stating their opinion! Craig,thank-you and if you are coming to NAMM,e-mail me so we can hook-up! By-the-way,my Glock rig will be on display at the Salwender(US Glock dist.)booth if you are interested in hearing it!I don't know why these cables work and I am not an electrical engineer so it is pointless to debate with you guys about power companys,power poles,etc... I just know from my own experence and from the many,many people that have purchased them from the store that I work at,that they work! To Nashvillebill,Joris,Jondog,and Mark Reccord,it is guys like you that keep companys like Peavey and Crate in business! To JMX,I was national sales manager and and also did artist relations for Salwender International(the US dist.for Glockenklang)! I still do work for Uwe Salwender and also Udo Kemp from Glockenklang.I am beta testing some new prototype speakers for Glockenklang as we speak! By-the-way,power cords DO make a difference! To DWBASS,I thought that this forum was for discussing basses,amps,and other cool products that we use.I was under the impression that there are a few guys on this forum that are into high-end gear and are interested in trying new things that might be better! Now I realize that it is really a bunch of guys that are so smart,that they can tell you what something sounds like without even trying it out,and that to me is really amazing!! After reading all of these replies,it would be interesting to see what kind of gear these guys use,it must be awesome!! To xylllon,Why do alot of guys spend big $ on gear to play to a crowd that doesn't care? For me ,it's because I can and also,if I am playing a gig like that,it makes playing the gig for me more enjoyable to listen to good tone! Otherwise,why not just buy an old Sunn amp and a Squier bass! To MJ5150,you ask what it does for your tone.To me,it sounds like you are taking a blanket off of your speakers.It really brings out the harmonics and the low B string sounds way better! I realize that nobody here believes me,so all I can say is try one for yourself! to Bob Lee,these made a huge difference on every amp that we tried them with from SWR Workingmans 15's,to Ampeg SVT's,to Diezel's,to Marshall's, and many others. Do you work for QSC,and if so,I will bring one by the QSC booth at NAMM. We can hook it up to some of your gear and let you hear it for yourself! I can't believe that I have spent so much time on writing this,all I intended on doing was responding to a question about a cord,but I felt like I was being attacked on a subject that I feel very strongly about! Several of you guys have very good points,and I could see it making since to somebody that they might not ever try a certain product because of an opion of somebody that never tried the product in the first place! That's too bad
 
#43
The best-sounding power cords are Placebos. They have quite an effect. You've gotta try them! ;)

Yes, I work for QSC. Please do bring one by. Even better, bring it to the QSC factory (about 7 miles south of Anaheim) where we can set up a listening rig and see if you can tell which power cord is in use by sound alone, without otherwise knowing which one is.

N-Rays?
 
#45
Hi Bob,I will call you when I get to NAMM to set-up a time to get together,I can't wait!! By-the-way,I don't recall stating that those guys worked for or were endorsing Peavey or Crate products,I simply meant that it seems to me that they would most likely be happy using products of that caliber! Today is my day-off,so I have a little time to spend responding to these threads.Are you working today? What do you do for QSC? One last thing,if clean power and good power cords do nothing for amps,can you explain to me about balanced power,which lowers the noise floor,and filtering out the power before it gets to the amp.I would bet there are a few people at Furman that would love to have a little chat with you on that subject! See you in LA!!!
 
#47
Originally posted by prockenklang
By-the-way,I don't recall stating that those guys worked for or were endorsing Peavey or Crate products,I simply meant that it seems to me that they would most likely be happy using products of that caliber!
Click to expand...

How do you infer that?

Today is my day-off,so I have a little time to spend responding to these threads.Are you working today? What do you do for QSC? One last thing,if clean power and good power cords do nothing for amps,can you explain to me about balanced power,which lowers the noise floor,and filtering out the power before it gets to the amp.I would bet there are a few people at Furman that would love to have a little chat with you on that subject! See you in LA!!!
Click to expand...

I'm an applications engineer. I do tech support, write articles and application guides, etc.

Clean power is good to have, but it doesn't have to be perfect. Balanced power can help in some but not all situations.

Good power cords are ones that are adequate to the job. They don't have to be fancy or anything; after all, they're simply carrying current from the AC outlet to the amplifier or other device. They carry no audio signal. For the job they do, a $5 cord is as good as a $500 cord.

I look forward to putting it to the test.
 
#48
Hi guys. I'm new here, but am not new to high end basses or any of it's associated gear. I owned a professional high end bass shop for years and probably know many of you on this board already. I was asked to drop by this site and offer a couple of words regarding cables and their effects on sound.

I'll start by saying emphatically.. CABLES MAKE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE TO YOUR SOUND - ESPECIALLY AC.

Just ask Marcus Miller, Nathan East, Gary Willis, Abe Laboriel, Andrew Gouche, Mike Pope, George Duke, Erik Zobler, Gary Chang, Dave Jerden, Fodera Basses, Aguilar Amplification, Cherokee Studios, Bell Sound Studios, etc... All TARA Labs users.

I'm not here to start a war, actually just the opposite. For those who are looking for better frequency response, improved dynamics, fatter bass and more natural highs... replace your cables with something that didn't cost $.08 to manufactuer and was designed by an engineer with no regards to sound.

Oh by the way.. can anyone here hear the differences between Rosewood and Maple fingerboards? Now can you measure that difference using math? If you all can beleive that two identical guitars can sound completely different using the exact same parts, why can't you believe that a cable designed to SOUND better by engineers with ears actually does?

Use your ears before passing judgement.

Peace and a fat groove,
 
#51
Originally posted by The Cable Guy
Hey, is this the same Bob Lee of Tobias fame?
Click to expand...

No, I'm the Bob Lee of QSC.

And contrary to your position, expensive cables don't make a difference over good low-priced ones. Especially power cables. I'm sorry, but any piece of gear that can be influenced by a certain type of power cable is poorly designed.
 
#52
One more thing. Results in a two-way test have to be significantly better than would be expected from random answers.

That means that if in a string of tests you answered correctly 50% of the time, that would still only be equal to answers based on a coin toss. Do 9 out of 10, or 20 out of 25, then we're talking.
 
#53
For the record, I sold TARA Labs cables for years before I ever worked for them for the simple reason that I believed in their products. They work.

And Bob, I disagree. And I've improved your amps with our cables. So...

I'd love to meet your for coffee/lunch/listening sesh sometime. I'm not too far from Costa Mesa and could arrange to come down - cables in tow. Talking about sound is pointless. I'd rather just listen.

What do you say?
 
#54
Originally posted by prockenklang
To DWBASS,I thought that this forum was for discussing basses,amps,and other cool products that we use.I was under the impression that there are a few guys on this forum that are into high-end gear and are interested in trying new things that might be better! Now I realize that it is really a bunch of guys that are so smart,that they can tell you what something sounds like without even trying it out,and that to me is really amazing!!
Click to expand...
This place is for discussing basses, amps and other cool stuff but the original thread had nothing to do with what you're trying to sell! Secondly, I would say that [I could be wrong] the majority of the folks that post here are not rich or have a lot of disposable income where they would actually spend $175+ for an AC cord! The folks who are using Peavey, Crate, Hartke and other mid level brands are probably doing so because it's what they can afford! Hell, if I had the money to buy a top of the line Aguilar, QSC, Ampeg VST or heaven forbid, a Glockenclang(sp), I would! Most of us here are just making it playing 1-2 times a month and have day jobs and families and own homes! If I'm going to spend $175 and had to choose either an AC power cord or a new boiler....which do you think I would choose? Flame me all you want!! You nor Tara Labs will get my hard earned money! Now whether that product works or not is not up to me since I would never buy it anyway. That argument ain't with me!
 
#55
Originally posted by The Cable Guy
For the record, I sold TARA Labs cables for years before I ever worked for them for the simple reason that I believed in their products. They work.

And Bob, I disagree. And I've improved your amps with our cables. So...

I'd love to meet your for coffee/lunch/listening sesh sometime. I'm not too far from Costa Mesa and could arrange to come down - cables in tow. Talking about sound is pointless. I'd rather just listen.

What do you say?
Click to expand...

Sure, it would be great to set up some double-blind tests. I find DBTs to be a very liberating experience. We also have a lot of engineers here who would be interested; we're very much into the proper methodology of controlled tests. E-mail me at [email protected].
 
#56
For the past 5 months I have worked for LMS intstruments (http://www.lmsintl.com/), one of the world leaders in multichannel calibrated high precision measuring systems. Our customers are most major car and airplane manufacturers, we even supply systems to the European branch of NASA.

Each separate unit of our systems contains up to 64 channels of 24 bit/92 kHz bandwidth and a noise floor of -106dB, and may easily cost as much as your house. Power consumption is about 300 watts per unit.

The power cords we supply with these systems, are industry standard, $5 PVC cables. Why? Because they're good cables. Firm, exactly long enough, ample current rating, insertion is quite smooth (!)

You cableguys talk to our chief engineer. He's always game for a good laugh.
 
#57
Hey Long!

Welcome to TB my "Long" lost friend! So happy to see you and Dave Avenius (now of Aguilar Amplification) have moved on to groovy places.

People! Can't we all just get along? Again, another thread where folks are letting their argumentative sides affect their better judgement, IMHO.

Although Long works for Tara Labs now, he is a pro with a capital "P". You would be hard-pressed to find another cat on the planet who has had more real world experience with more types of high quality (and low quality for that matter) bass gear. He has dealt personally with every one of the heavy cats he's listed, and I know for a fact he has universal respect amongst them.

You may choose to disregard his expert advice, that's cool. But having dealt with him personally many times, I can assure you he would never put out his opinion to any bass player for purely personal reasons. He's got a richly deserved reputation, and I doubt that he'd risk it just so he could convince someone to buy something they have no practical use for.

Once again, I'm a sceptic on this matter too. However I am more than willing to put it to the test myself before I make a judgement.
 
#59
A few more questions:

All of you who are sure that power cords CANNOT make ANY difference in the sound or performance of an amplifier, can you provide absolute scientific proof to support this?

Do you know PRECISELY what happens to an audio signal as it travels through the signal chain?

Is it possible that poorly filtered AC coming in to the amplifier is affecting the audio signal in some way?

jd
 
#60
Hi Joris,

Our customer aren't fancy space explorers... just working musicians that have influenced pretty much everyone here in one way or another. These guys have one thing in common.. the quest for the best possible tone they can find to help them express their art more proficiently and dynamically. Our cables help them acheive that goal and we're proud of that.

Let me ask... how do you get someone to part with a large sum of money for something that they're skeptical of to begin with? You prove to them it works. That's what we've been doing for sixteen years.

Thousands of musicians have purchased our cables not because I told them to (wow, what power that would be!) but because they heard the differences and justified the expense. Look, buy what makes you happy - it's only your tone, after all.
 
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