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"Tone of boutique cables" continued: spectrum analysis graphs

bongomania

bongomania

Commercial User
Oct 17, 2005
35,688
3,917
PDX, OR
www.ovnilab.com
Disclosures
owner, OVNIFX and OVNILabs
#1
Continuing from this thread: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=684857

Here is RTA (frequency response) on ten cables, all about 20' long:
Analysis Plus Bass Oval ($159 and 985 pF--that's picofarads of capacitance)
Atlantic Quality Zerocap ($110 and 56 pF)
Elixir Premium ($69 and 215 pF)
Evidence Audio Lyric Hg ($155 and 751 pF)
Horizon Standard ($11 and 529 pF)
Lava Magma ($30 and 626 pF)
Monster Bass ($50 and 764 pF)
Musician's Gear Braided ($9 and 687 pF)
Planet Waves Cable Station ($23 and 317 pF)
Vox Vintage Coiled ($34 and 551 pF)

Click on these links for the full-sized images:
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(Actually the third one is just three cables: the highest and lowest capacitance, and one from the middle.)

The audio converter has an output impedance (z out) of 50 ohms, and an input impedance (z in) of 1 Meg. This is almost exactly the same as the z out of a typical active bass, and the z in of most bass amps, both vintage and new.

To increase the visible difference between the various cables, I raised the z out and lowered the z in. To raise the output impedance, I ran the test signal in series with a Lawrence P46 P-bass pickup that has a resistive value of about 10K. To lower the z in, I ran a 1Meg resistor in parallel with the input.

The frequency points on the graphs exactly correspond to the order/ranking of the cables' measured capacitance. But the main thing these graphs show is that the bass-specific cables have the highest capacitance, causing high-end rolloff. Yet there is ZERO emphasis or difference of any kind in the lows.

Now, there are many other elements to tone and "quality" besides frequency response. I do plan to test as many of those elements as can be tested. Next on the docket is noise and distortion testing, and after that will be accuracy of transfer of high-amplitude pulse waves.

Debate in (at least semi-) objective terms is welcome!

Edit: I've posted this, plus much more, on these pages:
http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cables.shtml
http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cablesinseries.shtml
http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cablechart.shtml
http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cablereview.shtml
 
#4
Excellent investigation Bongo.

I think there are two things we can deduce from this.

1. If you have an active bass then it matters not what cable you use as long as it has no breaks in it and decent connectors. (From graph 3)

2. For passive basses, the pickup interacts with the capacitance of the cable, resulting in the peak and then fall off of response.


I have no idea what a Lawrence bass is or where it's pickup falls in the quality spectrum.

I suspect that the better quality pickups will result in a higher peak further up the spectrum, due to their resonance characteristics, compared to poorer quality ones. Hence the bass will have a lot better treble response.

From the very limited investigations I have done on 3 pickups it soon became apparent that the better sounding pickup (Musicman humbucker) had a higher resonance peak that was further up the audio spectrum compared to 2 cheap far eastern copies.
 
#5
Bill Lawrence pickups are among the best. This one is a P46, a P-bass pup.

The violet line at the highest frequency point is the Atlantic Quality Zerocap. It's a regular cable that has a small electronic device in parallel with the audio signal (not in series, it is not a buffer) that causes the capacitance of the cable to drop to about 60 pF regardless of the length of the cable. A 1 footer is 60 pF, a 100 footer is 60 pF (give or take).

The green line at the lowest frequency point is the Analysis Plus "Bass Oval". I have no doubt their "non-bass" cables have lower capacitance, but obviously they took a cue from Monster about making a "bass" cable by rolling off the highs. This cable has a capacitance of about 50 pF per foot, so a 20 footer is almost 1000 pF. A normal cable, like any Whirlwind, ProCo, Bayou, etc., will have an average of around 30 pF per foot (600 pf for a 20 footer).

The three highest-capacitance cables are the Analysis, Evidence, and Monster. Interestingly, the Evidence is not a "bass" cable. Here is the ad copy for this cable, the Lyric HG:
The combination of high-grade IGN copper conductors, solid core primary conductors means the Lyric HG offers up smooth midrange and highs with clarity and focus that reveal the harmonic detail and articulation. the cable's 20 AWG conductor size is large enough to communicate punch and authority, yet small enough to preserve a sense of air and delicacy.
Click to expand...

The three lowest-capacitance (best high frequencies) cables are the Atlantic, the Elixir, and the Planet Waves "Cable Station", which is a solderless plug and coax kit meant for making pedalboard patch cables.

The dBu and Hz indicators are much easier to read on the full-size pics, so be sure to check those out.
 
#7
What I take away from this so far is that the Elixir has the best low-capacitance performance without needing battery power, and it is very rugged, and $70 may be expensive but in this particular case you actually get something legitimate for your money.

Below that is the Planet Waves, and that will work excellently for in-studio use, mellow gigs, or for short patch cables of course. It's not rugged enough for hard rocking and duffel-bag abuse.

Next in line is the Lava Magma. Its performance is a little bit better than average, it's reasonably rugged, and it's only $30.

The Horizon and the Vox actually have better capacitance than the Lava; but the Horizon is flimsy, I wouldn't gig with it; and the Vox is super clunky and weird to use, plus its plugs are molded plastic, which makes them difficult to repair. And coiled cables in general have a reputation for breaking apart internally.

At some point I may add a Dimarzio cable to the test, as they are widely claimed to be good value for money.
 
#10
Update: I added three more cables to the test, and I put together a chart showing all their respective measurements: http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cablechart.shtml
I haven't measured THD and noise yet--that's next.

A minor restating of the "take away" points in my last post:

--The Elixir has the best combination of low capacitance and rugged construction.
--The Planet Waves has the best combination of low capacitance and low price.
--The Lava and the DiMarzio are the best compromise choices overall, having average capacitance, fairly durable construction, easy repairability of the plugs, and a low price. The Lava has better capacitance, but the DiMarzio's braided fabric outer wrap is nicer than the Lava's plain vinyl insulation.
 
#11
The combination of high-grade IGN copper conductors, solid core primary conductors means the Lyric HG offers up smooth midrange and highs with clarity and focus that reveal the harmonic detail and articulation. the cable's 20 AWG conductor size is large enough to communicate punch and authority, yet small enough to preserve a sense of air and delicacy.
Click to expand...
Get your snake oil right here! :D
 
#12
Yep. :) How about this one, for the frankly s#####y Fender Platinum cable I just added to the test:

The Fender Platinum Acoustasonic Guitar Cable uses 4-Way Differential Cable Architecture to present the best possible balance between all frequency ranges, and to also preserve all the tone and nuance that acoustic-electric guitars are capable of. Optimally selected stranded conductors are used to preserve sustain and the edge and dynamics that are so important in guitar sound, while two different gauge solid conductors augment the midrange & bass to provide a much fuller sound. Specially designed hollow treble conductors give these cables a better, more extended high frequency presentation, with no trace of harshness. These cables have a unique voice that has not been heard before, and use a proprietary technology that is patented. They are specifically designed for acoustic-electric guitar or electric guitar when a more clean sound is desired.
Click to expand...
:p
 
#13
Update, I have added more content to my articles (on my site), and put links up in the first post here.
:bassist:

Also I've decided that maybe I will start buying more cables for review purposes after all. This testing and reviewing is like crack to me!
 
#17
On a side note, the curves for passive instruments is it shows why passive tone controls and active controls sound so different even with the same pickups.

The hump just before the cutoff is what gives passive tone it's sound; on a p-bass for example I'll dial the tone knob searching for a sweet spot for the hump. The downside is that the hump is affected not only by what cable you use but what you plug it into!

Active EQ is usually shelving at the high end which sounds very different; you can roll off the treble but there is no resonant peak.
 

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