Grateful Dead Music Forum

Not a durability question, but more of a sound-quality one. If I have a buffer in my guitar, does it really matter whether I'm using Hosa cable with molded plugs or Mogami cable with Neutriks? There really shouldn't be any signal loss with the low impedance signal, no? I've been following the "cables are like tires" philosophy (they aren't pretty but you need good ones), and I have a good durable cable for guitar>amp, but now I've got the OBEL and some pedals, with more to come in the future. Does cable quality matter for patches and short runs with a buffered signal? I don't mind spending money on good cables if they're necessary, but I don't want to waste it. Opinions?

Yes, the cables are important. Don't use cheep ones. Use good ones. It's worth the money.

IMHO - other than using too light of a gauge the cables don't make that much of a difference. With the OBEL you're gonna be running a lot of cable but unless you are using super cheap and thin molded plastic type that come with a Walmart guitar it probably won't matter that much. I'm not saying that it won't matter at all. Compared to all of the other factors it's pretty minuscule. I've said this here before, but. Stevie Ray Vaughn used those crappy half coiled Radio Shack cables and his tone was not too shabby. When I took a music technology class at VT we compared a ludicrously expensive speaker cable to a lamp cord using a really nice Earthworks reference mic and Spectrafoo audio analyzer and there was no difference.

tcsned wrote:IMHO - other than using too light of a gauge the cables don't make that much of a difference. With the OBEL you're gonna be running a lot of cable but unless you are using super cheap and thin molded plastic type that come with a Walmart guitar it probably won't matter that much. I'm not saying that it won't matter at all. Compared to all of the other factors it's pretty minuscule. I've said this here before, but. Stevie Ray Vaughn used those crappy half coiled Radio Shack cables and his tone was not too shabby. When I took a music technology class at VT we compared a ludicrously expensive speaker cable to a lamp cord using a really nice Earthworks reference mic and Spectrafoo audio analyzer and there was no difference.

For speaker cables I agree. They are not coaxial. They just have to be of a guage that is not going to cause too much resistance. For instrument cables, which are coaxial, I have heard a noticable difference between cables that are not shieled as well or use a smaller conductor wire. Maybe Stevie used those on purpose because he liked his tone with them? Maybe the are actually quality cables. I haven't checked them out up close. Have you?

Actually once you have a buffer in your chain you really don't need low capacitance cables anymore, unless you really want to. Regular guitar shielded instrument cables will suffice tone wise. I use Belden anyway, but you are right that once your signal becomes low z you are no longer fighting capacitance issues to the point that regular instrument cables will be just as good. Flame away!!

JonnyBoy wrote:Actually once you have a buffer in your chain you really don't need low capacitance cables anymore, unless you really want to. Regular guitar shielded instrument cables will suffice tone wise. I use Belden anyway, but you are right that once your signal becomes low z you are no longer fighting capacitance issues to the point that regular instrument cables will be just as good. Flame away!!

This. Anyone that tries to tell you otherwise is bullshitting you. However, it's always nice to have well made, low capacitance cables for times when you are not using a buffered guitar. Also, cheap cables tend to break easier and all the buffering in the world won't save you then.

hippieguy1954 wrote:Yes, the cables are important. Don't use cheep ones. Use good ones. It's worth the money.

+1

I compared a cheap guitar center cable (which is maybe a small cut above Walmart) to one that Andrew Olson made for me and there was a HUGE difference to my ears. There was a serious loss of high end on the cheap one. Could my ears be telling me what I want to hear? Maybe... but if you're going to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a guitar and rig, why are you going to nickle and dime the cables. Spend a few extra bucks on cables... it's worth it.

You notice a difference in the cables with a buffer running inline?

Yeah... I thought that I did. It was an old cheap one. But like I say, maybe my ears are lying to me.

Well, I wouldn't go that far, I bet you were getting better tone via better connection overall. The psychological part of "hearing" is very powerful. It is so powerful, that it has driven me to buy lots of guitar stuff. No matter how you turn it, good cords are just that, good cords. I use beldens with neutriks along with a buffer. It takes away the fear of a bad cord or connection.