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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2007 19:24:05 GMT -7
Just out of curiosity, what brand speaker cables do most people here use? I only recently started using a head and cab setup, and wanted to get some input. Thanks!
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Post by LeftyLang on Jun 2, 2007 22:06:23 GMT -7
I use the Planet Waves gold 12 AWG oxygen-free copper wire. Good price and very reliable.
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Jun 3, 2007 0:06:01 GMT -7
PCNS ( PROCABLES N SOUND) very very nice speaker cables... tough ones. procablesnsound.com/items/speaker-cables/list.htmTodd is on the forum and also makes some nice guitar cables ( with canare cable) which I now use ( I switched from george L's... but still use the george L's on my pedal boards) and if ya look down at the bottom of the page, he makes a great Y cable to run two cabs out of one tap on your Z head or extra cab for your combo... very good prices and great products, I highly recommend them. I still like George L's but the PCNS cables seem to accent the highs in a better/ less harsh way and I really like the way they feel, roll and DON'T kink up... like my thicker size george L's cables did. just my $.02... like everything else guitar related, there are so many to choose from but... there are some really great cables out there now, and you can also spend ALOT of money on them too and thats why I like the PCNS or george L cables... good value for sound. Jason
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Post by dock66 on Jun 3, 2007 10:04:46 GMT -7
Another vote for PCNS. Great cables.
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Post by flem on Jun 3, 2007 10:12:47 GMT -7
I'm using Planet Waves 10' 12AWG with my 6545 and Z-Best.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 3, 2007 10:29:54 GMT -7
Currently using some generic 12 AWG cables. The last time I was in to the local music store, the manager says "You have to hear this." and shows me a speaker cable that looked very much like my guitar cable only fatter. Turns out it was a prototype from the Solid Cables guys. I'm thinking to myself, "Right - this ought to be good for a chuckle." One of the sales guys has a guitar already on, so he plays a bit on this Rivera amp, then flips on the standby and swaps cables. HOLY COW, I COULD HEAR A DIFFERENCE! Not only did I hear a difference, I could hear it in two distinct ways. First was the amp got noticeably louder. Second was that the fancy cable had more upper midrange (or let more upper midrange through). I was floored that a speaker cable could make such a difference. This one wasn't for sale yet - just a proto they had sent along for impressions. But they definitely do make a difference. This has me thinking again about all of the variables in the tone chain, and if I really want to be that anal about it. Mainly because I know these Solid's are going to be expensive! Yikes!
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Post by jwr on Jun 3, 2007 13:14:52 GMT -7
I'm using all PCNS cables. Big difference in tone with their speaker cables. Just a lot more of everything with them vs. Monster. Their guitar and speaker cables have made a huge improvement for my rig.
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Post by jzguitar on Jun 4, 2007 14:11:03 GMT -7
I'm using a Canare Star Quad speaker cable from Lava Cable. I'm going to try the Evidence Siren next. I'm with benttop - thinking about all the links in the chain. I'd be curious to hear more about these Solid Cables.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 4, 2007 14:25:41 GMT -7
Well here's the way I'm looking at it. Right now I'm thrilled with the tones I'm getting. So I figure I'm keeping things the way they are. If I ever think I need more output from the Stingray (!!!!) or a bit more midrange on my RXES or SRZ (!!!!!!) then I could spend the megabucks and add these new speaker cables. But for now I'm going to remain blissfully ignorant.
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Post by mudskipper on Jun 6, 2007 7:06:02 GMT -7
......so he plays a bit on this Rivera amp, then flips on the standby and swaps cables. HOLY COW, I COULD HEAR A DIFFERENCE! Not only did I hear a difference, I could hear it in two distinct ways. First was the amp got noticeably louder. Second was that the fancy cable had more upper midrange (or let more upper midrange through). I was floored that a speaker cable could make such a difference. .... yeah, i was pretty surprised at that, too, to be honest. i geeked out on this subject a couple of years ago and tried a fair amount of cables to use in and out of cabs. it's like everything else, more $$ doesn't equal a global definition of "better sound" but it's definitely worth trying as many as possible to find the one you like.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 6, 2007 10:10:02 GMT -7
......so he plays a bit on this Rivera amp, then flips on the standby and swaps cables. HOLY COW, I COULD HEAR A DIFFERENCE! Not only did I hear a difference, I could hear it in two distinct ways. First was the amp got noticeably louder. Second was that the fancy cable had more upper midrange (or let more upper midrange through). I was floored that a speaker cable could make such a difference. .... yeah, i was pretty surprised at that, too, to be honest. i geeked out on this subject a couple of years ago and tried a fair amount of cables to use in and out of cabs. it's like everything else, more $$ doesn't equal a global definition of "better sound" but it's definitely worth trying as many as possible to find the one you like. I guess the hifi geek over at the stereo shop was right when he flipped out as I told him I was using 12 AWG power cable for my PA speakers...
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Post by mudskipper on Jun 6, 2007 12:08:43 GMT -7
I guess the hifi geek over at the stereo shop was right when he flipped out as I told him I was using 12 AWG power cable for my PA speakers... yeah, but it's fun to see them flip out over little things, though, ain't it?
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Post by eliot1025 on Jun 7, 2007 3:50:32 GMT -7
I think speaker cables (and instrument cables) can have a dramatic effect on tone and volume. It certainly works that way with stereo systems. The better your stereo system, the more you'll hear the difference when you upgrade your cables. They all have their own character just like pups, cabs, speakers, tubes etc. So you need to find a good match for your rig, style and taste. The metal in the plugs can supposedly change the tone as well (rhodium, gold, nickel, silver etc.). Within a month I'm going to audition some speaker cables. Probably the Kimber V4S, Van Den Hul Inspiration Hybrid, and Evidence Audio Siren II. If you're interested I'll post what I find.
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Post by Jan on Jun 8, 2007 14:47:22 GMT -7
The Ceser Diaz Interview in the August 2000 ToneQuest Report is a fascinating read. And not just for what he says about speaker cables. www.tonequest.com/ray.htm
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Post by Hohn on Jun 8, 2007 21:05:17 GMT -7
Well here's the way I'm looking at it. Right now I'm thrilled with the tones I'm getting. So I figure I'm keeping things the way they are. If I ever think I need more output from the Stingray (!!!!) or a bit more midrange on my RXES or SRZ (!!!!!!) then I could spend the megabucks and add these new speaker cables. But for now I'm going to remain blissfully ignorant. I'm with you, Steve. I'm totally happy with the tone of my Ray, and I DEFINITELY do NOT feel the need to have a little more volume! I just played for about an hour with the voume at 10:00, and my ears are complaining about the abuse. This is about 1/4 of the volume knob's travel. The difference is remarkable when you crank the amp up a bit-- the FD2 goes from sounding pretty decent to just GLORIOUS! Too bad I'll have to wait until I get an outdoor gig to ever get to that volume again-- no indoor venue that could handle that volume will ever be available to me. Maybe I'll try a better speaker cable someday, but it's about the last thing on the list.... jh
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Post by saltydog3317 on Jun 8, 2007 22:17:24 GMT -7
I really never believed that speaker cable and instrument cable had that big of an impact on my tone. I guess I am going to have to spend some cash and upgrade my cables. I really beleived the $20 cables I bought at the local shop were all I needed and that spending big bucks on cable was hog wash. Is there a place online that could give me reviews on this stuff? If I fork out some serious money on cables I want to get it right the first time.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 8, 2007 22:51:50 GMT -7
I really never believed that speaker cable and instrument cable had that big of an impact on my tone. I guess I am going to have to spend some cash and upgrade my cables. I really beleived the $20 cables I bought at the local shop were all I needed and that spending big bucks on cable was hog wash. Is there a place online that could give me reviews on this stuff? If I fork out some serious money on cables I want to get it right the first time. The last time we had this discussion someone dug up a review of a dozen cables or so, but it's from quite a while ago, so doesn't cover some of the newer high end cables. I bet a search could turn it up though... lessee here...AH! Here's the thread: drzamplifiers.proboards41.com/index.cgi?board=strings&action=display&thread=1139325202 and here's the link to the review: www.lavacable.com/myweb/CableSummit4.pdf
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Post by saltydog3317 on Jun 9, 2007 0:13:53 GMT -7
Thanks benttop. Greatly appreciated.
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Post by zdogma on Jun 9, 2007 7:21:41 GMT -7
I still use the planet waves 12 AWG, cause they have this bump thing on the gold thing that keeps them from popping out.
Pretty scientific, eh?
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Post by dixiechicken on Jun 12, 2007 3:23:06 GMT -7
I use 2.5 square mm HiFi Supra-Cable oxygenfree copper cable. ( usually found in better hifi equipment )
Switchcraft and Cannon connectors.
Cheers: Dixiechicken
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Post by zgrip on Jun 18, 2007 16:49:39 GMT -7
Evidence Siren (I have the original, not version II) is excellent. It does not act like a tone control; doesn't accentuate nor attenuate any part of the frequency range. If I had to try to describe it, it lets all the tone flow smoothly without any negative artifacts. Bass sounds deep tight, mids are warm and round, treble is smooth and extended. There's just more depth to the sound. I know this sounds hokey but try one and see. I have the exact same experience with their Lyric and Lyric HG instrument cables. I've found nothing better at the price. Dr Z amps are so detailed they greatly benefit from better cables. They do make a difference. As they say, don't knock it until you try it.
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Post by Curt on Jun 19, 2007 21:22:45 GMT -7
OK fella's..gotta chime in here again. So ya spend the funds to connect your amp out jack to your cab in jack...then what?? back to plain ol 12 AWG copper from the jack to the speaker, same ol 12 AWG copper inside your amp from the imput jack to the output jack. Does a cable make a difference? perhaps.
Is it a "must have"? Not for me................I'll put those funds toward another Dr Z combo amp wired with plain ol 12 AWG copper all the way to the speaker ;^) and plug in my ol Fender....wired with plain ol copper wire internally ;^)
JMO, YMMV, etc. Curt
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Post by kledbet on Jun 20, 2007 0:29:01 GMT -7
I have been using the Vandenhul cable from Lava Cable. I can say it is the most transparent cable out there. Just for the record, a calble will not make you a better player, but with good cable you can hear the tones of your guitar more clearly and it might inspire you to play better. The Vandenhul is at the top of the heap... expensive yes, but it does make a difference.
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Post by zgrip on Jun 20, 2007 15:16:06 GMT -7
OK fella's..gotta chime in here again. So ya spend the funds to connect your amp out jack to your cab in jack...then what?? back to plain ol 12 AWG copper from the jack to the speaker, same ol 12 AWG copper inside your amp from the imput jack to the output jack. Does a cable make a difference? perhaps. Is it a "must have"? Not for me................I'll put those funds toward another Dr Z combo amp wired with plain ol 12 AWG copper all the way to the speaker ;^) and plug in my ol Fender....wired with plain ol copper wire internally ;^) JMO, YMMV, etc. Curt You make a good point tele62 and I initially thought the same thing. You actually can still upgrade the wire from inside the cabinet jack to speaker as well as rewire combo amps. I've upgraded combo amp cable but not yet inside my enclosed cab. I was as skeptical as you. I reluctantly tried a Siren with a guarantee from Tony at Evidence that if I didn't like it, I could return for full refund. I tired it, liked the noticeable improvement and went on to order their Lyric instrument cable. With the very revealing Z amps, I've found every little improvement you can make any where in the signal chain can make an audible improvement. A good speaker cable isn't that expensive, I think the Sirens are around $50. To be fair, you should give one a try; maybe you'll hear a difference that's worth $50 or maybe not.
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Post by Jan on Jun 20, 2007 21:03:34 GMT -7
Curt is correct. Your tone is only as good as the weakest link in the chain. Every little bit can help and every little bad bit can hurt. If it is worth it to you to spend big bucks chasing tone, do not overlook the connectors. I have not played the obsessive compulsive wiring game lately. When I do, and I will, I will start with the guiltar and work my way toward the speakers. I do not know for sure that sending the bucks for RS Guitarworks tone kits is worth it, but I am going to give it a test on at least one guitar one of these days.
And hey, a placebo effect is still an effect.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 20, 2007 21:45:35 GMT -7
I'm curious as to why guitar amps and cabs haven't gone to the Speakon connectors - they are way superior to the 1/4" phone plugs and jacks.
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Post by Jan on Jun 20, 2007 21:56:50 GMT -7
Inertia. No one wants to be the first product to require you to buy all new cables.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 21, 2007 7:18:49 GMT -7
Inertia. No one wants to be the first product to require you to buy all new cables. Yeah, there's that all right. But you could just as easily keep the 1/4" connections on there and ADD the Speakons. They are so much better it wouldn't be long before people will be asking why the 1/4" connections are still there...
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Post by billyguitar on Jun 21, 2007 11:06:58 GMT -7
There's one part of the chain that never gets discussed, the jack itself. Here you are with a wonderful guitar cord and all of the electrons have to go thru this incredibly small contact point. It has to limit something from coming thru. I have those speaker cables from Lava, I think the solid siren. Three footer for like $40. Before that I was using Planet Waves. I can't tell any difference. Ken Fischer favorite speaker cable was a 20' piece of wire from an Electrolux vacuum cleaner power cord.
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Post by fisholot on Jun 22, 2007 7:01:53 GMT -7
Inertia. No one wants to be the first product to require you to buy all new cables. I don't see why not.. It seems like Microsoft does it all the time and gets away with it... I just use overpriced mohnster cables on my setup...
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