Vick
What lengths do you guys consider "save" I'm not going to be running around on stage and crap, just want to be semi mobile without sucking the life from my tone...
I was thinking 15” from board to amp and 15" from guitar to board...I have a buffer first in my signal chain and last in my signal, the rest is TB and connected with solderlis goerg'l...
Brands also, I was thinking blue demon cables from Lava cable...I'm owiously not thinking that its going to be the best thing ever,I just want descent cables...
Other thing, speaker cable...recommendations please, currently I'm using a really poopy one since my fulltone one was stolen...
I'm budgeting for about 120 US to cover the cables...the blue demons will be about 70 and a descent speaker cable about 50...am I being cheap? Or should I postpone ordering till I can afford to spend more...?
MikeM
Personally.. I'd get someone local to make me some Mogami cables with Neutrik or Amphenol connectors. Really good quality stuff for a really reasonable price.
Because you have a buffer in your loop, you barely even have to worry about using cheap cable ACTUALLY, so you just want something that can take a beating and will be reliable.
AlanRatcliffe
Two 15' cables are fine as long as you don't need to move around much. If you need to move around a bit then get a 30' for guitar - pedalboard. Mogami cable + Neutrik jacks ...and make 'em yourself - soldering is an essential skill for the gigging muso.
Speaker cable doesn't have to be anything fancy (only a few feet long anyway), just decent. Mains cable works well in a pinch (better than the cheap moulded plug freebees you get), just not usually flexible enough to coil nicely and has a "memory" if you get it kinked.
UncleGoatLips
Alan: Do you mean you use mains cable as speaker cable? whaaaa?
MikeM: Do you know where you can get Mogami cables in Pretoria? What kind of price are we looking at?
AlanRatcliffe
UncleGoatLips wrote:
Alan: Do you mean you use mains cable as speaker cable? whaaaa?
I prefer proper speaker cable, which is more flexible and doesn't have as much "memory" when it gets tangled. But yes - sonically, mains cable actually works as well as a lot of the expensive speaker cabling. The main criteria for speaker cabling are high current handling and low resistance.
Fingerpicker
I have just made up a complete set of cables for TJ's using Mogami cable, 7 coloured mic XLR balanced cables and 3 unbalanced instrument cables, and 3 balanced patch cables. If you buy from Max in Centurion and make them up yourself, expect to pay about R18 each for 1/4" TS Amphenol instrument connectors and R13 per metre for Mogami 2524 guitar cable.
A 5m (15 ft) made up cable would cost about Rands R(13 x 5) + (2 x 18) = 65 + 36 = R101 per cable before tax.
email Max at
designbymax@mweb.co.za and he will send you a price list.
UncleGoatLips
Awesome! thanks, i'll mail them now!
UncleGoatLips
Alan: (kinks aside) Wouldn't mains cable be more suited to higher wattage amps? Wouldn't it be better to get thinner cables like rip cord for lower wattage amplifiers?
AlanRatcliffe
Ripcord is a type of mains cable ? but no... there is the issue of durability and flexibility. Any cable for stage use also has to be able to take abuse and keep on working. Also at a speaker impedance of 4 ohm (or about 3 ohm DC resistance), it doesn't take much before the resistance of a speaker cable starts making a difference to frequency response. So while a short length may not be an issue in a perfect situation, perch a speaker cab on top of some ripcord and pinch it flat (or stomp on it/coil it badly a few dozen times) and it may well have an effect.
But really, speaker cable is cheap enough and you rarely need more than a couple of metres for guitar amp purposes, so there is no reason to skimp. In mentioning mains cable "in a pinch", I only hoped to help someone out sometime - I've "repurposed" a spare mains extension cable (with soldering iron and plugs) shortly before a gig before... ?
UncleGoatLips
So for amps that are static, as in, they stand in studio's most of the time ripcord should be fine because I can always put a normal sized jack on it.
6.5mm jacks are R40 a pop.
I definitely use good speaker cable and jacks for touring amps because I know the damage they endure. Sound guys sometimes push the amp all the way back against the wall so there will definitely be a kink at the jack socket. You always have to heat-shrink the jacks to make them more rugged at that point. In a moment of stupidity (I have them quite often) I put a 4x12 cab in my van on its back with the speaker cable still connected and only found the utter destruction the next day.
FenderBender
UncleGoatLips wrote:
So for amps that are static, as in, they stand in studio's most of the time ripcord should be fine because I can always put a normal sized jack on it.
Just make sure of the current carrying capacity of the cable used. Personally, I would make up speaker cables using Mogami and Amphenol from Max.
I made up a few cables last week using Mogami 3082 (2mm2 coaxial speaker cable, R18/m) and Amphenol TM2P 1/4" jacks (just over R20 each) and it worked very well. The cable has a great feel and is very flexible. I will only use Max's products in future. He is a cool guy to deal with too!
Link to 3082 cable:
http://www.mogamicable.com/category/bulk/speaker_cable/pure_sound/
UncleGoatLips wrote:
6.5mm jacks are R40 a pop.
R20 for good ones. See above ?
UncleGoatLips
I did mail Max for quotes and he did say the Amphenol TM2P is a tight squeeze but could work with the Mogami 3082. By tight squeeze I assumed nearly impossible given my mediocre cable manufacturing/soldering skills. But now i'll give it a shot!
By the way, why is the Mogami arranged like a shielded instrument cable? Does it make a difference? I suppose it doesn't matter as long as both positive and negative have the same capacity, unlike instrument cables.
singemonkey
Vick wrote:
I was thinking 15” from board to amp and 15" from guitar to board...
Personally I'd struggle with a 15 inch cable ?
UncleGoatLips
I went and bought a a load of cables and connectors from Max, really impressed, he knows his shit, i'm going to buy everything from him from now on. It's also like going to cable school when you go there ?
The only thing I didn't buy from him was my heatshrink which I got from electronics 123, I bought it in a few colours as a way of marking my cables as well as keeping bending down.
Norman86
BUMP:
I need a speaker cable made... 2m long.
to replace the 6m long speaker cable i have at the moment...
Im in Kempton Park, who should i contact??
This is for my Head to cab connection, using 6.5mm mono jack plugs...
I dont want to go to the ends of the earth, and i dont want to make any myself!
Cheers.
aubs1
Norman86 wrote:
I need a speaker cable made... 2m long.
to replace the 6m long speaker cable i have at the moment...
Im in Kempton Park, who should i contact??
Speak (or PM) to TomCat, he lives in the area, and he's a really good and helpful guy.
Norman86
Tom hasnt posted in ages...
But will contact him for a quote!
Anyone else?
Attila
Norn You could get the guys at Zak-speed in Woodmead, to make you up a cable .... same center as Marshalls
