Ricochet Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 OK, so I'm using dedicated cables for guitar and for my guitarcabs. Remind me again why they're not interchangeable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaaarky21 Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 OK' date=' so I'm using dedicated cables for guitar and for my guitarcabs. Remind me again why they're not interchangeable?:- [/quote'] The signal from an instrument's pickup is pretty weak, so a little interference can be pretty "loud" in comparison to that weak signal. For that reason, instrument cables are (or should be) well insulated so your guitar signal gets to the amp with as little interference as possible. The greatly amplified signal that goes from a head to a cabinet is strong enough that a little interference is trivial in comparison. For that reason, insulation isn't as much of a concern. You could use a speaker cable between an instrument and an amp but you might get a lot of noise. You could also use an instrument cable between a head and cabinet but, since instrument cables are made to carry instrument-level signals, I couldn't say for sure that it would be a good idea. I've seen some pretty wimpy cables that I wouldn't trust between a cabinet and a 100 watt head. -Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 Tnx! I've always wondered why they don't use fancy speaker cables like in the HiFi world. QED, VandenHul etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrracer Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Shielding not insulation. Insulation by itself does nothing to stop interferencew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eracer_Team Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 There is reported a capacitance issue with shielded guitar grade cables used as speaker wire. Also it has been reported that the shielding can short through to the signal lead due to the higher power/current load of the speaker out this short stops your amp in its tracks. Use thicker the better in speaker wire, either expensive speaker patch cables or thick lamp cord does the trick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51xt33 Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I don't think that it would be wise to use instrument cable in place of speaker cable. have you ever looked to see how small the wire is in an instrument cable? For a Valve Junior you don't have to go crazy and buy Monster cable. But if you have a head that is pushing some wattage, then spend the extra money and get some decent speaker cables. I used 12 guage for my Valve Junior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Using speaker cable as instrument cable is fine, as long as you like noise. Using instrument cable as speaker cable is fine, as long as you like the threat of damaging your amp. Both will work for either (at least for a while)...it's just a matter of what you're willing to put up with as a result of your reluctance to do things right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 There's considerably more capacitance in instrument cable than what a lot of people think. That's why highs attenuate more as the cable gets longer. Put that capacitance between the OT and speaker, and it changes the impedance, besides the fact it's not heavy enuff to carry the current load safely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.