Cheap vs Expensive Guitar Cables

[oldane]

Oh yes, you can Anybody with a working set of ears will be able to hear the effect of different capacitance, in cable used on guitars with passive pickups. Blind and triple blind. Of course, one would have to compare cables of different capacitance to hear a difference.

Agree. I can hear a slight difference too. But keep in mind, that the difference is basically a difference in capacitance and thus in treble cut off. Thus the difference can easily be levelled out by slight adjustments to either the tone control (which also basically cuts treble due to capacitance change) or on the amps controls. So in real life it means nothing. It's nothing I would spend big bucks on. As long as the cable is mechanically robust and stable, I'm happy.

[Runepune]

Agree. I can hear a slight difference too. But keep in mind, that the difference is basically a difference in capacitance and thus in treble cut off. Thus the difference can easily be levelled out by slight adjustments to either the tone control (which also basically cuts treble due to capacitance change) or on the amps controls. So in real life it means nothing. It's nothing I would spend big bucks on. As long as the cable is mechanically robust and stable, I'm happy.

Luckily, cable capacitance is not related to price It's not just high end attenuation though. There may be a very substantial resonant peak being shifted in the high mid area, which is very audible. How substantial this resonant peak is depends on guitar circuitry etc. though. Also, high end lost in cable is hard to put back. Cable capacitance makes a huge difference on this Tele of mine. On some other guitars, not so much.

Frequency response may look something like this:

[Runepune]

Here's a little shitty iPhone-recording, but the difference is still very obvious. First part - low capacitance cable, second part - high capacitance.

[agentsmith]

Many on this forum are using flatwound strings through class D type amps with virtually no treble response and a treble control that is centered around 8k (above the freq response of the speaker).

And we're looking at boutique, low-capacitance cables. Damn...How did Hendrix get all those legendary tones with 30 foot, high capacitance, coiled cables?!?

Luckily, cable capacitance is not related to price It's not just high end attenuation though. There may be a very substantial resonant peak being shifted in the high mid area, which is very audible. How substantial this resonant peak is depends on guitar circuitry etc. though. Also, high end lost in cable is hard to put back. Cable capacitance makes a huge difference on this Tele of mine. On some other guitars, not so much.

Frequency response may look something like this:

[Stringswinger]

Many on this forum are using flatwound strings through class D type amps with virtually no treble response and a treble control that is center around 8k (above the freq response of the speaker).

And we're looking at boutique, low-capacitance cables. Damn...How did Hendrix get all those legendary tones with 30 foot, high capacitance, coiled cables?!?

Tone is sujective. I like dark tone. I use a Gibson with humbuckers, flatwound strings through a Clarus/RE amp with a Klotz low capacitance cable. And Dunlop Delrin 1.5 picks. Added together, it works for me. Including the cable. The sum is greater than the parts. Everyone needs to put together a rig that works for, and inspires them.

[agentsmith]

Tone is sujective. I like dark tone. I use a Gibson with humbuckers, flatwound strings through a Clarus/RE amp with a Klotz low capacitance cable. And Dunlop Delrin 1.5 picks. Added together, it works for me. Including the cable. The sum is greater than the parts. Everyone needs to put together a rig that works for, and inspires them.

i never said anything to the contrary. Just pointing out that if you are using flatwounds through an acoustic image, henriksen, mambo, jazzcat, evans or something similar, the low capacitance cable ain't buying you much.

I never said folks shouldn't be free to pursue what inspires them. That wasn't the question. The question was whether you can hear the diff.

[Stringswinger]

i never said anything to the contrary. Just pointing out that if you are using flatwounds through an acoustic image, henriksen, mambo, jazzcat, evans or something similar, the low capacitance cable ain't buying you much.

I never said folks shouldn't be free to pursue what inspires them. That wasn't the question. The question was whether you can hear the diff.

I agree that with my rig, the cable does not provide as much warmth as it does when I use the same cable with my Tele through a Fender amp. But it still makes a difference, albeit, a small one.

[Runepune]

Many on this forum are using flatwound strings through class D type amps with virtually no treble response and a treble control that is centered around 8k (above the freq response of the speaker).

And we're looking at boutique, low-capacitance cables. Damn...How did Hendrix get all those legendary tones with 30 foot, high capacitance, coiled cables?!?

Who's talking about boutique? That's the point...there is no magic in cables used with our beloved guitars, it's just capacitance. And low capacitance has nothing to do with price

Since you're bringing up Hendrix. He actually got his legendary tones by actively using different cables/capacitance for different purposes

Here's another one, using a guitar with humbuckers instead (sorry about the shitty, compressed phone recording again) The last part has less top end and more pronounced mid. Very obvious here I'm standing beside the amp. Same when using my flatwound jazzbox. Would you say this is a minuscule difference? Both cables are regular inexpensive ones. I'm not saying that anything is better than the other, I'm just saying it's a good thing to be aware of the impact of capacitance.

[marcwhy]

If you're 10 feet from your amp you can't go over to it without putting down your guitar!

Right, but in a small space, my cables are rarely stretched out to the max, so the amp is still close.

[sgosnell]

I almost always make my own cables. I haven't bought a premade cable in many years. I like Neutrik plugs, because they're bulletproof, maybe nuke-proof. I use George L cable because I like it, especially the low capacitance. I've used a lot of different cable, and it's pretty easy to hear the difference between high and low capacitance cable. Not saying one is better than another, nor that you can't get the same dark sound from either, because you can. You can roll highs off, but not on. But with the exact same conditions other than the cable, it's easy to hear the difference. If you use a low capacitance cable and want a dark tone without any highs, you need to adjust the tone controls. If you like a bright tone and use a high capacitance cable, you're out of luck, because it's not possible to replace the highs you lose from the high capacitance. The difference is easy to hear, but the ideal tone is different for everyone, and thus the ideal cable is different for everone.

[yebdox]

I had a couple of new 20' cables built for me with Mogami 2524 (which I love) but had silent Neutriks added at both ends, one straight and one angled. The loss of highs was startling, compared to non-Neutrik cables of the same length, same Mogami. I sent them back and had him leave the angled Neutrik on, still a slight loss, but not nearly as noticeable.

It's not in your head, capacitance really makes a difference, especially with longer cables. You can compensate for it at the amp for the most part, but it's there, like a fly in your soup that you are forced to eat around. Some folks don't mind.

[feral guitar]

can someone explain passive vs active pickups?
i guess active pickups have a power source, like nylons with an onboard preamp with a 9v, or some basses etc
but what electrics have active pickups? isnt that quite rare?

[feet]

i guess active pickups have a power source, like nylons with an onboard preamp with a 9v, or some basses etc but what electrics have active pickups? isnt that quite rare?

its pretty common for metal dudes. emgs and such. i think seymour duncan makes some now, too. not my thing, personally. passives have plenty of output for me.

i have also bought from death valley, and more recently, colorful weapon. both turned out fine. colorful weapon had a thanksgiving sale last year and i had several cables made- the mogamis, i think. 10' and 20'. doesn't sound different to me if i plug straight in with a 10', 20', or use both to go through my pedal board, but i am using a buffer and some buffered pedals. the colorful weapon guy posts on the gear page, too.

i did it mainly because i wanted well made cables that sounded good, for a decent price. i had been using the guitar center cheapos before and they were alright- maybe slightly duller but they much more prone to kinking and crackling. i know better than to pay crazy amounts for the snake oily kind.

i use ebs flat patch cables on my boards, by the by. super cheap, zero issues and highly recommended, especially for the cash/space challenged.