The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Posts 26 to 31 of 31
  1. #26

    User Info Menu

    Re: length -- if you're so inclined, buy a 5', 10', and 20' cable (go for inexpensive for this experiment!), and compare them. They will sound different, and whether you like them or not is another thing. [One cable guy I found likes "fuller," and recommends shorter, but as others have said here, longer removes some sound (treble), and they like that.]

    Just beware of the "unicorn hair infused, 100% organic" type marketing from some brands!

    Edit: Here's a fun list from Intex.
    Last edited by marcwhy; 07-07-2019 at 11:19 AM.

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

    User Info Menu

    There’s a product called ZeroCapCable that claims to remove the effects of cable capacitance at audio frequencies using an active device at the far end. I haven’t tried it, but their web site seems to be based on actual engineering rather than a bunch of woo.

    Even though I don’t think I need their product, their “Guitar Pickup Tone Database” is useful for understanding the effects of cable capacitance. For example, I used it to create this frequency response comparison between three hypothetical cables: a 10’ low capacitance cable, 20’ high capacitance cable, and a ZeroCap Cable. The latter is roughly equivalent to having a wireless transmitter plugged directly into the guitar, or plugging a guitar directly into the amp a very short (e.g. 1’) low capacitance cable.

    I chose Gibson neck humbuckers with 500K volume pots for this comparison. Note that their analysis assumes the volume pot is set to 10, which results in more coupling between the pickup and cable than if the volume pot were turned down a bit. I wish they allowed the comparison to be made with lower pot settings, as I think the results would be a bit different. The pickup-to-cable coupling may explain why high capacitance seems to increase the frequency response in the midrange (around 1000 Hz). I wonder if that presence peak might disappear as the volume pot is turned down.
    Here’s the site where you can enter your own parameters.
    The Guitar Pickup Tone Database | Atlantic Quality Design, Inc. Musical Products

  4. #28

    User Info Menu

    More info about instrument cable effects.
    Measuring Guitar Cables – Mission Engineering

  5. #29

    User Info Menu

    Excess treble is easily fixed, at least for my, either by the guitar's tone control, the amp EQ knobs, or both. I prefer having everything possible going to the amp in most cases, and then dealing with the treble with knobs instead of crappy cables. But YMMV.

  6. #30

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by neatomic
    hendrix used coil cables from his guitar to 3 or 4 pedals...that had 2 or 3 short cables between them...and then ran another long cable from last pedal to his amp...which usually fed another cable (out the extra input jack) into another marshall stack

    with all that going on...5 or 6 cables!! plus a noisy single coil strat!!!...& its hard to attribute the frequency response of his tone to any specific point! haha

    cheers
    Once the signal hits the first preamp or buffer, the capacitance of the cable past that point doesn’t matter much because it’s completely isolated from the high impedance pickup. So, the long cable after Hendrix’s pedal board may not have had much of an effect when his pedals were engaged.

    Many (most?) modern pedals are buffered. “True bypass” pedals are only buffered when they are engaged. That’s often advertised as an advantage, but it means that when a pedal is disengaged the cable after it won’t be isolated from what came before. That’s why a number of people recommend that pedal boards have buffered pedal early in the signal chain.

    The reason professional mics are low impedance or active is to allow long cable lengths to be run without screwing up the frequency response. That’s the same principle.

    More geeky stuff on buffers, true-bypass, and cable impedance here:

    The case against true bypass

    and here:
    When Is True Bypass Appropriate? | Neunaber Audio

  7. #31

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    Excess treble is easily fixed, at least for my, either by the guitar's tone control, the amp EQ knobs, or both. I prefer having everything possible going to the amp in most cases, and then dealing with the treble with knobs instead of crappy cables. But YMMV.
    My personal experience is different. The one thing I always find myself searching for in a guitar for jazz is a sweet mellow top end.
    And it's just not that easy to find. My ES-175 has it, my Strat does not. BTW, I'm not dissing on my strat -- it's a beast!
    I've been through a pile of jazz boxes (and pickup swaps etc) that just don't do that sweet singing top end.