Cables, cables, cables....

[Baxandall]

btw did your mogami's have a break in time also???

I didn't notice any change in performance over time. No break in. In regards to stiffness no. They stay stiff because that's part of the design. The jacket is a stiff material that discourages bending because that lets oxygen eventually creep in on the copper.

[Baxandall]

Now I'm finally putting a real board together, Lava Mini solderless mini kits seem to be the way to go, but damn I'll have to buy two for $160, better be worth it.

You know the Lava dealer of choice man!

[Ancient Astronaught]

btw did your mogami's have a break in time also???

I didn't notice any change in performance over time. No break in. In regards to stiffness no. They stay stiff because that's part of the design. The jacket is a stiff material that discourages bending because that lets oxygen eventually creep in on the copper.

Gotcha! I was wondering if there was any break-in "sonically" because I noticed mine over the course of a 4 hour jam session on sunday my tone changed quite a bit and i didn't change any settings on the pedals or amp, but im also breaking in new power tubes so i wasn't sure which one might have caused the the tone change

[jrmy]

I'm interested in the Lava solder-free kit, personally. Glad to hear they're good.

Yeah, me too. Might have to hit The Riffer up...

[hclapp219]

Doesn't Tom sell the lava kits also?

[ARC Effects]

I don't know if this is too spammy but check out my website at www.SolderedSound.com

I'm an official Evidence Audio Dealer which is my cable brand of choice. I used to roll my own Mogami which in themselves were a great upgrade from the off the shelf stuff but after checking out Evidence Audio I refuse to settle for anything less. They have a clarity and balance that I feel is unmatched.

[Ancient Astronaught]

I don't know if this is too spammy but check out my website at http://www.SolderedSound.com

I'm an official Evidence Audio Dealer which is my cable brand of choice. I used to roll my own Mogami which in themselves were a great upgrade from the off the shelf stuff but after checking out Evidence Audio I refuse to settle for anything less. They have a clarity and balance that I feel is unmatched.

I looked in to evidence audio cables when i was decided which cables to get i just could not justify spending that much on cables to take on the road, they seem more like studio cables. plus im really weird about having matching things (even patch cable connectors i use the full elc connectors on my current setup not the mini) and i didn't see any evidence audio pedal board cables that really peeked my interest like the lava. Don't get me wrong i'm really intrigued to hear the differences, as i heard extremely good things about evidence particularly their speaker cables.

[ARC Effects]

I don't know if this is too spammy but check out my website at http://www.SolderedSound.com

I'm an official Evidence Audio Dealer which is my cable brand of choice. I used to roll my own Mogami which in themselves were a great upgrade from the off the shelf stuff but after checking out Evidence Audio I refuse to settle for anything less. They have a clarity and balance that I feel is unmatched.

I looked in to evidence audio cables when i was decided which cables to get i just could not justify spending that much on cables to take on the road, they seem more like studio cables. plus im really weird about having matching things (even patch cable connectors i use the full elc connectors on my current setup not the mini) and i didn't see any evidence audio pedal board cables that really peeked my interest like the lava. Don't get me wrong i'm really intrigued to hear the differences, as i heard extremely good things about evidence particularly their speaker cables.

A lot of people, some who have even looked into Evidence before, are unaware that they've recently released a few models that finally bridge the gap between studio quality cables and cables that are durable enough for the road. Their newest cable The Reveal is my favorite at the moment and is what I currently use and just rewired my entire setup with. It's the same diameter as their instrument cable stuff (not mini like the Monorail), flexible due to a stranded core, and has the clarity Evidence Audio is known for.

I also use their speaker cable, The Siren II, and as you said it's a HUGE improvement. To me I've noticed the biggest sonic improvements by upgrading first the speaker cable and then the first instrument cable from the guitar. The rest obviously plays a factor but those 2 locations are the crucial ones in my opinion.

[Wes Mantooth]

Actually those evidence ones would be cheaper, thanks for the suggestion!

Might be ordering around 10 from you soon. I love those jacks too, nice and flat.

[ARC Effects]

If you have any questions feel free to send me an email at Aaron @ SolderedSound.com

[McSpunckle]

I don't buy anything with the molded ends. My experience with Planet Waves cables breaking left and right was enough to do that, but then all the stories of Monster cables breaking... yeah.

The main things that effect a cable are capacitance and how well it's shielded.

Often times, the best shielding will increase capacitance a bit. But it will prevent noise from interference and handling. I've never had handling noise from a cable, though. The capacitance of the cable that you can handle really depends on what's plugged into it. The capacitance is between the "hot" signal and ground, so it forms a low-pass filter. The capacitance is really small-- but if the source (output) impedance is really high, you'll lose some high frequencies (exactly the same way the tone knob in your guitar works).

Higher output pickups will tend to lose more high end-- and the cable capacitance is also why you lose high end when you roll off your volume control. So, you want something pretty low. For example, Canare GS-6 will have .0009uF for a 20 foot cable. If your pickup had a 10K impedance (which is a bit on the high side), anything above 17kHz will get cut off-- that's not going to be noticeable. But, as you turn down the tone control, that impedance can go up to more like 100K,so anything above 1.7kHz gets cut off, and that could be noticeable in harmonics and such. Turn it down more, it gets worse. Mogami's guitar cables are a little better in this respect. A buffered signal is going to have an output impedance of something like a couple hundred ohms at worse, so once you have a buffer, the cable would have to -really- suck before you noticed it.

Now, the resistance of the cable... this just isn't something I think matters. A 24 gauge wire has like 25 ohms for every 1000 feet, and that's the tiny wire I use to wire pedals, but you could get it in thin patch cords and such.

Also, cables don't have "break in" periods. That's silly, and you'd be hard-pressed to find any scientific reason for it. I think that was just made up so people wouldn't be so bummed when their super expensive cables didn't make their stuff sound better.

Anyways, in my opinion, the things you need to look for for guitar leads is that they're quiet, don't rob your high end too much (they all will a little if you turn down the volume knobs-- some just do it less), and feel good. I've been using Canare just because 1) I bought a lot of it 2) It came in purple (OK, it's a Mic cable-- piss off) and 3) it sounds fine.

[Ancient Astronaught]

Thank you for clearing up the break-in question. I really think that no cable can claim top dog, each have their place where they perform best. The reason I chose the elc cables is their extremely low capacitance since I use high output pickups and stacked fuzz boxes. Thanks for all the technical info I appreciate it!

[Baxandall]

btw did your mogami's have a break in time also???

I didn't notice any change in performance over time. No break in. In regards to stiffness no. They stay stiff because that's part of the design. The jacket is a stiff material that discourages bending because that lets oxygen eventually creep in on the copper.

Gotcha! I was wondering if there was any break-in "sonically" because I noticed mine over the course of a 4 hour jam session on sunday my tone changed quite a bit and i didn't change any settings on the pedals or amp, but im also breaking in new power tubes so i wasn't sure which one might have caused the the tone change

Nah. To me that sounds like you amp's tubes are getting hot and changing the dynamic of your output in general. I'm sure that's tube break-in. I'm sure of it.

Is your amp class A? That could also make a difference with the tone after burning those power tube for 4 hours. Big difference. I hear a difference after about 2 hours with my class A amp. It just really get's hot from having no chance to idle.

[hclapp219]

Just bought a Lava Coily, I can't wait to get it later this week! I'm currently using Canare GS-6's from Lava, and I really can't use monster cables any more.

[Ancient Astronaught]

Nah. To me that sounds like you amp's tubes are getting hot and changing the dynamic of your output in general. I'm sure that's tube break-in. I'm sure of it.

Is your amp class A? That could also make a difference with the tone after burning those power tube for 4 hours. Big difference. I hear a difference after about 2 hours with my class A amp. It just really get's hot from having no chance to idle.

I honestly don't know if a model T reissue is class A or not..(anyone wanna school me on amp "classes"? I've got open ears.)... i do know that the room we play in has poor air circulation and everything in there get's heat soaked, it has had a bad effect on my friends Mesa Triple Rec even causing it too shutdown after 2 to 3 hours of being on, then being fine after cooling down. I'm sure now that it's the power tubes that have changed the tone, I can hear them warming up tone wise and im just now hitting around the ten hour mark of break in. I'm still trying to find the randomness that i found that said some cables have a break in time, when i find it i will post a link.