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does having too many long patch cables affect your signal's strength?

Ive been told that guitar cables shouldnt be longer than 20 ft or else you weaken your signal.
but I have a few 1ft patch cables running between pedals and it certainly adds length to my cable length.
am I looking too much into it or is it a reasonable concern?

also what kind of patch cables do you use?

there are several 12"-18" cables on my board of 13 pedals that are powered by a PP2+ and a 1spot. I was rearranging some things the other night and had them all side by side connected with 4" patch cables figuring out the exact order i wanted them in. They sounded identical when they went back on the board, and i probably added four feet of cable, at least.

one solution to this issue of increased capacitance (more cable) is to put a buffer in there, and most would say put it after your fuzz and dirt or whatever. I run comp>wah>ring mod>dirt,dirt, and dirt>into an Ernie Ball MVP which is a powered volume pedal that i believe acts as a buffer, then run all that shit into a bunch of modulation.

if you think your tone is suffering, try a buffer. or do as so many have before you, and embrace the suffering.

Eh, I don't buy into that sort of thing.
I'm pretty sure it won't make much of a difference, especially with short lengths like that.

I use the cheapest patch cables I could buy.
More money for pedals manggggg.
Ya dig?

Do you like how you sound? Do you have enough high end sparklyness? If so, don't worry about it. If not, look into getting a buffer.

As far as the best patch cables (imo), you should check out the 6" pancake style cables from mammoth electronics.

Yes, you are looking to much into it.
And no, it's not a reasonable concern because I guess your amp has a treble knob.

I make my own patch cables with Mogami W2319 and Amphenol plugs.

Never underestimate a good buffer or 2 in your chain with long cable runs. You don't just loose treble, you loose range across the whole frequency spectrum.

technicoloraudio wrote:...into an Ernie Ball MVP which is a powered volume pedal that i believe acts as a buffer

been wanting to get a volume pedal and sounds useful as shit, thanks man!

PetZounds wrote:I use the cheapest patch cables I could buy.
More money for pedals manggggg.
Ya dig?

im there with you, planet waves plz...

BassIsBad wrote:Do you like how you sound? Do you have enough high end sparklyness? If so, don't worry about it. If not, look into getting a buffer.

KaosCill8r wrote:Never underestimate a good buffer or 2 in your chain with long cable runs. You don't just loose treble, you loose range across the whole frequency spectrum.

Ive noticed that my setup hasnt been sounding as crisp as I remembered and I havent found out what may be causing that. Just maybe thought the cables I use could be the problem, but it very well could be an amp-related issue

I just wanted to get schooled on cables really. never given them any thought haha. definitely learned about buffers too

BassIsBad wrote:Do you like how you sound? Do you have enough high end sparklyness? If so, don't worry about it. If not, look into getting a buffer.

KaosCill8r wrote:Never underestimate a good buffer or 2 in your chain with long cable runs. You don't just loose treble, you loose range across the whole frequency spectrum.

Ive noticed that my setup hasnt been sounding as crisp as I remembered and I havent found out what may be causing that. Just maybe thought the cables I use could be the problem, but it very well could be an amp-related issue

I just wanted to get schooled on cables really. never given them any thought haha. definitely learned about buffers too[/quote]

How old are your strings?

KaosCill8r wrote:Never underestimate a good buffer or 2 in your chain with long cable runs. You don't just loose treble, you loose range across the whole frequency spectrum.

Yep. Buy whatever cables you want, who cares. As long as they are cheap and relatively well constructed. Put a boss tuner at the end of your chain. Blammo, no problems with dem toanz. A good buffer (which any modern boss pedal has) will negate the high or low capacitance of any cable.