A BLIND SHOOTOUT THAT WILL STUN YOU!

[Anonymous]

absolutely. i love stuff like that. i said picks or cord too, so, yeah, i guessed! i guess since i voted A, i'd best check one of these out for myself!

 

[nevusofota]

I had a pretty good idea it was a cable change because I did a similar test. Like yours, the Lava stuff sounded great (ELC, never tried the new Soar). I also like Evidence Audio cables. I've been buying all my cables form Mark for years now. I wouldn't buy from anyone else. Thanks again!

 

[Valtiel]

Very cool stuff! I've had great experiences with Mark at Lava cables, class act!

 

[JamesPeters]

Were all three instrument cable lengths the same? I've found it's more difficult to hear differences in instrument cable that are 10' long or less, and easier at 20' or more.

Also if a cable were placed near a source of potential interference, that could influence the results.

I nearly forgot to ask: were the clips played by a guitarist each time (several very similar, but technically different, takes), or was something re-recorded so that the source remained identical? Every time a person plays a guitar, a somewhat different result can occur; it makes it difficult to asses what the other variables are really doing, especially if there's a subtle difference.

 

[hoss33]

Great thread!

People laughed at me when I said cables have a direction and do sound different if you plug them in the other way. Then I demonstrated it. I mark all my cables for the better direction.

 

[lolzgreg]

Were all three instrument cable lengths the same? I've found it's more difficult to hear differences in instrument cable that are 10' long or less, and easier at 20' or more.

Also if a cable were placed near a source of potential interference, that could influence the results.

I nearly forgot to ask: were the clips played by a guitarist each time (several very similar, but technically different, takes), or was something re-recorded so that the source remained identical? Every time a person plays a guitar, a somewhat different result can occur; it makes it difficult to asses what the other variables are really doing, especially if there's a subtle difference.

James,

The instrument cable changed was 15'.

I played them each time: I tried to keep them as similar as possible. I kept my picking hand stationary to keep the same tonality and same area the pick would be hitting the strings.

The difference is gigantic to me; I'm glad I purchased my new cables

 

[The Hoff]

Interesting. Although I wasn't in time to get my vote in, I would have voted "B." Although the difference was subtle, it was undeniable as well.

 

[JamesPeters]

James,

The instrument cable changed was 15'.

I played them each time: I tried to keep them as similar as possible. I kept my picking hand stationary to keep the same tonality and same area the pick would be hitting the strings.

The difference is gigantic to me; I'm glad I purchased my new cables

As a follow-up, you should measure the capacitance of each cable. You'd need a meter that reads in the pF range to do it though.

I've found the most transparent (and therefore my favorite) cables have the lowest capacitance. The ones with lowest capacitance aren't necessarily more expensive either; some of the more expensive cables have significantly higher capacitance, and lead to a more "dull"/"flat"/"darker" sound.

 

[zee1usa]

OKAY GUIZE: Here are the answers:

Whoever guessed that cables were the variable changed wins!

What do you win? You already won; you have good ears, or good guessing skills

Anyone who tells you that cables don't make a huge difference is either deaf, stupid, or trying to sell you inferior cable

Here are the results:

a. Lava Soar Instrument Cable/Gepco X-Band XLR or TRS Cable for the entire rig
b. Lava Soar Instrument Cable/generic XLR cable
c. Monster Rock 500 Instrument Cable/generic XLR cable

Anyone who is interested in purchasing the cable, it is quite affordable in my opinion, and available from http://www.lavacable.com

The owner, Mark Stoddard, is one hell of a businessman when it comes to customer service, and a very nice fellow.

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Greg

I had a good feeling it was a cable, but did not say anything.

OR, if yo didnt care for the clip with the lava cable, buy the cheap cable, Ohms!

 

[steve_k]

OKAY GUIZE: Here are the answers:

Whoever guessed that cables were the variable changed wins!

What do you win? You already won; you have good ears, or good guessing skills

Anyone who tells you that cables don't make a huge difference is either deaf, stupid, or trying to sell you inferior cable

Here are the results:

a. Lava Soar Instrument Cable/Gepco X-Band XLR or TRS Cable for the entire rig
b. Lava Soar Instrument Cable/generic XLR cable
c. Monster Rock 500 Instrument Cable/generic XLR cable

Anyone who is interested in purchasing the cable, it is quite affordable in my opinion, and available from http://www.lavacable.com

The owner, Mark Stoddard, is one hell of a businessman when it comes to customer service, and a very nice fellow.

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Greg

I had a good feeling it was a cable, but did not say anything.

OR, if yo didnt care for the clip with the lava cable, buy the cheap cable, Ohms!

OR, if you buy the Axe II, you can buy a cheap Hosa cable and engage the Evidence Audio sim and pretend you have a $150 cable.


Good stuff though Greg. Thanks for sharing. I am really surprised how dark the Monster cable got. I guess if you had a really bright setup, the Monster could work for you.

What you should do, is call Mark at Lava and send these files and have him check it out. See if he would send you a selection of 10 or so high end cables to do the same sound test. Sort of a cable shoot out. Now that would be a hell of a valuable shootout.

Steve

 

[zee1usa]

OKAY GUIZE: Here are the answers:

Whoever guessed that cables were the variable changed wins!

What do you win? You already won; you have good ears, or good guessing skills

Anyone who tells you that cables don't make a huge difference is either deaf, stupid, or trying to sell you inferior cable

Here are the results:

a. Lava Soar Instrument Cable/Gepco X-Band XLR or TRS Cable for the entire rig
b. Lava Soar Instrument Cable/generic XLR cable
c. Monster Rock 500 Instrument Cable/generic XLR cable

Anyone who is interested in purchasing the cable, it is quite affordable in my opinion, and available from http://www.lavacable.com

The owner, Mark Stoddard, is one hell of a businessman when it comes to customer service, and a very nice fellow.

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Greg

I had a good feeling it was a cable, but did not say anything.

OR, if yo didnt care for the clip with the lava cable, buy the cheap cable, Ohms!

OR, if you buy the Axe II, you can buy a cheap Hosa cable and engage the Evidence Audio sim and pretend you have a $150 cable.

Good stuff though Greg. Thanks for sharing. I am really surprised how dark the Monster cable got. I guess if you had a really bright setup, the Monster could work for you.

What you should do, is call Mark at Lava and send these files and have him check it out. See if he would send you a selection of 10 or so high end cables to do the same sound test. Sort of a cable shoot out. Now that would be a hell of a valuable shootout.

Steve

"OR, if you buy the Axe II, you can buy a cheap Hosa cable and engage the Evidence Audio sim and pretend you have a $150 cable. "



"I am really surprised how dark the Monster cable got. I guess if you had a really bright setup, the Monster could work for you."

I wonder how much a MONSTER speaker cable between head and cab would affect things also. I got about 10 Monster speakercables a few months back for head to cab connections.


Greg good info, yes cable shootout so we can learn cables for bright aplications vs Darker ones!


OKAY GAIZE:

 

[glip22]

Cool Greg. Cables make a big difference. I like Lava. I also think the Koch is a good cable as well. There are allot of great cables. Monster I do not like.

 

[Tone Monster]

Cool results. Sorry u thought I was trolling earlier. I wasn't, sometimes intent doesn't come across right in print. I could've worded my question a bit differently I suppose.

 

[Code001]

I find it more interesting that A had an OVERWHELMING victory over on the Sneap forum, but more people here liked B.

 

[steve_k]

Cool results. Sorry u thought I was trolling earlier. I wasn't, sometimes intent doesn't come across right in print. I could've worded my question a bit differently I suppose.

dude....you got some serious amp horsepower on order

 

[Digital Jams]

Cool work Greg, sorry I did not get a chance to vote.

Regardless I buy cheap cables anyways

 

[Tone Monster]

dude....you got some serious amp horsepower on order

 

[Elethan]

Nice stuff! To my taste, I've found little to no noticeable difference tone-wise in placing really good cables after the preamp stage. It does make a hell of a difference, especially with longer cables, in front of the preamp though...

 

[lolzgreg]

OKAY GUIZE: Here are the answers:

Whoever guessed that cables were the variable changed wins!

What do you win? You already won; you have good ears, or good guessing skills

Anyone who tells you that cables don't make a huge difference is either deaf, stupid, or trying to sell you inferior cable

Here are the results:

a. Lava Soar Instrument Cable/Gepco X-Band XLR or TRS Cable for the entire rig
b. Lava Soar Instrument Cable/generic XLR cable
c. Monster Rock 500 Instrument Cable/generic XLR cable

Anyone who is interested in purchasing the cable, it is quite affordable in my opinion, and available from http://www.lavacable.com

The owner, Mark Stoddard, is one hell of a businessman when it comes to customer service, and a very nice fellow.

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Greg

I had a good feeling it was a cable, but did not say anything.

OR, if yo didnt care for the clip with the lava cable, buy the cheap cable, Ohms!

OR, if you buy the Axe II, you can buy a cheap Hosa cable and engage the Evidence Audio sim and pretend you have a $150 cable.


Good stuff though Greg. Thanks for sharing. I am really surprised how dark the Monster cable got. I guess if you had a really bright setup, the Monster could work for you.

What you should do, is call Mark at Lava and send these files and have him check it out. See if he would send you a selection of 10 or so high end cables to do the same sound test. Sort of a cable shoot out. Now that would be a hell of a valuable shootout.

Steve

Steve,

Already sent Mark the files

Also, I'd rather dial in my amp darker than lose essential crispy highs on the way to the amp.

The monster cable isn't just darker, but pretty damn congested. Meh. No me likey.

 

[lolzgreg]

Cool results. Sorry u thought I was trolling earlier. I wasn't, sometimes intent doesn't come across right in print. I could've worded my question a bit differently I suppose.

You're good, dude.