Cable Question - where's YOUR length?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ventura
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Ventura

Ventura

Well-known member
Here's something I've been toying with over the course of the last little while... Cable lengths. I'm trying to get a sense which sounds better, and I'll tell you what I have witnessed - but here's the crux - do you put your length from guitar to pedalboard? Or from pedalboard to amp?

I'm toying with a shorter cable (12' to 15') from guitar to pedalboard, and from pedalboard to amp, a longer (28') cable. This seems to actually sound better than going long cable to pedalboard, short cable to amp. Not really rocket surgery, the buffers on the pedalboard probably do a good job boosting the cleaner signal and original tone from the GTR > SHRT CABLE > PDLBRD than draining the tone from the guitar with a lengthy cable from the ax...

Your thoughts?
V.
 
EDIT: Re-post

But seriously, you're correct in your thinking.
With passive pickups, yo want to make the distance between the guitar and the first buffer as short as possible.
After that, you're dealing with a low-impedance signal so the cable length isn't nearly as much of a factor.
 
Sixtonoize":28cifhem said:
EDIT: Re-post

But seriously, you're correct in your thinking.
With passive pickups, yo want to make the distance between the guitar and the first buffer as short as possible.
After that, you're dealing with a low-impedance signal so the cable length isn't nearly as much of a factor.
Click to expand...

Wireless indeed... But I'm old school man, I keep having nightmares of Nigel Tufnel from Spinal Tap conjuring short wave radio broadcasts :lol: :LOL:

Right on, thanks for the affirmation on my thoughts - it really doess sound better with the set up I've got, short to pedalboard long to amp.

Peace,
V.
 
I swore off wireless back in the 90's but the technology today especially the Relay 30, 50 and 90 from Line 6 have made me a believer. Anyway, I use a wireless from my guitar to pedalboard and then 20' cables from my pedaboard to my amp.
 
I use the X2 wireless and 3, 21' Monster performer 500 cables to go to the front of my amp and the loop. not the highest quality out there but they are balanced and are very reliable.

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I go with as short as I can get away with. I bring 6ft, 10ft, 15ft, 20ft and 25ft sets of cables to the practice space or gig (not gigging at the moment :( ) Anyway, I go with as short as I can. Usually I can get away with 10-15ft from guitar to pedal board and 15ft from pedal board back to amp.

At home, I have either a 15 or 20 foot cord from my guitar to amp and 6ft cord from my pedal board to my amp.

Its interesting that you like a shorter cord to the pedalboard and a longer cord from pedalboard to amp. I can't really do that at home, since I need more range to get to my computer across the room.
 
nbarts":3ai5qosf said:
highly overrated topic
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I agree here. As long as you have volume pots your guitar has output impedance, and as long as you run your volumes full up, this impedance is low and you won't really hear too much difference from different length cables. Roll your volumes down and the game changes a little. Running your signal through all of those pedals is doing a lot more to your tone than an extra few feet of cable...
 
I like 10 to 12. I have played a 25ft. at loud volumes and noticed a latency type thing going on. This was straight to the amp. I did not notice this at low volumes.
 
Since electrons move close to the speed of light, I'm going to assume that there was another factor at play than the extra 13' of cable.
 
Monster 20 ft from my guitar to my pedal board, 3 x 25 ft George L's .250 cables to the front and loop on my amp. Works like a charm. :yes:
 
10' guitar to pedal board and 10' board to amp.

However, I'm going Line6 G30 wireless in August or September if/when we get more gigs.
 
JakeAC5253":br50d8hv said:
..As long as you have volume pots your guitar has output impedance, and as long as you run your volumes full up, this impedance is low and you won't really hear too much difference from different length cables. Roll your volumes down and the game changes a little..
Click to expand...
WRONG
 
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