The Cable Corner

[The~Kid]

Come in, talk about cables. Geek out ask whatever regarding cables and have fun.



IME you don't really need a fancy cable either to get a solid sound but in general the quality of a cable does affect the end sound but thankfully one doesn't need to spend loads of money on a solid cable.



What do you use, what's been your experience with different cables, what jacks do you prefer etc etc?



Come through to the Cable Corner ^_^

 

[thegame]

Hello,
Are these cables made with rebranded Mogami or Belden wire?
Thank you

 

[The~Kid]

Hello,
Are these cables made with rebranded Mogami or Belden wire?
Thank you

Right on mostly if not all cables are made by an OEM and are branded to specific specs of said OEM factory and line under said brand. But for a few not many are actually made in house.


These are really no different and we don't have leprechauns or magic fairies sprinkling dust on the cables



That being said under my understading the factory used by Providence isn't necessarily exclusive to Providence for OEM work but it isn't the one most commonly used by some other competion either and the cables made under Providence specs and standards are made only for Providence By our specs and standards and tested and made as such in any case.



Sort of like say MIM Fender and MIM Charvel or MIM EVH same country and same factory but made to totally different standards, price points and quality in ley mans terms.




A lot of work as such not only in cables is common place but also amongst boutique now with many boutiques outsourcing some of what they do such as amps or pedals to an OEM that does work not just for them but other brands as well. You see this a lot in the cabinet making industry as well. This is the case too with some boutique guitars as well where a Boutique OEM for lack of a better term does a lot of the work for a brand.


Suhr for example doesn't have OEM work done on their guitars and all that is in house or damn near well most of it by example as far as I am aware or as much as can be done.



The thing is some actually use the same OEM sometimes or possibly the same specs but under different brands for cabs for example but in other cases completely unique designs and offerings such as in amps and pedals or guitars.

 

[thegame]

Yes would have sufficed

 

[The~Kid]

Yes would have sufficed

Yes doesn't suffice sometimes nor are things so simple or easy to understand/explain sometimes and well patience is required to really understand somethings sometimes in general and that's the fun part IME.



An EVH Standard ain't the same as an MIM Fender Player for example ain't the same as a Charvel MIM yet they are all made in the same factory. Gibson strings don't sound or play like Daddarios either nor do they sound or play like Fender strings yet all use the same OEM which is Daddario.



While this is OEM work it's not by the typical OEM factory used by some or most more well known brands on average and they are made to a specific spec, standard and degree of quality. It's not all cookie cutter stuff essentially and there are differences even amongst OEMs within the same factory depending on specs and order.

 

[The~Kid]

Also want to add between the factory, owner, HQ and sellers and makers of Providence Cables in JP it's very tight knit and almost like a small family/company.



It's not huge but yeah.



Yes it's OEM but there is a good relationship and communication on all levels between brand, makers, factory and sellers/company and not as corporate as many would think and this stuff isn't cookie cutter and we make sure to provide something our way we feel will benefit players and their rig over years and years of experience.




Providence started as a cable company for rack units to provide quality cables. Back then no one really cared about the sound I figured and a cable was a cable especially in the backstage were none of the cool things happened like at the front I imagine. What's the point of a fancy cable most probably figured back there its just a cable........ Developing the cables from my understading was a way to bring importance to what matters and that is the sound and signal and what one hears......



Back then for example a lot of the cables that were made were also all black jacket. This was terrible not so much because of tone but simply backstage in a dark setting you can't make out black cables in the dark.



White Jacket Cables were introduced and this solved the issue but players and sound guys complained they didn't sound good. The engineers would later figure out it had to do with the being material used and what they were made of, not the color", affected sound.



This is why Providence uses a Purple Jacket on our patches to this day. Purple was decided as the color and the material to be used and what players and sound guys were comfortable with sound wise and also were able to make out easier in the dark vs black jacket cables.




It's a pretty funny story but it goes back to what Providence is all about and why we do what we do, because the cable matters and well the sound and signal matters.



Feel the Sound, Hear it. PROVIDENCE CABLES ^_^

 

[thegame]

Feel the Sound, Hear me ramble on over and over and over again. PROVIDENCE CABLES ^_^

Divine Incessantvention

 

[The~Kid]

Definitely feel there are a lot of misconceptions as to what some players think is important in a cable and it's not about capacitance and it's not about a cable being expensive or not......



First time I recall noticing cables mattered I remember because it was when I got a CM2 Hardwire OD. This was like back in 2008 or 2009. I took my guitar to GC and used the same amp I do at home and the pedal sounded great..... bought it, took it home and it sounded terrible....


I was going to take it back but I figured something must be different that should explain why the pedal sounded terrible at home and great at the store. After thinking about it the only difference was the cables. Aside from the Strukture patch which was used both at home and at the store the only difference was the cable. I was using a Radio Chack Cable with a plastic plug ........


The store was using Monster Cables at the time so I went back to GC and got a Monster SP1000 which was on sale for like 60 bucks from a normal price of 90 bucks or something. I was happy and yeah it made a difference and a huge one vs that old Radio Shack cable and it was a huge eye opener.


At some point just wanted a cable that was durable and lasted and all the good things that conventional wisdom said were important like low capacitance, low length, true bypass etc etc...... but IME true bypass pedals suck a ton of tone and while buffers do affect tone if you use the right ones and consider placement they are very useful yet most conventional wisdom always suggest buffers were terrible, not to be used and sucked tone.....


Also started noticing not all low capacitance cables are bright either and not all high capacitance cables are warm/darker either unlike what most conventional wisdom suggest..... cables with similar capacitance sounded very different than each other, nothing alike and completely opposites sometimes of each other even though they should sound relatively the same within a capacitance range as conventional wisdom says tone from a cable mainly and only derives from its capacitance.....



Cheap or affordable cables can be as quiet and sound as good as expensive cables unlike what conventional wisdom suggest IMe and IMO too. Depending on how a cable sounds too, expensive cables sometimes may not suit everyones taste just because they are expensive or offer super low capacitance. Have used some affordable cables from MXR for example that cost no more than 30 bucks or less, don't know the capacitance or care that felt, sounded and played as good better than some stuff costing 3 to 5 times. This is the Pro Series Cable and yeah it plays and sounds amazing and can hang with top dollar stuff...... BTPA is another such cable that cost less than a lot of other top dollar cables and performs as good or better.....



If one is worried about a cable not being expensive enough or that it doesn't have low enough capacitance or not or whatever other things conventional wisdom cares to say your not really paying attention to the important things IMO.



Mainly what's important that has nothing to do with price or money or capacitance is does the cable offer low noise floor, is it durable and are you happy with the sound the cable brings and a cable doesn't have to cost a lot to check those boxes either IME and IMO.

 

[The~Kid]

Also IME have always found the first cable from guitar board has the most effect on your overall sound. Say you use a Mogami to board and a Dimarzio cable from board to amp for example, that is going to sound different than if you put the Dimarzio first from guitar to board and then a Mogami from board to amp.



It's like the first "filter" one can say for the signal or not sure how to describe it but that is what I have found. For guitar cables I like to use the same brand/ model from guitar to board and board to amp. This in a sense gives you a more consistent, predictable and uniformed or controlled way of shaping ones tone at its foundation and that is in the signal/cable. When you mix cables while it isn't bad the sound is different vs just using one brand and also when using pedals this can affect nominal noise floor or move it away from a baseline noise floor of just using one brand.



So out of consistency, keeping said cables tone your using "intact" so to speak and to establish a noise floor baseline it makes sense to use one brand/model for guitar to board and board to amp and very helpful and useful just to do so IME even though it may not seem like it.



For patches while this can be a different brand/model from the ones used for guitar/board/amp it's best to keep them all the same brand for the same reasons mentioned above so say you go with all one brand or Mogami for your guitar/board/amp and then use another brand just for patches like Evidence Audio or George L, EBS etc etc .




Details like that do make a difference IMO in the end result, sound, feel, play, tracking, tracing, attack and end tone and worth it for said reasons mentioned. It also overall helps narrow and trouble shoot issues with noise, pedals or the rig in general as well IME.

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

Personally I think a solid buffer is a better answer to maintaining a good full bandwidth signal through long cable runs especially if using multiple pedals.

 

[CrystalSky]

I don’t know shit about cables. I have Vovox instrument cable, Vovox speaker cable and no pedalboard. I am stupid and suggestible, so just bought what I was told lol

 

[The~Kid]

Personally I think a solid buffer is a better answer to maintaining a good full bandwidth signal through long cable runs especially if using multiple pedals.

Yeah buffers always great for whatever especially for longer pedal chains and lengths and this is always a must ImE. If all your using is True Bypass yeah that's a lot of tone suck IME.


Not all buffers are the same and discretion must be used and placement matters.


Cables still play a role here tone wise and for noise floor but yeah a good buffer here and there placed in the right place helps pedals play nice, helps the sound/signal and helps dial in tracking, tracing and attack as well as other overtones aside from what a cable can offer too tone wise.

 

[The~Kid]

I don’t know shit about cables. I have Vovox instrument cable, Vovox speaker cable and no pedalboard. I am stupid and suggestible, so just bought what I was told lol

I mean if the noise floor is low, the sound is good and your happy with the sound/tone and the cable works.....



If it checks all the boxes as far as I'm concerned that's all you want and just play and don't think about it. I mean what I'm trying to say is those simple three things are the most important things a cable can provide but the 4th thing and the secret is.........this is the most important MOJO a good cable should offer IME and iMO and if it does that your set....... special proprietary Providence stuff.......





It's supposed to just make you not to think about it...... enjoy yourself...... relax......play..... and have fun and thats the secret not too many know about or are aware of but it's really that simple ^_^

 

[The~Kid]

I also have a Divine Noise cable a homie gave to me and have to say that plugged straight into a Princrton Reverb is pretty damn fantastic......


If I'm plugging straight into an amp sometimes I like using the Divine Noise because it adds a bit more warmth and output to the signal, not sure because it uses more copper, thicker gauge, made a certain way or the materials or something but it's noticeable to a degree and it sounds great plugged straight into a clean amp like a Princeton Reverb.



Otherwise most of the time rotate between MXR Pro Series, Sommer LLX or Providence H207 using 10 footers/3m and use one set or another depending on tone and such Im feeling and after. Also more likely than not if I'm going out to jam for an open mic I'm taking the MXR Pro Series and be happy and I also use these at home too because they are great. If Im at home or going to a friends to jam I take the Providence or Sommer cables.



Sometimes tough if I'm really after a specific tone or feeling a certain vibe I just take whatever set I'm currently digging to play out or at home and it doesn't matter if it cost money or not or low capacitance or not you'd find me using the MXR Pro Series at home as much as my H207 or LLX and it kind of depends on the sound I'm after and whatever helps me dial it in.


Those MXR Pro Series cables cost like 25 bucks for a 10 footer and the point Im trying to make is its not about the money or low capacitance and it just sounds good and as great as my other cables too but it has its own thing as the other cables have their thing tone wise and it just depends on what I'm after to dial in sometimes and I use either one set or the other depending on that.

 

[The~Kid]

A good straightforward example of how although it's not the main factor in a cables end tone capacitance matters and buffers help too. Good stuff.


This is like at least 50+ feet or maybe 100 foot of cable for comparison to a 10-20 foot standard cable.






Pete here straight up uses a 100 foot coily to show the importantance of capacitance. ImO capacitance doesn't always dictate the end tone to be bright nor warm or any certain way as it is one factor in the end tone but it definitely plays it's role no doubt.