Premier Rock Forum

Nate Dort wrote: the dumbest goddamn shit ever seen in the tech room yet in photo form I mean seriously it's almost offensive

JFC it's like they took old surplus radio shack speaker cable and printed some blue text on it & then jacked up the price x100

I don't even know who to be mad at when I see things like this just pure hateful unadulterated rage that it exists or existed at all - like if there weren't a market of really stupid people with way too much money, shit like this wouldn't exist. Maybe that's what's so offensive to me, that we live in a world where people are unhoused and starving and these choads will drop $1k on something that would sound the same as a $2 cut of lamp cord.

Brilliant grift work, A+ I guess

I don't know how they can claim it's directional, the twists are in the same direction. The B-fields won't even cancel out.

Also consider that whatever cabinet you're plugging into, from the jack to the speakers is... wire. Whatever gauge that is, will be limiting if you go super crazy with whatever cable you use/build

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:06 pm Also consider that whatever cabinet you're plugging into, from the jack to the speakers is... wire. Whatever gauge that is, will be limiting if you go super crazy with whatever cable you use/build

Great point. Those wires tend to be thin.

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:06 pm Also consider that whatever cabinet you're plugging into, from the jack to the speakers is... wire. Whatever gauge that is, will be limiting if you go super crazy with whatever cable you use/build

This has occurred to me as well. Those connections in cabs and combos often do just appear to be lamp wire or something similar, and not a particularly heavy gauge.

Speaking of plugging an amp into something stupid, I know I've shared this before but here it is once more. Early in the pandemic I bought my first passive DI. An old ProCo DB-1, extremely basic. I looked through the instructions and saw that it could be used between the speaker out of an amp and a recording interface. Intrigued, I set it up between my Silvertone 1483 and my Tascam 488. Well, I didn't read the directions closely enough. I used the 1/4" output for convenience and did not realize that it was just a loop through, bypassing the transformer completely. In just moments the 488 started to overload, then smoke as I panicked and my heart sank to my feet. It was a hard lesson. To my amazement and relief I was actually able to identify, order and replace the IC that burned up, fix a trace that went with it, and I'm still using my trusty old 488 regularly. Somewhat ironically the OT on the 1483, which had already been replaced twice, was fine.

I’m a fan of using SJO or similar portable cord for speaker cables. Just get 2-conductor in your desired gauge and you’re good to go. 16awg is almost certainly suitable for just about any instrument amp-to-cab application. To that end, reuse the old cord if you do a 2- to 3-wire power cord conversion on an old amp.

Also, speakon are great and should be everywhere…cheap, durable, and most importantly quickly field-replaceable.

Dr Tony Balls wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 1:09 pm

And yeah I just try and have non-round speaker cables (see lamp cord) so they can easily be differentiated from instrument cables.

Exactly . I made a speaker cable out of heavy gauge lamp cord, I think it was 10, much bigger than just a regular cheap extension cord. Tape and heat shrink on the connectors, soldered connections. I swear it sounded better than a store bought coax speaker cable, especially with lower freq. notes. But the point was to have a non-round cable so I wouldn't mix them up. Never had a problem. 120W tube guitar head into a 4x12.

motorbike guy wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 9:19 am store bought coax speaker cable

Speaker cable shouldn't be coax like instrument cable is, so maybe that's why it sounded better.

Nate Dort wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 9:38 am

motorbike guy wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 9:19 am store bought coax speaker cable

Speaker cable shouldn't be coax like instrument cable is, so maybe that's why it sounded better.

actually I never cut one open, store bought speaker cables just looked like beefier instrument cable, so I assumed it was the same.

motorbike guy wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 3:06 pm

Nate Dort wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 9:38 am

motorbike guy wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 9:19 am store bought coax speaker cable

Speaker cable shouldn't be coax like instrument cable is, so maybe that's why it sounded better.

actually I never cut one open, store bought speaker cables just looked like beefier instrument cable, so I assumed it was the same.

Ah I have definitely run across this a TON to the point where I had to frequently unthread the plug cover to view the soldered ends & see if it was two wires or braided jacket...then sort cables and label them separately

I switched to clear 2-strand cord a while ago like others in this thread and has eliminated that incessant source of confusion by having two ways of differentiating the two main types of cables.