can u hear the differece between a 30ft guitar cord and a 5 ft cord?

E

epnotrem

New member
Well....the human ear can't recognize the difference, but a spectural anlyzer certainly will show it in numbers. The 30 ft cord will not be as close to 20 -20 khz, as a 5 ft. cord would be. The signal range will be only slightly less with a 30 ft. cord on a comparison basis with the 5 ft. cord. And lets not forget to factor in all the extra noise that comes with the longer cord. No one needs radio frequencies interupting their recording session now, do they?. And that might be a fcc violation for all i know. I'm playing it safe on this one. Give me the 5 ft. cord.
Any comments are welcome.
 
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I doubt I have what it takes to tell the difference between 5ft. and 30ft. with just a guitar plugged into an amp. 12 recorded tracks of 5ft. vs. 30ft. might make a difference though. It's all relative to the application.
 
epnotrem,

I hate to keep debunking your posts, but you leave me little choice. The human ear CAN hear the difference between a 5' and 30' guitar cable (at least my human ear can). Again (as in my other response), cable length is an impedance issue. You mention "signal range," I'm not sure what that means. Do you mean frequency range?
You are correct that shorter is better when it comes to unbalanced and unshielded cable. But with good TRS or XLR this is not much of an issue. How about a little less declaration and a little more elucidation.

Tom Cram
dbx Senior Technical Support
(801) 568-7530
tcram@dbxpro.com
 
In some cases, the extra noise and signal loss produced by a longer cable may be just what the effects doctor ordered. Hell, go ahead and use a 100 ft. cable.
 
Tom,
Between a 5 and a 30ft. no question that you are right.
But would you hear the same difference between a 15-20 and a 5ft?
 
One of the myriad coolnesses of EMG pickups is that they output a low impedance signal which is much less sensitive to cable induced anomalies.
 
it's not about hearing 20-20K...

it's about what impedance the signal sees getting to the amp or what ever you're driving. a signal will see a higher capacitance with a longer cable because pico f / ft * ft gives more pico f. there's more inductance also which will have a minor roll, but will create phase delays.

for really good single-ended cables, it's possible for 30ft cables to out-perform a 20 ft cheap cables due to the lower capacitance per unit length.

the issue is how the capacitance and inductance affects the signal, not just roll off. there's phase delays, hi frequency roll off (low pass), and hi-pass band affects.

recommendation: if you're going for 30ft single ended, get the best cable with the best connectors you can afford.

-kp-
 
Not only Yes, but HELL YES!

Even my abused 43-year-old ears can hear the difference between a short guitar cord and a long one -- and it doesn't even have to be as extreme as your 5 ft / 30 ft comparison.

It's most obvious when the guitar has humbuckers, but I'd wager I can hear it with single coils too.

IMHO, if you have to drive 30 feet or more of cable, you should have a good preamp as close as possible to the guitar, or active electronics in the guitar. That will minimize the effect of the cable's capacitance on the high end.
 
Yup. The loading effects from a longer cable on a high-Z, single ended instrument _are_ audible. This ain't the voices of the angels: you can hear it, you can see it, you can measure it. The higher the output impedance of the instrument, the bigger the effect.

Try it: you can hear it. You may _like_ the effect, but that wasn't the question...
 
I can't hear the difference, but this question brings to mind an occasion when I could SEE the difference! It was a concert several years ago by Albert Collins. Using his 100ft + guitar cable, he left the stage, played through the crowd, and followed by the appreciative mass of fans, moved out into the parking lot of the venue. He never missed a beat, or screwed up a note. Quite a showman...
 
To answer this is another way, look at the cable lengths offered by manufacturers. The most common guitar length offered is 18'-20'. This is because this length is felt to be the optimal compromise between a usable distance from your amp vs. a length that will have good signal and low noise.
 
To answer this in another way.
When you hook up your monitors you should have the same cable lenght for both speakers, even if one side is closer to the amp. Why is that?

Because you will have a signal loss in one side otherwise!!!
 
One more opinion: Yes, if you are using a high impedance pickup guitar without active electonics you can hear a slight reduction in high end due to the extra capacitance (or whatever) of the longer cable, but since we live on a planet with lots of room, most humans feel restricted by the use of a 5 foot cord. Just imagine the difference you could hear between a 20, 30, or 50 foot cord still plugged into your amp while your guitar gently weeps, and the 5 foot cable that got yanked out of the amp in the middle of your best damn solo when you turned a little sideways to catch a glimpse of your cool self in that mirror on the wall over there... Now, let's separate the men from the boys: can anyone hear the difference between different brands of batteries in a distortion pedal ???
 
30 vs 5 X24

I try to keep all cabeling as short a possable. Look at the numbers. If I take 30" cord times 24 channels the supurlative signals increase exponentially. More feet more noise to deal with. The more unwanted noise, the more filter I need to use thus poorer recording.
 
The longer the cord, the more resistance. It does effect data lines. An amplifier has to be installed every so often to give a boost. When no one is home I sometimes walk out the bedroom & down the hall playing as if I'm in concert w/ a 50' cord or sit on the floor w/ a 5' cord. I can't tell! Let's all ask Eric Johnson. He swears by it. And there is a difference in batteries. Try 9 volt lithiums. They make my TS9DX pedal surge! The garage door opens a lot faster as well.
 
I am surprised that no one has mentioned the obvious: the quality of the cable. I would rather use a good quality 30' cable than a 5' unshield Radio Shack junk cable.

There have been plenty of times where I could hear the difference between a 10' good cable and a 10' cheap cable.
 
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