Giving up on DI (determining cable gauge)

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VTgreen81

VTgreen81

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Giving up on DI, Somewhere along the line I was advised to record "dry and add FX "in the box", well, with the plugs I can afford it just sounds ..........well.......fake. Maybe if DI is the only option then it's best to record clean and add fx after but isn't it still preferable to mic an amp? What I 'd like to do is have the amp head and the guitarist in the "control room" with us and run a speaker cable and a mic cable to another room so he can hear what the mic hears and adjust his tone according to the monitors. First is it OK to plug together 2 or 3 XLR cables end to end? And how do I know what gauge speaker cable to buy to run to the cab from the head?
 
It should work, the XLR cable thing, but I don't recomment it. One long cable would be better if you ask me.

About the speaker going from the head to the cab, get a cable made for that purpose, NOT just a guitar jack-jack cable. They are hazards if used to cary powered signals.

Getting the right sound should be doable with the head and cab in the recording room though. Mic techniques can you get you a long, long way (type of mic, membrane size, distance from source, angle, number of mics etc.) And I haven't even mentioned EQ.
 
14 gauge should be fine to about 25ft. Any longer, go for 12.
 
Thanks Boingo!! So it's length of run that's the deciding factor? I would have thought it was ampheres, watts, ohms or any other word electricians use :eek: :confused: :eek: .

You gonna let me know when and where you're doing a sound gig in Burlington or South of? I'd be happy to come check out the show and trip over your cables and accidently unplug stuff just to liven things up a bit. :p
 
VTgreen81 said:
Thanks Boingo!! So it's length of run that's the deciding factor? I would have thought it was ampheres, watts, ohms or any other word electricians use :eek: :confused: :eek: .

You gonna let me know when and where you're doing a sound gig in Burlington or South of? I'd be happy to come check out the show and trip over your cables and accidently unplug stuff just to liven things up a bit. :p
Click to expand...

All cable has some resistance (Ohms) per distance, the larger diameter the less this resistance is. The larger the resistance and the larger the current (amperes) the larger the voltage drop across the cable. The larger the voltage drop the more power dissipated in the cable as heat(watts).So to compensate for higher resistance caused by longer cables, you increase the diameter of the cable.
 
VTgreen81 said:
Thanks Boingo!! So it's length of run that's the deciding factor? I would have thought it was ampheres, watts, ohms or any other word electricians use :eek: :confused: :eek: .

You gonna let me know when and where you're doing a sound gig in Burlington or South of? I'd be happy to come check out the show and trip over your cables and accidently unplug stuff just to liven things up a bit. :p
Click to expand...

I'll keep you in mind. :)
 
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