Your lead and amp are the most important part of your signal chain

[chris_b]

In a front room I've heard differences between wireless and a lead, but next to a drummer? I think you'd be hard pressed to hear a difference on stage.

Maybe going thorough a PA would notice, maybe not. 99% of the time I don't use FOH so a PA never figures in my planning. If you focus equally on every link in your signal chain then you're covered in every eventuality.

IMO most players don't focus on the most important area, their technique. Get that right and you can sound good on any old gear.

[Jonnyboy Rotten]

If your cable is making a difference to your tone - it's faulty!

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Jonnyboy Rotten' timestamp='1444040066' post='2879603']
If your cable is making a difference to your tone - it's faulty!
[/quote]

This ^^

[Beedster]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1444038637' post='2879586']
I've just gone wireless, how does that stack up? Amps and cabs do effect your tone, but if you're going through a PA it can't make that much difference can it? as for the bass not making much difference, the old computer analogy springs to mind "rubbish in, rubbish out"
[/quote]

I'd have thought that the range of variables that can affect a wignal (or wireless signal, that was originally a typo but I like it so will stick with it) is far greater than that that can affect a cable?

And PA is of course amps, cabs and cables, so the same quality criteria apply.

I totally agree with the OP re amps and speakers however, people often choose these on the basis of criteria other than tone, e.g., total power or size etc.

[discreet]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1444039576' post='2879597']
IMO most players don't focus on the most important area, their technique. Get that right and you can sound good on any old gear.
[/quote]

Here we have the crux of the matter.

[discreet]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1444040159' post='2879606']
a wignal
[/quote]

I'm not wearing a wignal for anybody. If I go bald, then I go bald and that's that.

Edited October 5, 2015 by discreet

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1444040159' post='2879606']...people often choose these on the basis of criteria other than tone, e.g., total power or size etc.
[/quote]

... But surely, tone alone is not the sole criteria, at least for most folks..? Budget, portability, ability to sound good in various venues, connectivity... It should sound as good as the player wants, I'd agree, but that's not the end of it. A great sounding amp/cab that requires a low loader and a crane are not going to sell very well, I'd say. Similarly if it needs a mortgage agreement for financing. Compromise is the name of the game for many.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1444040464' post='2879612']
Compromise is the name of the game for many.
[/quote]absolutely, I use a Fender Rumble these days because of the weight but I perefer the sound of the Trace Elliot head, with a 4 x 10 and 1 x 15 stack at our rehearsal studio, but I'm buggered if I'm going to cart that lot around, or at least I would but buggered if I tried it

[Beedster]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1444040464' post='2879612']
... But surely, tone alone is not the sole criteria, at least for most folks..? Budget, portability, ability to sound good in various venues, connectivity... It should sound as good as the player wants, I'd agree, but that's not the end of it. A great sounding amp/cab that requires a low loader and a crane are not going to sell very well, I'd say. Similarly if it needs a mortgage agreement for financing. Compromise is the name of the game for many.
[/quote]

I'm neither disagreeing with the above or passing judgement n any way, just pointing out that in the grand scheme of things, when buying gear, questions about tone are not always top of the list.

[Beedster]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1444040384' post='2879611']
I'm not wearing a wignal for anybody. If I go bald, then I go bald and that's that.
[/quote]

You say that now....

[Low End Bee]

So. You get your bass, amp and cab sorted for 'tone' and what happens?
You compete with a noisy drummer, the guitars are too loud, the keys are swamping your sonic territory, the room is making it all sound weird and then you are at the mercy of what the person at the desk does with your DI signal through a dubious PA.
I think any reasonable cable that works will do and is the least of your worries.

[alexclaber]

Well the lead is probably the most likely to be left behind or break, so on those grounds...

[chriswareham]

My sound is mostly down to a cranked up valve amp, and I sound almost the same using a Rick copy as I did when I played a single pickup Stingray. I make my own leads, mostly because the Neutrik connectors outlast the cable itself, and I've never noticed any difference with various brands of cable. What annoys me is sound men who will always mic up the lead guitar amp but try to insist on a DI for the bass. I now take my own mic to gigs so I can make sure I get my sound rather than some vanilla, non-overdriven bass sound.

[discreet]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1444042463' post='2879640']
You say that now...
[/quote]

[dincz]

[quote name='Jonnyboy Rotten' timestamp='1444040066' post='2879603']
If your cable is making a difference to your tone - it's faulty!
[/quote]

Or it's too long. DIfferences in cable capacitance are usually insignificant with short cables.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1444040159' post='2879606']
I'd have thought that the range of variables that can affect a wignal (or wireless signal, that was originally a typo but I like it so will stick with it) is far greater than that that can affect a cable?

[/quote]

Despatch? POB. Going to Kilburn. Is Vic there?

[Beedster]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1444060578' post='2879945']
Despatch? POB. Going to Kilburn. Is Vic there?
[/quote]

I've got that Michael Caine in the back
Of course it was all different before Boris and all these bloody bikes and blokes with tight trousers and stupid beards, poofters the lot of 'em

[cybertect]

[quote name='spyder' timestamp='1443964936' post='2879010']
I totally agree cables make a big difference to your sound. I use The Chord Company Cream cables that are designed by a bass player and made in Salisbury.
[/quote]

Must be the ley lines that are prevalent round that part of Wiltshire making the difference.

Similar cables designed by bass players and made in Wolverhampton or Doncaster simply don't have the same mojo.

[PaulWarning]

reminds me of the great speaker/connect cable debate in the world of HiFi.
The cynic in me tends to believe that charge someone enough money for something and they'll convince themselves they've not been ripped off, but, like I said I'm a cynic, and one with hearing damage as well

[gjones]

You can have the most expensive cable, bass, amp and cab known to man. But if yer drummers sh*t, you'll sound sh*t too.

Edited October 5, 2015 by gjones

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1444066723' post='2880026']
reminds me of the great speaker/connect cable debate in the world of HiFi.
The cynic in me tends to believe that charge someone enough money for something and they'll convince themselves they've not been ripped off, but, like I said I'm a cynic, and one with hearing damage as well
[/quote]Hi fi interconnects and speaker cables are a different beast entirely, and yes, there's no justification for high prices there either. But they differ in that they don't have to deal with high impedance pickups driving relatively low impedance loads, ie, valve amplifiers. It's that particular combination that demands very low capacitance cables for best results. That's not the the case with interconnects between line level devices or speaker cables, or low impedance mics, nor for that matter active basses.

[Tdw]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1444068371' post='2880052']
Hi fi interconnects and speaker cables are a different beast entirely, and yes, there's no justification for high prices there either. But they differ in that they don't have to deal with high impedance pickups driving relatively low impedance loads, ie, valve amplifiers. It's that particular combination that demands very low capacitance cables for best results. That's not the the case with interconnects between line level devices or speaker cables, or low impedance mics, nor for that matter active basses.
[/quote]


Out of interest, what sort of cable would you suggest between a passive bass and a valve amp? A short one, or is it more than that?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='Tdw' timestamp='1444071221' post='2880091']
Out of interest, what sort of cable would you suggest between a passive bass and a valve amp? A short one, or is it more than that?
[/quote]As short as possible with the lowest capacitance you can find and 100% shielding. There are capacitance specs available from various wire manufacturers, like Belden, Canare and Mogami.

[TomRichards]

You guys make some good points. But I am not going to go cheap because I have to schlep it nor because the house guy always takes ya through his personal DI box. Like all things there is a diminishing return at some point. But wouldn't it make sense to save up a few more poundnotes for the Mesa 800 with the 2 1X12 cabs then just grab the Behringer?

[TomRichards]

You guys make some good points. But I am not going to go cheap because I have to schlep it nor because the house guy always takes ya through his personal DI box. Like all things there is a diminishing return at some point. But wouldn't it make sense to save up a few more poundnotes for the Mesa 800 with the 2 1X12 cabs then just grab the Behringer?