stingrayPete1977 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 [quote name='LITTLEWING' post='1106754' date='Jan 28 2011, 09:39 PM']Just to add my ten pence worth, I was using a cheapo speaker lead from my Ashdown Mag head to my Hartke " x 15" cab, and didn't realise until I bought a VERY nice cable from a Basschat guy called OBBM how much difference a quality link made. Don't think twice, if you've got a non-descript floppy old lead, get a proper one today. £13.50 for a very impressive looking 1 metre cable with quality connectors and an even more impressive leap in clarity is money well spent. Honestly, you won't look back. [/quote] I had the same, Ashdown evo combo with a mini 15 underneath it wasnt until the lead packed up and I had to replace it that I realised how much bottom end I had been losing. I melted the speakon one I got with my Genz too and quickly replaced it with one of OBBM's, before I was a BC member actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 [quote name='4-string-thing' post='1106746' date='Jan 28 2011, 09:28 PM']ha ha....a lot easier than when I tried the same thing with 2.5mm flex the other week![/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 [quote name='icastle' post='1106721' date='Jan 28 2011, 08:58 PM']The bit I find most surprising is that you managed to fit that chunky old coax into the jackplug in the first place![/quote] . . . and that the solid copper core lasted for 30 years without breaking - or perhaps the rig wasn't moved in all that time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskit_case Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 [quote name='LITTLEWING' post='1106754' date='Jan 28 2011, 09:39 PM']Just to add my ten pence worth, I was using a cheapo speaker lead from my Ashdown Mag head to my Hartke " x 15" cab, and didn't realise until I bought a VERY nice cable from a Basschat guy called OBBM how much difference a quality link made. Don't think twice, if you've got a non-descript floppy old lead, get a proper one today. £13.50 for a very impressive looking 1 metre cable with quality connectors and an even more impressive leap in clarity is money well spent. Honestly, you won't look back. [/quote] +1 Received my cables from OBBM and you can really see and hear the difference, well worth the purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Indeed, this is the case... [quote name='icastle' post='1105510' date='Jan 27 2011, 08:09 PM']I think the OP is saying that the 4x8" cab worked like a big microphone (because it was plugged into an input instead of an output) and fed back into the 1x15" cab.[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4-string-thing Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 [quote name='flyfisher' post='1106914' date='Jan 29 2011, 12:42 AM']. . . and that the solid copper core lasted for 30 years without breaking - or perhaps the rig wasn't moved in all that time? [/quote] Lots of gigs done in those 30 years Fella..... Testament to the quality of My Acoustic 220 head and 404 cab, and my soldering skills of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 [quote name='4-string-thing' post='1108003' date='Jan 30 2011, 12:07 PM']Lots of gigs done in those 30 years Fella..... Testament to the quality of My Acoustic 220 head and 404 cab, and my soldering skills of course! [/quote] ...in next weeks programme 4-string-thing shows how to solder a phono plug to a length of pylon cable... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 [quote name='4-string-thing' post='1108003' date='Jan 30 2011, 12:07 PM']Lots of gigs done in those 30 years Fella..... Testament to the quality of My Acoustic 220 head and 404 cab, and my soldering skills of course! [/quote] I honestly wasn't meaning to doubt your soldering skills, just doubting the ability of a solid-core cable to cope with being flexed over a 30 year period. You clearly look after your gear with great care. I wish some of the guys I know would do the same. Still, they've learned [u]never[/u] to help me pack up my own cables after a gig or rehearsal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4-string-thing Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Actually, without looking, I'm not sure it had a solid core..... My soldering skills these days are clearly rubbish, as I gave up with the 2.5mm and the 1.5mm that followed it.... I bought some 1.5m leads on ebay eventually! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jbarks Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 (edited) [quote name='icastle' post='1105082' date='Jan 27 2011, 02:08 PM']It's perfectly OK to slam a hire car into reverse whilst it's still travelling forwards as well...[/quote] I'm not saying you should do it on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong... I use speaker cables on the stage and in the studio like everyone else. I'm just saying that it worked fine for me when I was missing one at a festival. Edited February 1, 2011 by jbarks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 [quote name='markstuk' post='1103556' date='Jan 26 2011, 01:08 PM']4 mm core twin cable is about £2.50 a metre and rated at 45A normally.. And OBBM's cables are such good value you'd need to have a good reason to make your own, or be a dab hand at electrical stuff and happy to buy cable in volume..[/quote] Well.... I can make a 1m speakon cable using 4mm Van Damme cable and 4 pole speakons for £8.40, which is less than half OBBM's price, so I'll carry on with my own cable making thank you very much. And, back to the instrument or speaker cable debate... Another drawback to jack plugs for speaker connection is that if a jack plug is removed under load, it will briefly short - which is clearly not a good thing. Have had a few items years ago that used jack plugs for the DC adapter connection - always hated the little spark if these were connected/disconnected under load! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 [quote name='icastle' post='1108439' date='Jan 30 2011, 06:34 PM']...in next weeks programme 4-string-thing shows how to solder a phono plug to a length of pylon cable... [/quote] I've soldered an RS232 plug to a cable that was going down a mineshaft - had heavy duty sheathing on it, I had to strip the outer back with a junior hacksaw. I'll happily use an instrument cable to connect an amp and a speaker if I just want to find out if one or the other is working or has significant nasty noises (assuming I haven't got a speaker lead to hand and don't want to spend ten minutes delving through bags and cases for one). I certainly wouldn't stress test anything while using an instrument cable for a speaker lead, or do anything loud with it come to that. "Informed pragmatism", that's what I call it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Well, i've been doing it wrong for years, even though I know full well it's a fire risk. I suppose I should buy a couple of proper cables Has anyone actually had an instrument lead melt? I've always made a point of feeling the cables (i'm using patch leads atm) after practise, and they never get warm after an hour of loud volume jamming. Obviously I wouldn't want to encourage anyone to be as stupid as me, it's just i've never heard of anyone actually suffering this fate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingdownslow Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Speaker cable can also be coaxial. [url="http://www.canford.co.uk/Products/20401/33-250_CANFORD-HPS-CABLE"]Canford HPS Cable[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 [quote name='tauzero' post='1112211' date='Feb 2 2011, 12:14 PM']I've soldered an RS232 plug to a cable that was going down a mineshaft - had heavy duty sheathing on it, I had to strip the outer back with a junior hacksaw.[/quote] You had hacksaw? Ne'er had no hacksaw when I were a lad, we had t' kids from workhouse nibblin' cable with their teeth night and day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 And another thing.... Are you aware that Speakon sockets are designed to be airtight, something that many jack sockets absolutely aren't. And, while it's one thing to use instument cables as speaker cables, the other consequence I've seen (where the PA had jack speaker connections) was people who'd used instument leads for the PA speakers, and speaker leads for the instruments - and they wondered where the hum was coming from... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.