Cables between preamp/poweramp

[Jackie]

Did you notice any difference using different cables between your preamp and poweramp? Mine are kind of on the cheap side but they work perfectly and I'm thinking of dropping some moula for George Ls.

 

[elvis]

In general the out-of-the-box specs for cables (resistance and capacitance) are indistinguishable. The place you get value for your money is over time, when cheap connectors, poor solder joints, and cheap cable break down and get noisy or become intermittent.

The place where expensive cable makes the most sense is between the guitar and the preamp, as both ends are high impedance and the cable gets the most mechanical stress. In addition, it is before all the gain, so any noise is amplified. Wiring up a pedalboard with good cable is also a good idea, just for the noise and reliability.

Once you get to the FX send, everything is line-level, reasonably low impedance, and sees mechanical stress only during setup and teardown, if then. Good quality cable is a good investment here, but you probably won't see a fair return on big-$ cable.

 

[Jackie]

Thanks for your response!

Right now I have a couple of patch cables me and my have pops used and abused for at least 4 years now and they're still working normally, so I guess them being in a rack tucked in safely and immobile wouldn't pose a threat