Simple question

[Mr.Hetfield]

I only have a dbx 226XL gate/compressor in my effects loop. should I be using speaker cables or instrument cables in the fx loop? Because right now I have speaker cables as my send/return and my input/output.

these ones to be exact: cept they are in my fx loop of course

 

[mrd]

Just use instrument cable, it's fine. It's just the pre-amp signal being tossed around. Speaker cable is for handling the high amplitude of the output transformer, hence why they are thicker.

 

[Mr.Hetfield]

Is there an issue with using speaker cables or am I fine?

this is more so a $$$ reason. I would hate to go out an spend more money fixing a mistake

 

[trem]

Is there an issue with using speaker cables or am I fine?

this is more so a $$$ reason. I would hate to go out an spend more money fixing a mistake

The signal coming out from OT (which is what the speaker cable is designed for) is high level and not susceptible to noise, so there is no shielding on the cable. Instrument cable OTOH is designed for low level signal which is susceptible to noise, and hence has shielding built into it. You should use instrument cable for effects loop. I don't think a good cable costs that much, unless you only want those strange named esoteric brands (van den hul, zaolla etc).

~trem