Wanna better sound with the tri-axis?

[Livingston]

Hey, I apologize if I came off as having an attitude. This cable thing is something that does annoy me, but it's definitely pretty trivial and I'm not calling you an idiot or anything. It's tough to get tone across over the internet, especially when you are disagreeing with someone. In real life, over a beer, I doubt there would be any ambiguity about tone. We'd be having a laugh, even though I'd still be arguing. :wink:

 

[tramp]

Love and peace once again at the Boogie Board!

 

[Martin]

It's all good Livingston !!

 

[soundpurist]

wow! i didn't know this thread was still going on! Why i didn't receive any e-mail? I just want to add that just by memory i could hear how much the tone improved by articulation, clarity and punchiness on the tri-axis/2:90 since the guy changed only the instrument cable (canare to Evidence). I won't say it worth for everybody to change cause i compared the Van Den Hul on my friend's rig and we weren't able to tell the difference (between my Lyric HG and the VDH). On the Custom Audio Amp OD100 the difference is huge!!! i like both cables BTW. Ever since i can't stand at the dull low-grade cables muddiness's sound.

Another point...(IMHO) i think it's not a big deal to add 40-60$ more on an instrument cable for the difference (very noticeable from my ear on the tri-axis setup [i challenge anybody to give me the blind test])... unless you can't afford it (including a good amp, guitar...).

My only intent was to invite people around here to try and compare the Evidence Melody cable with the others (monster, planet waves etc...)


From the Design philosophy (which i assume that the majority of the people have read it [in its entirety]) on the Evidence website:

"Geometry

How the conductors are run end-to-end relative to each other and the shield will yield a capacitance value for a cable.

Generally speaking, conductors which run parallel will yield a cable with high inductance and low capacitance. A cable with braided conductors will have low inductance and high capacitance.

The Lyric is engineered to have very low capacitance, and can be used in long lengths without any high frequency roll-off."

...that's why i prefer the lyric over the Melody (little more punchy than Melody but not a drastic difference).

Some of you guy's mentioned the soldering quality which is very important! (i bought mine from Mark at Lavacable).


Here's some info about the difference between the impedance and the resitance. (thanks to livingston for awaking my attention on this, never thought about this before)

http://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae517.cfm

In sum i just can say that what is good for someone is not obligatorily good for anyone! Peace out. 8)

 

[bobmeredith]

I'm with Dr Livingston on this one.

This obsessive cork sniffing over cable is a wonderful source of amusement to me.

But it's ok guys; your not as stupid as some of the folks on the sax forum (www.sotw.com) who believe that cryogenically frezzing their saxes makes them sound better. This is despite the scientific evidence that this process has no effect on brass.

The effect people notice is the normal improvement that you would get if you had your instrument stripped, serviced, reassembled and set up by any expert. But if you pay $1000 for this service of course you're going to convince yourself it was the cryo.

Personally I always tie HEALING CRYSTALS to all my cables, I can really notice the difference. Agate and Amethyst are much brighter where as Jasper has a darker sound.

The insulation and silver solder is the most hilarious thing I've heard in ages; There's one born every minute!


The most ridiculous thing is that people spend $$$ trying to get a hifi (clarity, transient response, wide freq response etc) quality out of their amps yet balk at playing through a set of stereo speakers.

 

[trevort]

Gee, I wonder if Jimi Hendrix or say Eric Clapton or any of the other
great's cared this much about all this fuss?
Some how it doesn't matter,just play the **** music already.
Piece! :lol:

 

[chris.goth]

Gee, I wonder if Jimi Hendrix or say Eric Clapton or any of the other
great's cared this much about all this fuss?
Some how it doesn't matter,just play the **** music already.
Piece! Laughing

Absolutly have to agree on this one. Some of the biggest players
don't give a **** about their gear, and sometimes pay a tech to set
it up for them.

Usually it's session players who really dig into gear, or those who
got a home studio, or some that spend more time reading and raving
about gear than playing.

I don't know if a 13000$ cable or even a 250$ cable will sound "better".
I think there is a real limit to that. But there is a difference between a
cheap cable that comes with the instrument and a 30$ cable like a Planet
Waves. At least for the handling noise, and the plug that will stay in the jack instead of falling by itself.

I've tried Monster Cables from a friend, and they're the same as other
30$ cables, except those cost 120$ (Studio Pro)... I like the solid fell
when they're in my hand, or the plug design, and the color... but that's it.

I think what's really important is to have a good shielded cable that will
give you a strong signal (like dual or quad core) and will of course virtually indestructible if you plan gigging with it.

 

[chris.goth]

Gee, I wonder if Jimi Hendrix or say Eric Clapton or any of the other
great's cared this much about all this fuss?
Some how it doesn't matter,just play the **** music already.
Piece! Laughing

Absolutly have to agree on this one. Some of the biggest players
don't give a **** about their gear, and sometimes pay a tech to set
it up for them.

Usually it's session players who really dig into gear, or those who
got a home studio, or some that spend more time reading and raving
about gear than playing.

I don't know if a 13000$ cable or even a 250$ cable will sound "better".
I think there is a real limit to that. But there is a difference between a
cheap cable that comes with the instrument and a 30$ cable like a Planet
Waves. At least for the handling noise, and the plug that will stay in the jack instead of falling by itself.

I've tried Monster Cables from a friend, and they're the same as other
30$ cables, except those cost 120$ (Studio Pro)... I like the solid fell
when they're in my hand, or the plug design, and the color... but that's it.

I think what's really important is to have a good shielded cable that will
give you a strong signal (like dual or quad core) and will of course virtually indestructible if you plan gigging with it.

But I wonder if Clapton or Hendrix had that much Cell phones, Wireless rfouters, radio signals, and everything else that makes recording a freaking nightmare nowadays...

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

to put an end to this debate in my mind, I ordered a lava ELC 10 foot instrument cable from musicians friend this morning. I have a practically new 10 foot top of the line planet waves cable as well. Our local boutique store sells georgeL, mogami, monster and a few other small name (to me) high dollar "pro" cables.

I'm going in the store whenever the lava shows up and I'm going to compare them using various sounds ranging from clean, classic rock to metal and see just how much of a difference some of these make.

I stand to lose nothing besides maybe a few more bucks if one of the other more expensive cables sound better than the lava ELC and if there really is no substancial difference to my ears, the ELC will get returned and i'll be content with the live wire or planet waves cables. As long as the life time warranty is in the deal, it won't matter to me. Free cables for life is the real deal to me.

I couldn't find capacitance ratings for either the planet waves custom series nor the live wires.. both are advertised as "low capacitance" though but I'd be interested in HOW low.

 

[tramp]

I simply use George L's for short links in my rack, Zaolla 10 foot if I'm practicing or studio pro 1000 (but I've lent that to the bass player in my band)

And live I'll use the wireless sometimes ,cause believe me big venue = big pa...It dont matter it's degraded my tone as the band are killing it anyway

like the man said more playing less fiddling...........even dear old Eric Johnson has said that!!!! and he was daft about it all, but then admitted it'd better to just play the darn thing!!

And yes I like all of you have had my time buying this and that going after that tone...but after all these years, you know what it's all about the song, and the feel..........really

Respect

 

[Livingston]

I couldn't find capacitance ratings for either the planet waves custom series nor the live wires.. both are advertised as "low capacitance" though but I'd be interested in HOW low.

Take a multimeter with you and measure for yourself. You can get one for cheap at Radioshack or online.

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

I've got one. What setting do I set the dial to and do I just touch black to one tip and red to the other tip or does one probe go to a sleeve or what?

 

[Martin]

The insulation and silver solder is the most hilarious thing I've heard in ages; There's one born every minute!

Bob, you ever actually tried any of this or are you simply running your mouth and being an arse ?... my guess is that you havent and you are simply being opinionated and rude for the sake of it.

The fact of the matter is that I have and it does make a difference, now if you choose to think differently that's your choice.

Insulation/dielectric material and quality of termination does effect the capacitance/resistance of a cable and therefore the way it sounds...whether you chose to buy into that is your choice, however it's not cool to ridicule people who are open to it and want to experiment a bit.

The whole Hendrix argument if mute becase these technologies were not around then. As to whether players of that calibre would have been interested in this kind of thing ...who knows ?

You know Bob scientists are wrong.... Hydrogen is not the building block of the universe because it's the most plentyful element, it's stupidity.....it's even more plentyful !!

 

[eltrain858]

i guess i agree with a lot of people on this thread in my opinion that decent, middle-of-the-road brand cables (mogami, planet waves, monster, etc) with good construction (good connectors!) and a good warranty are much better than horribly cheap cables but probably not noticeably that much worse than $1000 cables

i'm just amused at the authoritative tone some people write in... expressing your opinion and what you've heard is one thing, talking like you're an expert when you're not is just misleading..

 

[Martin]

ii'm just amused at the authoritative tone some people write in... expressing your opinion and what you've heard is one thing, talking like you're an expert when you're not is just misleading..

I agree, I don't profess to even be close to being an expert but I have to be honest and say that whatI have written is what I have found to be true, that's all....take it or leave it.

 

[eltrain858]

what I have written is what I have found to be true

i find that type of information immensely more valuable than someone regurgitating a partially incorrect account of some review they skimmed over and passing it off as their expert experience instead of just posting a link to the reference

a few years ago i couldnt tell the difference between a CD and a 96kbps mp3 rip of the same CD.. theres definitely something to be said for training one's ear when it comes to differences in audio quality.. in many cases your audience won't be as adept at picking up on the subtle differences, but if lower quality audio distracts/bothers you while you're playing it could make a much bigger difference in the end result

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

Got the Lava ELC today... I'm not even going to bother taking it and the PW cable to the store. This has got to be the biggest let down of the year.

I just made a recording with it to hear the 3 in a controlled environment.. ( the planet waves cable and a no name "junker" were the other 2) and there's little to no difference between the 3.

I'm going to have to ultimately agree with Livingston here. I'm getting my $50 back from musicians friend and will be putting it towards something else.

I had to hear it with my own ears though.. you know? I wouldn't have believed it otherwise.

Edit: I just did another clip. I wanted to hear them all again with fresh ears. This one has a 4th cable (another generic no name cable).

Try and determine which is which.

www.drewlankford.com/music/cablecomparison.mp3

 

[Martin]

The proof of the puding !

 

[chris.goth]

Now that's talking!

 

[stratplayer]

fastredponycar...thanks man for posting the link to the mp3 with cable comparisons. I have never been able to notice a really significant tone difference with the highend stuff and decent cables. Really appreciate it!