Members witesol Posted May 26, 2014 Author Members Share Posted May 26, 2014 I can get Ten EWI premium 25' mic cables shipped for $250. If I'm going to spend that style money it could be on a mic, which makes way more difference in sound. Ten $250 cables and i could buy a digital mixer... If everything was the best it could be then the argument would be why not try for those small percentage performance points on the cables too? I get that argument but in live sound that seems born from inexperience with the big picture..or perhaps someone who gets bogged down on tiny leaves on a tree in a Forrest of way more important considerations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 26, 2014 Members Share Posted May 26, 2014 Focus on the left side of the decimal point first, THEN look at the right side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pro1-54 Posted May 27, 2014 Members Share Posted May 27, 2014 Ok, I didn't pay $250 for my 20' cables. They were $149 when I bought them. Here is a seller that has them for $120 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Asterope-Pro-Stage-Instrument-Cable-20-Black-XLR-Nickel-/380596447370?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item589d50e88a I usually only take their instrument cables to live gigs just cause I get a kick out of the reaction from some players. My XLR Asteropes stay home for the most part but I sometimes take one or 2 out for a high profile gig, cd release parties, songwriters circles, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 27, 2014 Members Share Posted May 27, 2014 And to think I have been doing it so wrong all these years... When doing national acts, I have never been asked for a "special" mic cable or speaker cable, but I have been asked for cabling to be industry standard such as 8412 and SJ types and I have seen a few references to "no goofy studio type cabling", probably more for reliability and overall show quality rather than anything to do with sound. On the end of 300' of snake and subsnake, most of the pros have come to the same conclusion I have. If it works for you and it's worth the money that go for it. Same for those $250+ IEC power cables (just about the most silly thing I have ever seen in my life IMO, outright dishonest in all regards IMO) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members witesol Posted May 27, 2014 Author Members Share Posted May 27, 2014 C'mon , that last 6 feet of AC cable fixes the miles of Edison transmissions and the dozens of feet of Romex at the venue. I have some left handed guitar picks for sale...the logo is on the other side. $5 each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gregidon Posted May 27, 2014 Members Share Posted May 27, 2014 Remember, people are also highly suggestible. If you tell them that they should hear a difference, often they will say they do (even if they don't) to maintain appearance (or just get the conversation to end). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted May 28, 2014 Members Share Posted May 28, 2014 I've given the instrument cables to tone freaks and they dig it! Some of them have pedal boards and just using an Asterope on the guitar to the pedal board is a difference. It is a shock to me as well. Its the "crystal lattice/magic pixie dust" alignment of electrons that happens when the source leaves its signal path I guess lol! I'll post in this thread when I experiment later this summer - the only difference will be a Souncraft Si3 with a MADI stagebox and I plan on testing a 20' Asterope directly in compared to a 6' Asterope into a 15' regular XLR to the stagebox. I might even drag out the LS9... No doubt to me that differences in instrument cables certainly can make a difference to tone freaks (seemingly mostly guitarists) as difference in off the shelf cheap-o or even some fairly decent guitar cables and truly good guitar cables can make a pronounced difference at least to the player in the tone... even if that tone difference is primarily "attitude/confidence" based. Concerning XLR cables: In my experience: Reliability, durability, "up to proper standards of materials and construction", and how they coil and lay... that's seemingly the gist of it... either they're correct and suitable for the job or not,,, "tone" doesn't seemingly be much if any of a noticeable aspect other than the fact that an XLR cable that works correctly and is up to standard correct almost always sounds considerably better than an XLR cable that doesn't work correctly. If you're going to do some testing... my offer still stands that I'll send you one of my off the shelf XLR cables to throw in with your test if you're interested. You can PM me or e-mail me direct here: m.hellinger@audiopile.net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pro1-54 Posted May 28, 2014 Members Share Posted May 28, 2014 No doubt to me that differences in instrument cables certainly can make a difference to tone freaks (seemingly mostly guitarists) as difference in off the shelf cheap-o or even some fairly decent guitar cables and truly good guitar cables can make a pronounced difference at least to the player in the tone... even if that tone difference is primarily "attitude/confidence" based. Concerning XLR cables: In my experience: Reliability, durability, "up to proper standards of materials and construction", and how they coil and lay... that's seemingly the gist of it... either they're correct and suitable for the job or not,,, "tone" doesn't seemingly be much if any of a noticeable aspect other than the fact that an XLR cable that works correctly and is up to standard correct almost always sounds considerably better than an XLR cable that doesn't work correctly. If you're going to do some testing... my offer still stands that I'll send you one of my off the shelf XLR cables to throw in with your test if you're interested. You can PM me or e-mail me direct here: m.hellinger@audiopile.net. I'm game for that Mark- maybe after your testing you can send it to Andy to get his opinion as well. Just remember I usually keep these in the studio...even still I do notice a difference live. We are not talking shure vocal master vs VDosc but it is there nonetheless. I am one of the type that used to try and compare dollar store RCA cables against mon$ter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted May 28, 2014 Members Share Posted May 28, 2014 I gotta agree with Mark and Andy on this one. There is certainly measurable differences between cables but unless you are running 1000 foot mic cables it is minuscule. The differences that cable contributes to sound quality when connected to a microphone is likely about 100x less than the sonic differences it would cause when connected to a passive electric guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted May 28, 2014 Members Share Posted May 28, 2014 Wow tone differences between XLRs??? I don't think I've ever noticed any differences. Ever (either in studio or live). I'm pretty much with Mark on this one. It either works or it doesn't. The only differences that seem relevant are durability, flexibility (nice and pliable is better than stiff and memory bound) and noise rejection (this last one being the least of my concerns). The lower the impedance, the less cable differences will effect tone (F.I. other than gauge, speaker cable matters not at all in this respect). I can see how really poor quality guitar cable might change the tone a bit with passive Hi Z pickups but not 300/600 ohm mic cable across a 5k+ ohm load. I do however have some silver/gold alloy, grain aligned AC power cables for sale for a mere $23k apiece that will make ANY PA rival the best D&B system on the market . P.S. it comes with prime aquatic real estate as a bonus :-). Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pro1-54 Posted May 28, 2014 Members Share Posted May 28, 2014 I could not believe how many companies were pushing high end IEC cables at summer namm 2013. In my studio, controlled environment, I enjoy the difference of Asterope. This is from the mic pre right to the mic. LIVE- I don't usually carry them! Instrument cables yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted May 29, 2014 CMS Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 I could not believe how many companies were pushing high end IEC cables at summer namm 2013. In my studio, controlled environment, I enjoy the difference of Asterope. This is from the mic pre right to the mic. LIVE- I don't usually carry them! Instrument cables yes. And what specifically is the difference you enjoy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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