instrument vs. speaker cable

[Two hands31]

I know there's a reason there's a difference, and I know that speaker cables are shielded more, but is there any harm that can be done by using an instrument cable to connect a head to a cabinet rather than a speaker cable? Or is it just a sound quality thing?

[Drew]

I think it has a lot to do with impedance, and as such, using an instrument cable is a GREAT way to fry your output transformer.

I accidently used a speaker cable one time as a lead between my guitar and a Mark-IV I was testing - sounded like absolute crap, I thought the amp had a grounding problem until I tried a different (i.e - instrument) cable.

-D

[red5]

Yes, speaker cables are not only generally shielded more, but they are much fatter wires too. Using thin instrument cables will result in loss of tone and possible damage to the amp (it's just like setting the wrong impedance, not all the signal gets through, comes back to the amp and kaboom!)

[red5]

Originally Posted by Drew

I think it has a lot to do with impedance, and as such, using an instrument cable is a GREAT way to fry your output transformer.

I accidently used a speaker cable one time as a lead between my guitar and a Mark-IV I was testing - sounded like absolute crap, I thought the amp had a grounding problem until I tried a different (i.e - instrument) cable.

-D

You are lucky you didn't fry your transformer or some tubes on that thing. At least it wasn't yours though

[rgr]

To set the record straight, instrument cables are shielded (coax), speaker cables are not (2 wires in parallel). That's why it sounded like crap when you used a speaker cable as an instrument cable. It won't hurt anything but your sound to use a speaker cable as an instrument cable, but as Drew can attest, you don't want to do it. But, instrument cables are not made to handle the current that speaker cables are, so you could fry the cable and possibly your amp if you use an instrument cable for speakers. "Probably" won't hurt anything at low volumes but at high volumes when you are pushing some juice, the potential for damage is there, so it's not recommended.

Roger

[Two hands31]

Cool, thanks guys. I picked up some speaker cables for my new amp long before I started this thread, but my bassist is using a regular instrument cable between his amp (Yorkville XM250 I think, it's a 1x15) and his extension cabinet (Yorkville XM210 or something, it's a 2x10 with a tweeter). It sounds fine, but I was pretty sure there was a reason you shouldn't be doing it

[127.0.0.1]

Here's a good article about guitar cables, speaker or instrument.

http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/cords/index.php

[tobe]

Its true, do not use instrument cables for power outputs on amps....as stated above speaker cables are not shielded and have less resistance to the electricity flowing through 'em. Using an instrument cable to connect a power amp to a speaker puts a higher load on the amp, and can really mess it up...If your bass player is using a solid state amp it could totally fry it in the long run....good luck, T

[Drew]

Originally Posted by red5

You are lucky you didn't fry your transformer or some tubes on that thing. At least it wasn't yours though

No, it was the other way around, I was running a speaker cable between my guitar and the amp's input. Lots of noise and static. No danger of blowing anything.

Now, why GC had a 20-foot speaker cable sitting on top of a guitar amp is beyond me...

-D

[red5]

Originally Posted by Drew

No, it was the other way around, I was running a speaker cable between my guitar and the amp's input. Lots of noise and static. No danger of blowing anything.

Now, why GC had a 20-foot speaker cable sitting on top of a guitar amp is beyond me...

-D

Oh alright, your IQ just gained a few points lol ;-)

[Uthark]

Maybe somebody had disconnected a rack system or half-stack and decided to leave the cable there...

[kennydoe]

My tech once said "you can tell me you're using an instrument cable in place of a speaker cable...you can also tell me you get 10,000 miles between oil changes. I won't be impressed either way."