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Speaker Cable VS Instrument Cable

48K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Lifeofsobriety 
#1 ·
So this is kind of a noob question.

What is the difference between a speaker cable and an instrument cable.

Heres the issue:

Me and my buddy got together for a jam the other day. A few days later he realizes his speaker cable is missing. I look through my cables and alas there is an extra one there. The issue is the look exactly the same. A generic black cable with silver ends.... We arn't sure how to tell the difference. If we were to guess the wrong cable and use the instrument cable to go from his amp to his cab could it damage the amp? and is there any way to really tell the difference?

Thanks

Dan
 
#6 ·
a tip for the next time, or if you come across unlabeled cables...

PAY ATTENTION!

You'll have to unscrew the plug and look...

Instrument cables have braided wire around the outside of a single shielded wire

Speaker cables have two shielded wires and no braided wire.

It's not a great idea to substitute one for the other. That being said, an instrument cable will work 'ok' as a speaker cable in a moment of need, but a speaker cable will sound horrendous plugged into an instrument (especially a guitar)
 
#8 ·
It's not a great idea to substitute one for the other. That being said, an instrument cable will work 'ok' as a speaker cable in a moment of need, but a speaker cable will sound horrendous plugged into an instrument (especially a guitar)
No, don't do this! An amp of high enough wattage will heat the instrument cable to the point where the insulation between hot and shield could physically melt, shorting the output of your amp, which, unless it has speaker fuse protection (and even with if you are unlucky), will short out your output transformer and blow it up! That's the LEAST that might go wrong - and rewinding/replacing transformers is about the most expensive repair you'll ever do to an amp!

The opposite way around (using a sspeaker cable as a guitar lead) will work, will not risk anything, but it will be an unshielded cable and you will get a lot more noise.
 
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