What guitar cord do you use?

[Helmholtz]

My thinking is that the actual, measurable capacitance will be what loads the instrument, whereas the input tube's Miller capacitance affects the stage freq/phase response?

No, the Miller capacitance shows as a real capacitance at the grid and can be measured with a good LCR meter or be determined by its effect on the shift of the resonance frequency of a PU.

[nickb]

Thank you Helmholtz! That's just the sort of reply I was hoping for. And I hope to get more like this as sort of short survey/consensus to get a feel for how players manage cable capacitance. Whether they're using it as part of their tone or trying to minimize it, etc.

On another note... 1100pf seems like a lot. That's about 12 meters of standard instrument cable, right? Interestingly that's about the same capacitance being used by Glen Kuykendall to plug into his TrainWreck amps. Also using LP's and Strats.

If it's too long for you can always add a parallel cap in the jack plug to make up the difference.

[Helmholtz]

If it's too long for you can always add a parallel cap in the jack plug to make up the difference.

See post#5

[nickb]

See post#5

A good idea bears repeating

[Helmholtz]

A good idea bears repeating

May I quote you next time this happens to me?

[Fluoroscope 5000]

No, the Miller capacitance shows as a real capacitance at the grid and can be measured with a good LCR meter or be determined by its effect on the shift of the resonance frequency of a PU.

I thought that was series capacitance, but it's all the more reason to use a low C cable for me. Of course, a short cable can be a pain on stage. I think the thing to do is avoid high frequencies when using distortion. The higher string harmonics are progressively sharp because of string tension -- more so with thicker strings. String harmonics above 1.5kHz or so will start to clash with generated harmonics and create a mess of the high end along with intermodulations. Most high gain pedals and amp channels filter the signal harmonics above ~1.5kHz anyway, so it doesn't matter if the guitar signal includes high harmonics in those cases.

[SoulFetish]

^^Exactly.

The 1.1nF cables give me the most authentic SRV and Hendrix (studio) sounds. And this includes pieces like Lenny and Riviera Paradise. But final sound depends on a lot of influences. It starts with the type of pick and individual picking technique and ends with the speakers.
I favor the same cables with my Les Pauls having PAF type PUs of 4H or so for Clapton, Green, Bloomfield sounds.

I'd love to see evidence of a "phase alignment" difference between steel core and copper cables. (I tried George L cables of different lengths and didn't like them.)

I was just listening to Super Sessions yesterday and was reminded of how much I love Bloomfield's style and sound. He makes great use of his guitar volume pot to get a wide spectrum transitioning from clean to overdrive.

[Helmholtz]

I was just listening to Super Sessions yesterday and was reminded of how much I love Bloomfield's style and sound. He makes great use of his guitar volume pot to get a wide spectrum transitioning from clean to overdrive.

I always wondered what amp Bloomfield used on the Fillmore album. I guess it was a Twin with JBLs judging from the strong and tight treble response.

[galaxiex]

Thank you guys! Good info, all.

More responses from any members PLEASE!!!

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Dude and galaxiex, I'm especially interested in whether using the wireless systems mitigates the dulls when turning down the guitars volume control. So please report on that.

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Finally getting back to you on this....

With the wireless I still get a very slight dulling of highs when I roll back the volume to approx 85%. (Tele with 250k pots)

Below that it just gets a lot quieter, and it's hard to tell if highs are rolling off, or just the low volume makes it seem so.

Playing mostly clean rhythm this is not a problem, since I very rarely roll back the volume on the guitar.
I set my levels on the amp and any "pedal always on" to the lowest volume I'm gonna play at.
Then just leave guitar at full.

If I need a boost for a particular song, I kick on another pedal.
I have 2 different dirt pedals on my board, one set for mild crunch and the other set for you know what.

The occasional song I need a "not so bright" and quieter tone, eg; some quieter finger picked intros. I switch to the neck pickup.

In general, I don't like to fuss with the knobs on the guitar, just use the selector switch.

[SoulFetish]

I always wondered what amp Bloomfield used on the Fillmore album. I guess it was a Twin with JBLs judging from the strong and tight treble response.

According to the briefest of my unsubstantiated inernet research today, he did own and use two twins (‘66 & ‘67 i think?) and a blackface super reverb. (Had other brands as well)

[Helmholtz]

According to the briefest of my unsubstantiated inernet research today, he did own and use two twins (‘66 & ‘67 i think?) and a blackface super reverb. (Had other brands as well)

Thanks, this makes alot of sense!
I was never able to dial in his sound with silverface Twins having JBLs (actually hated them). My blackface Supers get much closer, but they lack the tightness of JBLs (probably D series).
Of course was mostly in his fingers and playing technique using extra heavy strings.

[Fluoroscope 5000]

Thanks, this makes alot of sense!
I was never able to dial in his sound with silverface Twins having JBLs (actually hated them). My blackface Supers get much closer, but they lack the tightness of JBLs (probably D series).
Of course was mostly in his fingers and playing technique using extra heavy strings.

What I know about SF Twins is the only difference from the BF is they didn't include the blocking distortion filter. That combined with pickup resonance peaks near ~3kHz and those bright D120f's could be pretty harsh. A flatter pickup response along with a higher fundamental harmonic ratio, the amp Treble turned way down, the Middle way up and the Bright switch on might not be bad at all. The designer of the JBL D120 said he thought they were too bright and he preferred the D123.

[Helmholtz]

What I know about SF Twins is the only difference from the BF is they didn't include the blocking distortion filter.

The schematics show a number of differencies between SF and BF Twins. Also there are different SF versions.
What exactly do you mean with " blocking distortion filter"?

[Chuck H]

What exactly do you mean with " blocking distortion filter"?

The only thing I can think of would be the lower power tube and PI grid loads. Both of which reduce the discharge time constant for the coupling caps and, therefor, grid loading for the power tubes.?.

[Helmholtz]

The only thing I can think of would be the lower power tube and PI grid loads. Both of which reduce the discharge time constant for the coupling caps and, therefor, grid loading for the power tubes.?.

Yes, the lower resistance grid/bias circuitry will reduce recovery times. OTOH, the lower impedance LTPI can supply more (grid) current. There will still be blocking distortion.

Nevertheless, I was never happy playing a SF Twin. Reminds me that I should convert my SF Dual Showman Reverb to BF specs.