What guitar cord do you use?

[Helmholtz]

There were quite a few SF TR model variants over the years, which one did you have?
The mid-late 70s ones tended to use bass pots with ~30% taper, hence they were a lot more bassy at the typical control settings than the BF or earlier SF models with a 10% taper bass control.

Interesting, thanks. But I wouldn't have noticed the different taper, as I use very little bass and always adjust by ear - not by numbers.

I think that the typical BF models, eg TR, mitigated blocking distortion (perhaps unwittingly) by means of the 1nF coupling cap to the LTP / power amp.

Very good point, thanks! Easy to overlook when doing a conversion.


But apart from all that, I never would play a Twin with JBLs loud enough to induce severe blocking distortion.

Actually I'm not really convinced that blocking distortion generally/necessarily means bad sound. If you look at the schematic of a JTM45 (or a '59 BM), it should be prone to lots of blocking distortion. Also I found that I mostly prefer 0.1µ to 0.02µ power tube coupling caps.

Sorry for distracting.

[Chuck H]

It's rare to avoid peripheral topic discussion. Not a big deal.

And INDEED the early Marshalls and Bassmans blocked. With the right circumstances it can add pleasantly to the phenomenon known as "swirl" which specific examples of those amps are known for. One of my favorite examples of this sound is the solo work in Hard to Handle as covered by the Black Crows. Some investigation implies that it was played by the producer of that album (not the bands guitarist) plugged straight into an early Marshall he owned. If you listen close you'll also hear some of that other Marshall dominated phenomenon known as "beating".

Solo comes in around 2:00 and then some closing work around 2:40

[big_teee]

I'm surprised not to hear the curly guitar instrument cable of old mentioned.
If it was, I missed it?
Hendrix was fond of them.
You see them used on tv concerts from time to time?
T

[Chuck H]

I'm surprised not to hear the curly guitar instrument cable of old mentioned.
If it was, I missed it?
Hendrix was fond of them.
You see them used on tv concerts from time to time?
T

Helmholtz was the first to mention them and then there was another reference I can't pinpoint by memory.

[big_teee]

I did a search before I posted and none came up.
I did it again and yours and mine were all that did.
I guess they were called something different from a curly cord.
Don't they add capacitance?
I just try to use as short a cable as possible, that doesn't get in the way, here in the man cave.
https://amzn.to/2Hpt4hR
28pf per foot.

[Chuck H]

Ah! It was Flouroscope 5000 in post#16 The other reference is probably my memory playing tricks since I've been doing a lot of cable research here and abroad.

I don't know the value of Radio Shack coil cable SRV favored, but it may well have been close to 1100pF. That should be great for typical PAF's. AFAIK, Hendrix used a very long ~2.4nF coil cable on stage and a short low C cable in studio. Plugging into a Germanium FF pedal with a 5~7k input impedance would substantially damp the guitar circuit resonance anyway.

[Helmholtz]

I used the term "coiled chord". Coiling increases effective lenght and thus capacitance. Those were prone to conductor breaks caused by frequent stretching. Still have some from the 60s and 70s.
I don't think anyone could know the cap values of Hendrix's cables. Generally the capacitance/foot values were higher in the old days.

In the early 70s I discovered that different cables changed my guitar sound and I began to collect all sorts and lenghts of cables to compare them. Later when I had access to a C-meter I bought cable by the foot (meter) and assembled my own at different lengths/capacitances until I finally found my prefered capacitance value. I was happy that this works equally well with my strats and Les Pauls. There is one exception though, namely my 1957 LP Special with high inductance P-90s. This guitar requires a lower C cable (around 700pF).
I just don't like to leave my sound to chance using random cables.

I actually have a closet full of guitar cables from all this experimenting.

[Chuck H]

Yep. I thought I remembered that it was you first. Post #5.

[Chuck H]

I actually have a closet full of guitar cables from all this experimenting.

I cut most of my old, homemade cables down to patch lengths of 1, 5 and 10 feet that come in handy often enough at the bench and when I'm experimenting. The original, longer lengths were for the rig I used in the late 80's/early 90's. The "classic" rig of that era. A rack mount two channel preamp, Quadreverb, EQ, MIDI controller, Stereo power amp, two 2x12 cabinets and three pedals on the floor. My guitars at the time were an Ibanez RG570 and a Carvin DC400.

It's my honest opinion that it all sounded like crap compared to what I play now. Which is a HSS Warmoth strat build plugged straight into my own single channel, non reverb amp. Either the combo with a single 12 or a head into a sealed 2X12 depending on my mood. They're the same amp in different packages. Other guitars include a late model LP Special with p90's and a tre bitchin' Yamaha SBG1300ts which is about as rare as hens teeth.

What the hell was going through our minds in the late 80's and early 90's?

[Helmholtz]

What the hell was going through our minds in the late 80's and early 90's?

Fortunately I was never tempted by that trend, even though I had access to the rack stuff in my shop.
But my sound preferences were shaped by what I had heard and seen in the 60s.
Always kept my AC30, though I switched to BF Fenders later. I love the Fender spring reverb.

[g1]

What the hell was going through our minds in the late 80's and early 90's?

That tubes were going extinct, and we might as well get in on the change early?

[rjb]

That tubes were going extinct...

IIRC, that really was the prevailing consensus at the time. With the exception of CRTs, vacuum tube production had ceased in the U.S.
IIRC, that is.

[g1]

It was the absolute Pittman truth.