Worlds First Analogue Optical Guitar Cable - On Kickstarter NOW!

[Iconicsound]

Press Release July 2015

LightLead™ Launch Kick Starter Campaign

London, 2nd July 2015 – Following on from the LightLead™ successful debut at the Winter NAMM show, inventors Iconic Sound Ltd, have just started their sixty-day Kickstarter campaign -

PR_Light_Lead_Launch_Kickstarter_Campaign_(TV).pdf

Https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...al-audio-cable

The LightLead™ is the world’s first optical analogue, jack to jack, musical instrument cable. Its fully patented technology offers musicians a lead with zero capacitance and loading, resulting in a more precise, perfect, dynamic and crystal clear sound. The LightLead™ is ideal for guitarists, bass players, and violinists, in fact any electric stringed instrument where a lead is required. Here are just a few of the comments from industry experts:

“Iconic Sound’s LightLead™ may be the first substantial innovation on instrument cable technology since, well, the cable was invented.” HarmonyCentral.com

‘There is not a guitar player out there who won’t want one of these.’ Mike Chapman, record producer and songwriter

‘I have never had a better signal from a guitar, this lead is nothing short of a paradigm shift in cable technology.’ Producer Liam Howe (Lana Del Rey, Elle Goulding, Adele)

‘It definitely makes your guitar sound clearer and fuller. It’s a clever bit of kit.’ Grammy award winning producer Rik Simpson, currently recording the forthcoming Coldplay album, using prototype LightLeads™

Using traditional copper guitar cables has always come with a significant risk of grounding problems. Over the years many musicians have been badly shocked, electrocuted, and even in some cases of death. A well-known example of this is Keith Relf of the Yard Birds (later becoming Led Zeppelin). Relf was electrocuted and subsequently died on May 14th 1976 as he was playing electric guitar with a badly grounded cable in his basement studio. Being made from non-conductive fibre optics LightLead™ completely eliminates this risk of an electric shock through the cable.

There is a strong team behind this product. David Holmes is a sound engineer, programmer and keyboard player and Danielle Barnett is a professional musician, businesswoman and entrepreneur with more than twenty years experience in the music industry. The new member of the team, Damon Waller, is the ex Managing Director of Orange Amplification and guitar player who brings more than thirty years music industry experience with him.

It is now time for the next generation of musical instrument cables and your contribution will help launch a new revolution in the pro audio arena. The Limited Edition LightLead model that is available on Kickstarter is exclusively for our backers, and will not be on general release. Please spread the word and tell your friends.

The future is light!

To find out more about the Kickstarter campaign please go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...al-audio-cable.

To find out more about Iconic Sound Ltd please visit their website HOME - Iconic Sound, https://www.facebook.com/lightleadglobal, https://twitter.com/lightleadglobal, https://instagram.com/lightleadglobal/. To contact Iconic Sound please email Danielle Barnett at danielle@iconicsound.com, cell +44 (0) 7802 841652.

- Ends -
Media Contact:
David Phillips, A & R Marketing Ltd, david@armarketing.co.uk, Tel +44 (0) 1604 881095

[The Dude]

If I'm going to have to put batteries in something, it's going to be my wireless.

[g1]

Pros -
electrical isolation, so no more chance of electrocution
no capacitance if you like that

Cons-
no capacitance for those who don't like that
four AAA batts with 18hr life. WTF? Like Dude said, if you're going to have batteries, why not just ditch the cable altogether and go wireless
durability- how many times can you step on it, or roll a rack or speaker cab over it?

‘There is not a guitar player out there who won’t want one of these.’ Mike Chapman, record producer and songwriter

Yeah, except for all the ones who actually want and seek out capacitance in their cables. Some would actually hate this thing.

This will probably come to fruition and find a niche market, but unless it's more durable than standard cables, and they find a way to drastically increase battery life, it's certainly not going to take over the market.

[Justin Thomas]

Let's Not Forget The <BIG> Question...

Especially for us types who loiter about here:

What do I do about it WHEN it breaks? I can fix my regular cable on a gig if need be. Can I fix this thing myself? No, buying spares is not an acceptable repair plan. The ease of repair on the fly is worth any supposed ill effects from cable capacitance or signal degredation. I play a Tele thru vintage Fenders with a chorus or flanger. My audiences would probably LIKE some hi-freq losses in my signal chain, anyway!

This screams "great for studios." Not so handy as a bar weapon.

And yes, Analog is GOOD!

Justin

[The Dude]

......What do I do about it WHEN it breaks?...... Can I fix this thing myself?......

Optional repair kit:

[pdf64]

From the Kickstarter page -

Just to make you comfortable with your new optically transparent sound, we have also added some 'Light Gears' so you can roll off any frequencies you don't like. muddy old cable (...if you really want to).

which I think means some degree of capacitative loading can be switched on to the guitar, in order to facilitate obtaining the regular response.

[nickb]

"Light Gears" - that's funny and very clever.


I wonder about the linearity.

Not that linearity was ever an objective in guitar amplification, but it does have to be right kind

To get a LED /photodiode coupler to be linear you get a matched pair of these fabricated on the same chip and use one in the feedback path to linearize the other. I did this for an experiment and I recall I got something like ~1% THD, not great. In this case they can't have exact matched pairs so I assume there must be some signal processing to attempt to compensate. It has to be less than ideal.

Seems you'd have lower power and better quality just bufferring the signal at the guitar output. Batteries would last for months. THD next to zero.

[jbltwin1]

I smell something that smells like snakes (as in oil).

[Mick Bailey]

The suggestion that it will "help launch a new revolution in the pro audio arena" is perhaps a little ambitious.

It's nice to have something new on the market, but time will tell. I guess if the 'A' listers start using it then they'll sell plenty. Remember when digital modelling amps would revolutionise the amp world? They established a market share and gave people more choice, but didn't convince most tube amp players to ditch their gear.

What happened to optical pickups, too?

[J M Fahey]

There are (and have been for a few years by now) two way fiber optics audio links for live audio use.
Think replacing a wrist or arm diameter multi copper pair snake by a much thinner and stronger one.

So these guys are not that revolutionary.

[lightlead]

Hi,

Thanks for your comments, I have a new video out that might answer some of your questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16_jkn31HRo

David Holmes
Iconic Sound

[lightlead]

I agree wireless is great for convenience, but if your passionate about sound a LightLead will be consistent with your guitar,bass, or any semi-acoustic instrument all the time.

Do you record with your wireless system, or use a cable.

Just curious
David Holmes
Iconic Sound

[lightlead]

Ok for those who like capacitence in the signal chain varying every time they change the cable or strings then a cable is fine.

As for rolling cabs a stepping on our LightLeads, they are not your everyday CD player optical fibre. Its a custom fiber and is very resilient.
The difference is when your break the tiny copper wires in a cable capacitance adds up...In a LightLead if you fractur the fiber it wont affect the frequency range being passed through the fibre.

Did you see our new video on the impedance feature?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16_jkn31HRo

David Holmes
Iconic Sound

[lightlead]

We like to offer the "snake oil" types to try the LightLead for themselves. They usually decline but....
Perhaps i could pursued you to try?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16_jkn31HRo

David Holmes
Iconic Sound

[lightlead]

The optical cable part of LightLead is detachable, replacement cables range from £15 - £30

Our prototypes are 3 years old now and have been on tour with Peter Gabriel (SO tour), 6months in the studio with ColdPlay recording their latest new album, constantly dragged around NAMM by Ola Englund, Hadrien Feraud and Dean Brown, and lastly at Air Studios UK where Toby Pitman really put it through the mill.

Have you noticed when you buy a new cable or even new strings how much brighter your sound is? Is that a bad thing.
We are not trying to change the perfect sound you have, but give the the very best from you through your guitar or bass or any semi-acoutic instrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16_jkn31HRo

David Holmes
Iconic Sound