Bought the new Vox Vintage Coiled cable...

Just a thought about the Vox cables.

I honestly do not get the reason why there has to a be a specific cable for specific instruments, beyond it being a marketing gimmick.

I personally think that a good cable is one that can send the sound signal of your instrument from one end to another with minimal lost of frequency and colouration, hence a good cable can be used by ANY instrument because it can handle a wide spectrum of frequency; be it basses, guitars, microphones, keyboard, speakers etc.

So, the best cables for me is one that send the widest frequency possible ie clear highs, mids AND lows. The only thing that changes is the connecting jacks or heads at the end, which should correspond to the instrument that needs to be connected.

Other than that, I think a cable that is specifically build for specific instruments is not a good cable at all.
 
I suppose that a cable made for guitar has to ensure that it has the as little capacitance as possible?

Those instruments like keyboards and basses with active pickups, do they necessarily benefit from extremely low capacitance cables?
 
Perhaps. But from your description alone, and from this:

"The unique multi-gauge design uses conductor types that are optimized for their particular frequency ranges, and this results in sound that is much more dynamic, fuller sounding, and more natural and life-like..."

... honestly puts me off. Low capacitance it may be, but when it becomes so restrictive, I rather have something a little more versatile. :?

Frequency vs capacitance. In the end... I know that I get what I pay for, but I pay what I can afford. Either way I know I will lose out but what I will lose out then becomes a choice.

I dunno.
 
As far as I'm concerned, instrument cables should have the lowest capacitance per feet/meter possible to minimise any tone coloration. On top of that it should have the highest possible shielding from RF and the toughest yet most flexible outer shell for ease of use.

The plugs must be easy to use, consistant dimensions and no excessive bulge here and there to jam itself in the socket.

If the guitar players are like those HIFI fellas who wants to colour their tone with cables and plugs then its a journey into the deep darkhole.
 
Aye. Hence I would rather have a cable that I feel gives me as flat as possible a sound then something that accentuates certain frequencies only.

Anyway, what do you think is the reason that the Vox cable that Bro Shred tried that makes the highs muffled and the lows muddy? Isit capacitance issue or isit something to do with material?
 
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Isn't capacitance related to the materials used? :)

I'm not a techie... I'm just groping in the dark.

I'm guessing that the Vox Vintage was made to... vintage specs in order to emulate the old school coiled cables. I bet it will work nice for bright single coils.
 
Personally I don't have the ability to hear all those nuances that Shredcow is able to and I don't torture myself over it either, but I will tell you one thing after trying out a Vox Coiled Cable at Blackwood today (I assume it's the same type) - that thing is darn heavy and cumbersome!

I know straight cables can be annoying and they get tangled and you end up with loops of it on the floor, which is why I was interested in this cable when Shred posted about it, but I actually found this Vox one more unwieldy, overly bulky, very very thick (seriously, the coils have the same diameter, perhaps exceeding that of a 50 cent coin) and as I said, heavy.

Has anyone tried out the Fender coiled ones (unfortunately only in a gay 60s white' colour) and deems them any good, and, lightweight?
 
The Vox coiled cable takes away too much treble and muffles the sweet tinkers of my telecaster.

So if high treble is a very important part of your tone, then the coil is not gonna be your thing. If you play those funky stuff that sound good with trebles muted (ie. Jimi Hendrix stuff), the treble loss might not bother you.

I have a seldom used black coil. PM me if you want to have it for $15. :mrgreen:
 
I won't claim to be an expert but I just know the little bit that I know.... :mrgreen:

The coils of the classic telephone coil cables adds inductance to the whole resistance-inductance-capacitance network that attenuates the highs. I'm still looking for a good webpage to explain this better.

However, if you have time, coffee and a comfortable armchair... this is a good reading material for general cable info.
http://www.procosound.com/downloads/whitepapers/Understanding Instrument Cables.pdf
 
Yeah, Vernplum, you're right. Its really cumbersome when having to pick it up. Granted, when its attached to the guitar, its neat and what not... but its HEAVY!

I was looking at the Lava Cable coiled? And it looks sorta neater? Slimmer cables or something... looks better.

Heck, I got a damn telephone cable...



I think the Vox (and other "mufflers") will come in handy for live & loud volumes... especially for players who use a lot of cleans.
 
I think the Vox (and other "mufflers") will come in handy for live & loud volumes... especially for players who use a lot of cleans.
Click to expand...

Isn't thats what the tone control on the guitar and also on the amp is for? hehehehe...
 
Actually, yesh, it is... that's why I don't have any love for the Vox. I should have noted that if they say its VINTAGE then its gonna bring back the sounds of yesteryear... geez... and there I thought I could check it out to discover for myself... bah.

Didn't the coil thing come from the era before? Where amps had no master volume and they were bright stuff when pushed into dirt?

Hendrix used them for a reason didn't he? Along with that absurdly HUGE tone pot capacitor in his guitar...
 
you're probably right shreddy.

no master volume, no tone controls, single coils, chibabooooom.

and looking at this config... for those hifi fellas...

no master volume, no tone controls... the equation is almost the same, thats why they play with cables and interconnects so often just to tweak the sound.
 
can i do a quick price check, how much for the vox cable?
i used to have the black telephione cable type, any shops still carry them? thanks
 
haha.. waited.. asked.. its abt $2x.xx odd dollars thaznks..

508e3958-1.jpg
 
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