cables-n-friends

[thesjkexperience]

Trust me, you will be shocked how much a change from Lava or George L to Melody, Forte or Lyric HG really is with just a few patch cables! I know it seems like you should be able to compensate for a cables signal loss, but it can be difficult to boost what isn't there and the big thing to remember is loss of fundamental frequency/tone means loss of any upper harmonics of that attenuated frequency. At that point you might as well play BOSS pedals!

I wouldn't bother with Reveal, if you are tight on cash get some Monorail and some quality flat head connectors (soldered!). Just invest in a good stripper (wire stripper my gosh! ) along with a soldering pencil and solder. Two things every electric guitarist should really have anyway. Soldered Mogomi is good stuff it's just the dual solid core of the Lyric HG is just so much better. Mogami to Reveal would be treading water.

I do have a lot of Melody Patch cables I could send out as a tour box if people are interested. I just ask that they be kept clean (of alcohol and cig smoke) and everyone throw in 2 or 3 dollars to cover the original shipping cost. (sorry, but things are tight around here right now ) Maybe start a second opinion/review thread to see if there is any consensus? Maybe if enough people like what they hear we could negotiate a deal for the forum if purchased within a certain window?

I did try the AC cable by EA, but it was used and beat, so something tells me it wasn't what it could be knowing my experience with their other products. I do use this AC cable: http://www.essentialsound.com/musiccord ... /index.htm as it is almost affordable and there is an option to return it if it doesn't work for you. To me I feel like I get a wider frequency response and the sound just feel aligned with itself. As crazy as it sounds I felt the ESP power cord to have a greater positive effect on the tone than changing speaker cable! :noteworthy I got 2 Meters and then a 14 gauge extension cord in case I need more length to make it to the outlet. I know it is overkill, but I felt 18 gauge or lower just seemed wimpy.

EA Siren II speaker cable is amazing and does for your amp what the Lyric HG does for your guitar sound. When I get some time I have four feet of bulk and will rewire my 2x12 cab. I am also thinking of picking up even more and trying it on my Victoria 5e3 w/Blue. I went from the standard skinny vintage cloth covered speaker wire to a heavier gauge in the attempt to get more punch and lower mids. It did do that a bit, but I also got a harsh top end as part of the deal and I think the Siren II would smooth & sweeten the top end and give me more punch and low mids than I have now. My only worry is would I then really risk the Blue speaker as it is 15 Watts and I suspect the amp might put out 20 Watts peak. It would be a costly mistake!

[SteveA]

Thanks for the great insight! I'll hold off on the reveal but id really like to test out all of these goodies side by side. I may try and get a small length of Forte and compare with Lyric HG and maybe even van den hul side by side (not enough for board but maybe just send it directly to the amp and compare?).

Thanks again.

[MBT74]

Hmm... only way to really test this will be to try it out for myself. So I'll just have to place an order for some Lyric HG cables and a Siren II speaker cable and see what differences are made. I figure if I'm too deaf to notice any real difference I'm sure I can sell them to someone who can.

[hawaii121]

I could never bring myself to do this, but has anyone tried one of the EA amp power cables?

Wanna get boo-tique? Less Loss Audio for power cables... Crazy stuph.

Cheers!

Holy Crap! I can't even begin to imagine spending $599 on a power cable, much less $1200 (the price range of the two power cables on the site).

[MBT74]

Right, I've placed an order for some Lyric HG cables. If I notice no difference I'll be blaming you all.

Just kidding.

[SteveA]

let us know how you like em when you get them! I'm sure you will

[MBT74]

Lyric HG cables arrived today.

Now for the 40 hr breaking in period. From an initial play, there wasn't a massive difference. There was no "lifting a blanket off my amp" moment like there was when I replaced some poorly made (by me) Lava Solderless cables.

There is some definite difference. It's more like these cables have a better EQ than my old ones. It's not a massive difference, but definitely better. I'll see how they change as I wear them in.

Edit: So, I've been playing with these cables now for a few hours and I have to say that I'm loving them. No increase in brightness (which I'm fine with), but such a great clarity across the whole spectrum. I'm looking forward to having them fully broken in.

[hawaii121]

Glad you are enjoying them, they really do get better with time. I had wondered if there was a way to break them in artificially similar to breaking in speakers - anyone? Donner, any ideas?

[amp boy]

^

use them as a skipping rope.
leave them going in a loop signal.

[thesjkexperience]

I just turned on a bunch of noisy effects and left it. The break in is strange as there seems to be a difference, but I can't put my finger on what that difference actually is.

I do know that you may not hear a huge difference at first, but play through them for a few weeks and then go back to your old cables and you might be as shocked as I was!

THe key is to make sure you don't have a bunch of crappy patch cables in the middle while you are listening to them. After some time pick a tuner or favorite pedal and have just the one pedal in the chain. Switch between the EA cables and yur old ones. My guess is the sound and power difference will be very noticeable. The other thing I also forget about is you will notice less ear fatigue when playing for over an hour. While the Lyric HG cables are clear and clean they are very even in the spectrum, so you don't get that overly obvious treble brightness that says "hey, it sounds like the fat chick moved away from my amp!" It should sound smooth, dynamic and big without the treble roll off of say Monster cables or the loss of bottom from solder less types (Lava, George L) which make it seem like they really cut through.

Give it time, let them break in and let your ears adjust to really hearing what your guitar actually sounds like.