cable for connecting amp head to cabinet?

[welly_59]

i'm awaiting delivery on a head and cab today but have no cable to connect the two together so need to get my own one made. i know its not recommended to use instrument cable, but how about using 3 core cable that you'd use to make a power extension cabe? i have loads of that handy and some 1/4 jacks. i'd pull out the 3rd core and use that to wire the speakers into the cab as well if its suitable for that

[jalapeno]

Mains cable is good.

Guitar lead cable is bad.

I get my speaker leads ready-made from KabL

[ESBlonde]

i'm awaiting delivery on a head and cab today but have no cable to connect the two together so need to get my own one made. i know its not recommended to use instrument cable, but how about using 3 core cable that you'd use to make a power extension cabe? i have loads of that handy and some 1/4 jacks. i'd pull out the 3rd core and use that to wire the speakers into the cab as well if its suitable for that

Yes that would be fine.

[zenzeypher]

I'm confused - sorry to hijack...So I shouldn't use just a short guitar lead to connect my head and amp togther ?

what should I use ?

and how comes?

[welly_59]

Instrument cable is one core and a sheath whereas speaker cable is 2 cores. The power going through a speaker cable can potentially be a lot bigger than that from guitar to amp so can potentially heat up the sheath wire and cause a fire, a short etc.

If this happens with the amp running to could cause your amp to blow.

Not likely with a low powered head but if you r running a 100w head or something then its a different story

[guitarfishbay]

I'm confused - sorry to hijack...So I shouldn't use just a short guitar lead to connect my head and amp togther ?

what should I use ?

and how comes?

You need to use a speaker cable. A guitar cable isn't designed to handle the currents from amp head to speaker cab and may melt and/or cause damage to your gear. It is not worth risking it, just buy a speaker cable.

I'd recommend getting a nice thick speaker cable so that you never confuse it with a guitar lead.

I have 2 of these and they are very good for the price £9.77 delivered for 10ft http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ashton-SJP10...0308055&sr=8-1 They are really thick, sturdy, and cheap!

I also have the Planet Waves custom series cable, which costs more, is about the same thickness, and seems to sound exactly the same to me. I have the PW classic series cable too but it is much thinner than the PW custom and Ashton cables and since I use PW classic guitar cables I was worried I'd get them mixed up at some point.

There is no way you'd ever confuse the PW custom speaker cable or ashton high performance speaker cable with a regular guitar lead, they are about twice as thick and very heavy.

I can't comment on making leads as I don't have the knowledge or experience.

[ESBlonde]

I'm confused - sorry to hijack...So I shouldn't use just a short guitar lead to connect my head and amp togther ?

what should I use ?

and how comes?

Think about it, the power going into your amp is through a thick well insulated piece of copper, why would the output not need something similar or does all that power get used up in the head. The guitar lead is just ickle thin copper strands designed to take low signal levels and without adequate insulation for higher levels. Once that thin guitar signal lead gets hot and melts of the strands rub together you will likely toast the amp in an bad (expensive) way. Proper loudspeaker cable is very flexible and has lots of copper/insulation. Twin core lighting cable makes a very good substitute. Most people also recommend Neutrik jacks for speaker leads because they have a good cable grip and a tug is less likely to pull the soldered tags together unlike other cheap alternatives.

Forum Member Rob Davies trades as KABL and comes highly recommended by a great many forumites here, although I've never used him myself because I make my own.

[erictheweary]

It's a funny thing that given how many types of connectors there are its the same for a guitar lead as it is for a guitar amp even though the cables are quite different. Endless cause of confusion.

[ICBM]

It might have started because in the early days, the power levels were low enough that guitar cable is actually OK. It's not good practice (nor is recommending it!) but it's still true that at up to about 20W maybe even higher, particularly into 16-ohm loads (since the current is inversely related to the impedance for a given power level), guitar cable is fine.

Mains cable makes very good speaker cable, and Neutriks are the best plugs, as already said. As for "tone", I would defy anyone to be able to *provably* tell the difference between mains cable and "proper" speaker cable, for a guitar amp and cab.

[ESchap]

I took ICBM's advice a long time ago and use an old Electric Lawnmore cable to make up speaker cables. It's more than capable of the job electrically, easy to solder with a decent iron and being bright orange doesn't get confused with guitar leads. Neat and cheap solution.