Needed a guitar cable recently to connect an effects box to a amp so I pickup up a basic sony audio one at the local electronics store. Cooinidently was reading a website just now that said when connecting the guitar to the unit, to use monaural shileded cable to protect the guitar. Is the elec.store audio cable ok to use to connect the guitar to the amp or anything else? I by mistake actually had & was practicing with them setup like that for about 30min. Although the sound was fine i wan to make sure there is no chance to damage anything.
Yep, guitar leads/cables are fine, as are patch leads etc.
If you use the wrong type of cable it either won't fit; won't work; won't work properly; or will pick up a lot of noise - but nothing will be harmed. Even if the cable is shorted out - that's exactly how volume controls work, it's nothing that an effects pedal or amp isn't able to handle.
Whichever website you read that said you needed that type of cable to protect your guitar needs removing from your favourites. Ignorant and/or melodramatic advice like that only leads to confusion - in your case you've lost playing time just because some website is talking crap. Stuff like that annoys me, can you tell? :)
Thanks :) The info was from a pdf for the guitar effect unit. Ironically when searching google for more info, I read on a keyboard/amp webiste that keyboards should not be connected with guitar cables as (aside from a higher sound range) they are unshielded and pickup a lot other signals, confusing. So before I (if needed) go to a musical store to get replacement cables made for connecting a guitar to a amp - the general audio cables I already own (same appearence/fit but ends are gold not silver) are fine and wont damage anything if my whole setup is using them? The same length cables at guitar stores were more expensive so was not 100% sure if there was something special.
The info was from a pdf for the guitar effect unit. Ironically when searching google for more info, I read on a keyboard/amp webiste that keyboards should not be connected with guitar cables as (aside from a higher sound range) they are unshielded and pickup a lot other signals, confusing. So before I (if needed) go to a musical store to get replacement cables made for connecting a guitar to a amp - the general audio cables I already own (same appearence/fit but ends are gold not silver) are fine and wont damage anything if my whole setup is using them?
That "advice" was probably written by the marketing department, not the technical people.
Any guitar cable I've seen is at least somewhat shielded. And besides, the output of a keyboard is a *slightly* higher level than a guitar, and would be less affected by stray noise that might be picked up by the cable.
Typically, there are only 2 kinds of cable that you will find with 1/4 inch plugs on both ends.
1) instrument/patch cables
2) speaker cables
You shouldn't generally use one in the other's place, but if you happen tu use a speaker cable to connect your guitar to your amo (or pedals) you won't cause any harm (It is possible that there might be a bit of noise picked up, but it won't cause any damage)
Don't , however, substitute a guitar patch cable for a speaker cable. The highre power level *might* cause the cable to heat up or melt. It _probably_ won't hurt anything other than the cable itself, but it's not a good idea.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
I had an amp once that picked up radio stations, even in the basement of my house in Germany, and changing cables didn't help.
Sure, there are guitar cables you can pick up for £1.99, and some will cost you £25 - apart from the cheap ones falling apart earlier under regular abuse I'd be surprised if one did actually damage your kit.
Best,
A :-)
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