I was at Guitar Center yesterday and wanted to try out a bass they had. I could'nt find a cable in the Bass room so I went out to the main part of the store and picked one up that was just laying on some amps. A friend of mine that works there came into the Bass room and asked me where I got the cable so I told him. (It was bright yellow so I guess that caught his attention) This is when he told me that the cable I was using was a speaker cable and if I continued to use it I would/could damage the amp. The quarter inch jacks looked just like an instrument cable does so I'm wondering is there really a difference? And,if so, what is it?
You're not supposed to use instrument cables between an amp and a speaker cabinet - you can definitely damage an amp especially at higher volumes if the cable starts arcing (there's a big difference in voltage/amperage between guitar in - and amp out - it's just a different application altogether). Instrument cables are typically shielded (to reduce interference) while speaker cables are not.
However, using a speaker cable between an instrument and an amp? I'm not sure if you'd damage the amp but the tone might suffer.
Yeah, I've not heard that either, although it may be true; further research is necessary. I do know that the cables are different, and you are supposed to use only speaker cables for head/cab connections.
I wonder how many guys don't know that & use regular instrument cables...
Has anyone ever heard of damage occurring from using the wrong head/cab cable?
Yeah, I've not heard that either, although it may be true; further research is necessary. I do know that the cables are different, and you are supposed to use only speaker cables for head/cab connections.
I wonder how many guys don't know that & use regular instrument cables...
Has anyone ever heard of damage occurring from using the wrong head/cab cable?
Yes - don't use instrument cables between and amp and cabinet. It's just a bad idea. Have people fried output transformers using instrument cables as speaker cables? You bet they have!
As for using a cabinet cable as an instrument cable - I can't see where that's going to be a problem other than maybe a weaker signal to the amp.
he told me that the cable I was using was a speaker cable and if I continued to use it I would/could damage the amp. The quarter inch jacks looked just like an instrument cable does so I'm wondering is there really a difference? And,if so, what is it?
He doesn't know what he's talking about.
As already stated, using an instrument cable as a speaker cable can cause damage (the cable is too light to carry the power for much time).
But using a speaker cable between the instrument and amp won't cause any physical damage to any electronics. Ever.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
kent and wtf are correct: your only problem may have been increased hum/interference pickup due to the lack of shielding.
-=tension & release=-
The quarter inch jacks looked just like an instrument cable does so I'm wondering is there really a difference? And,if so, what is it?
To answer this bit, there's a difference between TS (mono or unbalanced) and TRS (stereo or balanced) cables. If you look closely at the speaker cable in question, you'll notice it has a couple of black rings around the end of the jack (TRS cables). An instrument cable will only have one (TS). Calling them instrument and speaker cables is a little vague really, since which one you use really depends on where in the signal chain it is going - a "speaker cable" may well connect two fx units, or a preamp and interface if recording, and not connect directly to a speaker at all.
TS = tip-sleeve
TRS = tip-ring-sleeve
The difference is in how they are wired. Now, I just have it locked in that I never use TS where TRS is called for and vice versa, so I'm dredging this one up from memory from a loooong time ago......but, iirc, you can seriously damage some equipment by plugging a TS cable into a TRS socket. Because there's no sleeve connection on the cable, the signal can blow the piece of gear by shorting the circuit. I need food before I'll remember the darn theory behind this though. Sorry!
Scrybe's got the connections/connectors covered, but there really is another big difference: what we generally call speaker cables are made to carry the high currents required to drive low impedance (usually 2, 4, 8 or 16 ohm) passive PA main speakers and passive PA monitors. the wire used in speaker cables is more like AC mains cord than an instrument cable. it is rarely shielded, as there is no need given the high-power, robust signals carried. an instrument cable is all about shielding and as it is used in a high impedance system (thousands of ohms source and 250k ohm and up loads of effects and amps inputs), there is no requirement to carry any but tiny currents. as a result, using an instrument cable to connect a PA speaker to its amp or a guitar amp to its cab is risking frying the cable and possibly damaging the amp after the cable fries and either open circuits or shorts.
I recommend avoiding use of the term speaker cable for the (balanced or unbalanced) line level cable connecting a preamp output to powered (internally amped) monitors such as those found in studios. those cables are still correctly called line level cables, even tho functionally (and informally) one might think of them as speaker or monitor cables. It's sort of the PA world v. the studio world. unfortunately for many, someone decided that the tough-as-nails, reliable Switchcraft 1/4 inch phone jack/plug connector pair would work well in many of these applications, regardless of cable type. moreover, as Scrybe points out, the TS and TRS jacks and plugs are mechanically -- tho not always electronically -- compatible. more confusion.
-=tension & release=-
