|
Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Check those cables!
Check those cables!
Page:
1
LittleJoeSamson
168 posts
Dec 22, 2009
9:01 AM
|
Often, we spend time and $$$ on amps, mics, and other gear; but neglect the small stuff.
I guess I'm guilty.
I've used a lineout, but only before I moved five years ago. I've had several amps that have it, and it's so much easier than micing the cab and possibly picking up side noise. Whenever I did use the lineout recently, though, it sounded "empty". If it had been scratchy, I think it would have been obvious that I had a bad cable. By standing near the amp, though, what I heard mostly was the amp.
Think about it...cables take the most abuse: repeated unrolling, getting stepped on, tugged when caught running lines, then coiled back up after every gig.
So, long story short; when I got my Blackheart piggyback, all that came with it was a patch cable for a short stack. I wanted to extend the cab from the head, so I hooked up the speaker cable I had.
Almost nothing! Turning the amp all the way up gave only minimal acceptable volume, and of course tone was non-existant.
So then, I went and bought a new speaker cable, and it works fine. Salvaged what I could from the old one ( has to be 20 years old ).
Then, I took one of my other amps along to a regular gig, and set up both early.
I used the lineout on the second unit with the new cable into the PA. Yeah baby!
Picked up another, longer, new speaker cable the next day.
|
Randy G. Blues
118 posts
Dec 22, 2009
10:07 AM
|
Not long ago I bought a Low-Z mic which came with a free low-z 22 foot mic cable. I had used it maybe ten times. At a jam last week it wouldn't work. Tapped it and it "static'd" through the amp, but that was about it.
Got home and examined it. The "free" cable had really cheap strain relief inside which was poorly crimped, the cable had pulled out of it a bit, and one wire had pulled off the XLR connection. Resetting the cable and re-crimping the strain relief, along with some careful soldering under a magnifying lens and back in business... and yes, I checked the other end as well. ;-)
Fortunately, I always carry a spare mic and cable, so was OK for the evening. But it shows that "free" isn't always a good deal.
|
toddlgreene
285 posts
Dec 22, 2009
10:40 AM
|
You're right-the cables we use are the glue that holds our sound together, and I for one am guilty of neglecting mine. I played an outdoor gig a few weeks ago, and a cord malfunctioned on me...but I blamed the soundman, who kept trying to to bump up my levels, adjust monitors, etc...I realized afterward that it was my mic cable all along(and gave him a hearty apology)-I stepped on it one too many times and broke the solder on the mic end...So a good pre-gig function check involves not only the amp, harps, effects and mic-but my cables in between as well. Turn it all on, move around and listen for telltale signs that any patch, mic or instrument cables are on their last leg.
----------
~Todd L. Greene
Merry Christmas!
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
Last Edited by on Dec 22, 2009 10:41 AM
|
nacoran
586 posts
Dec 22, 2009
10:48 AM
|
One night I was at an open mic. The regular hosts were short a cable or two. Someone brought up a spare they had. It had a little toggle on the end. I'd never given it much thought. The hosts were always scrambling back and forth to turn down the guitar cables, so the guitar players could plug in and unplug, and get up to introduce next act. These cables had their own switch, so the guitar player could safely plug and unplug without the sound guy.
Little things like that are great. I've seen speakers with a back facing monitor built in. (it was on the corner that would be facing the band.) I've seen mic stands that have a built in clip for holding music. Little details don't get enough attention.
|
jbone
238 posts
Dec 23, 2009
3:47 AM
|
one bad cable can put a wrench into a set. friday we had just that and it threw us off on the start of our first set at a new joint! i promptly, luckily, borrowed a new xlr and next day bought one. i'll check out the offending cable when i have a few minutes, sometimes a little solder is all it takes to get one back up and running.
|
walterharp
157 posts
Dec 23, 2009
12:49 PM
|
I use the Lava ELC Tweed 18' instrument cable.
http://www.lavacable.com/lava.html
They are a bit spendy, but very solid and look good with the tweed cover.
You can year some difference with the harp microphone setups I use, but the guitar player in my band has a nice gibson and it really makes it shine. you can clearly tell the difference on the high end.
|
LittleJoeSamson
171 posts
Dec 23, 2009
5:00 PM
|
Used the refreshed set-up last night. Sounded terrific. I used my '41 Gibson lined to the mains. The '58 GE blackplate 6V6's that I recently swapped in also made for a classic harp voicing.
Had one jammer show up who asked to play thru the rig, and he's one of the few that I would say yes to with this unit. I wanted to hear how it sounded from various spots. Even with two guitars, keyboard, bass & drums, and two saxes playing; the sound from the harmonica was clear and able to hear...but not obtrusive.
I'll have to see about figuring a lineout for the BH-15H !
[ Having the other harp player play afforded me the opportunity to use my recently acquired Bass/Bari Bugle. Odd instrument, but a pleasingly mellow low register timbre...smoother than a trombone. Kinda like the cello of the horn section. ]
|
Post a Message
|
