LVs NEW CABLE
Chuck
can call me a well satisfied customer.
HISTORY: This is the same cable LV sent to (was it PMG or GT? I can't
find shit now that Google's gone to Beta). Anyway -it's a very nice
piece of wire. In fact, it's the feel of the thing that I think is its
greatest asset.
Willie gave me the 'other' one he'd made to try out when I came in last
week to pick up the Bandmaster he retubed. (I am well pleased with that
too.) I don't even remember the name of the cable co. the stuff is
from, but Willie wanted to know how it performed on stage.
Here's how it performed on stage: I didn't really know it was there.
There IS no higher praise. I couldn't hear it, or feel it. It almost
coiled itself at the end of the night. Whatever this stuff is wrapped
in, I wish my lawn extension cord was wrapped in too. I also used it
during rehearsal a couple of days later -different amp and 'other'
cordage. Same result.
The thing strikes me as being absolutely neutral. No coloration, no
tugging, no nonsense. Now since Willie soldered the (Switchcraft?) ends
his own self, I also don't have to worry about quality. They'll hold
up. It's a nice gauge as well -not too heavy, not too light. I'm a
confirmed George L's user -have been for years, but I plan to buy this
one. I'll let Willie talk about price and so on -but the price he
quoted me beats the hell out of anything in the same quality category.
I've made plenty of cables, and bought plenty too. I think you're on to
something Willie -a great product at a great price point.
Chuck
www.monkeychild.com
PMG
>Willie, yer on to something. I gave that cable a good workout, and you
>can call me a well satisfied customer.
>HISTORY: This is the same cable LV sent to (was it PMG or GT? I can't
>find shit now that Google's gone to Beta).
Did GTski get one too? I imagine it's probably the same. Mine says
"Pro-EL" and several other things on the cable.
>Anyway -it's a very nice
>piece of wire. In fact, it's the feel of the thing that I think is its
>greatest asset.
>Willie gave me the 'other' one he'd made to try out when I came in last
>week to pick up the Bandmaster he retubed. (I am well pleased with that
>too.) I don't even remember the name of the cable co. the stuff is
>from, but Willie wanted to know how it performed on stage.
>Here's how it performed on stage: I didn't really know it was there.
>There IS no higher praise. I couldn't hear it, or feel it. It almost
>coiled itself at the end of the night. Whatever this stuff is wrapped
>in, I wish my lawn extension cord was wrapped in too. I also used it
>during rehearsal a couple of days later -different amp and 'other'
>cordage. Same result.
>
>The thing strikes me as being absolutely neutral. No coloration, no
>tugging, no nonsense. Now since Willie soldered the (Switchcraft?) ends
>his own self, I also don't have to worry about quality. They'll hold
>up. It's a nice gauge as well -not too heavy, not too light. I'm a
>confirmed George L's user -have been for years, but I plan to buy this
>one. I'll let Willie talk about price and so on -but the price he
>quoted me beats the hell out of anything in the same quality category.
>
>I've made plenty of cables, and bought plenty too. I think you're on to
>something Willie -a great product at a great price point.
>Chuck
>www.monkeychild.com
I'm enjoying mine too. It's much clearer sounding than the cables I
made with ProCo cable, which I didn't exactly enjoy making. I enjoyed
the idea of making them, more than actually doing the work. So having
LV do the work for me is a huge bargain considering how long it takes
*me* to do it!
Pete
--
DO not move from that location which
you should not be moving from! --Mojo Jojo
Chuck
find the old post, so I was guessing. Now that I'm getting used to the
feel of it, the Google Groups Beta interface is growing on me. I never
like it when I have to relearn something that I liked in the first
place -but there's one tremendous advantage to the new set-up: it posts
immediately. With the old Google you could wait for hours before a post
would show. Now it's almost instantaneous.
Back to the cable: mine is just like yours -kind of a cool clear
silvery gray. I'm very impressed by how supple it is. When I went to
rehearsal, a few days after the gig, it was the one cable I didn't have
to untangle. The George Ls do great in use, but they get very tangled
up in my bag -no matter HOW carefully I've wound them (which is usually
not very at 2:00AM).
Chuck
www.monkeychild.com
mark
I've tried emailing you directly in the past but never get through!
"Chuck" <chc...@4edisp.net> wrote in message
news:1102565087.6...@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
@nz D.R.
"mark" <mark2741@NOSPAMMIN_me_verizon.net> wrote in message
news:VxRtd.853$eO5.88@trndny08...
> mark
> www.sixstringtheory.com
Nice site. Needs a <TITLE> tag in the <HEAD> section on each page, otherwise it
will say "untitled document" at the top of IE.
D.R.
Lord Valve
mark wrote:
> What's the scoop on this, LV? Price, etc.
The wire is from ProEl, an Italian company.
It uses a foam dielectric, something which is quite
common in coaxial (RF) cable, but relatively rare
for guitar cable. The foam dielectric keeps the
capacitance way down. The ProEl people print all
kinds of Whoopee Words on the jacket of this wire...
it says "PROEL high tech professional insturment
cable - low capacity - O.F.C." "Low capacity"
sounds like it doesn't take much signal. ;-) The
Italians obviously mean "low capacitance." Some of
the other ProEl wire I have in stock - mike cable,
speaker cable, etc. - does indeed say "low capacitance."
"OFC" stands for "Oxygen Free Copper," a substance known
and worshipped by all fourth-tier audiophools. (Those
are the ones who can't shell out for platinum, gold, or
silver.) It also has what appear to be directional arrows,
like Monster and other wanker-style cabling. (Or it just
might be a graphics design that doesn't mean anything.)
This cable has a triboelectric shield as well as a
woven braid shield; in this case, it's a carbon-
impregnated plastic sleeve which goes between the
center conductor's insulation and the braid shield.
When I first started working with this wire, I was
startled to find out that some of the cables I had
made (out of a batch of 12 pairs, for a dude's keyboard
studio) showed high resistance shorts from tip to sleeve.
This is a common problem with cables made by noobs, since
not everyone knows you have to remove the triboelectric
shield from the center conductor. When you look at
it, it doesn't appear to be separate from the center
lead, it just looks like a wire with black insulation
on it. The actual center lead insulation is clear.
If you leave the triboelectric shield in place, chances
are very good that it will touch the tip solder contact,
or the actual conductor. When this happens, you have a
cable that will pass signal, but the level will be
attenuated. If you test it on an LED-type cable tester,
it'll check perfect. The definitive test is to read from
tip to sleeve with an autoranging meter, or with a meter
set to the highest resistance range. Two or three of the
cables in the 24-piece batch showed this condition, with
the additional wrinkle of the resistance *drifting* when
the cable was flexed. (Never saw that before.) Since I
knew I had properly prepared the cable by removing the
triboelectric shielding from the exposed portion of the
center lead before soldering, I (correctly) surmised that
there must have been leakage inside the cable through
the conductive plastic sleeve. Evidently a small "whisker"
of conductive plastic found its way through the foamed
dielectric during the manufacturing process, when the hot
foam was applied to the bare wire, immediately followed by
the triboelectric shield sleeve. (Which is probably also
applied hot, come to think of it.)
To correct this, I used an old Hammond repairman's trick;
Hammond vibrato scanners and rocker switch assemblies
(and other stuff) occasionally become contaminated by
cadmium crystals which form on the chassis surfaces;
a quick fix is to zap the scanner or the switch with a
megger. A megger is a device which tests insulation
resistance by applying a kilovolt or so to it - usually
from a hand-cranked generator, in the old days. I used
my tube-matching rig instead, which can go to 600V or so.
I just connected the HV across each defective cable's
plug, and the juice killed the high-resistance paths in
nothing flat. After that, nothing I could do to them in
the way of twisting or flexing would make the problem
reappear. I called the ProEl folks the next day and told
the tale, and they said they would start testing each roll
at the factory for this problem. I've had about five rolls
since, and all were fine. Still, to be on the safe side,
I check every cable I make from this type of wire with my
Fluke 189.
It *is* beautiful wire - very tough jacket material, doesn't
cut all that easily even with a sharp razor blade, yet it's
butter-soft when flexed. "Chewy" describes it. Doesn't
tangle easily. I have it in clear (a fairly bright silver
effect from the braided shield showing through the jacket,
which is water-clear) and "transparent pewter," which is
a see-through dark gray. The gray is very high-tech
looking, without being flashy. The only reason I carry
the clear stuff is so I can have two contrasting colors
for stereo pairing. It's also available in a color
called "bronze," which is a translucent red/brown shade.
(Looks like ass - I don't carry that one. Ick.)
I intend to have a cable shootout - NOT for "tone" or
"sound," but for capacitance. I have a fairly fancy
LCR meter (more than $500 worth of fancy, in fact ;-)
to do this testing with, and I'm going to be taking
a look at every kind of guitar lead I can come up
with. Yes, I could look up manufacturers' specs for
pF/foot, but I intend to make up cables of identical
lengths (12 feet, say) and test them WITH THE CONNECTORS
INSTALLED. To my knowledge, no-one has done it this
way yet. Connectors, after all, have their own intrinsic
capacitance, which adds to the capacitance of the finished
cable. Capacitance isn't much of a factor for short
lengths feeding relatively low impedance inputs, but it
can make a significant difference on the high frequency
end of things when long lengths are used to feed high
impedance inputs, which is *exactly* the case on a live
stage when using a tube amplifier. Stay tuned.
Anyone who wants to cop a guitar cord made from this
stuff can call me - see my sig. It's difficult for
me to quote any prices here, since there are many
different connector options - straight, right angle,
Switchcraft, Neutrik, etc. - so please call me and
give me your specs. I'm drowning in e-mail and it
sometimes takes me a couple of *weeks* to reply.
And, of course, if you want to make your own, I'll
be more than glad to sell you the parts. ;-)
Lord Valve
Tone Chaperone
VISIT MY WEBSITE: http://www.nebsnow.com/LordValve
I specialize in top quality HAND SELECTED NOS and
current-production vacuum tubes for guitar and
bass amps. Good prices, fast service.
QSC amps, RNC compressors, lots of other good stuff!
Partial Client List: * Derek Trucks/Allman Brothers Band *
* Meatloaf * Catherine Wheel * Yo La Tengo * Let's Go Bowling *
* Rob Hyckys (guitarist for Commander Cody) * Waky Amps *
* Fleetwood Mac * Tyrin Benoit * Eugene Fodor * Dale Bruning *
* Komet Amplification * Dr. Z * Maven Peal * Blockhead Amps *
* Jim Kelley * Balls Amplification * Roccaforte Amplifiers *
* Gerhart Amplification * Aiken Amplification * The Right Half of AGA *
* Lots More *
NBS Electronics, 230 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80209-1510
Phone orders/tech support after 1:30 PM Denver time at 303-778-1156
- Our 23rd Year -
VISA - MASTERCARD - PAYPAL
"Posterity will ne'er overcome
A nobler grave than this;
Here lie the bones of Blumb the Dumb -
Stop, traveler, and piss."
- Lord Valve -
(Paraphrase of Lord Byron, on Lord Castlereagh)
Mike Pritchard
Lord Valve wrote:
mark wrote:What's the scoop on this, LV? Price, etc.The wire is from ProEl, an Italian company. It uses a foam dielectric, something which is quite common in coaxial (RF) cable, but relatively rare for guitar cable. The foam dielectric keeps the capacitance way down.
Hey, this makes sense! A friend of mine, who's a radio broadcast engineer, made a guitar cable for me a couple of years back. He made it out of some coax that he had laying around in the shop. He was simply curious and wondered if it would work as an instrument cable. Boy did it!! It remains one of the best sounding cables I have, but it's just a little too stiff to use on stage. Otherwise.....!!
Mike P.
Peter Lichten
> NBS Electronics, 230 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80209-1510
> Phone orders/tech support after 1:30 PM Denver time at 303-778-1156
do you have a fax number, too?
Best wishes
Peter
Lord Valve
mark
keep forgetting to take it out of my signature as there just isn't any
content on there yet to waste people's times going to it. I plan on putting
some stuff up there soon though.
mark
"D.R." <D.R. @ NZ> wrote in message
news:DZRtd.23857$9A.4...@news.xtra.co.nz...
DGDevin
news:41B809DE...@ix.netcom.com...
>
> The wire is from ProEl, an Italian company.
>
> It uses a foam dielectric, something which is quite
> common in coaxial (RF) cable, but relatively rare
> for guitar cable.
And this, boys and girls, is why we keep LV around, because when he chooses
to be on-topic there is simply nobody to touch him. In contrast to his "fan
club," who on their best day with the wind behind them and for once sober
couldn't *begin" to come up with a post this informative or interesting. I
swear if this guy ever chooses to write a book on guitar amps and related
subjects I will preorder it from Amazon the minute I hear of it and probably
get a backup copy in case something happens to the first.
SemenHydrant
Chuck
politics, but I tend to read his stuff because he IS such a good
writer. When he writes about amps, he's generally more interesting,
easier to understand, and much more incisive than 9 of 10 of the people
who review audio for a living. It's a combination of talent and skill.
You don't have to agree with him to appreciate his strengths -much as I
don't have to love the stuff John McLaughlin plays to appreciate his
talent and skill.
Chuck
www.monkeychild.com
Lord Valve
DGDevin wrote:
I've already written it.
All you have to do is download ~14,000 of my posts from
Google and strain the flames out of 'em. ;-)
Lord Valve
Author
DGDevin
>
> I've already written it.
>
> All you have to do is download ~14,000 of my posts from
> Google and strain the flames out of 'em. ;-)
Which knocks it down to, what, a hundred and fifty posts worth saving?
Seriously man, collect the good stuff, sit down and write what's missing,
get a good photographer and illustrator and put it together in a lay-flat
bench binding. With your technical knowledge and unquestioned flair with
words, it would be a book worth owning. And just think of how it would
stick in the throats of the baboon squad to see the book get rave reviews
from every guitar magazine on the planet, they'd probably choke to death in
sheer frustrated rage.
PMG
Another option would be to collect all the good posts, and put them on
a CD-rom.
gtski
But, they'd ALL own one. :-)
gtski
Lupi Zopi
Exactly, any compilation of Willie's writings would
top the Lunitards best seller list. They exist to
piss and moan about all things Willie and they prove
it on a daily basis.
The Book of Willie, volumes 1, 2, 3, etc. [1]
Lupi
[1] Hatred would drive them to purchase. [2]
[2] And put Lunitard money in Willie's bank. 8^)
DGDevin
news:cpdbff$3sd$1...@news.chatlink.com...
>
> But, they'd ALL own one. :-)
>
> gtski
Well, not all, I'd bet folding money that some of them rarely if ever turn
on a guitar amp, they need a book on amps like LV needs a book on getting
started in gymnastics....
gtski
Nope... they'd ALL get one to see EXACTLY what LV has to say...
whether they ever "turn on an amp" or not...
(I happen to aggree with you that some of the "squad" probably don't
play much if at all)
gtski
DGDevin
> Nope... they'd ALL get one to see EXACTLY what LV has to say... whether
> they ever "turn on an amp" or not...
>
> (I happen to aggree with you that some of the "squad" probably don't
> play much if at all)
>
> gtski
You're probably right, their obsession with LV would compel them to buy his
book even though they'd be putting money in his pocket. All the more reason
for him to write the book. ;-)