newb head/cab question

axisus

I am pretty green on amps. Played at home all my life so never really got into the whole amp thing.

A total newbie question - if you get a head and a cab, can you park the head somewhere else to the cab and run a longer cable? Due to my tiny practice room, I usually sit on my amp, but that is a pain in the ass for altering anything. it occurred the me that if I could sit on a cab and stick the head on the tabletop infront of me then that would be most useful indeed.

I figure that you could, but what do I know!?!

randomhandclaps

Yes.  It's incredibly common practice in studios.

viz

Sure you can, though it will get warmer if longer.

ecc83

If you do this get a decently long amp to cab cable. 5mtrs is nothing, guitar amps, especially valve output jobbies are very tolerant of long cables.

If you are handy with a solder iron use orange "garden" cable.

 

Dave.

ToneControl

long speaker cable (between amp and cab) loses less tone than long guitar cable (between guitar and amp)

The thicker the cable, the less the problem for speakers

However, sitting on the cab, your vas deferens may be in danger

ecc83

ToneControl said:

long speaker cable (between amp and cab) loses less tone than long guitar cable (between guitar and amp)

The thicker the cable, the less the problem for speakers

However, sitting on the cab, your vas deferens may be in danger

 

6amp cable is more than heavy enough for any amp you can lift. You would need a klick or so of the stuff to come close to the DC resistance of the speaker and the Z out of the amp.

 

Dave.

drwiddly

It probably doesn't need saying but DON'T use a guitar lead between the amp and speaker!

axisus

Er ..... Why not out of interest?

randomhandclaps

Using certain types of guitar cable (instead of speaker cable) can cause a split in the fabric of time. With some higher gain models it's theoretically possible that it could lead to some form of quantum collapse or implosion.  So just use speaker cable and everyone is safe and happy.

MtB

Your instrument cable is low power and high impedance. It’s built to convey a weak unamplified signal from your guitar to your amp, where it’s boosted up to a useable level.

Your speaker cable, on the other hand, is just the opposite—high power and low impedance. It’s built to carry a strong signal from your amp to your speakers—a relatively high AC current and voltage. 

ICBM

You can overheat an instrument cable if you use it as a speaker cable - the cores aren't designed for the high current and have enough resistance to generate a fair amount of heat - not usually enough to melt the copper itself, although possible if you really overdid it, but easily enough to melt the plastic insulation and short the cable, which will stop it working and is not good for the valves. (And will usually kill transistors.)

The current is dependent on the power level and the impedance of the load, so if your amp is low-powered - or you're just running it at low volume - and you're driving a higher-impedance cab, it's much safer than if it's a powerful amp driving a lower-impedance cab. If you're bothered about doing the calculation (power = impedance x current-squared) a typical instrument cable is probably safe up to about 1A, which would be equivalent to a 16W amp (clean - more like a 10W one overdriven) into a 16-ohm cab. But a 100W amp into a 4-ohm cab requires about 5A, which is definitely not safe for a guitar cable. I've seen at least one melted with that sort of current going through it.

I do sometimes use instrument cables for quick testing at low power if there isn't a speaker cable easily to hand, but I wouldn't recommend it for any serious use on stage - at the very least, guitar cables are often less robust than speaker cables, and if you break the cable the amp then has no load, which is very bad for valve amps.

axisus

Thanks O learned scholars!

ChrisMusic

And stop sitting on that speaker, you are damping some frequencies with your legs before they even get a chance to come out and play with the room acoustics, you could hardly be more off-axis from the speaker cone, and therefore only be hearing reflected high frequencies from wall surfaces etc.  You won't get a true reflection of the amps or the speakers tone that way, and any adjustments you make would be out of place if you were to try those settings live.  Yes I know taking it out of the room to a live situation changes everything anyway, but the basic point is sound (so to speak).  You are not hearing what your amp and speaker really sound like.

And as @ToneControl says "viva la deferens", or long live your testicles, just a thought, you may be attatched to them.

axisus

Practicalities! No room for a chair with amp/washing machine/tumble drier/dishwasher. Testicles have done their job anyway, 4 sprogs and they have been neutered!

ChrisMusic

:-O

randomhandclaps

I'm hoping he meant -

axisus said:

Testicles have done their job anyway (4 sprogs) and they have been neutered!