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Author Topic: Monster Cable--really??  (Read 25924 times)

John Roberts {JR}

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #50 on: March 26, 2014, 02:20:04 PM »

Guitarist Eric Johnson suggests that different makes of battery in his effects can alter the tone and he claims that he can tell the difference in tone between a lead with plain brass plugs and one with nickel plated plugs.


Steve.

Battery voltage can and does affect performance of unregulated simple circuits. Bad connections can always be audible while the short term effects of dissimilar metal contacts are not generally audible.

JR
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Steve M Smith

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #51 on: March 26, 2014, 02:23:42 PM »

Battery voltage can and does affect performance of unregulated simple circuits.

This was between different battery manufacturers rather than battery age.  It was in an interview in the UK magazine Guitarist.  December 1995 - The only reason I can remember that is because I was in that one too!


Steve.
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John Roberts {JR}

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #52 on: March 26, 2014, 02:45:23 PM »

This was between different battery manufacturers rather than battery age.  It was in an interview in the UK magazine Guitarist.  December 1995 - The only reason I can remember that is because I was in that one too!


Steve.

So who said anything about age? Guess what...  9V batteries are not all exactly 9V when new... Even 9V batteries from the same brand are not all the same voltage. Then we see differences between rechargeable, and other cell technology variants.

It is entirely possible that he experienced that reported difference at least once, not sure he would experience the same difference every time, but perhaps, especially if the two brands use different internal battery technology.

It tells me the electronic circuit design is marginal, or routinely being overdriven such that the amount of clipping is apparent. I can imagine other circuit behavior phenomenon related to PS rail voltage.

FWIW modern electronics are quiet enough that a battery powered effect could be run cool enough to not clip, but I doubt that is a primary concern of designers for that genre.   

JR
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Tim McCulloch

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #53 on: March 26, 2014, 03:51:22 PM »

Guitarist Eric Johnson suggests that different makes of battery in his effects can alter the tone and he claims that he can tell the difference in tone between a lead with plain brass plugs and one with nickel plated plugs.


Steve.

I work with classical musicians who *can* hear very, very well, and when they say they hear a difference I usually can hear it right away, too.  Not so with *most* electric guitarists - they THINK they hear something that nobody else picks up on (or others think they hear something, but it's not at all what the other player think he's hearing).

I just try to smile and humour them.  And keep syringe full of Thorazine around in case they get weird. ;)
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Jeff Bankston

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #54 on: March 26, 2014, 04:25:38 PM »

I work with classical musicians who *can* hear very, very well, and when they say they hear a difference I usually can hear it right away, too.  Not so with *most* electric guitarists - they THINK they hear something that nobody else picks up on (or others think they hear something, but it's not at all what the other player think he's hearing).

I just try to smile and humour them.  And keep syringe full of Thorazine around in case they get weird. ;)
hearing a difference vs not hearing a difference seems to have to do with having a trained ear. my landlord listens to  music in his car all the time on the one mono speaker. he came up and listened to my 3 way speaker in the foto and said it sounded like any other radio speaker  :o ! i 'v heard friends say that about stereos over the years. i can pick out differences in tones where other musician friends cant. long ago a geetarist i was in a band with put a different brand of tubes in his Ampeg amp. he had it rebiased. the sound was a lot different. i was trippin out that a different brand of tube could make that big a difference. i think its just paying attention to the sound and making sure you keep you imagination out of it. i use to go to several of the Audiophile Stereo strores here in los Angeles. a friend worked a 3 different ones over the course of several years. we use to try a lot of the so called magic caps and wires and connector goo and power conditioners and figured it was peoples imagination that caused them to hear something different. and evn IF it actually is different is it really better detail your hearing form the recording or added by the hooky pook device. as most of us know some pa equipment sounds a lot better that other stuff.
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Stephen Swaffer

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #55 on: March 26, 2014, 06:20:13 PM »

I guess the question that comes to mind, is that even IF there is a difference, and IF you can hear the difference either in a quiet pre-performance venue, or a studio, does it really matter?

Trust me, I am not one to settle for a mediocre setup-on the contrary I think you should do the best you can every time (there are those who know me that get irritated at how picky I can be at times)-but at some point the vast majority of the audience will not notice-or be able to tell the difference.  Why fight a minor difference, when the product will be converted to MP3 and played on an earbud in noisy vehicle?  Or for that matter, with a venue full of people making their own noise?

Part of being a good engineer is knowing when to stop throwing money at a real or perceived problem.
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Steve Swaffer

Jeff Bankston

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #56 on: March 26, 2014, 10:56:06 PM »

I guess the question that comes to mind, is that even IF there is a difference, and IF you can hear the difference either in a quiet pre-performance venue, or a studio, does it really matter?

Trust me, I am not one to settle for a mediocre setup-on the contrary I think you should do the best you can every time (there are those who know me that get irritated at how picky I can be at times)-but at some point the vast majority of the audience will not notice-or be able to tell the difference.  Why fight a minor difference, when the product will be converted to MP3 and played on an earbud in noisy vehicle?  Or for that matter, with a venue full of people making their own noise?

Part of being a good engineer is knowing when to stop throwing money at a real or perceived problem.
right on. i wasnt refering to a venue either. the only time i'm picky about fine tuning the sound is on my home playback/stereo system. 
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Joseph D. Macry

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #57 on: March 27, 2014, 01:19:21 PM »

You just don't argue with folks that have audio hallucinations and think they hear shit that plainly isn't there.  It's like trying to teach a pig to sing - it's a complete waste of time and very annoying to the pig.

Or like trying to teach a rapper how to hold a microphone.
But if that pig is selling albums and tickets, and winning Grammy's....
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Joseph Macry,
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Joseph D. Macry

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #58 on: March 27, 2014, 01:25:54 PM »

So who said anything about age? Guess what...  9V batteries are not all exactly 9V when new... Even 9V batteries from the same brand are not all the same voltage. Then we see differences between rechargeable, and other cell technology variants.

It is entirely possible that he experienced that reported difference at least once, not sure he would experience the same difference every time, but perhaps, especially if the two brands use different internal battery technology.

It tells me the electronic circuit design is marginal, or routinely being overdriven such that the amount of clipping is apparent. I can imagine other circuit behavior phenomenon related to PS rail voltage.

FWIW modern electronics are quiet enough that a battery powered effect could be run cool enough to not clip, but I doubt that is a primary concern of designers for that genre.   

JR

Back when I was doing MI retail, we sold a brand of "vintage" 9V battery (I think they were from Danelectro) that we measured at about 7.2 volts. The idea being to make your pedal sound like the battery was on the verge of dying.
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Joseph Macry,
Austin, TX

Steve Kennedy-Williams

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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #59 on: March 27, 2014, 06:12:42 PM »

Back when I was doing MI retail, we sold a brand of "vintage" 9V battery (I think they were from Danelectro) that we measured at about 7.2 volts. The idea being to make your pedal sound like the battery was on the verge of dying.

A friend of mine who builds distortion pedals (Greedtone) experimented with a voltage sag knob to duplicate the low voltage effect. He even built one circuit that was adjustable with an expression pedal. :)
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Re: Monster Cable--really??
« Reply #59 on: March 27, 2014, 06:12:42 PM »


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