30 foot cables...

[Guite Lectrique]

Me again... I want to make a custom snake for my pedal board and I was wondering if 30ft was too long? Will I lose much tone?

Here's my setup and configuration:
Amp: Mesa Rectifier Recording Pre with Mesa 2:50 Power amp.

This is how it goes: Guitar » Boss TU-2 » Crybaby » Yamaha MagicStomp » Preamp In
From preamp: Out left » Power Amp Chan. A in - Out right » Mute switch (to mute one of the two cabs) » Boss DD-3 » Power Amp chan. B in

I might get rid of the MagicStomp to get a Boss OD and maybe Flanger.

[Mark Hammer]

Professional musicians on big stages run cable lengths much greater than that from the stage to the soundboard way at the back of the arena.  How do they do it and still sound good?  Easy.  Higher current drive in the stage feeding the cable, low impedance outputs, and low capacitance cable.

Jack Orman's Super Buffer (http://www.muzique.com/lab/superbuff.htm) provides a good example of a high-current buffer.  As for cable, there are many brands/types to choose from.

So, no, 30ft is not too long if you are doing the right things.  If you aren't doing the right things, 10ft can be too long.

[Satch12879]

Well said, Mark  .

By the way, very soon I'll have a new discrete buffer/line driver design for people to beta test.  As detailed, it'll drive 2k and tons of cable.

Stay tuned...

[Pushtone]

I hooked up a 60 foot cable to test the line drive capability of the
boosters I've built and could not hear any difference between it and a straight 12 foot cable.

Besides a buffer/line driver  (like an MXR microamp) you will want
to use pro quality cable like Mogami, Gotham, Belden.

Avoid monster cable.

I've been looking at Planet Waves but they refuse to tell me who
their supplier is so I've rulled them out as marketing hype.

Horizon cable is OK but not premium. Lots of manufacturers use it.

Problem is a capacitance spec is rarely given for hi-Z cable like it is for mic and video cable.
Leading to the "this cable sounds better that that one" debate.

Here are some features to look for in a hi-Z cable:

Center conductor guage: between 20 and 24 is standard. The smaller the number the better but thicker too.
Served shield = better RF sheilding. Look for 95-98% serve shield
Carbon shield layer = less microphonics (less handeling noise) but harder to solder as it is conductive.
Shield strand count: more important in speaker cable but with the price of copper these days manufactures might be temped to skimp.

[RaceDriver205]

I hooked up a 60 foot cable to test the line drive capability of the
boosters I've built and could not hear any difference between it and a straight 12 foot cable.

Indeed! The electricity isn't squirming its way through the wire as though its playdoe being pumped through a pipe, its electricity!
I find it unlikely that anything more than a single small buffer is needed for a big long cable. Of course, im just going by intuition, so theres a good chance im wrong.

[Ge_Whiz]

One general-purpose silicon transistor, two resistors and two caps will do it, with one (or better, two) PP3 batteries.

[Guite Lectrique]

Besides a buffer/line driver  (like an MXR microamp) you will want
to use pro quality cable like Mogami, Gotham, Belden.

Avoid monster cable.

What about Digiflex? I can buy it by the foot at my local electronic part supplier. Does somebody have a simple wiring diagram for a line-driver (like MXR microamp)?

[Meanderthal]

 The reason to avoid Monster cable is that it's ridiculously high capacitance by design. And way too expensive to be losing clarity like that.
If you use any boss, ibanez, digitech type effects with buffered throughput and fet switching you ... already have a buffer. or 2 or 3... An Arion stage tuner at the end of your effects chain also doubles as a buffer/line driver. Also, look up the super buffer mentioned earlier- that thing should drive a mile of cable... simple too!