Leaderboard

just a quick aside, make sure that you use a proper speaker cable for the connection not a guitar/instrument cable, getting this wrong can cause serious damage to the amp (a friend fried the output transformers of his beloved laney head when he got this wrong) make sure the cable is marked as speaker and you'll be fine. Matt

Yes indeed; this is an important point, which merits, perhaps, an explanation. Guitar (and other instrument...) cables have to carry very low-level signals, with very little current, and need protection from parasitic interference. To this end, they have very thin, flexible wire inside, enclosed in a metallic outer sheath, which keeps the unwanted noise out. Speaker cable, on the other hand, has to carry much higher voltage and current, and so much thicker wire and insulation goes into their structure. They are not, however, subject to picking up extra noise, and so do not have, nor need, the metallic sheathing of the instrument cable. What difference does it make..? An instrument cable used, wrongly, to cable an amp to a speaker is liable to heat up with the high currents that the amp puts out, as the thin wire, made for low signals, can't handle it, and is most likely to melt. If the inside wire melts, it will provoke a short-circuit between the inner wire and outer sheathing, which in turn will overload the amp. This could, if lucky, just shut down in protection mode, or, all too often, just bust the output of the amp, with ensuing 'magic smoke'. This is a Bad Thing, and can be expensive, or even dangerous. On the other hand, using, wrongly, a speaker cable to connect an instrument, will result in a lousy sound, with much buzzing, clicking and other extraneous noises. No physical harm, but a damaged reputation and a ruined concert. Each type of cable has its specific construction to cater for the use it is to be put to. These uses are not interchangeable, despite their having similar (jack...) plugs. Don't be fooled. Use instrument cable for instruments, and speaker cable for speakers.