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Wrong Universe

In the universe that the rest of us live in, this phenomenon is not unknown, and is actually quite common.

It can occur with:
mic cables, due to the low signal levels and the amount of gain.
Super cheap Hi-Z mics also face a very high input impedance input stage, which makes things worse.

phono cables, due to the low signal level and the consequent amount of gain, and in cases of an MM cartirdge, these can also have a relatively high output Z.

guitar cables, due to the extremely high input impedance of most instrument amps, even SS amps have a VERY high input impedance, they have to, or they would not allow the guitar pickup to have it's characteristic interaction with the cable capacitance, and the input capacitance of the amp, to create a pick-up resoance somewhere between 1 kHz and 5 kHz. This is so much a part of the sound of any particular guitar/pick=up, that when it is missing, the guitarist usually rejects the sound of the guitar as "too flat" or "too dead", "not lively", etc.

In the case of the first and last instance, the cables are typically constructed using noise reduction technology, such as a conductive plastic layer betwen the center wire insulation and the cable shield braid, OR they wrap conductive cloth tape around the center wire insulation. These cable constructions are commonly used for the premium mic and guitar cables, while the cheapo cables either do not have it, or have a cheapo version that is not very effective.

Happens all the time, as anyone who has whacked one of these cables will know.


Jon Risch

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