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  #1  
Old 04-17-2012, 02:11 PM
Cheetotoe Cheetotoe is offline
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Default $25 for a 6" patch cable? (Baggs M1C3)

I'm going to run a passive M1 into my onboard LR Baggs stage pro preamp. All I need is a 1/8" male to 1/8" male patch cable. (Think the small audio cables for plugging in ipods, etc.) Except, I believe it needs to be mono, and most of these cables are stereo. So I can buy the Baggs M1C3 cable, but why on earth is it $25???

Am I wrong for thinking that a $5 radio shack cable will do the job just fine?


EDIT: I GUESS I WAS WRONG. SEE POST #9 FOR EMAIL FROM LR BAGGS.
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Last edited by Cheetotoe; 04-19-2012 at 10:11 AM.
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Old 04-17-2012, 02:23 PM
JCave JCave is offline
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My take on cables is, you get what you pay for. Recently paid 25 for a 10' Livewire Gold. And yes, I thought that was spendy. Next trip to Fryes and I'll look at components to make my own.



Jerry
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Old 04-17-2012, 02:50 PM
jayhawk jayhawk is offline
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I have a mixed view on the price of cables. There are cheap cables and quality cables. Quality usually costs a little more. Big brand names on cables may or may not mean quality but it almost always means you will pay more for them.

My guitar shop carries a line made by a local guy. He's a little more than the 'cheap' brands but he offers high quality and a lifetime guarantee. Can't go to far wrong with that.

Jack
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Old 04-17-2012, 02:56 PM
mchalebk mchalebk is offline
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While it's certainly true that cheap cables can hurt your sound, it's not simply a matter of "you get what you pay for". Cables are often drastically overpriced. As long as a cable is well constructed with good shielding, it will work and sound just fine.

It's likely you could use a stereo cable; if the jacks are truly mono, the ring connections won't come into play. I can't see any way in hell that a 6" 1/8" to 1/8" patch cable is worth $25.
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Old 04-18-2012, 09:16 AM
Cheetotoe Cheetotoe is offline
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I agree that you often get what you pay for, but the Baggs cables are NOT high end cables with top shelf components. They look to be equal to what you'd buy at radio shack. However, the Baggs 12 foot 1/4" to 1/8" cable is also $25... And its nothing special. I wonder if $25 is the blanket price on all Baggs cables.?...
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Old 04-18-2012, 12:37 PM
MarkF_48 MarkF_48 is offline
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From the link below it hints that the "special" cable may possibly have some components (likely resistor and cap) built into it to alter its high end frequency response. As the cable description states for passive PU use, probably it couldn't feed power to an active PU due to the internal components.

http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/ind...c=16534.5;wap2

If someone has one of these cables, it might be interesting to measure tip to tip with an ohmmeter to see if there is something more than zero ohms.
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Old 04-18-2012, 04:41 PM
Cheetotoe Cheetotoe is offline
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Why would you need to "feed power" to an active pickup that runs on a battery? And before anyone asks, no I dont have a clue how all this works, haha.
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Old 04-19-2012, 07:37 AM
Cheetotoe Cheetotoe is offline
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Ok after having read the thread on the Larrivee forum, I believe the M1C3 cable produces the same signal loss that a long (over 12 feet) cable would. Why this is a good thing I don't quite understand. But it may have something to do with tayloring the M1 and Stage Pro preamp to sound good together (as the stage pro was designed to work with the Element UST).

At any rate, I have emailed LR Baggs about it and will post their response.
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Old 04-19-2012, 10:08 AM
Cheetotoe Cheetotoe is offline
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So here it is from the horse's mouth:

"The M1C3 does have a resistor built into it. The resistor is there to simulate a longer cable. The circuitry in the M1 allows for a little extra low frequencies to pass through to compensate for the M1C1 (10'). The 10' cable length makes the pickup sound a certain way. So the resistor in the M1C3 just gives the pickup the same response with a shorter cable. The M1C3 is also a 1/8" to 3.5mm cable.

Sincerely,
Caleb Elling
LR Baggs Technical Support"
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  #10  
Old 04-19-2012, 12:33 PM
JCave JCave is offline
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25 bucks for a specialty cable isn't surprising. As long as it's well made... Too bad they're all imported.





Jerry
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