Cable Primer

[Voojo]

Hey guys, I feel kind of foolish asking this but I have searched and can't find an answer I totally trust.

 

Basically I have two keyboards, a Nord Electro 2 and a Roland FP-4. What I wonder is does it matter if I use balanced cables, even if the outputs are unbalanced? I sent an email to Roland, as their website and the manual say nothing about balanced or unbalanced outputs. I realize that you won't get the benefits of a balanced cable if the outputs are unbalanced, but I just want to make sure I won't hurt anything.

 

Also, can you use guitar/instrument cable for connecting the keyboard to an amplifier, or do you want to use something else. It seems simple but I can't find a clear answer.

 

Thanks much!

 

Seth

[bloodyMary]

I use guitar cables all the time, it's what you're supposed to use. Using balanced cable with unbalanced gear won't hurt it, unless it's a really weird design.

 

Using balanced cable makes sense only when both pieces of gear you're connecting are balanced. It'll give more volume (slightly) and less noise (relevant only if you're running more than 5 meters).

 

As far as I know, roland has unbalanced connections. An easy check, though - just plug a stereo jack into the roland, split it into two different mono channels on amp, mixer, or recorder. If both splits have signal present, the roland is balanced. If one side has signal, and the other is silent, it's an unbalanced jack.

[Mike Davis]

I don't think you'd gain anything by using balanced cables with those KBs. You'll be fine if you just get some good quality instrument cables. ProCo or something along those lines will work.

 

 

[loumi]

Using normal (unbalanced) instrument cables into an amp should work fine. If you ever go into a PA board, you should connect the unbalanced lines to a DI box and connect that to the PA with balanced cables. That will help to prevent noise from ground loops and is the proper way to convert unbalanced lines to balanced.

[Voojo]

Thanks much for all the responses. I bought a pair of balanced cables, looks like it was overkill but at least I have them.

 

Mike, have you had good luck with Pro/Co cables? I have a few of their cables for guitar and it seems as if the 1/4 tip is undersized, if I move it in the jack it crackles, it actually does that with a number of different guitar amps/effects pedals. It makes me concerned, maybe that's not an issue with keyboard stuff.

 

I have heard questionable things about Monster cables but I have one of their cables and it seems well built, they aren't a huge jump in price from other cables.

[Mike Davis]

 

Mike, have you had good luck with Pro/Co cables? I have a few of their cables for guitar and it seems as if the 1/4 tip is undersized, if I move it in the jack it crackles, it actually does that with a number of different guitar amps/effects pedals. It makes me concerned, maybe that's not an issue with keyboard stuff.

 

I have heard questionable things about Monster cables but I have one of their cables and it seems well built, they aren't a huge jump in price from other cables.

 

Yeah, I have several of them that I've had for years. Monster cables are good too, although some folks are a little dark on the company because of their habit of suing everyone who uses the name 'monster.' As a matter of fact, they might sue you for even bringing it up

 

 

 

[Byrdman]

My VK8 has balanced outs, so not all Roland gear is unbalanced. Don't know about the gear in quo though.

[mikeNZ1]

Sometimes balanced cables will give worse signal quality on an unbalanced connection path. Balanced cables do not need to have a high quality screen and conductor, as the currents they carry are very small. But unbalanced cables need a good quality shield with low resistance, otherwise interference, mains hum and ground loop problems become worse.

 

But if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

Michael

 

 

[Griffinator]

What I wonder is does it matter if I use balanced cables, even if the outputs are unbalanced?

 

If the outputs are unbalanced, it won't hurt a thing.

 

Here's how it works:

 

Balanced is a two-conductor Tip-Ring-Sleeve configuration - The ring is an additional hot lead that figures into a somewhat complex noise rejection scheme that I won't go into right now.

 

Unbalanced is a single conductor Tip-Sleeve configuration. If you plug a balanced cable into an unbalanced jack, the ring portion basically becomes redundant. That's why you don't benefit from the "balanced" aspect - but it's also why it doesn't cause problems.