# Cable From Amp To Speaker?



## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I just got a used Weber Mini Mass 50 for my listening pleasure. I need to make a small cable to go from the amp to the Weber. It should be a speaker cable. What type of cable can I use? I have used lamp cord before, but I am looking for an expert to give me some advice here. I don't know where to get actual PA cable, and I only need about 2-3 feet maximum. I will be soldering my own ends on.

Thanks


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

Lamp cord is perfectly fine in this application.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Given that you only need 3 feet maximum, the gauge is not that significant...but I would not use smaller than 18 gauge.

Personally, I would use 16 or 18 gauge as they lend themselves to easier soldering of the plugs.

Don't ask for PA cable...someone might sell you XLR /mic cable.

Edit: We posted at the same time. Many folks use lamp cord.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Does anyone know how the Weber works?


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## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

Speaker cable for amps is generally made of 14-18AWG stranded wire (side by side; unshielded), reinforced with paper/jute in a jacket.

Lamp cord will work fine. It's just less durable because it doesn't have the jacket or reinforcement of an actual speaker cable. If you don't plan on moving it around ever and straining the cable, you'll be fine with lamp cord.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

player99 said:


> Does anyone know how the Weber works?


That’s an actual speaker motor attached to some dampening. You can softly hear the thing vibrating musically. The big white things are ceramic resistors. So it’s a combination of resistive and reactive. [and a 50W something?]

You set the impedance to match the amplifier. See the attenuator FAQ.
Attenuator FAQ

MiniMASS 50w Attenuator

I know The Pixies use this model on stage.
Rig Rundown: Pixies' Charles Thompson & Joey Santiago | Premier Guitar









This is a bit of a mystery to me:
“With all Weber attenuators, once you have selected the proper impedance to match the output impedance of the amp, the actual speaker impedance isn't critical. That's because the actual load to the attenuator becomes the speaker impedance plus the output section of the attenuator, while the amp continues to see the correct nominal impedance from the input section of the attenuator.”


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I should try one of these.

I really should.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Hammerhands said:


> That’s an actual speaker motor attached to some dampening. You can softly hear the thing vibrating musically. The big white things are ceramic resistors. So it’s a combination of resistive and reactive.
> 
> You set the impedance to match the amplifier. See the attenuator FAQ.
> Attenuator FAQ
> ...


Those are the same as mine, Weber has updated the graphics on them and changed the knob from a chickenhead to a large knob.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Mini Mass 50 new graphics:


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

The old face:


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

If using a lamp cord, please disconnect the lamp from the wall socket first !


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I'm sure there are other picky aspects, but the two basic things you want from a speaker cable are:
a) the ability to safely handle the current being passed through it (i.e., it won't behave like a fuse),
b) low series resistance.
The amp is designed in anticipation of a particular load (4, 8, 16ohms, etc.). If a long guitar cable adds 100ohms in series with the signal, that's peanuts compared to the input impedance of the amp or first pedal. If a speaker cable adds, say, 3 ohms in series with the output, then the amp feeding an 8ohm speaker load "thinks" it's feeding an 11ohm load. So one of the reasons why you want heavier gauge zipcord for a speaker cable is because heavier gauge = lower linear resistance.

As Dave/greco notes, however, if the length is rather short, then lighter gauges will not add any appreciable resistance.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

jbealsmusic said:


> Speaker cable for amps is generally made of 14-18AWG stranded wire (side by side; unshielded), reinforced with paper/jute in a jacket.
> 
> Lamp cord will work fine. It's just less durable because it doesn't have the jacket or reinforcement of an actual speaker cable. If you don't plan on moving it around ever and straining the cable, you'll be fine with lamp cord.


What he said. I'm using "OE Lamp Cord" from the inside of a 60s Pepco bass cab on my Valve Jr. 50 years strong


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

You can buy nice 18g 2 wire extension cord cable at Home Hardware for a $1 foot. It's got a black covering with fibre filler so it stays round and is nice and flexible. Meant for 130V its fine for speakers.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

player99 said:


> I just got a used Weber Mini Mass 50 for my listening pleasure. I need to make a small cable to go from the amp to the Weber. It should be a speaker cable. What type of cable can I use? I have used lamp cord before, but I am looking for an expert to give me some advice here. I don't know where to get actual PA cable, and I only need about 2-3 feet maximum. I will be soldering my own ends on.
> 
> Thanks


That pic confirms for me what I thought it was, an actual voicecoil and spider with a mass on it. Must be a magnet in their too. This simulates the big impedance change at the bass resonance frequency. I wonder what its tuned too...75Hz? 
The big volume control is a variable power resistor. I'm guessing it all goes in a series or parallel arrangement depending on which jack its plugged into?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

tomee2 said:


> You can buy nice 18g 2 wire extension cord cable at Home Hardware for a $1 foot. It's got a black covering with fibre filler so it stays round and is nice and flexible. Meant for 130V its fine for speakers.


I converted something similar to this to use as a speaker cable.
(2 conductor, 16 gauge). 
Got it on sale somewhere.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

I'm interested in how that Weber sounds compared to your normal unattenuated sound @player99 . Will a review be coming at some point?


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Dorian2 said:


> I'm interested in how that Weber sounds compared to your normal unattenuated sound @player99 . Will a review be coming at some point?


Sure. I went to Home Hardware today to get the wire mentioned earlier. They only had the wire without the paper, so I bought the clear 18 gauge. Three feet cost $.39 per foot for a total of $1.32. I will make up the cord and let you know what I think of it.


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