The naysayers are dead wrong: quality cables DO make a difference
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Before we proceed we feel it is necessary to address those of you who still havenāt drunk the punch on the idea of high-end cables improving your tone. Weāll put it to you this way, donāt knock āem ātil youāve tried āem.
Early Enlightenment
As we started trying out the cables youāll read about here, our conversations ran to things like, āHey, this one would be great for jazz,ā or āYāknow, this one is a lot brighter than those others,ā and āThis oneās really punchy!ā
There really are sonic differences between guitar cables and those differences have everything to do with a cableās design. Some are more traditional, with a stranded conductor inside a shield. Some use two conductors plus a full shield. Some seek out premium copper and shielding materials. Some go even farther yet in their eternal quest for tone. And ā beyond the wire ā we found a lot of difference in the feel of these cables.
Right off, we need to tell you that if youāre after an answer to āWhatās the best sounding cable?ā or āWhatās the best cable value?ā youāve come to the wrong place. This is not a shootout: essentially, once you get past the generic house-brand cables, ābestā becomes a relative term. So instead of picking a winner, weāre going to focus on five things about our batch of cables: design, sound, durability, handling characteristics ā and for the more timid among us, weāll factor in the price, too.
- By design, we refer to the materials that were chosen and the way they were assembled. This includes the number and kind of conductors, the shielding design, the jacket material and the kinds of plugs. Ultimately, design affects sound, durability and handling.
- Sound is a subjective element. Rather than developing a set of para-scientific tests, we took cables into a studio setting, played through them, and got feedback from each other and from our bandmates. We chose not to record cables and get lost in waveforms and plotted response curves which are impossible to gauge accurately when used with a guitar or bass played by human hands. So instead of testing these cables assembly line-like, we worked with them for a while and treated them like a musician would, not a scientist. We spent time with them and began to appreciate their differences. What we noticed most in the cables were their frequency response, detail, transient response, and their punch.
- Differences in handling tend to stand out when you spend a lot of time with a lot of different cables. Flexibility of cables was quickly notable, with some flopping nicely on the floor and others always remaining in loops. Some cables had a rough feel. Some were soft and cozy. Overall, we maintain that sound is paramount, but a few cables lost favor with us because of their handling characteristics.
- We also thought that durability of a cable was important. A key consideration was the kind of strain relief at the plugs, but we also thought about the durability of the conductor and shielding materials and the choices of jacket and insulation materials.
- Price is a factor for all of us to some degree. Because of their cost, price ā at some point ā will likely outweigh choosing a cable that seems to have an ideal balance of design, sound and feel. But when youāve put out plenty of cash for just the right guitar and amp, itās a shame to sell your gear short with a mediocre performing cable that just wonāt last.
But Firstā¦The Geek Factor
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A cable is typically shielded via a braided conductor attached to ground that surrounds the insulator of the inner conductor. The inner conductor itself must be fully capable of carrying the voltage produced by the pickup, which isnāt too tough an assignment in the case of a guitar cable ā weāre talking about voltages in the 0.1V to 1.0V range.
The shield may also carry signal by design, since the signal is composed of a positive and negative phase. The inner conductor carries the + signal and is termed āhot.ā The negative signal is called the āreturnā and is usually carried by the shield which in this case must be connected at both ends.
Some designers use a separate second wire to carry the return signal. The shield encircles both wires, which is then connected to ground on only one end. In that case, the shield only serves to protect from external sources of noise ā it doesnāt actually carry a signal like with a single conductor cable.
The theory with this two-conductor-plus-shield design is that it reduces the tendency of the + signal to bleed to ground through the shield. There are some high end manufacturers that insert another type of shield between the signal wires and the ground shield, too. This is often a thin conductive carbon polymer. One cable designer we talked with explained that the extra shield helps prevent the + signal from seeking a route to ground and thus reinforces the strength of the signal.
Where the Rubber Meets the Shield
Just under a cableās jacket made of rubber, plastic, cloth or other material, youāll find a metallic shield formed from thin copper strands and wrapped in either a flat spiral or a braid. Some cables also use a shielding made of aluminum foil reinforced with polymer film. This second kind of shield is usually not the sole source of shielding in a cable, but is instead usually combined with the spiral or braided copper shield.
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The effectiveness of the shield is directly proportional to the surface area of insulator that it covers and is expressed as a percent (usually over 90%). Spiral wrap is favored in many high end cables because of a proposed advantage in signal carrying ability and completeness of wrap, while braided shield is quite a bit stronger and resistant to physical distortion. A very tight braided shield makes for a stiff cable.
Following the Conductor
The conductor of choice in most cases is copper, though there are high end cables using silver for its increased conductance. Whatever wire gets used has inherent resistance (that weakens your signal) and the interaction between shield and core also induces a capacitance in the cable (which hides those sparkling highs). Conductors used in guitar cables may be solid or made up of fine strands often wrapped together in a spiral ā and sometimes the strands are braided together in a complex configuration, as well.
If copper strands are used they may be bare or tinned with a metal coating. The idea here is that the all-important high frequencies tend to be carried at the very exterior layer of the copper strands. If left untinned, there may be some oxidation over time which will interfere with these surface-seeking high freqs and reduce their presence. However, tinning them with solder also reduces their conductance. To compensate, some manufacturers tin with silver, which theoretically might enhance and protect the highs.
...the capacitance of a cable is considered one of its most important design parameters. The lower the capacitance the better the high frequency response. That does not necessarily mean that the lowest capacitance cable is the best sounding ā but itās a step in the right design direction. |
But designing a cableās conductor is even more complex. Some cables use extremely fine strands of copper, while some have a lesser strand count ā expense is a factor in this decision. Some solid copper conductors use techniques to align the copper molecules to theoretically enhance signal. They may also use a special subinsulator to protect the copper from flexion fatigue. Stranded copper is stronger in this regard and doesnāt need special protection. Solid silver conductors are more susceptible to fatigue and breakage. Some cable designers, citing transmission line theory, use a twisted pair of center conductors for the hot signal. There even are designs that use two complete cables twisted together and then joined at each connector to achieve their sonic goal.
Insulated From Reality
The material used to insulate the internal signal wire is also of major importance. Basically, this material is what separates the two signal paths. Insulation is a dielectric (non conductive) material that is rated according to its insulating abilities by what is called a ādielectric constant.ā The importance of insulation in cable design is that with two current-carrying surfaces separated by a dielectric material, a capacitor is created. The larger the value of the capacitor, the greater tendency it has to conduct high frequencies to ground ā just like in your guitarās tone control.
As you probably guessed, the capacitance of a cable is considered one of its most important design parameters. The lower the capacitance the better the high frequency response. That does not necessarily mean that the lowest capacitance cable is the best sounding ā but itās a step in the right design direction.
Luckily, in recent years even inexpensive cables have been able to achieve fairly low capacitance due to development of better dielectric materials based on polyethylene and other polymers. Older cable designs depended on rubber or neoprene insulators, both of which yield much higher capacitance. High-end cables may use enhanced polymers to lower capacitance even more. The thickness of the insulator and as well as its geometric accuracy may also affect the ultimate cable sound.
Frequency Transmission
What started off as a discussion about an innocent piece of wire with a couple of shiny plugs has gotten quite complex. One last thing needs to be considered ā how guitar frequencies are transmitted by a cable.
Most basically, the signal carried by a cableās conductors has bandwidth ā a soundās lowest to highest frequencies. In the case of an electric guitar or bass, this bandwidth is not really all that wide. The signal sent from the guitar also has phase relationships among its frequencies, which are defined by the string vibrating in the magnetic field of the pickup, and then affected by the character of the wire in your cable.
In all, creating a great-sounding cable is certainly not a matter of chance. How a designer puts all of these cable parameters together creates and defines a cableās sound and character. And those are key factors making a guitar cable more or less attractive to you, the potential buyer.
At Last - Digging Into the Pile of Cables
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In the end, we received so many cables that we had to break up this article into two parts. This part discusses a range of premium cables that generally lists for less than $75. The next installment will take on cables that tilt toward the exotic ā and the expensive. In that part, weāll also bring you comments from cable designers themselves that dig into the theory behind their super-high-end cables.
To learn about these cables, we took them into our rehearsal studioā where you can really hear sonic detail ā and gave them a close listen through our rigs at home as well. As nerdy as it might sound, we really spent some quality time with these pieces of wire.
For bass, Dan tested cables with a passive ā74 Fender Jazz Bass and a recent active G&L L-2500 five-string into a hi-fi SWR Workingmanās 12 bass amp. On guitar, Bob played a Tom Anderson Cobra Special-S with Anderson mini humbuckers plugged into a David Allen āOld Flameā with a Weber 15ā Californian speaker.
In this first article, we will review seven cable designs from four manufacturers, organized by brand, and then from highest to lowest price. For each cable, weāll begin with the manufacturerās description of the cableās makeup and the list price. Then weāll share our impressions of their design, sound, handling and durability. Remember, Bob will present the guitar playerās perspective, while Dan will speak for the low-enders among us.
Pro Co |
Bobās overview:First I have to make full disclosure. I am a Pro Co fan. I have gigged with the same set of Pro Co cables for the past 15 years or so and have never had a problem with either sound or durability. I used one of these old cables as my go-to reference in listening tests. |
15ā cable with transmission line design with 4-conductor microphone cable connected in pairs, spiral shield attached at one end only, double plastic strain relief, G&H plugs.
Bob says: I found this cable to have a sweet full sound across the entire guitar tonal spectrum with a goodly amount of punch, presence and detail. It is a bit thicker and heavier than the cables I am used to but lays down nicely on stage and coils well at the end of the gig when the last thing you want to do is wrestle with an uppity cable. It is built like the proverbial brick house with double strain relief and Kevlar fiber running down the middle to prevent the cable from stretching. It also incorporates some high tech cable design by utilizing double twisted pairs to handle the signal and a unipoint ground on the shield.
Dan says: This is a great full frequency cable for bass - excellent transient response, clear and detailed sound. It has a particularly thick jacket, but thankfully, itās rubbery and flexible, if a bit heavy. I really appreciate the double heat-shrink strain relief; that makes for a cable that should last a long time. Using black heat-shrink for the amp end of the cable is a nice touch.
Lifelines Guitar Cable (MSRP $42.49)
15ā oversized jacket with Kevlar core to prevent accidental stretching, G&H Showsaver plugs topped with white plastic strain relief.
Bob says: I heard a bit more bottom from this cable, but still a nice spectrum, with good detail. Not quite as punchy as the previous cable. Its handling was more what I am used to with good flexibility and weight making it easy to coil. The construction features the same double strain relief and Kevlar core with a single stranded conductor and in this case a spiral shield; hence the flexibility.
Dan says: Like the other Pro Co Lifeline cable I tried, this model has a full-frequency sound, with a great bottom and plenty of detail. Excellent transient response, too. The jacket is thick yet flexible, if a bit heavy. Great double strain relief system. This cable is an excellent value for both sound and durability.
Planet Waves |
Bobās overview:A member of the DāAddario family of products, these cables uphold a quality tradition while targeting buyers who are looking for innovative designs. Some of Planet Wavesā innovations include a built in cable wrap, and a unique grounding system using both foil and copper braid or spiral. Their warranty is lifetime for manufacturing defects. |
The Circuit Breaker (MSRP $50.00)
20ā cable with ultra-fine stranded copper conductor with foil shield and braided outer conductor insulation made from conductive PVC. Gold-plated plugs with a switched shorting plug on one end. There''s also an incredibly handy elastic cord tie.
Bob says: The Circuit Breaker cable is a very nice bright sounding cable with very good detail. Its main innovation is an on/off switch at the guitar end to allow buzz free instrument changes. It also has double shielding and thus handles a bit stiffly. I was unable to open the proprietary plug and cannot really comment on the strain relief.
Dan says: What a handy cable for doubling without an A/B box! Just push in the switch and swap axes. This cable had a tight, clear sound on my Jazz Bass, but was less full in the lows than Iād like. Well-focused sound. The cable is of medium thickness, yet a bit stiff. The plugs on the Circuit Breaker look really sturdy, but Iād prefer to see some strain relief heat-shrink coming out to beef up the connection.
Planet Waves Custom Series Cable (MSRP $39.99)
20ā cable with twisted pair copper conductors, foil shield topped by braided shield and polymer jacket. Gold-plated plug with encapsulated soldering points, copper shielding tube and molded strain relief.
Bob says: The Custom series cable is bright and punchy with a slightly hyped midrange. It uses a twisted pair of center conductors and double shielding with molded heavy duty plugs and strain relief at both ends to make it an on-stage workhorse. It is also just a tad on the stiff side.
Dan says: My Jazz Bass found this to be a full frequency cable with a warmer top than some. It has more mids than highs, but is very even sounding across the sound spectrum. The cable has nice flexibility and reasonable weight. Its big molded plugs seem sturdy and provide great strain relief. Another cable that should last for a long time.
Planet Waves Classic Series Instrument Cable (MSRP $25.00)
20ā single conductor cable with 90% spiral shield with molded connectors and nickel plated ends.
Bob says: The Classic series is a somewhat bright and airy sounding cable with more traditional coaxial cable configuration. It is slightly thinner and is more flexible than its more expensive brethren.
Dan says: This one surprised me. Itās such an unassuming, basic cable but sounded great with my Jazz Bass. I heard a full-frequency tone, with good bottom ā more so than the other Planet Waves cables ā and a warm top end. This was another one of the lighter cables, thinner than many and the most flexible of all. The plugs are like a mini version of Planet Waves molded strain relief plugs. They should do the job, but Iād prefer the flexible part to be a bit longer to create a sturdier transition between cable and plug. Another excellent value that should last a long time.
George L''s |
Bobās overview:The highly respected guitar and pedal steel innovator George L. Lewis has designed a āfamilyā of cables based on high quality sound and easily replaceable connectors, thus allowing the user to customize his or her guitar rig to specific needs. The plug attachment system uses a sharp center spike which impales the center conductor while the set screw in the solid plug body engages the braided shield and compresses the cable in its socket to secure in place. |
George Lās Prepackaged Cable (MSRP $42.50 with nickel or unplated plugs, $45.50 with gold plated plugs)
20ā cable with seven-strand copper core and tinned braided shield in black, red or blue, regular or stretch (extra long) solderless plugs and plastic slide-on strain relief.
Bob says: These cables have a full midrange with just a bit of extra top and good detail. The brass plug added a bit more top to the sound. The boot is easily slid back to expose the set screw thus not providing much support for straight pull cable strain. Handling characteristic are pretty good with the thin cable diameter compensating for the heavy duty braid. There is some feeling of inherent stiffness.
Dan says: This skinny cable has a tight sound with good detail. Itās another one with less on the bottom endā¦I prefer a fatter sounding cable, but the venerable George Lās would help out in boomy venues. By far, this is the lightest cable Iāve ever seen, yet itās fairly stiff and tends to stay coiled on the floor. The gold plugs were just a bit warmer than the others. George Lās solderless cables are like a lizard that loses its tail when caught and can live to see another day. It took less than a minute to cut the cable and reinstall the end. I wish that the slide-on plastic strain relief jackets would stay put once installed ā I kept sliding them up the cord when unplugging.
Mogami |
Bobās overview:The Mogami Gold series cable is a very, very good sounding cable which uses quality of cable design, materials, and manufacture to achieve its strong presence in the cable market. Mogami pro audio cable is found in many of the best recording studios in the world. |
Mogami Gold Cable (MSRP $49.95)
18ā cable with stranded copper core, carbon conductive polymer subshield, ultra-high density spiral copper shield, G&H plugs with heat-shrink strain relief.
Bob says: The sound is evenly balanced across the spectrum with excellent detail and a sweet top end. A very fine tight spiral wrap shield and a special high strand count 20 gauge center conductor āunder the hoodā give this cable its powerful sound. G&H connectors and moderate strain relief round out the build of this fine product. The handling characteristics are very good.
Dan says: This cable has great transient response and excellent detail with clear highs. This cableās sound is lighter on the low end than many, which slappers will appreciate. For my fingerstyle blues gigs, Iād prefer a fuller bottom end. This cable has one of the thinner jackets which makes for a bit lighter weight. I was surprised to find this cable to be just a bit stiff, but itās certainly not a problem. Because I play two basses at most gigs, Iām swapping back and forth via an A/B pedal and prefer a cable with a bit more strain relief than this one.
Wrapping āem Up, Looking Ahead
So there you have it, the foundation for cable design and a look at seven cables that put design factors into action. This batch has done a good job of showing you the basics of what you can expect, adding a few nice touches along the way.
Recall what we said at the start ā once you get past the parameters of quality cable design, there is no best cable. Sure, we had a few favorites, but your favorites might be different. What somebody calls a clear-sounding cable might be overly-bright to another player. In all, how a cable interacts with your guitar and your amp creates distinct sonic differences. And for some of you, a cable must look marvelous and sound marvelous, too.
Keep in mind what youāve learned here about cables and their design, because the second part of this article will take you on an adventure to see how designers stretch the boundaries of convention. Youāll read about some different choices of conductor materials and more elaborate types of shielding. Weāll keep our focus on those same factors ā design, sound, durability, handling ā plus some prices that might surprise you. In all, youāll learn about nine more cables from eight manufacturers, with prices starting over $75 and ranging up to $180.
Until then, go back to your gig bag. See what guitar cables are lurking within. Give those cables a listen. Think about what youāve been getting by with all these years while serving up your hard-earned scratch for guitars and amps in the relentless pursuit of tone. Read part two here!5/14 Addendum: High End, Schmigh End Editor''s Note: As you can see in the comments section at the bottom of this page, high end cables, let alone how one goes about reviewing them, constitute an area of our industry in which there are as many different opinions as there are design options. With so many different styles of music, guitars and rigs as well as varying degrees of player experience, taste and ability to physically hear the same frequencies, itās no wonder that the topic can quickly stir up a flame war. From square one, our goal has been to submit to you what weāve learned about cable technology, as well as some of our own opinions of how certain cables sound. When people start agreeing on classic debates such as Strat vs. Paul, weāll start believing thereās a ābestā cable or a ābest wayā to review them. Our hope is that youāll jump into the fray and post your own $.02. Keep an eye out for more pieces about cables and cable manufacturers in the future. If thereās one thing weāve learned from your feedback, itās that cables really matter to a lot of you and in very different ways. Please check Part Two of this series for a look at a number of higher-end cables that many people prefer. And for those of you who swear that high dollar cables are basically hogwash for the gigging musician who competes with bar chatter and poor room acoustics, we defend your right to hold that position. In fact, thereās a very familiar cable company, Whirlwind Music Distributors, that suggests as much. As a final addendum to Part One of our Cable Roundup, weād like to share their approach with you as well as Dan and Bobās thoughts on their cables. |
Whirlwind |
About the Cables:Classic Series, Leader Elite, and Leader Standard in 15ā length, MRSP $19.49 to $25.94 |
Top to bottom:Whirlwind Classic Series, Leader Standard and Leader Elite |
āWhen the NAMM folks saw these cables, they were an instant hit and Michael left the show with orders for thousands of cables,ā says Al Keltz, Whirlwindās general manager.
Over the years, Whirlwind has followed a basic philosophy in designing its cables. āItās pretty simple,ā Keltz explains. āBuild pro-quality cables that perform day in and day out, charge what you must to make a profit but keep it honest and reasonable.ā
Keltz asserts that there are āquite a few cable companies out there that make outrageous, misinformed and sometimes intentionally misleading claims regarding mysterious properties of electronics and physics in an attempt to justify turning what should be a $35 cable into a $135 profit generator.ā
He believes that the construction of Whirlwindās Accusonic +1 cable and Leader Elite gold-plated plugs accomplish just what a player needs. āWhat more could anyone possibly do to a cable and connector to justify such an outrageous leap in price?ā Keltz asks. āI suppose we could do the same but we choose to fool none of the people none of the time.ā
Keltz acknowledges that he offers a different perspective to cable design. āI absolutely agree that cables can and do have some effect on frequency response, but unless the cable capacitance or inductance is extremely high, the effect will be subtle. These subtle differences also become much less noticeable when you fire up the whole band and all sorts of sounds start interacting with each other on stage due to room resonances and comb filtering.ā
If subtle sonic differences canāt be noticed in many gigging situations, what would then guide the choice of guitar cable? āThatās when durability becomes much more important than a frequency nuance that can no longer be perceived,ā Keltz explains.
Dan says: The Classic Cord, Leader, and Leader Elite cables are three variations on a theme. They all share the same basic cable, so they all sound the same: a mid-centered voice, nicely defined, but a bit shy on the bottom end. These cables are a bit thinner and lighter than many we''ve tested.
The Elite, with braided black/silver cloth on the outside, is the stiffest and tends to coil up on the floor. Itās a bit flashy. The Leader is more flexible, as is the Classic, since their cable is the same.
The Elite and Leader both share rubber strain relief jackets that slide over the plug. They''re not heat-shrink material, so they protect against serious bending, but don''t help much if the cable is tugged. That part of strain relief is accomplished by a plastic chuck that slides over the connections and tightens onto the cable when the outside sleeve is screwed on. This combination of strain relief strategies should do a good job of providing a long life for the Leader and Elite. The Classic, in contrast, relies completely on the plug''s crimp-on tabs for strain relief, along with a healthy dose of solder flowed nicely over the plug''s connections - strictly old school there.
Bob says: I agree with Dan, but would like to add a bit of support to the Whirlwind position that in most gigging situations, ie. a loud band in an acoustically-challenged venue with a noisy crowd, the subtle sonic advantages of "high end" cables will not be heard.
A former non-believer myself, I must admit that in certain situations; such as hearing the stage mix through a high quality in-ear monitor system, or in the studio or a quiet venue with the audience hanging on each note, I would not be without a premium cable.
The Spirit Fall trio: drummer Brian Blade (right) and saxophonist Chris Potter (center) joined Patitucci (left) for a single day at The Bunker. āThose guys are scary. It almost puts pressure on me, how good they are, because they get it really fast,ā says Patitucci.
Legendary bassist John Patitucci continues to explore the sound of a chord-less trio that balances melodicism with boundless harmonic freedomāand shares lessons he learned from his mentors Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter.
In 1959, Miles Davisā Kind of Blue and John Coltraneās Giant Stepsātwo of the most influential albums in jazz historyāwere recorded. Itās somewhat poetic that four-time Grammy-winning jazz bass icon John Patitucci was born that same year. In addition to a storied career as a bandleader, Patitucci cemented his legacy through his lengthy association with two giants of jazz: keyboardist Chick Corea, with whom Patitucci enjoyed a 10-year tenure as an original member of his Elektric and Akoustic bands, and saxophonist Wayne Shorterās quartet, of which he was a core member for 20 years. Patitucci has also worked with a whoās who of jazz elites like Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, and Michael Brecker.
What distinguishes Patitucci is that he is one of the few jazz musicians who simultaneously enjoys a vibrant career as a classical bassist and first-call session bassist. His rĆ©sumĆ©āwhich includes recordings with pop icons like Sting and Bon Jovi, and hundreds of film datesāis virtually unparalleled. Patitucci also composes classical music and is frequently commissioned to write music for string quartets and other chamber ensembles. Among his numerous compositions are a piece for 6-string electric bass and string orchestra that was performed with Suono e Oltre, a chamber orchestra in Italy. In short, Patitucci is the very rare jack of all trades who is also exceptional at all.
Freedom without Chords
Patitucciās latest release, Spirit Fall, is a trio album featuring Patitucci, drummer Brian Blade, and saxophonist Chris Potter. This instrumentation leaves out a traditional chordal instrument, and can be tricky to make sound full, as there is a large harmonic hole in the sonic space. But in the hands of master musicians, this setting offers more room for harmonic exploration and conversational interplay amongst the band members. Patitucci has been exploring this chord-less format since 2009ās Remembrance featuring Blade on drums and Joe Lovano on saxophone.Throughout Spirit Fall the trio employs a variety of textures and colors to make for an engaging listen. āPole Starā has an open feel with the counterpoint between acoustic bass and sax discreetly implying the underlying progression. āLipim,ā which means hope in Cameroonian, has a lively afrobeat groove and a ridiculous sax solo by Chris Potter. Like many of his solos on Spirt Fall, Potterās solo on āLipimā veers through several harmonic detours that would have likely been hampered if a chordal instrument were imposing the harmony. āSpirit Fallā and āThoughts and Dreamsā sees Patitucci using his 6-string electric to explore gorgeously haunting figures. The bass solo on āSpirit Fallā sees Patitucci almost accompanying himself as he alternates between low notes and chords against blistering single-note lines.
Even though Patitucci had the luxury of studio time, Spirit Fall was recorded quickly, with mostly first or second takes, and the occasional third take. The trio was able to record a powerful musical statement in such a short time because they are a working band as opposed to hired guns that might possibly play together for the first time at the session.
John Patitucci's Gear
āIām just a kid from Brooklyn,ā says Patitucci. It was his formative years spent with his older brother (who played guitar) that led him to the bass.
Photo by Dave Stapleton
Guitars
- Yamaha TRBJP2 Signature Model 6-String
- Yamaha Custom Semi-Hollow 6-String
- 1965 Fender P Bass (Used on āLipimā)
- Gagliano Double Bass
Amps
- Aguilar DB 751 for acoustic bass
- Aguilar Tone Hammer for electric bass
- Aguilar 4x10 cabinet
- Aguilar 1x12 cabinet
- Grace Design FELiX Version 2
- Grace Design m303 DI
Effects
- Line 6 HX Stomp
- Line 6 DL4
Strings and Accessories
- DāAddario Nickel Round Strings (.032-.045-.065-.085-.105-.130)
- Gruvgear Signature Straps
- Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Weich gauge
- Pirastro Perpetual
Prior to the recording, Patitucci sent demos out, and by the time they got to the studio they were ready to commit to tape. They finished the whole record in just one day without any rehearsals. āNot with those guys,ā says Patitucci. āThose guys are scary. It almost puts pressure on me, how good they are, because they get it really fast [laughs]. I was hoping that my good takes were theirs too.ā
Interestingly enough, while iconic chord-less trio albums by saxophonists like Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and Joe Henderson played a big role in Patitucciās musical upbringing, he came to record with that instrumentation almost by accident. āWe were going to rehearse for that record [Remembrance], and [pianist] Brad Mehldau, who played on some tracks, couldnāt make the rehearsal,ā recalls Patitucci. āSo we rehearsed at Lovanoās house and it sounded so good I was almost like, āWow, maybe we should do the record as a trio.ā But I had all this music written that really was for the piano. So I said, āWell, maybe someday.ā And then finally we got around to it.ā
Spirit Fall was tailored to the sensibilities of Blade and Potter, both of whom Patitucci has played with a lot over the years. āWe have a relationship and we have a sound together already because of the way they play. Brianās sense of dynamics has made it easier for me to get the kind of acoustic bass sound live that I've always wanted to get. Itās not easy to do that if the drummer canāt play those wide dynamics like Brian can,ā explains Patitucci. āAnd Chris has been playing my music for years. Heās just an incredible interpreter of my music, and I love that. I remember using him in the early ā90s. Interestingly enough, around the time I did Imprint, I was using him and I was also using Mark Turner. And itās funny. I started teaching college [Patitucci was Professor of Jazz Studies at City College of New York and is currently teaching at Berklee College of Music] a lot in 2000, and all my students were trying to sound like those guys.āāAs a composer, I wanted to have a chance to have major control over the sound and how we did things, as opposed to a live record.ā
As a precursor to Spirit Fall, in 2022 Patitucci had recorded Live in Italy with the same lineup of Blade and Potter. He could have easily just done Spirit Falllive againwith the trio but this time he specifically chose to bring them into the studio. āAs a composer, I wanted to have a chance to have major control over the sound and how we did things, as opposed to a live record,ā explains Patitucci. āLive records are great, but I wanted to record in the studio with that band so we can get into some new compositions I was writing, and some through-composed things with the 6-string, as well as the acoustic.ā
How Chick Helped Turn Four into Six
Patitucci isnāt fond only of the traditional trio sans chordal instrument format. In fact, heās recorded in just about every context you can imagine. From completely solo bass on Soul of the Bass, to his Electric Guitar Quartet with two guitaristsāAdam Rogers and Steve Cardenas on Brooklyn, to guitar trio plus string quartet plus Chris Potter on Line by Line. Patitucci uses each situation as a way to grow musically.When Patitucci first started playing with Corea it was in the trio format, along with drummer Dave Weckl. Corea was a keyboardist who covered a huge sonic range and Patitucci saw this as an opportunity to push the creative envelope. āChick and I became very close. I had enormous respect and love for him and he taught me a lot. Thatās how I really discovered the 6-string, because I felt like I needed it orchestrationally to play in that band,ā says Patitucci. āI started playing with Chick and at first I played my 4-string, and itās a trio, but I have to blow on every song. And heās got all these synths, and Iām thinking, āMan, I need a low string, because heās playing all these low notes. I want to play the low notes.ā [laughs] I need a 5-string at least. Then I heard Anthony Jackson play the six. He was the pioneer who invented it.ā
Spirit Fall is the documentation of a working band exploring new music in the studio. It features all new compositions and an inventive take on āHouse of Jade,ā written by Patitucciās longtime mentor, Wayne Shorter.
Corea fronted the money for Patitucciās first 6-stringāa Ken Smithāand took some money out of his check every week to pay it off. The transition to the 6-string wasnāt immediate for Patitucci, however. There was actually a big learning curve to the new instrument. To make matters even more daunting, the first big tour was to begin two weeks after Patitucci received the new instrument. Despite all the potential risks, Corea was very encouraging. āChick was really patient. It was ridiculous. It was so hard. I was just a glutton for punishment,ā admits Patitucci. āI just wanted the sound, and I was so naive about what it would be like. When I got the 6-string, it was a couple of weeks before we started going out on major tours and I was clamming. Like I would go down to what I thought was the E string but was now the B string.ā
Once he got a handle on it, the 6-string allowed Patitucci to finally maximize the potential of his fluid soloing style. āI wanted to play the 6-string because when the blowing comes around, the C string helps me get over the top as a band,ā says Patitucci. āChick dug the fact that when I was blowing I wanted to sound more like a tenor player.ā
āWayne [Shorter] made me have the courage to play very little and hang a note up in the air.ā
Shortly after Patitucci joined his band, Corea convinced GRP Records to sign Patitucci, whose 1987 eponymous first solo album reached number 1 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart. Patitucci reflects, āThe two biggest long term influences in terms of mentoring and what they did for my career would have been Chick Corea and then Wayne Shorter.ā
The Spirit of Shorter
Patitucci first met Shorter in 1986, during the Chick, Wayne, and Al (Di Meola) tour. A year later Shorter asked Patitucci to record several tracks on his album, Phantom Navigator. This began his association with Shorter and led to Patitucci ultimately joining Shorterās quartet in 2000.
Itās fitting that the only non-original tune on Spirit Fall is a Shorter tune, āHouse of Jade.ā Shorterās highly individual approachāparticularly the electric stuff he was doing from the Atlantisperiodāshaped a lot of Patitucciās conception of music. āI was playing electric bass and all the tunes were through-composed, except the blowing was like on one chord. And, you know, thatās challenging, actually,ā reveals Patitucci. āAnd he was creating these incredible things, and he could do it with density or almost nothing, almost like one note. His lyricism and melodicism is so powerful that it really changed me. I was like, āWow, I want to play like that. I want to be able to have a sound that I can be confident enough about to leave a ton of space and be able to just let space happen.ā Like, he got that from Miles.ā
Moving to a 6-string bass wasnāt as natural for Patitucci as you might think. āWhen I got the 6-string, it was a couple of weeks before we started going out on major tours [with Chick Corea] and I was clamming.ā
The minimalist approach that Shorter used at times was a stark contrast to some of the over-the-top pyrotechnics Coreaās Elektric Band was known for. āI was always into melodies too, but yes, in Chickās band there were a lot of changes to play over, and sometimes a lot of fast tempos,ā says Patitucci. āIt wasnāt only chops, there were a lot of melodies and we played ballads too. I mean, I wanted to do that, but I didnāt have the courage to. Wayne made me have the courage to play very little and hang a note up in the air. With the 6-string, you can really do that. I started to realize that I was really interested in moving people in that way too.ā
The Journey of the Kid from Brooklyn
Subliminally, the transition from 4- to 6-string bass might harken back to Patitucciās childhood in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. He originally picked up the guitar, influenced by his brother Tom who had already been playing. Tom tried to teach him but ultimately the guitar just didnāt connect, and Tom sensed it. āHe just said, āWhy donāt you try the bass?āā recalls Patitucci. āBecause we can play together then.ā And thatās where it all began.
At 10, Patitucci got his first bass, a short-scale Sears Telstar bass that was hanging on a wall like a decoration down the street at somebodyās house on East 39th Street. āWe bought it for 10 bucks and I thought it was great,ā reflects Patitucci, who enjoyed rock ānā roll and James Jamersonās playing on Motown Records in his formative years.
When he was 13, Patitucciās family moved out to the West Coast. Soon after the move, Patitucci started learning the acoustic bass, and by the early ā80s, Patitucciās career started taking off. In 1996 he moved back to New York, where he continues to break new musical ground.
With a career spanning over four decades and still going strong, Patitucci has achieved the dream that many aspiring musicians long for. What is the secret to his success? āNobody knows the secret and anybody who tells you they know that is lying,ā says Patitucci. āI don't even deserve it. I think that God was really good to me and blessed me. He somehow allowed me to have my dream come true. I look at it now as a 65-year old guy and go, āWow, that was really a long shot.ā [laughs] Itās kind of unbelievable. You know what, I mean? Iām just this kid from Brooklyn, you know?āYouTube It
This trio rendition of the Beatlesā āAnd I Love Herā showcases John Patitucciās ability to add chordal textures on his 6-string bass to create a full sound, even without a conventional chordal instrument like guitar or piano.
The National New Yorker lived at the forefront of the emerging electric guitar industry, and in Memphis Minnieās hands, it came alive.
This National electric is just the tip of the iceberg of electric guitar history.
On a summer day in 1897, a girl named Lizzie Douglas was born on a farm in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi, the first of 13 siblings. When she was seven, her family moved closer to Memphis, Tennessee, and little Lizzie took up the banjo. Banjo led to guitar, guitar led to gigs, and gigs led to dreams. She was a prodigious talent, and āKidā Douglas ran away from home to play for tips on Beale Street when she was just a teenager. She began touring around the South, adopted the moniker Memphis Minnie, and eventually joined the circus for a few years.
(Are you not totally intrigued by the story of this incredible woman? Why did she run away from home? Why did she fall in love with the guitar? We havenāt even touched on how remarkable her songwriting is. This is a singular pioneer of guitar history, and we beseech you to read Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnieās Blues by Beth and Paul Garon.)
Following the end of World War I, Hawaiian music enjoyed a rapid rise in popularity. On their travels around the U.S., musicians like Sol Hoāopiāi became fans of Louis Armstrong and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, leading to a great cross-pollination of Hawaiian music with jazz and blues. This potent combination proved popular and drew ever-larger audiences, which created a significant problem: How on earth would an audience of thousands hear the sound from a wimpy little acoustic guitar?
This art deco pickguard offers just a bit of pizzazz to an otherwise demure instrument.
In the late 1920s, George Beauchamp, John and Rudy Dopyera, Adolph Rickenbacker, and John Dopyeraās nephew Paul Barth endeavored to answer that question with a mechanically amplified guitar. Working together under Beauchamp and John Dopyeraās National String Instrument Corporation, they designed the first resonator guitar, which, like a Victrola, used a cone-shaped resonator built into the guitar to amplify the sound. It was definitely louder, but not quite loud enoughāespecially for the Hawaiian slide musicians. With the guitars laid on their laps, much of the sound projected straight up at the ceiling instead of toward the audience.
Barth and Beauchamp tackled this problem in the 1930s by designing a magnetic pickup, and Rickenbacker installed it in the first commercially successful electric instrument: a lap-steel guitar known affectionately as the āFrying Panā due to its distinctive shape. Suddenly, any stringed instrument could be as loud as your amplifier allowed, setting off a flurry of innovation. Electric guitars were born!
āAt the time it was positively futuristic, with its lack of f-holes and way-cool art deco design on the pickup.ā
By this time, Memphis Minnie was a bona fide star. She recorded for Columbia, Vocalion, and Decca Records. Her song āBumble Bee,ā featuring her driving guitar technique, became hugely popular and earned her a new nickname: the Queen of Country Blues. She was officially royalty, and her subjects needed to hear her game-changing playing. This is where she crossed paths with our old pals over at National.
National and other companies began adding pickups to so-called Spanish guitars, which they naturally called āElectric Spanish.ā (This term was famously abbreviated ES by the Gibson Guitar Corporation and used as a prefix on a wide variety of models.) In 1935, National made its first Electric Spanish guitar, renamed the New Yorker three years later. By todayās standards, itās modestly appointed. At the time it was positively futuristic, with its lack of f-holes and way-cool art deco design on the pickup.
Thereās buckle rash and the finish on the back of the neck is rubbed clean off in spots, but that just goes to show how well-loved this guitar has been.
Memphis Minnie had finally found an axe fit for a Queen. She was among the first blues guitarists to go electric, and the New Yorker fueled her already-upward trajectory. She recorded over 200 songs in her 25-year career, cementing her and the National New Yorkerās place in musical history.
Our National New Yorker was made in 1939 and shows perfect play wear as far as weāre concerned. Sure, thereās buckle rash and the finish on the back of the neck is rubbed clean off in spots, but structurally, this guitar is in great shape. Itās easy to imagine this guitar was lovingly wiped down each time it was put back in the case.
Thereās magic in this guitar, yāall. Every time we pick it up, we can feel Memphis Minnieās spirit enter the room. This guitar sounds fearless. Itās a survivor. This is a guitar that could inspire you to run away and join the circus, transcend genre and gender, and leave your own mark on music history. As a guitar store, watching guitars pass from musician to musician gives us a beautiful physical reminder of how history moves through generations. We canāt wait to see who joins this guitarās remarkable legacy.
SOURCES: blackpast.org, nps.gov, worldmusic.net, historylink.org, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, āMemphis Minnieās āScientific Soundā: Afro-Sonic Modernity and the Jukebox Era of the Bluesā from American Quarterly, āThe History of the Development of Electric Stringed Musical Instrumentsā by Stephen Errede, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL.
In our third installment with Santa Cruz Guitar Company founder Richard Hoover, the master luthier shows PG's John Bohlinger how his team of builders assemble and construct guitars like a chef preparing food pairings. Hoover explains that the finer details like binding, headstock size and shape, internal bracing, and adhesives are critical players in shaping an instrument's sound. Finally, Richard explains how SCGC uses every inch of wood for making acoustic guitars or outside ventures like surfboards and art.
We know Horsegirl as a band of musicians, but their friendships will always come before the music. From left to right: Nora Cheng, drummer Gigi Reece, and Penelope Lowenstein.
The Chicago-via-New York trio of best friends reinterpret the best bits of college-rock and ā90s indie on their new record, Phonetics On and On.
Horsegirl guitarists Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowenstein are back in their hometown of Chicago during winter break from New York University, where they share an apartment with drummer Gigi Reece. Theyāre both in the middle of writing papers. Cheng is working on one about Buckminster Fuller for a city planning class, and Lowenstein is untangling Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmannās short story, āThree Paths to the Lake.ā
āIt was kind of life-changing, honestly. It changed how I thought about womanhood,ā Lowenstein says over the call, laughing a bit at the gravitas of the statement.
But the moment of levity illuminates the fact that big things are happening in their lives. When they released their debut album, 2022ās Versions of Modern Performance, the three members of Horsegirl were still teenagers in high school. Their new, sophomore record, Phonetics On and On, arrives right in the middle of numerous first experiencesātheir first time living away from home, first loves, first years of their 20s, in university. Horsegirl is going through changes. Lowenstein notes how, through moving to a new city, their friendship has grown, too, into something more familial. They rely on each other more.
āIf the friendship was ever taking a toll because of the band, the friendship would come before the band, without any doubt.āāPenelope Lowenstein
āEveryone's cooking together, you take each other to the doctor,ā Lowenstein says. āYou rely on each other for weird things. I think transitioning from being teenage friends to suddenly working together, touring together, writing together in this really intimate creative relationship, going through sort of an unusual experience together at a young age, and then also starting school togetherāI just feel like it brings this insane intimacy that we work really hard to maintain. And if the friendship was ever taking a toll because of the band, the friendship would come before the band without any doubt.ā
Horsegirl recorded their sophomore LP, Phonetics On and On, at Wilcoās The Loft studio in their hometown, Chicago.
These changes also include subtle and not-so-subtle shifts in their sophisticated and artful guitar-pop. Versions of Modern Performance created a notion of the band as ā90s college-rock torchbearers, with reverb-and-distortion-drenched numbers that recalled Yo La Tengo and the Breeders. Phonetics On and On doesnāt extinguish the flame, but itās markedly more contemporary, sacrificing none of the catchiness but opting for more space, hypnotic guitar lines, and meditative, repeated phrases. Cheng and Lowenstein credit Welsh art-pop wiz Cate Le Bonās presence as producer in the studio as essential to the sonic direction.
āOn the record, I think we were really interested in Young Marble Giantsāsuper minimal, the percussiveness of the guitar, and how you can do so much with so little.āāNora Cheng
āWe had never really let a fourth person into our writing process,ā Cheng says. āI feel like Cate really changed the way we think about how you can compose a song, and built off ideas we were already thinking about, and just created this very comfortable space for experimentation and pushed us. There are so many weird instruments and things that aren't even instruments at [Wilcoās Chicago studio] The Loft. I feel like, definitely on our first record, we were super hesitant to go into territory that wasn't just distorted guitar, bass, and drums.ā
Nora Cheng's Gear
Nora Cheng says that letting a fourth personāWelsh artist Cate Le Bonāinto the trioās songwriting changed how they thought about composition.
Photo by Braden Long
Effects
- EarthQuaker Devices Plumes
- Ibanez Tube Screamer
- TC Electronic Polytune
Picks
- Dunlop Tortex .73 mm
Phonetics On and On introduces warm synths (āJulieā), raw-sounding violin (āIn Twosā), and gamelan tilesācommon in traditional Indonesian musicāto Horsegirlās repertoire, and expands on their already deep quiver of guitar sounds as Cheng and Lowenstein branch into frenetic squonks, warped jangles, and jagged, bare-bones riffs. The result is a collection of songs simultaneously densely textured and spacious.
āI listen to these songs and I feel like it captures the raw, creative energy of being in the studio and being like, āFuck! We just exploded the song. What is about to happen?āā Lowenstein says. āThat feeling is something we didnāt have on the first record because we knew exactly what we wanted to capture and it was the songs we had written in my parentsā basement.ā
Cheng was first introduced to classical guitar as a kid by her dad, who tried to teach her, and then she was subsequently drawn back to rock by bands like Cage The Elephant and Arcade Fire. Lowenstein started playing at age 6, which covers most of her life memories and comprises a large part of her identity. āIt made me feel really powerful as a young girl to know that I was a very proficient guitarist,ā she says. The shreddy playing of Television, Pink Floydās spacey guitar solos, and Yo La Tengoās Ira Kaplan were all integral to her as Horsegirl began.
Penelope Lowenstein's Gear
Penelope Lowenstein likes looking back at the versions of herself that made older records.
Photo by Braden Long
Effects
- EarthQuaker Westwood
- EarthQuaker Bellows
- TC Electronic PolyTune
Picks
- Dunlop Tortex 1.0 mm
Recently, the two of them have found themselves influenced by guitarists both related and unrelated to the type of tunes theyāre trading in on their new album. Lowenstein got into Brazilian guitar during the pandemic and has recently been āin a Jim OāRourke, John Fahey zone.ā
āThereās something about listening to that music where you realize, about the guitar, that you can just compose an entire orchestra on one instrument,ā Lowenstein says. āAnd hearing what the bass in those guitar parts is doingāas in, the E stringāis kind of mind blowing.ā
āOn the record, I think we were really interested in Young Marble Giantsāsuper minimal, the percussiveness of the guitar, and how you can do so much with so little,ā Cheng adds. āAnd also Lizzy Mercier [Descloux], mostly on the Rosa Yemen records. That guitar playing I feel was very inspiring for the anti-solo,[a technique] which appears on [Phonetics On and On].āThis flurry of focused discovery gives the impression that Cheng and Lowensteinās sensibilities are shifting day-to-day, buoyed by the incredible expansion of creative possibilities that setting oneās life to revolve around music can afford. And, of course, the energy and exponential growth of youth. Horsegirl has already clocked major stylistic shifts in their brief lifespan, and itās exciting to have such a clear glimpse of evolution in artists who are, likely and hopefully, just beginning a long journey together.
āThereās something about listening to that music where you realize, about the guitar, that you can just compose an entire orchestra on one instrument.āāPenelope Lowenstein
āIn your 20s, life moves so fast,ā Lowenstein says. āSo much changes from the time of recording something to releasing something that even that process is so strange. You recognize yourself, and you also kind of sympathize with yourself. It's a really rewarding way of life, I think, for musicians, and it's cool that we have our teenage years captured like that, tooāon and on until we're old women.ā
YouTube It
Last summer, Horsegirl gathered at a Chicago studio space to record a sun-soaked set of new and old tunes.