With so many instrument cables on the market today, it is hard to justify another offering unless it’s something special. The SnapJack, a cable that detaches in the event of excessive stress, certainly falls into that category.
The example I received was a dual straight end cord, with a separate package of two angled ends. The ends attach magnetically to the cord, leading to my first – and obvious – question, “How hard will I have to pull to break the connection?” Several of my companions tried to pull the plug ends off in a straight-line motion, to no avail. But once we tried breaking the connection at an angle, the secret was out. This magic trick is accomplished through the use of super-strong neodymium magnets and a little magnetic polarity voodoo, keeping the ends firmly in place unless pulled at an angle.
It’s unlikely that anyone will find this cable to be tonally inferior to other cables – it stood up to testing against a Monster Cable and a George L’s with exceptional results. Low frequencies were tight and highs were sparkly and clear. As another bonus, when the SnapJack’s connection is broken, it does not generate the loud, speakerdestroying hum of a normal cord. This opened up a range of possibilities; by placing the additional ends in several of my guitars, I was able to change guitars rapidly and quietly at gigs. This is also a great way to protect your guitars and amps from those with clumsy feet.
I’ve had one client complain about a SnapJack accidentally coming apart while on stage, but since I was previously doing a jack repair every month for him, and haven’t done one since the SnapJack’s introduction, I consider it a win [the folks at SnapJack say they have introduced a new locking system to prevent snapping during live performances]. This cord is a must-have for musicians who want to switch between instruments/amps quickly, or who are always tripping (on cables).
See our video of the Snap Jack from Musicmesse here.
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MSRP $45 - Jodavi ZZYZX SnapJack - zZounds.com |
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If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
