It's just another marketing ploy. "True by pass", "Boutique", "Handwired", etc, they're just buzz words. Unless you have super hearing, you're not going to be able to tell the difference.

What was interesting most to me was that the length of the cable, over 25 feet, would influence the sound quality more, regardless if the cable was of high quality. The greater the length he stated, to more impedance on the signal and degrading the sound. This is much more apparent than that of "true bypass".

What was interesting most to me was that the length of the cable, over 25 feet, would influence the sound quality more, regardless if the cable was of high quality. The greater the length he stated, to more impedance on the signal and degrading the sound. This is much more apparent than that of "true bypass".

I wonder how this guy's business is doing?

http://www.aqdi.com/zerocap.htm

I never worried about it LOL. Still don't. That's what tone controls are for. Your audience isn't going to sit there and say " I wonder what's sucking this guys tone?" If they're loaded, they'll start telling you to crank it up. Who started all this stuff Eric Johnson? Look at some of the old Hendrix videos with a mile of cheap coil cords, Fuzz Face, Roto Vibe and a Wah. All the old timers ran some of the noisiest effects on the planet and still sounded great.

so by converting the signal to low impedance cable length becomes much less of an issue, and that is where most of the signal is lost. so instead of buying super-expensive cable, you would be better off with good cable and low impedance. One of their pedals could offset the cost of a lot of cable. Is this correct?

Instrument leads look similar and it’s easy to become confused as
which to buy, so here’s some guidelines from an electronics engineers
point of view, based on accepted technical facts.
What does ‘low loss’ mean? - It is
important to understand that all
screened cables reduce the high frequencies
that pass along them. The
longer the cable, the more the loss.
This is true of ANY make or type of
screened cable. Always select ‘low
loss’ cables for best performance when
using guitars or other similar instruments.
A good guitar cable will have an inter-conductor capacitance of 130pf (pico
farads) or less per metre. 6 metres is about the maximum length for a lead
used with passive guitar pickups. With passive electro-acoustic guitar transducers
you will need to keep guitar leads to an absolute minimum length,
otherwise treble will become heavily lost! Always fit a pre-amp to your electro-
acoustic if you can. If your guitar already has a pre-amp, then you can
use leads as long as you like without any problems or loss of tone.
Can cables make my sound more ‘juicy’? - No, cables cannot do this!
The signal passing along a cable cannot be improved, no matter what it’s
made from. Any such suggestion should be viewed as a dishonest claim.
What does ‘noiseless’ mean? - Some low cost cables, when used with
guitars, can cause a crackling sound when you move about. Noiseless cables
have a special conductive plastic layer inserted between the signal conductor
and the screening braid which removes this source of unwanted noise.
Should I buy leads with gold plated
plugs? - Don’t waste your money
on ‘hyped’ imported cables with gold
plated connectors. The thin soft gold
(5-10 microns) ‘flash’ plating looks
cool, but scrapes off easily and the
brass material underneath stops you
from seeing that the gold has worn off!
The brass eventually tarnishes and
causes crackling when the plug moves
or twists in the socket contacts.
The input socket inside your guitar amplifier is not usually gold either.
Gold is a very good conductor of electricity, but only when mated with a gold
plated socket.
Are ‘moulded’ jack plugs better? - In some respects, but cables usually
break just outside the plug where the cable gets bent a lot. So, if this happens,
you cant open the plug to repair it and you’ll have to throw it away.
Do I need special speaker cables? - Yes, using instrument cables for
connecting speakers is not recommended. Very
high currents pass along speaker cables, so you
need much thicker wire to handle it. Guitar
lead conductors are very thin and such use
could result in damage to your cables. Power
reaching the speakers may be reduced as well.
Don’t be tight... buy what’s right!
As with anything, common sense rules... so
try not to be fooled by marketing hype, glossy
adverts or music business mythology.
Cable Talk - For Guitar Players
© Stewart Ward, Award-Session - 2003. Free circulation is permitted
Just a few of the different cables and conversion
leads available from Award-Session
We only use the robust Neutrik range
of connectors favoured by the worlds
top studios and touring bands...
but, watch out for inferior copies!
Tip.... “A good cable does nothing to your tone”