A good guitar cable will not work well if used for the wrong equipment connection, so figuring out the correct way to match the signal is essential.
The input signal specification of the equipment connected to the electric guitar is about 10dB/250mV/1M ohms (called G signal in the following), and the guitar input port of any effect or amp is designed with this specification. Therefore, no matter how you connect them in series, the guitar input port of all devices should get a signal equivalent to the strength of the G signal. When connecting a single effect in series, the output gain (i.e. volume) of each single block should be as close to the G signal strength as possible to avoid overloading the next effect.
Single block effects should not be directly connected to a mixer, recording card or other general audio signal (referred to as S signal in the following) input device. If you need to connect them this way, you should use a direct barge box to match the signal to the S signal strength.
Generally, synthesizers have dedicated output jacks for connecting devices that require G or S signal input. For example, the AX1500g has a 1/4" jack for connecting to a guitar amp and a headphone jack for connecting to a mixer, etc. The Zoom 707 allows you to set the type of equipment to be connected to the output jacks. Please refer to the manual of the effector for details.
There are also some special cases. For example, Digitech's X series single block effector has a built-in speaker analog function, and has an S signal output interface for connecting to a mixing console or recording card. Generally this type of special equipment are clearly stated on the package. Rackmount effects mostly have both G-signal and S-signal input interfaces, and qualified sound engineers will give you the right choice of interface. Some guitar amps have high impedance / low impedance two input interface, generally high impedance for connecting the guitar, low impedance connection effects, etc.. High-quality speakers and some synthesized effects have "Effects loop" function (that is, send and return two interfaces), generally designed for external G signal strength of the effects. Mixer on the "Effects Loop" function is generally designed for the S signal strength. But also not, pay attention to the corresponding description of the manual.
If the effects are too far from the mixer, it is better to use the balanced 1/4" output of the effects or balanced XLR output (if available), which can effectively avoid signal attenuation and noise. Too long XLR cable is not easy to buy, you can ask for custom-made when you buy the effect device. If there is no balanced output type of interface, you should use a synthesizer or other device to boost the signal closer to the guitarist before transmitting it over long distances. For example, with synthesized effects, the guitarist is 15 meters away from the mixer, you should use a 3-meter line to connect the guitar to the synthesized effects, and 12 meters to connect the effects to the mixer. The same 15 meters distance, if you use a single block effects, guitar and effects, effects and guitar speakers should be used between the 3-meter line, if the guitar speaker volume is not enough, you should use a microphone to guitar speaker pickup after access to the mixer, can not be placed too far away from the guitar speaker single block effects.
Although many guitarists want to get a beautiful tone and effect, but certain people tend to ignore the most important part - the cable. With that said many people may think we're making a bit of a fuss, but that's exactly what's happening. Different cables can have a very big impact on your sound, and in some cases, these effects are huge. Even if you're using the same amp or pickup, different cables will make a difference in how your sound sounds. So it's easy to see why some guitarists insist on using fixed pickups, cables, and amps, so you need to understand the differences between cables and learn how to compensate for those mistakes.Â
