Recommend some cable lengths for me please?

[jshowyin]

Hello Everyone,

A bit of background. Both of my guitars have pickups in them, installed by their previous owners (both iMix no-cuts, by chance). At the first string change I removed the batteries and they have remained in that state ever since. I have never played through an amp before. I have recently passed my 2nd anniversary of playing the guitar and I would like to start playing at church when I eventually return home to Australia and, as a result, have started doing some research into amps and cables etc in recent months. Our church meets in a school hall with a mediocre PA system, so all the guitarists play through their own individual amps, which makes portability a desirable attribute for me.

I like to try to sing as well, so have been looking at an amp with two channels. Current thinking based on these requirements is either a Roland AC-60, Fishman Loudbox 100 or an Ultrasound DS4. Lastly, I picked up a LR Baggs DI Preamp from another forum member a little while back. I anticipate that this will be my setup (guitar, pre-amp, amp, vocal mike) for the forseeable future.

I have read some of the threads on the forum discussing different 'inexpensive', but good quality cables, I have not purchased any cables at this stage. I would imagine that I would be playing my guitar no further than 3-4 metres/yards away from the amp.

So, to my questions:
* What cable lengths would you guys recommend I buy based on the above?
* Is it worth buying multiples of any of the cables as backups?
* what are some of the reasons for the instrument cables that have an 'L' shaped connector on one end?

Thanks for your time and shared wisdom. Also open to any other advice or suggestions that you might offer on any of the 'background info' I offered.

Take care, Jared 

[unclrob]

Yes you should have extra cable's.3-4 meyers equils 9-12 feet so I think having a 3,4 and 5 meters{10,12 and 15 foot}.One of each should cover you out and supply you with backups if anyone goes bad.I like the angle jacks because you don't have that extra 3 inches sticking out the back end of the guitar,which can get caught on stuff and most important depending on the the guitar stand the straight plugs can keep the guitar from sitting in the craddle correctly which can cause it to fall over.

[jshowyin]

Hey unclrob, Thanks for taking the time to share your insights, in particular the tip about angled jacks and guitar stands. I appreciate it.


Couple more questions for everyone:
* Is there any particular 'best practice' for the distance between the guitar -> pre-amp and pre-amp -> amp? Or a general rule about whether the pre-amp should be closest to the guitar or amp? Or doesn't it matter?
* If I want to plug a mic into the second channel of the amp is it best to get a mic cable that is XLR -> 1/4" or just get a std mic cable and some sort of adaptor?

Apologies for all the newb questions, but I appreciate the assistance.

Thanks again. Jared

[unclrob]

As for distant from amp I sit about 2 feet away from my powered PA that I run my acoustic thru.I place my mixer on my electric guitar amp which is right next to me.As for the acoustic guitar preamp only use with a passive pickup.If you use it with the active pickup you will end up getting a distorted signal.Most of my gear sits on the floor in front of me,MIDI pedal,overdrive for my electric guitar,since I'm using an active pickup in my LS10 I have a volumn pedal between the guitar and the board,Most of my cable's are sized to about 5ft.Having an assortment of jumper cables is always a good idea.4,6,8 and 12 inch.It takes a while to figure out the best set up for your needs so play around until your happy.
As for the mic if you don't have an XLR or cannon jack input on your amp get a mic that will work with the it,if it can only handle a 1/4 jack buy a mic that is designed to work with amp.

[Zohn]

As for distant from amp I sit about 2 feet away from my powered PA that I run my acoustic thru.I place my mixer on my electric guitar amp which is right next to me.As for the acoustic guitar preamp only use with a passive pickup.If you use it with the active pickup you will end up getting a distorted signal.Most of my gear sits on the floor in front of me,MIDI pedal,overdrive for my electric guitar,since I'm using an active pickup in my LS10 I have a volumn pedal between the guitar and the board,Most of my cable's are sized to about 5ft.Having an assortment of jumper cables is always a good idea.4,6,8 and 12 inch.It takes a while to figure out the best set up for your needs so play around until your happy.
As for the mic if you don't have an XLR or cannon jack input on your amp get a mic that will work with the it,if it can only handle a 1/4 jack buy a mic that is designed to work with amp.

The man knows his stufff