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What is the Difference Between Speaker and Guitar Cables?

There’s a reason you shouldn’t use guitar cables to connect an amplifier to a speaker cabinet, or speaker cables to connect a guitar to an amp. Speaker and guitar cables are not the same. Guitar cables are meant to carry the relatively weak signal from your guitar pickups to an amplifier. Guitar cables also need to keep interference from getting into your signal, to prevent noise and hum being picked up. To accomplish these tasks, guitar cables use a small central conductor to carry the low-level signal from the guitar to the amp and an outer shield of twisted or braided wire strands or metal foil to shield the signal from airborne interference.

Speaker cables must carry a very strong signal because they’re carrying the sound after it’s been amplified. Speaker cables need to have large conductors compared to instrument cables. However, because the signal is so much stronger than any outside interference, they don’t need to be shielded.

So even if they look the same on the outside, the two types of cable are quite different and not interchangeable. Use a speaker cable to connect your guitar to your amp, and it will be a magnet for electrical interference noise. Use an instrument cable to plug your amp into your speaker cabinet and the small conductor may not be able to handle the power output and could cause major problems.

Always use the correct cables for the job!

Offer applies only to single-receipt qualifying purchases. Select manufacturers may require that only the manufacturer’s products qualify towards the minimum purchase amount needed to be eligible for promotional financing. Otherwise, an invoice that meets the minimum purchase amount and contains at least one qualifying manufacturer product is eligible for promotional financing. No interest will be charged on promo purchase balance, and equal monthly payments are required on promo purchase until it is paid in full. The payments equal the amount financed divided by the number of months in the promo period, rounded up to the next whole dollar. These payments may be higher than the payments that would be required if this purchase was a non-promo purchase. During the last month(s) of the promo period the required monthly payment may be reduced due to the prior months’ rounding. Regular account terms apply to non-promo purchases. New Accounts as of 07/31/2025: Purchase APR is 34.99%. Penalty APR is 39.99%. Min Interest Charge is $2. Existing cardholders: See your credit card agreement terms. Subject to credit approval.

Offer applies only to single-receipt qualifying purchases. No interest will be charged on the promo balance if you pay it off, in full, within the promo period. If you do not, interest will be charged on the promo balance from the purchase date. The required minimum monthly payments may or may not pay off the promo balance before the end of the promo period, depending on purchase amount, promo length and payment allocation. Regular account terms apply to non-promo purchases and, after promo period ends, to the promo balance. New Accounts as of 07/31/2025: Purchase APR is 34.99%. Penalty APR is 39.99%. Min Interest Charge is $2. Existing cardholders: See your credit card agreement terms. Subject to credit approval.

The estimated required monthly payment shown which excludes taxes and delivery equals the amount financed divided by the number of months in the promo period, rounded up to the next cent. During the last month(s) of the promo period the required monthly payment may be reduced due to this rounding. These payments apply only with the financing offer shown. If you make these payments by the due date each month, you should pay off this amount financed within the promo period, if it is the only balance you are paying off. If you have other balances on your account, this payment will be added to any other minimum monthly payments.

Applies only to select items from this manufacturer. Ask your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for more details.