In the context of your guitar, impedance is like the “resistance” to the flow of your guitar’s signal as it travels through your gear, from your guitar’s pickups to your amplifier. So, understanding the basics of high vs low impedance is key to shaping your tone and signal strength.
Impedance really matters when it comes to guitar sound. Because how your gear handles impedance will affect how clear, strong, or full your tone will be.
Following so far? Let’s move on.
Table of Contents
Understanding High vs Low Impedance
It’s not just guitar. Impedance affects any audio signal, whether it’s coming from a guitar, microphone, or speaker. That said, I’ve written this article from the perspective of the guitar – we are guitarists, after all.
What is High Impedance
High impedance is like a gentle push of your guitar signal. It doesn’t provide a lot of “current” (the flow of electricity that moves your signal) to drive the signal forward. This can make it sensitive to what comes next in the signal chain.
High-impedance signals will noticeably lose strength when using long cables and multiple effects pedals in the signal chain.
What is Low Impedance
Low impedance is more like a strong push. It has more current and can drive the signal further without noticeably losing tone or volume. This is useful when you’re using long cables or multiple effects pedals.
Overall, low impedance is much more resilient and can handle more types of gear without affecting the sound.
If you’re looking for a more technical understanding of impedance beyond the “need-to-know” for guitarists, check out this great Sound on Sound article.
Why Impedance Matters for Tone
When you plug your guitar directly into an amp (with a reasonable length and good-quality cable), you should get a clear, strong tone. You don’t need to think or worry about impedance at all. However, once you start adding multiple pedals or long cables, impedance can start affecting your sound, especially in the higher end.
Each connection in your signal chain adds a little bit of resistance (a force that opposes the flow of your signal), which can reduce clarity and dull the high frequencies. This is why long chains of pedals or cables can sometimes make your tone sound muddy or flat.
Impedance in Guitar Pickups
Impedance starts from your guitar pickups. So, the type of pickups you use will affect how you set up your gear. Generally, in their broadest sense, guitar pickups can be split into two categories: passive and active.
Passive Pickups (High Impedance)
The majority of electric guitars use passive pickups, which are high-impedance. This means they don’t push out much current, so they can be sensitive to what they’re connected to.
For example, if you use a long cable or connect to multiple true-bypass pedals (more on this later), you might notice a bit of treble or volume loss. This happens because the high-impedance signal is more affected by the resistance and capacitance in the signal chain.
That doesn’t mean you need to switch to low-impedance pickups. It’s just useful to know how long cables and lots of effects pedals can affect your tone. We’ll talk about solutions to this later in this article.
Active Pickups (Low Impedance)
Guitars with active pickups (powered by a battery) have a much lower impedance than passive pickups.
Because of this, they can keep a strong, clear signal even with long cables and multiple effects pedals. Active pickups are less affected by the cable length. They can maintain a consistent sound, even if you’re using a complex setup with multiple pedals.
It’s true that active pickups offer clear, strong signals and handle long cables well, but they’re not everyone’s top choice for pickups. Many guitarists feel passive pickups give them a warmer, more natural tone with richer harmonics. This is especially suited to classic rock, blues, and jazz.
Active pickups also rely on batteries, which can be a big inconvenience if you’re like me and always forget to carry spares. They also usually have a more modern, high-output sound that many players find too clean or precise.
Guitar Cables and How Capacitance Affects Your Tone
You’ve probably heard people mention capacitance when talking about guitar cables. I like to think of capacitance as a kind of “tone drain.” The longer the cable, the more it can start to “store” or absorb parts of your signal, especially the high frequencies.
A good way to think of it is to imagine your signal as water flowing through a pipe. If the pipe (your cable) is too long, it can slow down certain parts of the flow. In this case, the high frequencies in your tone.
Because high-impedance signals are more sensitive to capacitance, longer or low-quality cables can end up acting like a filter on your tone, making it sound darker and muffling some of the sparkle in your tone.
Effects Pedals and Impedance
When you’re plugging into multiple pedals, impedance plays a big part in keeping your tone clear and balanced throughout your chain.
Here’s how it works:
True Bypass Pedals
Today, Many pedals are “true bypass,” which means that they don’t affect your signal when turned off. However, with too many true bypass pedals in a row, your signal can start to weaken, especially in the high frequencies, because each pedal adds a bit of resistance to your signal path.
Buffer Pedals and Pedals With Built-in Buffers
A buffer pedal keeps your tone clear and strong across multiple pedals by lowering the signal’s impedance. This helps prevent tone loss, especially with long chains or cables. It’s also worth noting that some pedals, like many Boss pedals, have built-in buffers to help preserve signal strength.
Placement Tips
As a general rule, if you use a buffer, place it early in your chain, especially if you’re using several true bypass pedals. This helps to keep your signal strong and clear all the way to your amp. Some effects, like vintage fuzz or wah pedals, work best directly after your guitar, so try placing them before the buffer. Check out Where to Place a Buffer Pedal in Your Signal Chain for more info.
How to Combat Tone Loss in Your Rig
While it’s inevitable, you will get some tone loss. There are some simple steps you can take to help keep your signal and tone as clear and intact as possible.
1. Use Shorter Cables
Longer cables increase impedance and can lead to a loss of high frequencies, so try to use shorter cables anywhere you can. This includes the cable from your guitar to the first pedal, your patch leads between pedals, and the cable to your amp. Just remember that you don’t need to go too short. Make sure you still have enough length to move around and be comfortable while you’re playing.
2. Choose Low-Capacitance Cables
You can buy low-capacitance cables that are designed to keep your signal as clear as possible, preserving more of your tone over long cable lengths. I recommend you always look for cables that are low capacitance.
3. Add a Buffer Pedal
Impedance can be a bigger issue in a pedal chain with multiple true bypass pedals or longer cables. A buffer pedal lowers the impedance of your signal, keeping it strong and reducing tone loss, even with a complex setup. Learn more about How to Use a Guitar Buffer Pedal.
4. Limit Connections
Each pedal and connection in your chain can add a little more impedance. If you notice tone loss, try simplifying your setup by removing any pedals or connections you’re not using.
Your Tone
When you’re thinking about impedance, remember that your tone is in your hands. Your gear choices, cable lengths, and pedals all play a part. But your sound and guitar tone isn’t just about following technical rules. Many of the best tones have come from people breaking the rules, or simply not caring about them.
In my opinion, you can worry about tone loss too much.
Experiment with shorter cables, try a buffer, remove a pedal or two, and see how these changes affect your tone. But once you’ve taken some basic precautions and found a tone you like, focus on what matters.
Your playing.
FAQs
Is it better to have a high or low impedance?
With guitar, low impedance can help your signal stay clear, especially when using multiple pedals or long cables.
What is the best impedance for a guitar?
The best impedance for a guitar setup depends on your gear. High impedance works well for simple and direct guitar-to-amp connections, while low impedance is ideal for setups with multiple pedals or long cables to keep the signal clear.
Does lower impedance mean better sound?
Lower impedance doesn’t always mean better sound. But it helps maintain a clear signal in complex setups with many pedals or long cables.
Why do you want high input impedance?
High input impedance is ideal for preserving a guitar’s natural tone when plugged directly into an amp, as it reduces signal loss and keeps your sound dynamic and clear.
What’s the Difference Between Resistance and Capacitance in Guitar Gear?
Resistance and capacitance both affect your guitar tone but in different ways.
Resistance is like a rough road that slows down your entire signal, making it weaker. Each pedal or connection adds a bit of resistance, which can slightly reduce clarity and strength.
Capacitance, on the other hand, is like a sponge that absorbs the high frequencies in your tone, especially over longer cables. This can make your sound less bright and a bit dull. In simple terms, resistance slows the signal, while capacitance mostly affects the highs.
