Help Me Explain Power Cables to my Guitar Friends

Ghostrider, you make a good point. However, I once used an acoustic zen tsunamic pc on a Marshall in a very dirty ac environment, and it took really helped get rid of a lot of EMI that was messing up that amp's performance.

There's no doubt that there is A LOT of audiophile BS (Bovine Scatology) out there, but somethings do make sense. I was a skeptic about power cords, but I've found that, depending on your environment and specific componensts, PCs make a bigger difference than any other type of cable. Sure, not ALL applications yeild desirable results, but, hey, it's fun just to try it out.

Anyway, thank you, all, for your responses. I'm out of the audiophile hobby for the moment (unless you count my ipod), but I have some nice guitar amps (Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr. and a '70 Fender Princeton), and I have the same passion for guitar gear as I do for stereo gear. It's very interesting to me how much some guitar guys really disrespect audiophiles, no matter what the issue is . . .

"Unlike hifi, guitar amps are all about coloring the signal"

Huh??!!!

To me, audio IS all about coloring the signal in a way I like.

Maybe, I'm in the wrong hobby.

Interesting thread.
Ghostrider is correct that the desired sound out of guitar amps is antithetical at times to what we try to achieve in audiophile land.

I would generally suggest just trying a 14ga Volex (6$) in place of whatever 16ga or 18ga stock thing they are using.
If they are using an amp that is a solid state or digital modeler design-they should notice a lowered noise floor which allows their tone/sound to be heard better. They will be convinced as it is all about sound in the end.

If they are using a tube amp or SS/tube hybrid they should still hear some difference. Whether they like it or not is up to them.

I use a LINE 6 combo amp and POD XT modeler and and use the simple 14ga Crump DIY power cord on my combo amp with good results.

Very simply-just bring a cord over and let them try it.

I also use a custom Evidence Audio guitar cord from my guitar to the amp.
My belief is that better cords/cables allow me to hear the guitar/amp or modeler created sound better.

Markphd wrote - I think you are right, but I think where audiophiles can fall off the turnip truck is to equate difficulty in interpreting measurable differences (tubes vs solid state)to lack of measureable difference ($1000 pc versus WalMart). In the case of tubes vs transistors, the measurable differences are obvious, and learning to understand the relationship between listening pleasure and the two different characteristic distortion signatures has advanced the state of the art. Data is good!
Happy Listening!

Forget it. My musician friends dismiss high-end audio as bunk. Wire is wire in their opinion. Good luck.