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* <u>USB</u> - the standard USB cable familiar to computers. For pro audio purposes, these are typically the larger type, with an "A" connector (slim and rectangular) on one end and a "B" connector (square) on the other end. These make them dummy-proof. For example, many modelers and sufficiently complex digital guitar gear can be connected to a computer as well as also have peripherals like a USB flash drive or keyboard. The device would be forced to accept the "B" connector for the computer, while the "A" ports on the device would connect to peripherals.
* <u>Firewire</u> - this is a somewhat rare connection type that operates similarly to USB but faster (although USB 3 may exceed some Firewire connections). Some outboard audio interfaces use Firewire as its main method of communicating with the computer. It uses its own type of connector.
* <u>S/PDIF</u> - This is a digital connection to transfer audio. Many digital devices feature this connection to deliver audio from the device to an audio interface on a PC/DAW. Although the connector is identical to a common RCA cable for transporting analog audio and video, the cables themselves tend to have a different resistance. While you can often get a standard RCA cable to work, you may find it intermittently stops working - I recommend you use dedicated S/PDIF cables. (S/PDIF is actually a consumer-grade format that uses the same protocol as AES/EBU below.) S/PDIF uses 2 wires for its connection and may be prone to electrical interference.* <u>AES/EBU</u> - AES/EBU or AES3 is a digital format to transfer audio. Its connectors and cables appear near identical to a standard analog XLR cable, although an analog XLR cable may not have exactly the same impedance/capacitance as a dedicated AES/EBU cable, causing connection issues. Thus, like using RCA cables for S/PDIF, it is preferable to use dedicated AES/EBU cables for an AES/EBU data transfer, although dedicated AES/EBU cables will work just as well as a regular XLR cable for transporting analog audio signals. Unlike S/PDIF, AES/EBU uses a 3 wires, similar to a balanced/XLR cable, in order to avoid signal issues due to interference.
* <u>RJ-45 (Ethernet)</u> - common networking cable for computers and similar devices (modems, routers). More and more guitar gear is using these cables to connect digital devices, particularly foot controllers. It is capable of transporting any digital information, but is usually reserved to MIDI or proprietary data formats rather than audio which more commonly use S/PDIF or AES/EBU.
* <u>TOSLINK (Optical)</u> - Optical cable uses fiber optics to transfer pulses of light to transfer a digital signal, typically audio. The benefits of optical cables is that there are no possibilities of electrical interference degrading the signal. In practice, the difference to AES/EBU (or even S/PDIF) is likely negligible.
[[Category:Guitar]]