Building Cables, Snakes, Patchbays

[trodden]

I'm in the process of making my own cables. I'm using Canare quad cable and its quite a chore. That damn braided shield is tough to unravel.

What brand/size/style of wire/cable have people been using to wire up patchbays with either xlr or balanced 1/4'' on other end?

I've got a mix of canare and belden products at my disposal.

any favorite brands/models of xlr and 1/4" connectors?

Any cable making/soldering/heatshrink techniques greatly appreciated.. i've got about 200ft of mic cable to fek up.

[phalex]

I forgot what my avatar looks like, this is just a test.

[trodden]

I forgot what my avatar looks like, this is just a test.

[cgarges]

I usually use Mogami for this sort of thing. It sounds great and is fairly easy to deal with. The shielding isn't braided like it is on Canare and Monster and all that. For connectors, I think the Neutrik stuff is far easier to deal with when soldering than the Swtichcraft-types.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[TapeOpHillary]

mogami. spend the money. you'll be happier.
canare is eh. plus the color coding sucks. or maybe that's gepco. that is really lame.
xlr - definitely neutrik. quick and easy to work with. no screws. only tightening.

if you like the aesthetics of cables, pre-cut yr shrink tubing.
i'd say an inch for individual conductors going to the xlr or trs ends.
and clear teflon/coleflex tubing over the grounds. avoids contact or breakage.
clean/hot soldering iron. having the right tools is very important...! borrow 'em!

hillary

[bradb]

Here's my take on cables....

Canare is better than Mogami because of the braided shield. The Mogami shield could move around/open slightly when subjected to harsh mic cable situations... crimps, pinches, etc. That said I use mogami for patch cables. In the grand scheme of things, its probably not a big deal.

How does the color coding suck? All my mic cables are grey so I can easily identify my cables... seems like a good idea.

Also, Neutrik is supremely easier to deal with, and their cable chuck is light years ahead of switchcraft's. Neutrik TRSs are also easier to work with, they are slightly larger however.


Here's a tip to deal with the braided shield that may blow your mind. After you strip the outer sheath, open up a little hole in the braid using a pin. Now pull the two center conductors thru that hole and then twist up the now empty shield.

Now the important part, solder the shield to pin 1 on the XLRs. Sounds easy but even the best of us mess this up.


is it really necessary to use starquad for patch cables? seems like overkill to me.

[matta]

How does the color coding suck? All my mic cables are grey so I can easily identify my cables... seems like a good idea.

I've not worked with the Canare as I use Mogami. On a snake or multi channel
loom each conductor is coloured, so even if you miss the numbers the
conductors are coloured using the the resistor colour code, so it is VERY
cool to work with.

is it really necessary to use starquad for patch cables? seems like overkill to me.

I'd agree, on short runs like patch cables it seems overkill and may even be
destructive. Quad shelve off some of the freq response in relation to non
Quad, which is a great trade off if you are running long line and you are
prone to interferance, but not needed on patch bay, at least that is my
opinion.

On connectors, I'm not sure what the prices are like Stateside, but I've
gotten into using Amphenol's made in Australia. I far prefer the build
quality to Neurik, they don't have that annoying rubber boot. The economy
jacks are actually quite amazing for 'economy' and I've used them to wire up
my bay.

Cheers

Matt

[trodden]

hahahah oh yeah, this is great..

Just like everything else.. we've got conflicting stories about Canare good or Canare bad. I guess its opinion. The dude at the electronics supply didn't have mogami, but had canare and belden. The belden was like $.05 more but the canare was just as good, in his mind. So I got 100 ft of orange and 100 ft of red. This will be for mic cables more than likely. I'll look into getting some nonquad for patch cables.

So what SPECIFIC brand/model # are people using to wire up patchbays and snakes (not patch cables)? The world of wire is freakin' huge and there's like a billion different types of 22-26 awg wire that can be used in balanced situations.

I'll try the neutrix line of connectors. thanks.

[bradb]

for all that behind the rack stuff... Mogami 2552

i think that's the part number...

PS: not sure what is called for for snakes..

[soundguy]

cable with a braided shield sounds different than cable with a wrapped shield. Go do some comparisons if you think Im insane saying that... The different shields are designed for totally different purposes, the quad cable with a braided shield is built for high rf environments but comes, generally at a cost of higher pf per foot which will influence the sound of the high end of the cable. If you can get away with only a wrap shield for installation, its MUCH easier to work with, you should buy some first and see if it will work in your room in regards to RF. Mogami is fine cable, it certainly has its own sound, redco makes a copy which is for all I can tell idenical at half the cost. I wired my whole place with redco TGS and it is fully awesome cable. Redco should really be the first phone call with any cabling needs and they are a family run business and just flat out amazing people to deal with.

If you are using quad cable with a braided shield, get one of those picks that dentists use to scrape your fangs with, just hook that into the braid and even canare comes apart fairly easily. All about having the right tool for the job. You can cut some corners on a mic cable, but if you are doing bays, hillary's advice is spot on, teflon sleeve around the shield and then shrink tube the end of the cable when you stripped the ends out. If you have shorts in a patch bay you will go insane trying to find them if you dont realize they are there until after the bay is installed.

dave

[trodden]

cable with a braided shield sounds different than cable with a wrapped shield. Go do some comparisons if you think Im insane saying that... The different shields are designed for totally different purposes, the quad cable with a braided shield is built for high rf environments but comes, generally at a cost of higher pf per foot which will influence the sound of the high end of the cable. If you can get away with only a wrap shield for installation, its MUCH easier to work with, you should buy some first and see if it will work in your room in regards to RF. Mogami is fine cable, it certainly has its own sound, redco makes a copy which is for all I can tell idenical at half the cost. I wired my whole place with redco TGS and it is fully awesome cable. Redco should really be the first phone call with any cabling needs and they are a family run business and just flat out amazing people to deal with.

If you are using quad cable with a braided shield, get one of those picks that dentists use to scrape your fangs with, just hook that into the braid and even canare comes apart fairly easily. All about having the right tool for the job. You can cut some corners on a mic cable, but if you are doing bays, hillary's advice is spot on, teflon sleeve around the shield and then shrink tube the end of the cable when you stripped the ends out. If you have shorts in a patch bay you will go insane trying to find them if you dont realize they are there until after the bay is installed.

dave

great idea about the dental pick. great!@

I'm going to use the quad cable for long ass mic cables then and get something else for patch cables and other shorter cableing needs.

I'll check out the mogami 2552 stuff for patchbay snakes.

[soundguy]

there is some logic to finding the lowest pf/foot cable for your long runs, but you should really use whatever you like the sound of best.

dave

[bradb]

Any recommendations for or against a TT patchbay with only db25s on the back? If you're for 'em, what brands to look at?