Cable Confessions!

[JES]

I've been amateur recording for like 20 years now, and had my own stuff for over 10. I have never learned to properly wrap cables--whether mic cables, instrument cables, or plugs for equipment. I sort of just loop them around to put them away, and predictably they get messy fast. I know how to tie stuff up in a rack but this completely escapes me.

Every time I get a unit back from the shop it's nicely tied up and coiled around itself. Ditto for mic and instrument cables in professional studios (apart from the "do you like it clean" thread below).

Soooo, can someone please offer me good instruction on this crucial but neglected black art of recording studio maintenance? Interestingly, it's not in any of my old reference books (like Home Recording for Musicians) and a TOMB search turned up nothing, though maybe I'm just using the wrong terms. It was covered in a recording class I took once but alas, I didn't retain that bit of the class.

Thanks!

--JES

[JGriffin]

Try searching "over-under technique." That might give you some results.

[Dakota]

Get velcro ties for *everything*. The kind that have one end that stays attached.

There are many different techniques and opinions on cable wrapping, but a few things that are always true:

Allow no "twisting" as your loops come together. So if you are handling the coil with your left hand, use your right to adjust the twisting tendency so as to get rid of it as the cable coils up. That kind of twisting often has to be "shaken down" the loose end of the cable as you go.

Pick a fairly standard size for your loops, and get in the habit of being consistent. Mic cables I do as 10 to 12 inches across, instrument style cables 8 to 10, etc.

Organize. Put up wall pegs or get organizer boxes and label them by type.

I'm so in this mindset. I just did ALL the cables around my place. Cable tester (bad cables labeled by type of fail and put in a separate to-be-fixed box), velcro tie for every cable, very neatly coiled, separate boxes for each by type. Yay. I can now find and use every one of them with confidence.

[Bro Shark]

The "over under" or "studio coil" wrap technique is the correct one.

[Z-Plane]

+1 al the above.

If you have already kinked some of your cables with inappropriate wrapping techniques, some stay kinked and never recover. Good thick neoprene cable wraps beautifully and uncoils in a most pleasing manner too. With the exception of installation cable, buying thicker always makes life easier in the end. Working for a hire/AV company will shape your cable skillz up pronto, like coiling a 50m 48-way multicore into a perfect figure of 8 in a trunk.

[casey campbell]

just take one end of the cable with one hand, and then go down about 12 inches down the cable with the other...then spin your hands around each other real fast until the cord is wound up....then throw in corner.

easy!

[Scodiddly]

Go visit one of those Office Despot stores - they usually have a roll of velcro cable ties for $4-5.

[kayagum]

I've also done the "fold cord once/twice, then overhand knot" method- it actually keeps the cords from tangling with other cords in a Rubbermaid tote.

Purists may not like it, but it works for me, and battle-tested.

[JES]

Thanks. I found the over-under explanation. Now I will have to practice. . . .

[ott0bot]

Thanks. I found the over-under explanation. Now I will have to practice. . . .

yes sir! and it takes a while to master, but well worth it. Also with different gauges of cable after a while you can feel when they should be coiled and don't force them. If they are all messed up and kink up all the time you can try and experimental technique. Lay them out in the hot sun on some clean concrete of a few minutes, then very gently re-roll them correctly. Don't tug on them or the rubber will stretch. We used to do this in school when the studio 1 class had a weekend recoding session and didn't wrap everything up correctly. Mostly the instructors fault...

If they are dirty....clean them with a little soapy water and a damp cloth, not dripping wet. It really makes me feel better when my hands aren't covered in black shmutz when I'm done wrapping cables. In that vein.....keep all live performance cables seprate from your studio stuff if possible...for me this mostly applies to my instrument cables. Some venues are gross.

Definately buy a little roll of velcro ties. But don't buy the overpriced computer ones, look in the office section at Staples or Office depot. I paid $3 for 50 black and 50 grey.

Also, find a good way to hang them or store them. Slat wall/peg board and pegs are nice, plus you can hang your short cables without coiling on double hooks. I personally use open ended pants hangers in a large closet with my mics and other random stuff stored below.

i'm kind of a neat freak if you didn't already assume that.

[johnnydove]

Definately buy a little roll of velcro ties. But don't buy the overpriced computer ones, look in the office section at Staples or Office depot. I paid $3 for 50 black and 50 grey.

i bought mine at lowe's, if there happens to be one closer to you.

[cgarges]

Radio Shack sells packs of multi-colored velcro ties fairly inexpensively. They're the kind that has a little slit in one end so that they can stay attached to the cable all the time, but not in that annoying, Monster Cable cable-tie sort of way. One end stays on the cable, one end hangs. I use the different colored ones for different lengths of cable to that it's easy to find the appropriate length quickly. I also designate all the yellow ones as specific mic cables (tube mic cables, EV 666 cable, odd connectors, etc.) because it's easy to label them with their corresponding microphone in Sharpie.

Also, the over/under technique (known as "union wrapping" to some) is awesome.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[capnreverb]

For cables that are not too long, i use twist ties that come with the box of garbage bags. also, for xlrs, i roll em up, connect the male to the female and put it in a plastic zip lock freezer bag, no tangling ever. i also store my mics in individual plastic zip lock bags of different sizes.

[roygbiv]

speaking of velcro, the cheapest source I've ever found is velcro plant ties. You can usually find them in the Garden section of your favorite super store.

A 45 FT. X 1/2 inch roll is ~ $2.80, which works out to about 6 cents/foot.

I buy several rolls at a time, then cut them to whatever size I need, and use them for all things cable related.

They look like this:

m

[thunderboy]

The "over under" or "studio coil" wrap technique is the correct one.

Except, of course, for those situations where it is not.

jt