First time cable maker

audiosweet · Post by **audiosweet** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 6:40 am

So i've decided i'd like to upgrade my cables and would like to make my own. I'm pretty good a soldering since I do alot of it at my day job but I'm wondering if anyone has any good tips before I order what I want. I'll probably go through Redco. All I'm looking to do is is make just a few cables to start. 4x25' xlr's and enough cable to maybe get 3x25' instrument cables and some patches too. What cable would people recommend? I'm uprgrading from Monster Cable standard 100's so i'm sure any Mogami would be better. Any help is appreciated!

audiosweet · Post by **audiosweet** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 10:06 am

i'm looking at the Mogami W2549 standard mic cable. Can this also be used for trs patch and instrument cable?

evan · Post by **evan** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:43 pm

Pretty much anything Redco offers is decent from my experience. I've used Mogami light-duty cabling (much easier to coil than standard gauge) as well as the standard gauge for mic and instrument cables. I've also used their TS connectors, which are a bit cheaper, without a problem.

That cabling will work for both TRS and instrument cabling. If you're doing instrument cables you'll only need to solder one signal wire, although I usually do both for extra durability.

The only trick with mic cabling I can think of is to keep track of which wire goes to which pin, so you don't inadvertently invert the phase.

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:45 pm

evan wrote:although I usually do both for extra durability.

I usually do both for extra awesomeness.

audiosweet · Post by **audiosweet** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:03 pm

So if I want to do a few patches I'd use TRS to keep it balanced and just TS for an instrument cable?

standup · Post by **standup** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:15 pm

Is 25' a little long for instrument cables? If it's not high-output (e.g. keyboard) won't you lose a little with an unbalanced run that long?

evan · Post by **evan** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 6:08 pm

audiosweet wrote:So if I want to do a few patches I'd use TRS to keep it balanced and just TS for an instrument cable?

Yep. It's just a difference of how many wires you're using.

standup wrote:Is 25' a little long for instrument cables? If it's not high-output (e.g. keyboard) won't you lose a little with an unbalanced run that long?

I doubt any signal losses would be appreciable at 25', although other people might tell you otherwise. More likely that you'd just increase your chances of picking up noise.

audiosweet · Post by **audiosweet** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:16 am

well they'd be more for direct outs from amps really. i'm just tired of having to use other people's bum cables. So even 15 footers would be ok. Thanks for the tips though. Any specific neutric xlr connectors that are recommended? I take the gold connections are better than silver?

evan · Post by **evan** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 3:43 pm

Connectors are connectors to me. Again, high-end recordists and electrical engineers might disagree. I'd be more worried about the durability (getting twisted, yanked, stepped on, thrown around), which is why Neutriks are worth it to me. I bet the search engine says plenty about that.

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:07 pm

Clean silver conducts better than gold. But gold doesn't corrode.

Scodiddly · Post by **Scodiddly** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:06 pm

The standard Neutrik XLR connectors are the NC3MX and NC3FX. These are what pretty much everybody uses in the pro world.

dcsimon · Post by **dcsimon** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:05 pm

Snarl 12/8 wrote:Clean silver conducts better than gold. But gold doesn't corrode.

Frequently used pins/connectors will tend to get "polished" through the friction. So if ur cables get moved around a lot (which most do), silver is adequate.

Aj · Post by Aj » Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:02 am

If you don't mind good quality Asian made...

I've been buying the house label cable and connectors from speakerrepair.com. It's not Neutrik, but a very close imported clone that's pro quality and affordable. No complaints, great prices, and a great company to work with.

It's not premium Redco/Mogami/etc., but a great option if solid and "good enough" works for you. Every once in a while they have a 15% off sale, and then the prices get even nicer.

Aj

audiosweet · Post by **audiosweet** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 1:09 pm

Cool thanks for the info everyone. My only question left really is solder. Where i work uses a 44/66 rosin core lead solder. Would any solder be suffeciant or would certain solders impede the signal?

Aj · Post by Aj » Mon Nov 09, 2009 9:07 pm

Yeah, I use Kester 44. Works.

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