making new mic cables out of old ones...

[bradb]

I just got about 200' of Canare mic cable in the mail today and HALF the connectors I need...."why" you ask?

I'm going to dissassemble all my cheap/crappy cables I've collected over the years and wire the Canare between the old connectors. I'll post if I run into problems with this, the only hassle i expect is some of the connectors have the switchcraft style pincher vs. the neutrik 3-pronged pincher. but it should be fine.

Wire is different, but a connector is pretty much a connector...

[Phiz]

A connector may be a connector when it comes to signal quality, but I've found some are much more of a pain in the butt to assemble than other. In particular, I recall some Neutrik 1/4" TRS plugs fusterating me once. However, their XLR connectors are a breeze.

[fremitus]

I did this forever, back when i thought soldering was more fun than masturbating a sleeping dog. I even went so far as to offer it as a service to some other peeps in the area with all of their old shitty cables. NEVER again. But anyways. The only thing to do as far as the connectors go, is to BE PICKY. If they are corroded at all, if the tips are bent, if they don't lock into opposing connectors, just toss 'em. then go to markertek.com and buy a bunch of new connectors, they aren't very expensive. and then you'll have nice NEW cables.

[Milkmansound]

I have been doing this as long as I can remember. Never throw away old cable - you can recycle the copper. Or make short Y cables. I keep reusing them until they are like an inch long.

[Professor]

Funny, I thought most people pull off the broken connectors and keep the wire.

Personally I'd suggest trying your best to only keep the Neutrik XLRs and toss the rest. Switchcraft connectors don't fit as tightly, they have those little screws to lose, and they just don't seem to hold up as well. And definitely throw out any of the really cheap connectors with no name at all on them - those will cause you the most grief.

But otherwise, have fun soldering.

-J

[Zoltar]

Can I add a question? I have a 50 foot long proco mic cable that doens't seem to drive condenser mics (it does work for dynamics).

would you suspect that the cable is so long that the voltage drops too much? if this is the case, I might separate into 2 or 3 shorter ones.

[Wire]

Can I add a question? I have a 50 foot long proco mic cable that doens't seem to drive condenser mics (it does work for dynamics).

There is probably a short or the ground is dropped or it happens to be a unbalanced cable with XLR's.

If there is no Ground you can't pass the 48v to mic and it won't work. I would test it, because you should have no problem with 50' sometime there is like 150' ++ from patchbay to mic panel so 50' isn't a problem, sometimes things are defective.

[nlmd311]

Like Wire said. There shouldn't be loss from 50 feet in an amount that would drop phantom power, or even really lose signal if it is a properly balanced XLR. Check your connections on each end. One may have a proper connection but the other may have broken or come undone due to poor manufacturing.
I agree with Professor on this one also when he says to throw out any connectors that don't have a name on them. Normally that would be silly (to just go off and stop using something due to lack of branding or unknown label), but in this case I have noticed there is a huge difference (in signal and in turn, sonically) to using cheap connectors. If you don't want to ditch the cable just buy some Neutrik connectors. You are talking about $6 for a good pair. Cheap stuff. fremitus said it and I will second it, check out www.markertek.com if you are considering a purchase. Great prices, fast and honest shipping prices, and great selection. Alot of people seem to like www.Redco.com also.

sorry if this is a jumble of thoughts,

-Darrill

[Scodiddly]

Sounds like a good plan to me. The Switchcraft connectors last just about forever if the little screws are kept tight - I remember always having to go into the junk box for a grubby old busted cable if I needed an XLR for something.

[nacho459]

I recycle old connectors as long as they are in good condition. I'll use them to wire stuff up in the back of racks and whatnot. I still buy and use a lot of new Neutrik connectors to build snakes and new mic cabls. Why throw out a good connector?

I also collect those old ITT Cannon connectors cause you can build mic Pads with them.

[cvanwinkle]

To put things in perspective, think of all those large installs at theatres. The amount of cable that goes from the wall/stagebox to the FOH is mind boggling (well, not really). In a lot of situations you have the cable (hopefully in conduit) that can go the entire heighth of the building, then transverse back to the FOH position, come down, then, up then, over, then to a patchbay or directly into a console at the FOH. This is not to mention the cable from the wall/stagebox/mic pocket to the mic via cable (we're talking over 1000' of cable before it may hit a preamp).

In large touring shows, it is not uncommon for the main snake to be 200' or more.

I couldn't find any handy reference, but the loss of a DC 12-48 voltage on such runs are pretty insignificant. More importantly, the microvoltages that the mic signal is operating on is what will diminish over a long run.

Best of luck.
-C

[Zoltar]

Thank you for helping with my long cable question. I will look at the ground, connections, etc.

[bradb]

as promised, here are my results:

I wanted to clean a little of the old solder off the old connectors so i used some wick and gave it a go. Unlike the Neutriks, the plastic holding the pins on these crappy connectors just melted instantly. The pins became unaligned.

Go with new connectors.

More recommondations:
Switchcraft TRS plugs were difficult to work with, with their strange internal layout.
The braided shield on canare wire wasn't hard to unbraid (like I've read). I still think the braided shield will make for a more resiliant cable, both EMI and physically.
I didn't like the nylon running with the wire in the mogami 2552 cable I used.
I like the Neutrik XLR connectors with the screw-on pincher.


brad

[Scodiddly]

Some people like to stick the pins & plastic part of a connector into the mating connector while soldering, to keep the pins aligned.