The cost of cabling

RawDepth

New member
I was looking through a stack of old receipts for studio gear and started to realize that a small fortune has gone into cables alone. I don't even have all the receipts here in one place and I still must have close to $1000 in new cables over the last year or two.

It seems like every time I upgrade equipment or add on, I need more freakin’ cables! Where will it all end?

(Oh no, this doesn't make me a "Cable Slut," does it?)

RawDepth
 
It is funny to see when someone has a TIGHT budget for gear to get into recording, but don't even have cables figured in with their start up cost. :eek:

(not funny in the "HA HA" way)
 
Yeah I still dont have all the cables I could use and I have a reasonably simple setup.

I learned how to solder my own cables though, so now I can have good quality, "buzz free" , easily repairable cables for about $8 to $12 each Still not cheap.. but compared to the expensive brand name cables im happy!
 
a typical response from friends/family that have seen the back of my recording setup: "whoah! what the hell is all that?". i guess i can understand how impressive a couple of snakes, a bunch of mic cables, line cables, guitar cables, midi cables, speaker cables, headphone cables, and power cables must look to the uninitiated. :eek:
 
Yeah I can only imagine what it will be like once I have enough gear to have a use for something like a patch bay :D
 
nddhc said:
Yeah I can only imagine what it will be like once I have enough gear to have a use for something like a patch bay :D

jokes on you. you'll never need a patchbay but you'll buy two of em any way.
 
nddhc said:
Yeah I can only imagine what it will be like once I have enough gear to have a use for something like a patch bay :D
Yeah, that was about the time I doubled the amount of cables I use. I bought 3 patch bays at once and then went out and bought about $500 more cables. (And I already had some good quality EWI patch snakes lying here or else it would have been twice that.)

I had it all figured into my budget. I was just commenting on what a major expense it can become.
 
nddhc said:
I learned how to solder my own cables though, so now I can have good quality, "buzz free" , easily repairable cables for about $8 to $12 each Still not cheap.. but compared to the expensive brand name cables im happy!

I learned how to build my own cables as well. If you need a lot of cables this is much cheaper than buying them all, and you can build cables with much better wire and connectors than you could buy for the same money or even a lot more money.

The other advantage is you can build exactly what you need. So custom lengths and custom ends are no problem. They cables can be matched to the space and gear much better.

I really think that soldering cables is one of the best skills someone with a studio can learn. Whether it be a pro commercial studio or a home studio.
 
If you do decide to start making your own cables, make sure you get a soldering gun with a lot of wattage. The cheap 25w ones from RS just won’t do.
 
Fishmed_Returns said:
If you do decide to start making your own cables, make sure you get a soldering gun with a lot of wattage. The cheap 25w ones from RS just won’t do.
I like to use the straight irons, not the triggered guns. The big irons get hot faster. The cheapies seem to work okay if you let them get good and hot before you start. I plug mine in and let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes while I prep the wires.

Lots of heat and a little solder paste makes a good solder. Paste first, then get a little heat on the wire for a second or two before applying the solder. As soon as the solder melts in, get away from it, you're done. If it takes too long, your heat is too low and the connection will likely break easily. Clean it off and start over.

Hot and fast works best for me.

(Yeah, I've been making my own for years. I just got tired of it, maybe because I'm getting old.)
 
Fishmed_Returns said:
If you do decide to start making your own cables, make sure you get a soldering gun with a lot of wattage. The cheap 25w ones from RS just won’t do.

Heh.

Yeah, first you use the Rat Shack iron to do cables. Next, you decide you need the $40 Weller to do a decent job. Then you say, hey I'm getting the hang of this, I should try a few mods. Then you find yourself opening every bit of gear you've got to see if there is anything you could reasonably justify modding. Then you start making your own gear. Then you start selling it. Then you say, hey this $40 Weller isn't cutting it, I need the $125 model. By then you have probably bought the fume extractor, too.

I haven't gotten to the next step, which is $800 digitally controlled solder/rework station. :eek: After that, I dunno, a solder bath, probably :confused:

All on account a few cables :o
 
RawDepth said:
Hot and fast works best for me.
But there's still something to be said for gentle and loving...

Tin the leads before you solder... and hot and fast really is the ticket... too long with the iron and you burn the flux, and wind up with a cold joint
 
Oh, and don't breathe the smoke or fumes. It is way more toxic than cigarette smoke.

I usually plan ahead and hold my breath or exhale while the smoke is coming toward my face. Solder near an open window or exhaust fan if you can.
 
RawDepth said:
Oh, and don't breathe the smoke or fumes. It is way more toxic than cigarette smoke.

I usually plan ahead and hold my breath or exhale while the smoke is coming toward my face. Solder near an open window or exhaust fan if you can.
I usually smoke a cigarette while I'm soldering
 
I make most of my Own cables and I use a 25w iron that I get for 0.99c (under a Dollar each) and they seem to work just fine for Soldering cables....they heat up to max temp in about 3 minutes and stay hot, They aren"t ideal as they are cheaply made and wear out in about 2 months but when your as Poor as me there are few other options (I live off of about $100 a month)......


:D
 
if ya want to do it right the trick is to "tin" the wire before ya go to the connector... prep it for the solder then hit it with solder and then actually desolder it... this insures the wire has taken the solder good instead of simply sitting in a pool of solder... and for the uninitiated... NEVER use acid core solder on electronics.... that's a real dumb boy move...
 
SonicAlbert said:
I learned how to build my own cables as well. If you need a lot of cables this is much cheaper than buying them all, and you can build cables with much better wire and connectors than you could buy for the same money or even a lot more money.

The other advantage is you can build exactly what you need. So custom lengths and custom ends are no problem. They cables can be matched to the space and gear much better.

I really think that soldering cables is one of the best skills someone with a studio can learn. Whether it be a pro commercial studio or a home studio.


Where do you get your wire and connectors from?
 
Mogami Neglex and good Neutrik connectors, I have about...well I'm not sure how many I have, couple hunderd or more.

I buy the raw parts from many places. Look up Mogami Neglex and start calling. The best deal will be the 200m (656ft) spools. Anywhere from 250-350 a spool. Connectors are easy to order from almost any music store.

Use silver solder, mogami uses it on their cables, we tested it. It really is alot better, same with gold connectors.
 
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