Is there anyway to convert a xlr male to a xlr female?

A

ArcAk

New member
I made a noob mistake while cord shopping online; i brought a xlr to 3.5mm cord that, sadly, turned out to be a 3.5mm to xlr MALE when i nedded a 3.5mm to xlr FEMALE. I can't get to any stores at the moment, so is it possible to manipulate the cord and use it as a female? Or is that impossible?


Sorry, i don't know i thing about xlr cords :p
 
You can buy gender adapters but for the trouble you may as well just buy a new lead.
Maybe the store will do an exchange for you?
 
The sad thing is, I just did this exact same thing this past week. Ordered some new cables for a preamp that's going to be delivered this week, and one for an existing preamp. Unpacked the cables, went to plug them in, and I got male XLR to 1/4" TRS but needed female XLR to 1/4" TRS.

So it happens dude. Either get an exchange, or buy the correct cables instead of kludging together some abomination of adapters.

My correct cables should be here in a few days :D
 
As others have said, buying a second cable is probably the best way around it--the more you play with sound the more adaptors and gender changers you'll need. It's good to have a collection.

However, I share Arcaxis' concern about making sure you have exactly the right adaptor. There are various ways to wire up a 3.5mm to XLR depending on exactly what you're feeding from and too, whether the 3.5mm is TRS or TS and so on.
 
I bought some of the Neutrik hermaphroditic xlrs that convert from male to female by sliding the barrel. They're too big and ugly and haven't been as useful as I hoped. They're also expensive!

I can't think of any way to convert the gender of a connector without access to huge amounts of engineering equipment, else it will be a bodge. You could solder some bent paper clips to a bit of cable, add some epoxy glue and 'make' and XLR but it's silly!
 
Yes, always avoid adaptors wherever possible but if you mess a round with "sound" and sound "people" you will inevitably find situations that call for a kludge. Some adaptors are fine, some dodgy and some downright unreliable. Of the latter is the "in line" cable mounted jack (socket). The only one worth a light is the Neutrik locking jobby. (put jacks in tins instead) .

The RCA to 1/4 mono, TS jack plug works well as do the aforementioned XLR gender changers. Other bits to keep handy are an XLR phase swapping* slug (buy or make one), an XLR-XLR slug with the screen dissed one end (fit an RF "keeper" cap if you can) XLR 10 and 20dB attenuators.

*If you do a lot of messing about or studio wiring, make an OOP test box. Learning to solder can save you a lot of time and money!

Dave.
 
What worries me about the OP needing an XLR-F to 3.5mm jack is that he might be planning to plug a mic directly into the built in sound chip of a computer...which opens up a whole range of other issues.
 
Don't you guys keep some spare connectors on hand of various types so you can easily change out the cable ends to whatever you need...or for that matter, keep some spare cables of various types? :)

I guess when you are starting out, it takes awhile to get to that "spare" stage.

I prefer to have a couple of reels of bulk cable and a bunch of loose connectors of various types, rather than buying on-offs when I need them. That way I can make any kind of cable, any length when needed, instead of waiting for the order, and then sending it back when they screw it up. :D
 
miroslav said:
Don't you guys keep some spare connectors on hand of various types so you can easily change out the cable ends to whatever you need...or for that matter, keep some spare cables of various types? :)

I guess when you are starting out, it takes awhile to get to that "spare" stage.

I prefer to have a couple of reels of bulk cable and a bunch of loose connectors of various types, rather than buying on-offs when I need them. That way I can make any kind of cable, any length when needed, instead of waiting for the order, and then sending it back when they screw it up. :D
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I do. Right back at the very start I got a bargain on 200m of Van Damme patch cable.
It's probably lighter weight than you'd want for road use but I've never had a problem with it.

The amount of money this hobby/profession sucks out of you, it's good to save where you can!
 
And me as well, though I've been doing it long enough I have most things covered without any more soldering.
 
Yeah...ready made cables, especially name brand/decent ones...are not cheap...and the longer the cable, the more it costs.
For the price of a couple of 20' ready made cables, you could get a reel of bulk cable...and connectors can also be gotten in bulk fairly cheaply.
 
These NOOOBS have it EEEEsEE! When I started in the audio/PA/AV/recording/Pan deck game there were infinitely more audio connector variant. Every mic mnfctr rolled their own it seemed. Reslo, Audax, Grampian, I could go on. DINs were a common audio connector (and few manfctrs knew HTF to wire them!)

Shoot! There was even 8 different domestic mains plugs!

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
These NOOOBS have it EEEEsEE! When I started in the audio/PA/AV/recording/Pan deck game there were infinitely more audio connector variant. Every mic mnfctr rolled their own it seemed. Reslo, Audax, Grampian, I could go on. DINs were a common audio connector (and few manfctrs knew HTF to wire them!)

Shoot! There was even 8 different domestic mains plugs!

Dave.
Click to expand...

Not to mention...all those different size wax cylinders you probably had deal with for recording back then.

:laughings:

;)
 
miroslav said:
Not to mention...all those different size wax cylinders you probably had deal with for recording back then.

:laughings:

;)
Click to expand...

Oh! VERY droll ! I am however just old enough to remember (just!) different recording characteristics and the plug in B7G adaptors that came with Quad pre amps!

Dave.
 
I personally would rather hack two cables together, even if it means just twisting the wires and using whatever (masking, duct, I never seem to be able to find the electrical) tape I have on hand to keep them from shorting than use any kind of adapter. I will "live with" the 1/8">1/4" headphone adapters, but I honestly kind of hate those, too.
 
I'm really more worried about what sort of situation this guy is in where he would need an XLR to 1/8 adapter. Chances are, when he gets the right cable, it won't work the way he thinks it will.

We really need to know what he is trying to plug into what, otherwise he could be wasting his time trying to do something that doesn't work.
 
I've been hording cables from Monoprice for years now. Their Premiere series TRS and XLR cables are actually really nice, and cheap (maybe $5-$10 apiece for 3' - 15' cables). If I had to start all over on cabling at this point, I might go the bulk route since I've learned to solder since I bought my first cables. But at this point I'd rather keep on with what I have, and I don't often find needs for new cables. So buying the occasional one-off isn't such a bad thing.
 
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