Plus I don't remember which ones were questionable last time they were plugged in...I have so many spare cables that I often can't find what I'm looking for and have to go buy the one I need anyway.
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.
Any bets on if the OP was a flyby one timer? It's been happening a lot lately.
Plus I don't remember which ones were questionable last time they were plugged in...
I can't believe you guys are still talking about cables
Alan
Boy, that's almost like thinking ahead! I just yank them out and tell myself I'll deal with it later, but then lose track of which one I was supposed to be dealing with. In some rare cases when I knew for sure that it was the cable that was the problem, I'll just rip one end off of it so there isn't any question.Several places I've worked had a system that when encountered a dodgy cable you'd tie a knot in it.
Several places I've worked had a system that when encountered a dodgy cable you'd tie a knot in it.
I can't believe you guys are still talking about cables
Alan
I have had for a long time the policy that I never cut a cable closer than about 8-12" from the end, just in case I have to strip an twist those wires.
If you have a piece of gear such as a really expensive* high end pre amp it is worth considering XLR-XLR "stubs" of about 200mm on each channel. Thus the mic cables only connect to the stubs and the pre amp conns' do not get worn or damaged.
I guess it's more critical for cables with molded ends. The duct tape thing is for like in the heat of the moment. I've never carried soldering equipment to gigs, and usually don't have a whole lot of time to get things set up.I don't have a problem with re-soldering the connectors....and I save the duct tape for other duties.
Most of my stuff is on patchbays, too. Don't have any XLR bays, though. These connectors - jacks (sockets) and plugs both - are self cleaning. The act of plugging them in and out is supposed to help scrape away any corrosion or oxidation that might develop. Leaving them plugged in for years on end kind of defeats that. It's only a problem if it's a problem, but when it is...I just run all my gear to my patch bays...everything...so all the pluging/unplugging happens there.
I mean...even getting in behind my gear isn't all that simple...I can roll out the racks if really needed for extensive work at the back, but otherwise, the patchbays are key to the whole studio.
Speaking of humidity...an engineer/mic designer once told me that when too much humidity gets on the connector pins, it can cause some very mild electrical signal arcing (not talking about sparks flying )...so he said if you ever encounter intermittent crackling with a mic...clean/dry off the connectors first if you happen to be in a higher humidity situation, and see if that cures it.
Most problems I've ever encountered always end up being a loose wire or loose solder connection...etc...but as I said, oxidation hasn't been an issue in my environment over the years.