TR , TRS 1/4" I need some help!

[Aappleyard]

Hiya guys. I have recently discovered that the buzzing and peeping I get is due to poor quality cables between my Audio Interface and my PA speakers that I am using as monitors aswell as the Cables between my Audio Interface and my POD, AND the cable from my guitar into the pod!

But I need some help with some details

Whats the difference between the TRS and and TR.

Explain what Balanced and Unbalanced means.

Give me a situational example . Maybe using my POD, Audio Interface and Guitar layout.

Because I need to buy some new cables but I want the best of the best and so far it seems like some Sterio TRS Van Damme Cables will do the job. But I am not a cable guy so I dont know.


Thanks in advance Guys! Have a nice day!

Aappleyard

 

[TetraFish]

Read this...

http://www.tweakheadz.com/all_about_cables.htm

 

[stevieb]

Good show, Tetra. Nothing or little else to be said.

But, that said, please allow me to present this:

EXTENDING CABLES

We all need to extend a cable, sooner or later. Below is a primer (perhaps so basic as to be redundant, but there may be a nugget there for you...) of some tips:

XLR- ready to go, extension-wise. Female on one end, male on the other, so if you need/want to extend an XLR cable, just find another XLR cable. Generally, balanced signals can run up to about 200 feet (I read that somewhere.)

TRS- NOT ready to go. You will need a TRS-to-TRS "lesbian" sleeve (female-to-female-) a small cylinder with female TRS connectors on either end. Radio Shack sells a very good one- molded vinyl covering, all but bullet-proof. Again, if it is a balanced signal you are sending, the same 200-ft distance applies.

TS- Also NOT ready to go. Again, a lesbo sleeve, this time, TS-TS. Musical instrument stores usually have these. Max. length? I don't know- 50 feet, maybe?

SPEAKER CABLE: If TS ("quarter inch") either TS-TS or TRS-TRS will do, but try to use ones that will carry the current sent to the speakers from the amplifiers. (More on this later.)

If SpeakON connections, it's back to a lesbo connector, this time made by the same manufacturer- Neutrix. SpeakON connections may be either 2-conductor or 4-conductor; you can use a 4-con with 2-con cables, but if you go vice-versa, you will lose two signal paths (one +, one -) as it tries to flow through the connector.

I ONLY buy TRS sleeves and 4-con. SpeakON's. This is so that I never need to worry if the sleeve is going to carry ALL the signals sent through it- if I grab a TRS sleeve, I know it will work with TRS or TS, if I grab a SpeakON connector, I know it will will work with 2-con or 4-con. No guess-work, no searching for the "other" one, less frantic searching for the component/cable/connector that is the failure in the signal chain.

Radio Shack TRS-TRS sleeves are priced LESS than music-store TS-TS sleeves, so really, there is no reason to spend more to get less.

I have never cut open a Radio Shack TRS sleeve (if I ever have one fail, I'll do it then), but I HAVE sent a 500-watt speaker signal through them, and felt the outer vinyl sleeve- they never got even warm, so I feel confident saying they can carry the load. Thus, the same sleeve should be good for either line-level (or similar) or amplified signal.

 

[stevieb]

That Behringer CT100 Cable Tester looks pretty sweet.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

NEVER use line cables for speakers, unless the speakers are powered and take a line input. ALWAYS use actual speaker cable. The problem isn't just that the cable gauge is too small, it's that coaxial cable on the output can damage your amp.

Most guitar equipment is TS (tip/sleeve), so use good TS cables. Passive pickups are sensitive to the length and quality of the cable. Use good quality cables that are no longer than necessary from the guitar to whatever it's plugged into.

With equipment that has TRS connectors, use TRS cables.

When connecting balanced equipment to unbalanced equipment there are several possible schemes. Refer to Rane Note 110.

 

[stevieb]

NEVER use line cables for speakers, unless the speakers are powered and take a line input. ALWAYS use actual speaker cable. The problem isn't just that the cable gauge is too small, it's that coaxial cable on the output can damage your amp.

Well, shut MY mouth. That should have been the very first thing ANY of us posted.