Blue Kiwi Cable

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wes480

wes480

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So I was trying to buy a blue kiwi at the guitar center and the rep is giving me shit about it...like

"what mic are you using that with?" "NTK" "you'd be better off with monster cable...that cable is meant to be used with the Blue Kiwi system...it's for that mic...just like they have a cable for lots of different mics.."

i of course knew he was wrong...and I was like

"well how come they have a cranberry cable but no cranberry mic? Or a mouse mic but no mouse cable?"

he's like well...it's all still part of the Blue system...

So I read the back of the packaging...just says it is a high quality mic cable, etc. Asked him if they had the Champagne...becuause it's a <gasp> "tube" mic cable..but is supposedly better quality all around.

Anyways, he's like well man you can buy whatever you want...but it's not going to be that great...

Just to back me up - Kiwi is a great pre-packaged cable for *any* mic, yes?

Also...anyone know much about Champagne?
 
I have seven Kiwi cables, and have used them to record.
The "tailored for Kiwi mics" comment is not true. These are high-quality quad-style mic cables.

I had GC price-match 'em for $25 each.

Bowisc
 
I use BLUE cables almost exclusively along with a couple of belden and mogami cables. If youre going from hosa, monster 100 or other cheap cable to BLUE itll almost be like the dif bet a sample rate of 32k and 44.1k--not subtle.
 
WES

I do not have much experience with mic cable but I do have a great deal of experience with speaker cables & interconnects.


There is no such thing as the right cable for the certain speaker or what have you.

Speaker cable & Interconnects all sound a little different, so it comes down to mostly preference.

Usually, a cable line of one company, will have a certain set of qualities through its line.

For instance, Audioquest cable tends to bump the midrange a bit.
As you go up in the price range of the cable, the highs tend to get sweeter & the mid a little more open, for the most part.

Sean

PS. I have found that the morons that work in Sams Trash & Guitar Center of Idiots, know far, far less then I on most things that I have little knowledge of.

I try not to talk to them.
 
that big of a difference huh? wow, i am looking forward to cutting some tracks with it.

maybe i will be investing in more of them...
 
I have my Kiwi cable hooked up to my NTK, and now it doesn't know if it's an Aussie or a Kiwi. Total identity crisis. Everything I try to sing through it comes out as "Throw another shrimp on the barbi, and crack me another steinlager" Hey, maybe if I get the cranberry cable I can sound Celtic. :)
 
The Champagne Cable has 6 conductors and is designed to be used with BLUE's tube power supply. So it won't be much use unless you change out the connectors to fit your NTK. Also, doesn't the NTK use the same cable as the NTV, which is something like a 16-conductor?????

But yeah........ the Kiwi is a very good cable and a lot less bread than a comparable Monster. Tell the guy you just want to buy stuff there, not take his "free" advice.
 
hmmm, there is a special cable for the NTK? i thought you could just use any cable with it...hrmm...
 
Wes, the NTK uses a 7 pin cable to feed its power back to the mic. Yes, you can use the quad from the power supply to the pre, which is standard XLR. As it happens, I use NTK, and all my mic cables, with the exception of that 7 pin cable, are B.L.U.E. Kiwis. I got them as slightly used demos from GC for $19 each (list something ridiculous, on sale for $50), and they are among the best XLR cables you can get anywhere, almost impossible to kill, well shielded, and consistently quiet.-Richie
 
I tend to prefer Horizon cable, as I feel it is the equivalent to the RNC of the cable world. :D :D
 
Wes:

At least you found out on a relatively harmless issue that you should NEVER take advice from that particular salesperson on ANYTHING.
 
Here's where I have to disagree with the diminutive canine. You should never take advice from *that* salesperson on anything. There are honest, competent sales professionals that make their living by helping the clueless, and I know several. Of course, they usually quit to go do something more rewarding. I have to say that I'd have spent bizzillions of bucks on the wrong gear or excessively expensive gear if it were not for the great work of a couple of great sales professionals.
In a big place like GC or MARS, you'll usually find there are the truly clueless, those who will sell you stuff cheap, if you already know what you want, and those who actually know what the hell they're doing, and they are a small minority. At my local GC, there are 3 people I'll talk to if I just want the best discounted price, 50 or so people I won't deal with at any level, and 2 that I would ask for advice when I really don't know what the solution is. Competence and honesty are a rare combination, and one of your missions is to find a person in pro audio with that combo.
My friend Andy Ryder at Framingham, Mass., GC is a good engineer with a relatively successful small pro studio who moonlights at GC to help support his gear habit. He has consistently directed me to used or returned items of quality with a good price point, to items I didn't know existed that were less costly solutions than mine, and has been willing to take the time to answer tough questions, even when he was talking himself out of a sale. When I asked about solutions for group vocals he suggested a matched coincedent pair, and said I should call Taylor Johnson at the Sound Room.
Unfortunately, you have now learned that this dickhead doesn't know a quad cable from his ass, and that he will spew bullshit like it was a fact. If he was at least honest, he'd say, "I really don't know that much about it, but I'll check with someone who does, and get back to you." Get a new salesman.-Richie
 
Look, word to the wise:

If you are tired of cluesless sales weasles, then reward the good ones with your business. If someone gives you some good advice and is helpful, don't turn around and order it from Musicians's Friend because you can get it there for $10 cheaper. :D

Ask them for a business card, and be sure to ask for that person the next time you are ready to buy something. Remember their name and recommend them to others.

That way, the good ones will be able to pay their bills, and will survive to help others, rather than look at new lines of work while the weasles thrive and live on to infect us with their weasliness. :D
 
What Chessrock said. I can also tell you that because of the relationships I have made with real sales professionals, I have beat the on-line prices consistently. Right here at Guitarrgh Center- Oktava MK319-$99 AKG C2000B-$99 B.L.U.E. Kiwi quad cables- $19 (demos). Plus, I have been able to return some damaged gear that no one in their right mind would take back.
Once I was buying something at GC and I mentioned that I had seen the same item at macmidimusic for $10 less. Andy, the salesman, said, "we're comitted to beating any posted on-line price. I'll beat that by $10. I said," No, I won't do that to you. That's like saying that what you do for me is worth less than nothing, and that's bullshit. $10 over the best on-line price will be just fine." Because of little $10-$20 sacrifices like that, I pay listed price for *nothing*. Sometimes when I'm buying items that can't be discounted due to store or manufacturer's policies, they'll deeply discount other items on the ticket to make up the difference. If you create an adversarial relationship with sales staff, they'll treat you like shit too. Everybody wants to feel good about what they do, and if you show appreciation for the hard work of sales staff, they'll remember it.
I assure you, I've established a good enough relationship at GC that if a salesman gave me bullshit about a quad cable such as above, all I'd have to do is mention it to a manager, and that guy would be reamed or out the door. I pay the bills at GC, he doesn't.-Richie
 
In my limited experience with them, the Kiwi cables have given good service with different brands of mics.

I even tried a pair of BLUE Kiwi cables as interconnects between a Mark Levinson No. 26 preamp and No. 27 stereo amplifier. The 20-foot balanced run very slightly hardened the overall sound (compared to an $800 pair of 2-meter balanced interconnects), but the modestly priced Kiwi cables didn't sound all that bad (and of course that wasn't their intended use).

Best wishes,

Mark H.
 
Originally posted by Littledog At least you found out on a relatively harmless issue that you should NEVER take advice from that particular salesperson on ANYTHING.
Click to expand...

Richard Monroe said:
Here's where I have to disagree with the diminutive canine...

...Unfortunately, you have now learned that this dickhead doesn't know a quad cable from his ass, and that he will spew bullshit like it was a fact. If he was at least honest, he'd say, "I really don't know that much about it, but I'll check with someone who does, and get back to you." Get a new salesman.-Richie
Click to expand...

Well, Richie, I can't seem to find an iota of disagreement, other than the fact that you used much more colorful language... :confused:
 
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