Ideal Length for cables?

[Dracon]

Unlike other people who dislike the use of microphone cables (cause they think they are for snobs), I would like to know if there is an ideal length for mic cables?
Is there a lenght in which the signal is best. Sure, I could plug my mic directly into the mixer without a cable, and probably get the least signal dissipation.
However, since I am a snob, I like snooty cables and would like to know which is the best (if any) length when using mic cables.

 

[punkin]

This sounds familiar.

I'll bite...my place is pre-wired between the rooms. Several runs located strategicaly in each room between the listening room, vocal/acoustic booth (5 runs) drum room (10), live room(20). I've got bulk-head connections in each of the rooms. Some say this is too much but hey...bulk materials are cheap and labor done by one's self is free.

I got tired of hunting around for proper length cables, patching them together and such so I went with a bunch of 20' cables....they're more than long enough in each of the rooms. I've got a box of 3' cables and a box of 6' cables (I'm guessing 10-15 each). I figure if you need something longer than 6'...hell, use a 20 footer. I got worked up one day going through the afore mentioned search for the proper cable(s), so I bought a spool of cable and made my own.

And no,...I'm not going to tell you what brand they are because frankly...cables are for snobs...so there.

Bring it on.

 

[boingoman]

Mic cable's effect on the signal is essentially unchanged upwards of 300 feet. So length is basically about convenience. I keep them as short as possible, more for cleanliness of stage and studio than anything else. There is a school of thought that says "shortest possible run to the preamp" to get the signal up to line level asap, as in long runs more noise is possible. These people will buy remote control pres so they can keep them very close to the mics. It's cool, and in some situations helps with noise, but don't fret too much about it. Even they have to run their mic cables 20-30 feet to the pres.

 

[night'schild]

I don't agree with boingoman about his 300ft remark. I remember at a gig I ran a 100ft cable from my Korg amp and it sounded noisy and weak.

I always read and heard that using more than 20 feet of cable can cause some signal dissipation. In live settings it may not be very noticeable or maybe even in a low end studio. As for me and my studio I never buy a mic cable that is more than 20 ft long.

By the way people say mic cable doesn't make a difference, well those are the ones who haven't tried the VOVOX cable.

 

[invisiblenemies]

By the way people say mic cable doesn't make a difference, well those are the ones who haven't tried the VOVOX cable.

48 tracks for $49?!?!?

 

[noisedude]

Do PG Music make cabling?

Seriously - short as possible. But it shouldn't matter too much ... you bought one of them fancy BLUE cables, didn't you?

EDIT - Tidiness is good but remember to try where possible to make cables cross at right angles. You know an extension reel has different current handling whether it's rolled up or out straight? Well it's kinda like that with leads too.

 

[mshilarious]

I don't agree with boingoman about his 300ft remark. I remember at a gig I ran a 100ft cable from my Korg amp and it sounded noisy and weak.

I always read and heard that using more than 20 feet of cable can cause some signal dissipation.

True for instrument cables--did you run a balanced cable?

 

[punkin]

You've got to use the brightly colored cables for runs longer than 20'. Use blue for 20-30 feet, orange for 30-50, and red for 50 -100. Everybody knows that the black ones loose their signal way too soon.

 

[lpdeluxe]

ideal length for mic cables?

Long enough to reach from the microphone to the input.

 

[Dracon]

You've got to use the brightly colored cables for runs longer than 20'. Use blue for 20-30 feet, orange for 30-50, and red for 50 -100. Everybody knows that the black ones loose their signal way too soon.

Well I'm safe then. I got a blue colored cable, and to top it off they are called Blue Blueberry. So does the name actually give me a gain thru this blue cable?

 

[Dracon]

OK! Now seriously 300 feet! Holy long cables Batman!!
I know in network you cannot run more than 100yards of cable without having some kind equipment to help you along. Cat 5 cable does not carry that much current and it dissipates at 100yards (300feet is 100yards), so I would believe you that you can run cables for 300feet without significant loss.
My idea was to route my cables over the door so I don't trip over the cable kill myself and my equipment. In addition, I don't want to keep plugging my cable evertime I want to use it (read lazy).

So last night I was at redco looking at their bulk cable prices, and thought their Canare bulk prices for mic cable was great. Then it occured to me that there must be a reason why the 20' cables are so popular, but I wasn't sure if it was due to a convenient length or due to signal dissipation.

I was going to buy 60' worth of cable and make myself two cables (that's two 30' cables for those mathematically challanged) and run them both from my mixer to the "Recording Area".
Is this a good or a bad idea?

 

[Dracon]

Long enough to reach from the microphone to the input.

Shit!!! So is that why all my vocals sound so quiet? I knew I was missing something there!

 

[Dracon]

Oh! yeah one more note! Since this is the Microphone Forum, my question is pertaining to microphone cables. I only own acoustic instruments (No MIDI keyboard, no electric guitar, no bass guitar) so any information about instrument cables would be useless right now!

 

[crazydoc]

...You know an extension reel has different current handling whether it's rolled up or out straight?...

What??????

 

[Dracon]

What??????

It's true! Even shielded cable has some minor emission of Electromagnetic waves. When you curl a wire (any wire) and pass a current through the wire, you will get higher emmissions, than if you lay the wire straight in a line.
The emssions from one small section of wire does not differ, but by bunching the wire like a coil, the emissions build up due to proximity to eachother.

Now, does this affect the signal. Yes and no! It would depend on the type of shielding, what are you testing for, as well as how much current you are passing through the wire, resistance, etc. Balanced wires are suppose to cancel these emmissions out, and better shielding helps too. Even so the EM Waves are so small that you would probably not notice a difference one way or the other.

 

[boingoman]

What??????

From what I know, this is true. A big coil of wire carrying a lot of current acts like a big inductor, which resists changes in level of current, and changes in flow direction, which is what A/C is doing at 60hz. We need C7sus or another electrical type dude to chime in and give us the skinny, but I have been told to unwrap my A/C all the way back to doing construction as a youngster for this very reason.

Noisedude-this isn't really an issue for mic or line level signals/cables running together, as they carry voltage, but miniscule amounts of current. The right angle thing is recommended for crossing mic and line cables over speaker and A/C lines to keep noise down. It supposedly puts any noise on both conductors, allowing your balanced gear to cancel it out. Though doing live work, I gotta say I've violated this rule a bunch of times with no ill effects.

 

[boingoman]

So last night I was at redco looking at their bulk cable prices, and thought their Canare bulk prices for mic cable was great. Then it occured to me that there must be a reason why the 20' cables are so popular, but I wasn't sure if it was due to a convenient length or due to signal dissipation.

I was going to buy 60' worth of cable and make myself two cables (that's two 30' cables for those mathematically challanged) and run them both from my mixer to the "Recording Area".
Is this a good or a bad idea?

Twenty feet seems to be a nice convenient length to work with.

Two thirties will be fine. If that is long enough.

 

[Phyl]

Before choosing a microphone cable, determine the predominant frequency of the instrument to be recorded and choose a cable that is exactly 1/2 the wavelength of that frequency.

To impart a little pleasant distortion to a track, use a guitar cable instead of a microphone cable.


And most importantly, when recording in stereo, insure both cables are of the same color and are at the same temperature.

 

[boingoman]

Before choosing a microphone cable, determine the predominant frequency of the instrument to be recorded and choose a cable that is exactly 1/2 the wavelength of that frequency.

Yes, when combined with the sample rate doubling per frequency required by Nyquist, that should even out to provide some pretty good sound. Maybe smooth out some of the "hotness".

 

[crazydoc]

From what I know, this is true. A big coil of wire carrying a lot of current acts like a big inductor, which resists changes in level of current, and changes in flow direction, which is what A/C is doing at 60hz. We need C7sus or another electrical type dude to chime in and give us the skinny, but I have been told to unwrap my A/C all the way back to doing construction as a youngster for this very reason.

I'd think that any induced impedance in a "coil" of this configuration, with an air core, would have a miniscule effect on the current (~1 to ~15 amps) involved. My skill saw seems to be just as powerful with the 100 foot extension cord coiled or straight.