Keeping cables organized?

Neito

Neito

Pouty-face
What are some of the methods you guys use to keep your cables organized? I'm looking to have a mobile rig, and I know cables are a pain in the tookus if they're not constantly kept in check.
Also, I'm just interested to hear how people keep their cables organized in their studios as well.
 
For mic cables, I use velcro zipties in various colors. My cables are organized by length/color, using the colors of the spectrum.

Red- 30'
Yellow- 20'
Green- 10'
Blue - 6'

Black-50'

Each cable also has a number, so I have red 1-10, blue 1-10, etc. Really takes the guesswork out of what cable you are looking at when things get busy.

The zipties go at the male end. I always wrap them over/under starting from the female end. They get stored in a milk crate for small gigs, and a 12 gallon tote with folding lids when I need them all.

I get my zip ties from Redco.com
 
Good system. I was wondering how to keep them from tangling with each other. Do you use custom cables?
 
Yeah, I really like the technique. I showed it to some of my rock climbing friends and they were STUNNED that you could throw a rope and have it land flat. Plus it keeps the rope (cables) from twisting into a weak and non-functioning jumble. Hooray for innovation!
 
Next time your rock climbing friends are coiling up a rope, be sure to walk on it a little bit. Those people really like that... :)
 
Neito said:
Good system. I was wondering how to keep them from tangling with each other. Do you use custom cables?
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Depends on what you mean by custom. I do build most of my own at this point, it made sense as I had the tools and need a lot of cables. Also I find that most store packaging sucks, it takes forever for the cables to relax and coil round, they are squished into oval shapes in lots of packaging.

When I make my own, I put the number and color under clear heat shrink near the connector. With store-bought, the number goes on the connector using the correct color sharpie marker.
 
andyhix said:
Sorta related - I've read about this over-under technique for years, but never was able to really visualize it. Inspired by this thread, I FINALLY today, managed to find a video of the technique - http://stagecraft.theprices.net/gallery/cablewrap/cablewrap-qt.html
!
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Cables wrapped that way can last a really long time. They never get tangled. Pay attention to what the guy said about the ends. If the end gets fed through the loop and pulled, it will make a series of overhand pretzel knots in the cable as you pull it. :mad: Still happens to me once a month or so.
 
boingoman said:
For mic cables, I use velcro zipties in various colors. My cables are organized by length/color, using the colors of the spectrum.
Click to expand...

I took a somewhat similar approach, but slightly different. I have velcro cable ties permanently fastened in rows along the edges of wire rack's shelves. I then wrap the cables, loop the tie through, and loop it back over itself to hold the cable in place. When I need a cable, I grab one that looks like a reasonable length and pull on it.
 
Don't do any 'cable tidying' at all - let them run free.

Otherwise you'll have to 'un-tidy' them when you need to re-plug, and unravelling those cable tidy things is a bugger...
 
If your needs are fairly consistent from gig to gig you could buy a snake or have one built for you with the right kinds of connectors on each end. Otherwise, the idea of letting the cables run free is probably pretty good.

If you must physically tie them together then velcro strips seems like a good way to go.

In my studio I use plastic zip ties, or whatever they are called. Very cheap at any hardware or computer supply store.
 
I use velcro ties when I can find them, but they get lost all the time. The really cool thing I have is I found a Craftsman cable bag. It was meant maybe for air hose or big extension cords, but I keep two 50' and two 25' speaker cables in it along with somewhere in the neighborhood of sixteen or seventeen mic cables. It has a little strap inside and keeps them all very neet. And yes the over under thing works great, I have even gotten my 50' cables to throw out straight with it.
 
Bondo said:
I use velcro ties when I can find them, but they get lost all the time. The really cool thing I have is I found a Craftsman cable bag. It was meant maybe for air hose or big extension cords, but I keep two 50' and two 25' speaker cables in it along with somewhere in the neighborhood of sixteen or seventeen mic cables. It has a little strap inside and keeps them all very neet. And yes the over under thing works great, I have even gotten my 50' cables to throw out straight with it.
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Innnnnnttteresting. I must see this device of which you speak.
 
Yeah, I'm interested too. DO you have a link to this Craftsman cable bag? I googled it, but didn't get any hits.
 
I thought about making a cable bag by converting a duffle. I was going to coat cardboard in polar fleece or something like that, and make seperate compartments for different lengths, then attach velcro cable ties inside. I'll try and sketch up some plans.
 
It's impossible. No matter what you do, there's still 1,000 feet of cable in a tiny room.

Go ENTIRELY wireless :D
 
i have a homemade 8-ch. xlr snake that's made of 8 50' cables that i attached together with zip ties along 35' of it, then the last 15' is held together with velcro ties that i can take off to fan out the ends of the cables as needed

for those of you who have a LOT of cabling, i would recommend getting a garden hose reel
 
A great place to find gig bags and cable bags is in Army/Navy surplus stores. Usually very sturdy, and inexpensive!
 
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