low cost mic cables

[mixmkr]

well...I've been reamed for many thoughts here, and I assume this will be too...

But, I just got a handful of mic cables at Musicians Friend for $2.99 each. I was ordering some other stuff, so I thought, let's try some of these buggers out.
They are 20 footers, made by Nady, have cheap looking connectors on them but functional, and are black and coil easily...all that dog doo.

plugged 'em in...shook 'em around...no static, crackles... nada. And they actually don't seem to really muck up the signal in a noticeable way either. I used a RE20 into a Grace to try em out. Then an AT4033. Shoot..and I left 'em connected. What the hell....

Now I am not suggesting you use this with your expensive mics, great pres and all that...but actually, I suppose you could. If you need some utilitarian mic cables for basically free, these are them. Yeah...I've got the good cables, some older than the mountains that I just love, but these guys found a home. Interesting. For those on a tight budget, this is the find in the catalogs, imo.

oh...btw, I also ordered the 5 guitar "rock stand" (the one that looks like a bicycle rack) for some of the gitters cluttering up my limited space with their separate 'tube' style stands. This new 'digital' stand looks and works great too. Now, hopefully the foam won't come off and screw with my gtr. finishes.

 

[MISTERQCUE]

I bought 4, Groove Plug braided 25-ftrs from Sam Ash for $24.99 on sale a few mos. ago!

 

[littledog]

Only one part of the evaluation of a quality cable is how it sounds out of the box. How it sounds after it has aged (and in the case of cheaper cables - oxidized) is also important.

Add in how well it stands up to abuse (being stepped on, twisted, coiled, etc.), the quality of the connectors, how well shielded, etc... and you begin to see why some cables are much better than others.

 

[mixmkr]

yeah...you are absolutely correct Mr dog of small proportions...

my intent was just to show that there is inexpensive gear available, that might help someone just starting out, and for $20, they could get a handful of cables to mic up their band, in which they probably wouldn't hear any sonic differences. If they last a year or two as they are getting started, they'd get their moneys worth, I'd think, without getting into $100 of their budget just for mic cables. I just kept a couple, not even unwrapped, ready as 'emergency' spares..whatever.

For what it's worth, I've been using some of the $5 gtr cables from them now for about 3-4 years. They're holding up fine. I roll my chair over them, they have heatshrinked ends, and I'd buy more when these die.

Yeah, I've got some good stuff, but damn... these things are inexpensive and actually are functional, imo.

 

[esactun]

If you buy a mic from 8thstreet.com you get to buy as many Shure mic cables as you want for $5 apiece. They even have Neutrik connectors.

 

[mixmkr]

no shit!! that's a great deal. You could buy a 57 and 10 cables? that would be a fantastic deal.

 

[esactun]

Yeah.... I got an SP B1 and snagged three cables (I don't need too many and I've got some already). A nice condenser and three decent quality cables for a grand total of $94 (not including shipping). That's less than a 58.

I think the cables are like $15 or so if you don't buy a mic. I'll have to surf over and double-check, I last ordered a few months back.

 

[Speeddemon]

SOLDER THEM YOURSELF, YOU LA-Z BASTARDS!

I got Belden mic cable, and a bunch of Neutrik connectors, and I'm in the process of soldering them myself (finished 2 already of 18')
I'm making 4 cables of 27' (9m)
3 cables of 18' (6m, already own one quality pre-fab)
1 cable of 9' (3m, already own one quality pre-fab)
3 cables of 3'(1m) from XLR female to TRS jack.
And since my recorder can only record 8 tracks simultaneously, I'm set for a while. Only thing I need to add is all kinds of 2' and 3' cables for the back of an upcoming patchbay...

 

[VOXVENDOR]

I love cheap gear.... All my cables are cheap and I don't have any problems.... Not saying that better ones wouldn't be an improvement, just that the ones I am using are working..

Great thread Mixmkr!

Joe

 

[mixmkr]

SOLDER THEM YOURSELF, YOU LA-Z BASTARDS!

I got Belden mic cable, ...

I want to guess I've solder a shitload of mic cables over the years, I got about 50 of them now....not to mention a 250 point patch bay, and numerous gtr cords, tape deck interconnect cables, rack gear. I originally soldered ALL that stuff. However, like sheetrocking, I almost prefer to pay to have it done.

I'll admit, my Beldin homemade 30 year old cables are my best buds. However, the connecters where more than $2.99[for both] at the time, and the cable wasn't all that cheap either. I figured I cut my costs in half and a 20 foot cable still cost about 15 bucks.

oh...I don't change the oil in my car anymore either. When you hit that "milestone" age, you just feel...well...

 

[MISTERQCUE]

I love cheap gear.... All my cables are cheap and I don't have any problems.... Not saying that better ones wouldn't be an improvement, just that the ones I am using are working..

Great thread Mixmkr!

Joe

True!

 

[mixmkr]

oh...here's that Git' tar stand I got too. Notice how 5 gtrs take up just about the same space as that acoustic. I like it.

 

[VOXVENDOR]

That first guitar is an awesome design!!!

Rack is great too!

 

[Speeddemon]

Mixmkr, do you consider Belden cable on par with stuff like Mogami? I know one other quality brand cable, Tasker... I don't know if you guys can get it... It's a bit more flexible than Belden.
I agree that it isn't cheap (Belden cable was $0.75 per meter (3'4") and the black Neutrik connectors were $2,50 each.), but it's quality man....

 

[mixmkr]

Mixmkr, do you consider Belden cable on par with stuff like Mogami?

yes, but that's basically all I ever bought in bulk...and its been quite awhile now too. As you can tell from my first post, I'm not really that picky, I suppose. I've got a shitload of mic cables, and for some odd reason, I felt the need to spend another dinners worth of money on some more [cheapie] cables. Admittedly, I was almost more curious, however.