mic cables

R

rythefly

New member
I'm just wondering what people recommend for mic cables? What's the best bang for buck for someone without a huge budget? I seem to recall the mention of monster cables, but are they really expensive? what others are good.... I will need some instrument and monitor cables as well. any suggestions would be great!!
 
I would suggest Canare cables... I have 6 of them and they're great. Not as overpriced as those monster cables either.

Look on Ebay.... thats where I bought mine. Usually you can find okay deals. I just got a 30' XLR star quad Canare cable for about $20 a little while ago. I don't know how that compares to other cable but I'm happy with it.
 
Decent plugs, decent cable ,Belden etc. good soldering and most of all forget about the so called esoteric stuff, total waste of money. Amen
 
I make them myself from Tasker cable and Neutrik plugs.
I cut up 100 meters of cable just last week and ordered 15 sets of plugs. It set me back 155 euros (cable 80,-, plugs 75,-) but it's giving me 15 6 meters (18ft) good quality cables (with still 10 meters left).
 
Whoever said mic cable doesn't make a difference? I tried the new Vovox mic cable and it smokes any other cable I have tried. The scary thing is that there was a noticeable difference switching from my Blue Kiwi cable to the Vovox. I would save up a few dollars and try to get the best mic cable you can afford. Why cut corners...and wire? :)
 
I would echo “Make them yourself”. That way you know they are right.

One word of warning though, use the best quality cable you can afford. Saves time, money and embarrassment in the long run.
 
photoresistor said:
I would suggest Canare cables... I have 6 of them and they're great. Not as overpriced as those monster cables either.

Look on Ebay.... thats where I bought mine. Usually you can find okay deals. I just got a 30' XLR star quad Canare cable for about $20 a little while ago. I don't know how that compares to other cable but I'm happy with it.
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I have to confess I got caught up in the Monster cable hype. I do want to use a high-quality cable and connectors and the idea of making them myself appeals to me.

Do most of you agree that ebay is the best resource for finding cable and connectors or are there better places to find good-quality materials?

John
 
i just use livewires for everything going into the mixer in my studio (guitar->behringer v amp2->behringer mixer). going from the mixer to the soundcard and from the soundcard to the speakers i just use pairs of red and grey hosa 1/4" cables.
 
Yeah, I've made a ton of them... they're easy to make if you have good tools like a good soldering station and etc.
 
JohnnyMan said:
Thanks DJL. Have you made any of your own cables?

I was considering making all my own cabling in the future. Is there much difference from making a mic cable vs., say, a patch cable? Do the connectors come with any form of instructions on what to solder where?

John
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Mogami, Belden, and Canare all make good wire.

Mic cables typically use a XLR connector (female on one end, male on the other) while patch cables typically use a TRS connector (male on both ends). Making either one requires roughly the same amount of work.

There are plenty of threads on this BBS about building cables, you'll have to look through some of the older pages to find them. I'd suggest using the search function but apparently it's been disabled temporarily.

Most connectors come with very little if any instructional info. Use Google to see what you can find on the web. It helps if you have some previous experience with a soldering iron, but it you haven't, find a friend to show you how. It takes a little work to get the hang of it. XLR and TRS connectors run about $2-3 apiece so you want to be comfortable before you start building cables.

Good luck!
 
Phyl said:
Mogami, Belden, and Canare all make good wire.

Mic cables typically use a XLR connector (female on one end, male on the other) while patch cables typically use a TRS connector (male on both ends). Making either one requires roughly the same amount of work.

There are plenty of threads on this BBS about building cables, you'll have to look through some of the older pages to find them. I'd suggest using the search function but apparently it's been disabled temporarily.

Most connectors come with very little if any instructional info. Use Google to see what you can find on the web. It helps if you have some previous experience with a soldering iron, but it you haven't, find a friend to show you how. It takes a little work to get the hang of it. XLR and TRS connectors run about $2-3 apiece so you want to be comfortable before you start building cables.

Good luck!
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Thanks for the info Phyl. I have a cheap iron but I think I'll be upgrading it soon. If it’s only a couple of dollars for a connector, I suppose if I screw one up during my first attempts of cable building I won't be too upset.
 
Get a copy of the Sound Reinforcement Handbook by Davis and Jones. It has illustrated guides to soldering up every kind of analog cable and connector you can think of. It was published before the digital era, though, so it's not for digital gear.
 
There's a pretty good concensus among pros about Mogami. Monster is alot of hype for those consumer electronics folks looking to blow $100 on a cable on a rainy day.
 
Cables do make a difference, but many times it depends on the other components in your "chain of events." For example, the soundcard, preamps or monitors may not be able to pick up the nuances of different cables.
Canare, Belden, Blue, Mogami and yes, Monster make excellent cables. Buy them, try them, and return the ones that you don't like.
If you search the internet you can find "big name" endorsements for any of the above brands. Try out as many as you can and pick what works for you.

Terry
 
lpdeluxe said:
Get a copy of the Sound Reinforcement Handbook by Davis and Jones. It has illustrated guides to soldering up every kind of analog cable and connector you can think of. It was published before the digital era, though, so it's not for digital gear.
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Thanks for the suggestion Ipdeluxe. I will look into this book.

Hey one more post and you'll hit 1000. Congrats!!
 
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