Microphone Cable Question?
- Thread starter DrummerGW
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CrowsofFritz
Flamingo!
Unless the cable is absolute S**t, your not going to hear much of a difference between cables. Just go out and don't buy a crappy one.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Exactly.
Frankly, the two main things I look for in a mic cable are the quality of the connectors--I prefer to see Neutrik there--and the way the cable feels when I handle it. Better cables will coil nicely when you put them away; the cheaper ones are far more prone to kinking and not laying flat.
Neither of these have anything to do with the sound quality but make a big difference in reliability and longevity.
Frankly, the two main things I look for in a mic cable are the quality of the connectors--I prefer to see Neutrik there--and the way the cable feels when I handle it. Better cables will coil nicely when you put them away; the cheaper ones are far more prone to kinking and not laying flat.
Neither of these have anything to do with the sound quality but make a big difference in reliability and longevity.
That's why I always purchase (and haven't in some time now due to their durability) Rapo's RodHog Series - not the cloth ones but the rubber ones.
Every time any one see or handles them they ask what they are and where to get them.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Just to get on my usual hobby horse here, everyone interested in home recording really should invest in a reasonable soldering iron and teach themselves the basics of making their own cables.
XLRs are about the easiest "starter" soldering project you can do--and it's cheap to buy a hundred meter real of really good cable plus some connectors then "roll your own". It also means that, should you have a problem in the future, you can probably repair an existing cable rather than buying new. It also means that, if the perfect length for your studio is 17 feet 6 inches, you can make some cables of exactly that length.
XLRs are about the easiest "starter" soldering project you can do--and it's cheap to buy a hundred meter real of really good cable plus some connectors then "roll your own". It also means that, should you have a problem in the future, you can probably repair an existing cable rather than buying new. It also means that, if the perfect length for your studio is 17 feet 6 inches, you can make some cables of exactly that length.
BDiNkY30
New member
Very interesting!! 2 questions (maybe a redundant one but here it goes) Is a factory solder going to have better quality than my own solder? or is there no difference at all? Also, what is the best quality brand of cable that i can purchase and what is the best quality XLR and 1/4" jack that i can purchase?
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Actually, factory solder may well be more difficult to work with. Newish regulations mean that most manufactured items now have to use lead free solder and this needs a higher temperature to melt and flow nicely. Luckily, we home build types can still buy the old stuff.
I've never worried (or even noticed) the brand name on the solder I buy--I just make sure it's 60/40 lead tin (sometime called 63/37 but it's the same) with a resin (flux) core. For 99% of what I do, 1mm (1/32 inch) is the size to buy--I only use thinner stuff when working on small ICs.
For XLRs, I pretty well always go with Neutrik, generally the NC3FX or NC3MX (the F and M are for male and female).
For quarter inch, it's a bit tougher. Neutrik make excellent quality connectors but they're a pig to solder--so I tend to go for a cheaper alternative because I'm lazy. (The difference it that Neutrik only give flat metal spades to solder to so it takes 3 hands to get the cable cores to stay put while soldering. The cheaper ones have tiny holes you can wedge the copper into!) I notice you're in New York, so my supplier in the UK (I'm still working through the hundred or so connectors I bought before moving to Aus) wouldn't help you much but I'm sure others will pipe up.
It's the same on the cable itself--not sure my usual brands would be available in the USA. However, in case they are, I tended to use either Canford HST (helical screened twin) or Van Damme XKE. The Van Damme was excellent but way more expensive so I tended to stick to that for cables I knew were going to have a really rough life in a live environment!
Again, I suspect some Americans will pop by with some of their local favourites.
I've never worried (or even noticed) the brand name on the solder I buy--I just make sure it's 60/40 lead tin (sometime called 63/37 but it's the same) with a resin (flux) core. For 99% of what I do, 1mm (1/32 inch) is the size to buy--I only use thinner stuff when working on small ICs.
For XLRs, I pretty well always go with Neutrik, generally the NC3FX or NC3MX (the F and M are for male and female).
For quarter inch, it's a bit tougher. Neutrik make excellent quality connectors but they're a pig to solder--so I tend to go for a cheaper alternative because I'm lazy. (The difference it that Neutrik only give flat metal spades to solder to so it takes 3 hands to get the cable cores to stay put while soldering. The cheaper ones have tiny holes you can wedge the copper into!) I notice you're in New York, so my supplier in the UK (I'm still working through the hundred or so connectors I bought before moving to Aus) wouldn't help you much but I'm sure others will pipe up.
It's the same on the cable itself--not sure my usual brands would be available in the USA. However, in case they are, I tended to use either Canford HST (helical screened twin) or Van Damme XKE. The Van Damme was excellent but way more expensive so I tended to stick to that for cables I knew were going to have a really rough life in a live environment!
Again, I suspect some Americans will pop by with some of their local favourites.
haunt
Maker of Noise
I just learned how to make my own unbalanced 1/4" to RCA & RCA-RCA cables yesterday; escaping with no burns, melted parts, ruined clothing or fires started! Also successful cables free of shorts.
I wholeheartedly recommend Neutrik/Mogami down the line, regardless of connector type.
I wholeheartedly recommend Neutrik/Mogami down the line, regardless of connector type.
That's amazing! No matter what -- I always end up nipping a finger or what have you with the soldering iron.
Took me years to figure out what side of the soldering iron to hold.
It does ..... but you have to get it wet first by touching it to your eyeball!
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
Sometimes it's worthwhile to check out used gear bins at Guitar Center. I hit the jackpot. After guitarmageddon, they left *8* 20' Kiwi quad mic cables in a bin, barely used, marked down to $12 each! I bought the whole lot, and they are *great* cables, almost impossible to kill. All I'm saying is- keep your eyes open. Those cables were mixed in with a whole bunch of Hosa garbage, but the bright green color caught my eye. I doubt I could build cables of equivalent quality for anywhere near that price. Since then, I've found Monster and Mogami cables in that bin, from $5 to $15. Monster cables may be overated, overpriced, and overhyped, but at $5, they look a lot better.-Richie
witzendoz
Senior Member
My favourite brands are:
Beldon, Canare and Eurocable, I have never had problems with any of these brands. I have also used cable sold under the Altronics brand name and never had a problem, however I only buy the heavy duty range with the thicker core sizes. I have some Beldon and Canare cables that were originally on my touring PA system and would be over 30 years old and still are noise free and work perfect.
I did get stung with some cheap mic cables once, china no name brand, that had very thin copper cores and poor insulation, the problem was that they could not handle the phantom power and caused a volt drop which made the mics noisy. Having said that, proper name brand cable made in china under licence and with proper quality controls work fine.
Nowadays I nearly always make my own cables.
Alan
Beldon, Canare and Eurocable, I have never had problems with any of these brands. I have also used cable sold under the Altronics brand name and never had a problem, however I only buy the heavy duty range with the thicker core sizes. I have some Beldon and Canare cables that were originally on my touring PA system and would be over 30 years old and still are noise free and work perfect.
I did get stung with some cheap mic cables once, china no name brand, that had very thin copper cores and poor insulation, the problem was that they could not handle the phantom power and caused a volt drop which made the mics noisy. Having said that, proper name brand cable made in china under licence and with proper quality controls work fine.
Nowadays I nearly always make my own cables.
Alan
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Wow! Those must have been REALLY cheap if the cores are so small they can't carry phantom!
That said, I succombed and bought a six pack of cheap cables about 11 years ago. The actually worked fine and all but one are still working--but the arrived in a pack cinched really tightly to make them small--and, even a decade on, the outer insulation is so stiff that they STILL have a slight zig zag shape rather than lying flat. As I say, so long as the cables hit a certainly level of quality, the big difference is handling quality rather than anything electrical.
And, yeah, I make my own cables too...in fact have some soldering to do this afternoon.
That said, I succombed and bought a six pack of cheap cables about 11 years ago. The actually worked fine and all but one are still working--but the arrived in a pack cinched really tightly to make them small--and, even a decade on, the outer insulation is so stiff that they STILL have a slight zig zag shape rather than lying flat. As I say, so long as the cables hit a certainly level of quality, the big difference is handling quality rather than anything electrical.
And, yeah, I make my own cables too...in fact have some soldering to do this afternoon.
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witzendoz
Senior Member
I found the problem by accident, I plugged in a cable tester and found there was voltage bleed between the cores due to the insulation breaking down. I also had trouble with the cable continuously breaking at the solder joints whenever the slightest force was applied. In the bin with them.
I used to have problems when I did live sound, the cables would not lay flat or wind up in cold weather. So whenever we had a nice sunny hot day and some spare time I would leave the cables laid out in the sun for an hour, the kinks soon go. The lighting tech and myself used to call it a maintenance day, every cable got laid out on the drive and we would sit and have a cold beer before cleaning the cables down and winding them up (also giving them a check), more like a maintenance day for us really.
Alan.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
LOL...yup, using the drive as a maintenance tool is something I do as well...including the beer in a stubby holder to fight dehydration! Funnily enough it works far better here in Queensland than it did in the UK where you could often wait months for warm sunny weather to coincide with a spare day!
Alas, my cheapy cables are stubborn enough that even the Qld sun can't fully eliminate the kinks!
Alas, my cheapy cables are stubborn enough that even the Qld sun can't fully eliminate the kinks!