modify cable to use insert jacks as just sends ??
- Thread starter smop
- Start date
skippy
New member
Um- sort of. That will work as long as you only go to the first click. If you go all the way in, you'll be shorting your effects loop to ground (sleeve), of course. In that case, you'll get no signal at all either in the main path or the steal- and therein lies the rub.
I always keep a few special insert-stealing cables around, just for good measure. They are unbalanced cables with a TRS plug that has tip and ring shorted, just as was mentioned at the top. They tend to be somewhat more reliable than doing the "first click" insert steal: all it takes is a minor jostle (expecially with cheap plastic TRS jacks that are so common these days) to either break the normal, or disconnect the steal, or both. With the insert-steal cable, you can seat the plug all the way until it latches properly on the tip, and it is much more resistant to mischief.
I also always paint the TRS connector shell red on these, so that they won't be mistaken for a balanced/unbalanced adapter cable: if you tried to use one in that application, the shorted tip and ring would lead to more than a bit of annoyance!
You certainly don't _have_ to go to this trouble, as has been pointed out. However, if insert-stealing is going to be a common part of tracking with your rig, it does pay to build the cables. There's nothing like having the channel drop dead right in the middle of The Take, when the guitarist kicks the leg of the table and the cables move just a bit...
I always keep a few special insert-stealing cables around, just for good measure. They are unbalanced cables with a TRS plug that has tip and ring shorted, just as was mentioned at the top. They tend to be somewhat more reliable than doing the "first click" insert steal: all it takes is a minor jostle (expecially with cheap plastic TRS jacks that are so common these days) to either break the normal, or disconnect the steal, or both. With the insert-steal cable, you can seat the plug all the way until it latches properly on the tip, and it is much more resistant to mischief.
I also always paint the TRS connector shell red on these, so that they won't be mistaken for a balanced/unbalanced adapter cable: if you tried to use one in that application, the shorted tip and ring would lead to more than a bit of annoyance!
You certainly don't _have_ to go to this trouble, as has been pointed out. However, if insert-stealing is going to be a common part of tracking with your rig, it does pay to build the cables. There's nothing like having the channel drop dead right in the middle of The Take, when the guitarist kicks the leg of the table and the cables move just a bit...
skippy
New member
There is no standard. There are mixers designed with send on tip, and mixers with return on tip. You need to consult the doc for your particular mixer to be sure.
The "single-click" mono-cable steal works with either wiring type, because when you insert only to the first click, the normalling contacts do not disconnect the default short that exists from tip to ring when no plug is there at all. They only do that when you get the tip all the way in to the second detent. At least, they don't break the normal on *most* jacks, if you don't wiggle the plug too much, and if the phase of the moon is right. But sometimes, the phase of the moon isn't right. That's usually occasion for a lot of obscenities.
Thus, the insert-stealing cable. Try it with a mono cable, and see.
The "single-click" mono-cable steal works with either wiring type, because when you insert only to the first click, the normalling contacts do not disconnect the default short that exists from tip to ring when no plug is there at all. They only do that when you get the tip all the way in to the second detent. At least, they don't break the normal on *most* jacks, if you don't wiggle the plug too much, and if the phase of the moon is right. But sometimes, the phase of the moon isn't right. That's usually occasion for a lot of obscenities.
Thus, the insert-stealing cable. Try it with a mono cable, and see.