UB802/Audiophile2496|MXL990 Which cables do I need?

[HesBigInGermany]

I am going to purchase a modest HR setup and I need to know which cables I will need for my application of this equipment. I will be recording my voice, my classical guitar and my electric guitar.

Unless I have a major change of heart, I'm getting a Behringer UB802 mixer and an MXL990 condenser mic and I will route these into my existing MAudio Audiophile 2496 sound card. If anyone has this setup or something similar, could you please clue me in as to which cables I will find useful. I don't want to shell out for twenty dollar cables that I'll never use. I'm on a budget of about 200 total for my setup.

So far I have sleuthed out that I will need an XLR cable for the mic, and I have rca's aplenty. Will I need an XLR female to RCA (if there is such a thing) in order to preserve the signal integrity of the mic, or can I just use the master out (1/4 to RCA or RCA to RCA). Also: my electric guitar amp crapped out and I want to just plug the 1/4 from my guitar into the phantom power mic in on the mixer. I can use some kind of program or software plugin to create realtime distortion of the guitar signal - right?

I'm also looking for a decent pair of inexpensive (I know: an oxymoron) monitor cans. I presume I should get a pair with 1/4 jacks instead of 3.5 or 1/8, right? And a piggyback cable for monitoring while mixing? Also, a friend recommended getting ANY tube pre instead of a Behringer UB802. Why would this be, and would I be better off with a tube preamp for recording vocals and classical guitar?

 

[Sklathill]

Condenser mics like your 990 are always XLR to XLR. Phantom power and XLR go hand-in-hand. There are no other options for you when it comes to mic cables.

990 <- XLR male/female -> UB802 <- TRS male to RCA male -> Audiophile

Guitars typically require a DI (direct inject) box between the guitar and the mixer, because of the difference in impedance requirements.

The Behringer pres aren't terrible. I would say that they're as usable, if not more so, than your cheap tube pres like the ART MP and the Presonus Blue Tube. I had a UB1202 and both of the pres mentioned above for a while and I used the ART more for guitar DI than as a mic pre.