What's the deal with Mogami cables

  • Thread starter Thread starter VTgreen81
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Well, I have some questions.

All this talk of making your own cables has sparked my interest and I want to have a go at it. My questions are:

1) What tools will I need to make:
a)XLR cables
b)1/4" cables
c)RCA cables

2) Are there any resources, tutorials, or FAQ's anyone would recommend that talk about making these kinds of audio cables? I have found numerous sites that deal with DIY cables, but most of them do not address the XLR or 1/4" cables in much detail.
 
Rhythmschism said:
Well, I have some questions.

All this talk of making your own cables has sparked my interest and I want to have a go at it. My questions are:

1) What tools will I need to make:
a)XLR cables
b)1/4" cables
c)RCA cables

2) Are there any resources, tutorials, or FAQ's anyone would recommend that talk about making these kinds of audio cables? I have found numerous sites that deal with DIY cables, but most of them do not address the XLR or 1/4" cables in much detail.
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Well the most important tool your going to need is a good soldering iron... my favorite is the Weller Soldering Station... I'm at home now and my Weller is at our rehearsal studio... and I can't remember the model number... but I think it's a 30-watter... the main thing is... it has a thermal temperature thingy that keeps the heat the same.

Another handy (very handy) tool is a little vice to hold the connectors while you solder them... I use a little vice from a drill press.

Your also going to need some good wire strippers... or a razor knife.

And some small screwdrivers, small needle noise pliers, and wire cutters.

Oh, and use good solder... I use 60/40 rein core silver solder... or whatever it's called.

EDIT: Spelling correction... but I most likely still missed some... oh well.
 
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Well, I think DJL pretty much covered everything. Weller station (or Hakko) is a very good thing to have. Also, get a good quality wire cutter. For solder I would recommend this:

http://www.welbornelabs.com/solder.htm

Scroll down to WelborneLabs silver one--that's what I use and like. It spreads very nicely, makes good joints, and leaves little residual. As cables I use Canare Star-Quad--very quiet, high quality ones, with very good shielding. I got it, as well as Neutrik gold plated XLRs (and only goldplated) from:

www.markertek.com

There is not much tutorial on XLR or 1/4". Just connect pin two of male to pin two of femail with one wire color, pin 3 to pin 3 another color, and then, shield to pins one, and put a jumper to chassis.

Hope it helps.
 
www.markertek.com is where I get my parts and etc from also.

Oops, I see I mispelled rosin... maybe the spelling police won't bust me... oh well, that's what I get for playing hooky and learning to play bass rather than learning how to spell... lol. :D
 
Hey thanks a lot DJL and Marik. What about a crimping tool? I've seen these recommended on various sites, are they neccessary for any of the cable types I've mentioned, or have you ever found the need to use one?
 
Rhythmschism said:
Hey thanks a lot DJL and Marik. What about a crimping tool? I've seen these recommended on various sites, are they neccessary for any of the cable types I've mentioned, or have you ever found the need to use one?
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Nope... I don't used one.
 
I wish there had been a thread like this when I made cables for the first time. Good stuff guys!

Quotes from Markertek:
Canare Star Quad Cable $.36 per ft
Neutrik gold plated XLR connectors: $2.39/2.64

Or you could just go to Sam Ash:
20' monster studio pro 1000 mic cable: $129.95

You decide which is a better deal.
 
noiseportrait said:
I wish there had been a thread like this when I made cables for the first time. Good stuff guys!
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Thanks.

Oh, and Rhythmschism... you may want to pick up some heat shrink tubing also. ;)

Good night everyone... I'm going to go look at the back side of my eye lids for a while... I'm beat.
 
Heat shrink tubing? Cool. What do you use as the heat source?

Also, do you have any idea what temperature (ballpark) I should be soldering at? Or does it matter? Just want to make sure I'm not going to fry the crap out of my solder/cable. One Hakko station I'm looking at has a range of 392°F to 896°F (200°C to 480°C), and it runs at 60 watts. Think that'd be overkill?
 
Rhythmschism said:
Heat shrink tubing? Cool. What do you use as the heat source?

Also, do you have any idea what temperature (ballpark) I should be soldering at? Or does it matter? Just want to make sure I'm not going to fry the crap out of my solder/cable. One Hakko station I'm looking at has a range of 392°F to 896°F (200°C to 480°C), and it runs at 60 watts. Think that'd be overkill?
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I use a heat shrink gun... but you could use a hot hair dryer... and yeah, that's way to hot of an iron IMO... like I said before... I use about a 30-watter. Oh and get some nice little tips for it.

Anyway... good night.
 
<One Hakko station I'm looking at has a range of 392°F to 896°F (200°C to 480°C), and it runs at 60 watts. Think that'd be overkill?>

A good soldering station is never overkill!!! Really!!! Trust me on that!

Although I have at least three, I don't find crimping tools usefull, esp. when you work with Teflon coated wires. It just tears the edges. It takes little bit more time, but I like an old fashioned way--sharp knife to cut insulation--nice and clean.

With heat shrink tubing... You don't really need it for 3 pin XLR, however, it may be usefull for balanced 1/4", or 7 pin XLRs for tube mics--you know when wiring becomes little busy. You can use a heat gun, or gas stove, or even a lighter (will leave residual).

Concerning Monster... I have to confess, I never used microphone one. However, from my experience with audio stuff (speaker cables, interconnects) I have to say that they are expensive and ... pardon me--shitty. Once again, I might be wrong with microphone ones, though.
DJL, I see you can solder. Why would not you get Canare, solder a cable and compare it to your Monsters. Not much money involved, but could be very helpfull...
 
This is an excellent thread. What would complete it now for me would be a little more explanation on the heat-shrink thing, and maybe if someone knew any UK dealers of good cable (connectors are easy enough to find) at decent prices.
 
I just ordered 500' of Canare star-quad (with braided shield) cable and a shitpile of TRS connectors. The cable was only .25/ft. It's cable making time. I need to cable up my new HD24 properly.
 
Marik said:
<One Hakko station I'm looking at has a range of 392°F to 896°F (200°C to 480°C), and it runs at 60 watts. Think that'd be overkill?>

A good soldering station is never overkill!!! Really!!! Trust me on that!

Although I have at least three, I don't find crimping tools usefull, esp. when you work with Teflon coated wires. It just tears the edges. It takes little bit more time, but I like an old fashioned way--sharp knife to cut insulation--nice and clean.

With heat shrink tubing... You don't really need it for 3 pin XLR, however, it may be usefull for balanced 1/4", or 7 pin XLRs for tube mics--you know when wiring becomes little busy. You can use a heat gun, or gas stove, or even a lighter (will leave residual).

Concerning Monster... I have to confess, I never used microphone one. However, from my experience with audio stuff (speaker cables, interconnects) I have to say that they are expensive and ... pardon me--shitty. Once again, I might be wrong with microphone ones, though.
DJL, I see you can solder. Why would not you get Canare, solder a cable and compare it to your Monsters. Not much money involved, but could be very helpfull...
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I was beat last night... and I must agree that a good soldering station is never over kill... but 60-amps? He's not working on a car... lol. Also I will second using a sharp knife... I use a razor knife, but it may not be the best for someone just starting out... because if they are not careful they could cut the shield and etc. Also, I would advise against using a lighter on heat shrink tubing because it will make the cable look shitty... and I like nice cables. Yes, I can solder... and there are a lot things you folks don't know about me that I can do (I don't blow my own horn). I just haven't gotten around to making Canare cables... and money is not an issue (I have more money than brains... lol.). I want to thank you for helping... all your post are very helpful... keep up the good work and thanks again.

EDIT: PS... what size soldering tips do you use? Thanks
 
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You're a funny character sometimes, DJL. Don't be getting all mushy on me though :mad:
 
noisedude said:
This is an excellent thread. What would complete it now for me would be a little more explanation on the heat-shrink thing, and maybe if someone knew any UK dealers of good cable (connectors are easy enough to find) at decent prices.
Click to expand...
A heat shrink gun works best because it shrinks the tubing more even. ;)
 
Hm so now I'm a little confused about the wattage of an appropriate soldering unit. Is 60 watts too much in that its just not neccessary, and a 30 watt unit would be all I needed? Or, is 60 watts going to complicate things when dealing with cables and should be avoided?

This is the unit I'm looking at:

http://www.itcelectronics.com/pdtl-revised.asp?P=2496
 
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