cables: make or buy

[josh]

It has occurred to me that I'm about to offload several porjects in the coming months into my benign rack, and I have only 1 batch of XLR to 1/4" cables which I alternate between the GSSL and G9 now.
I have loads of inputs (Echo Audiofire 8 & 10) and a patch bay I'm not using. ANyhow....

What are your sources for cables parts? Decent quality without a ridiculous pricetag. I would really like to make custom lengths because the outer edge of my setup is a spiderweb of cables and plugs, but I'm not opposed to just buying if the price is right.
What I'm trying to avoid is buying new cables at 25$ each for short and 50$ each for long.

Thoughts?
Do you have some cables you want to sell me?

 

[NewYorkDave]

With a little practice, making XLR and TRS cables is fast and easy. I say, do it yourself!

I use Neutrik connectors and Clark cable--the latter because I'm used to working with it, it's always done a good job for me and we have thousands of feet of it. But cable is like religion or politics for some people: you'll hear some very strong opinions. I've also used Belden, West Penn, Canare, etc. and they're all fine.

DO learn the difference between flexible mic cable (Canare Starquad) and "permanent install" (Belden 8451) type cable. You don't see professionals wiring up racks with mic cable.

 

[McCroskey42]

I bought all my cabling bits and pieces from Redco and had good luck with them. I wound up going with Neutrik connectors and Canare cable.

 

[Emperor-TK]

You should make your own cables IMHO. I went through over a mile of Gepco for my project studio alone. I don't want to think what that would have cost me if I bought pre-made, not to mention the rats nest resulting from fat mic cable and unnecessarily long lengths.

I don't have a strong preference for cable (I bought Gepco because thats what Sam Ash Pro was selling in the early 90's, before I was on the the interweb). But like Dave said, don't do your behind the scenes wiring with mic cable.

I do have a strong preference for connectors though. Neutrik gets my vote too. Very good quality, and super easy to use. No heatshrink/strain relief is needed. I still have nightmares going back to when I used to use Switchcraft with those stupid rubber boots, with the metal crescent inserts and set screws..... uuuuuughhhhh....

 

[NewYorkDave]

Neutrik all the way. Usually, I'm a "buy American" guy (although I don't think Switchcraft even make their stuff here anymore), but the Neutriks are just so obviously superior that I had to switch. Switchcraft was complacent and kept the same pain-in-the-ass design for their XLRs for decades, and along came Neutrik with something better and ate Switchcraft's lunch!

For cabling, Gepco is good, too... I used miles of it when I was building radio studios.

 

[josh]

Awesome.

Is there another place besides Redco you guys recommend, just for comparison shopping?
I like Neutrik, but some of their connectors can be quite large. The 1/4" bodies cannot be any larger than 9/16" or they'll be pushing against each other at my audio interface. The xlr to 1/4" I currently have are Proco and they are too big and it hurts my feelings to abuse the back of my Echo's like that. :wink:

I'm not real anal about cabling, high quality stuff is good enough in my book. Right now my entire rig is monster for longer runs, and Mogami for the shorter stuff, but I have spent probably close to 1k on cables over the years and I still dont have "exactly" what I need.
I'll check out those wire suppliers.

Thanks guys!

 

[Apache5]

Neutrik has thinner connectors that fit in back connectors of my motu 828mkII and I think that will be fine with and echo too, probably.

http://es.farnell.com/jsp/Connectors/Audio/NEUTRIK/NP3+TT+P-B/displayProduct.jsp?sku=1204614

NP3 TT P-B are they name in farnell and I think that they are more expensive that normal ones... :sad:
hope that helps

Arnau

 

[Freq Band]

Those are TT bantam patch bay connectors , not the same as regular 1/4" phono, won't fit.

Neutrik does make a slimmer 1/4" phono, (a special order here)...because I had the same problem.

NP2X series:
http://www.neutrik.com/content/products/productsearch.aspx


I've added up the costs. Even though I pay top dollar for the the Neutrik parts, DIY'ing my own cables will cost me 50% less than pre-made cables.
But there is the time involved....so...

=FB=

 

[Apache5]

Yes, sorry you are thruth, theese are the tt patch ones... I fail the search on farnell... I was talking about NP3TB-B, I think

http://es.farnell.com/jsp/Connectors/Audio/NEUTRIK/NP3TB-B/displayProduct.jsp?sku=439125

That are the ones that I own... I haven't seen the ones that you point but seems to be ok too

Arnau

 

[josh]

It appears that this one should fit

http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=210

They are only 0.01" larger than what I measure with my tape measure, which may very well have been the same size.

 

[Emperor-TK]

If it's for the back of your rack, I'd suggest the cheaper and smaller Neutrik NYS228 (the HP3C and NYS202 at Redco should be fine too). I usually do heatshrink on these though for a little extra stain relief and insulation.

-Chris

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Markertek (too lazy to link--google it) is another good place to shop. I've gotten good deals on bulk cable and connectors there. Ditto on the Neutrik stuff everyone else has posted. They are easy to assemble and work well. Get your parts together and make a list of cable types and lengths. Put on a good CD and start soldering. It doesn't take that long once you make a few for practice.

A P

 

[CroatianSensation]

I've ordered from this site several times:
http://www.studiowiring.com/
The owner Scott is the only guy you deal with.
He's really cool, has good prices and always has an interesting story.. or two.

-J

 

[walter]

I bought a ten pack of 20' GLS mic cables from Orange county speaker for $50.00. I also got some extra XLR ends, I cut the 20 footers to length and make my own. That's the cheapest route, and not so bad quality, although I've only had them a year, I don't know how well they age.

 

[Freq Band]

I'm going to quote myself from a post over at rec.org

I'm pretty rough on cables. For instance, when it's 2am and I can't get that prefect sound I want from a misbehaving reverb unit.....I'll grab a spare 3' XLR and beat that box 'till it does what I want. Or, one time my neighbor needed to haul a swamp cooler up to his roof, but we didn't have any rope....well we learned the hard way to use 'locking' XLRs , and ALWAYS TIE THE DOG UP away from any potential impact zone.

Seriously, I think I'll do a test tonite and wire up one Neutrik and one Switchcraft ....put each in a vice...and PULL. We'll see what kind of abuse they can take. I'll let you know.

I have just finished my home-brewed "Cable Pull Test" using 1 each :

1/4" Neutrik NP2C mono plug (plastic 'cinch' crimp)
vs.
1/4" Neutrik "Switchcraft style" mono plug(metal bend-over crimp)

.......connected on either end of a length of Canare L-4E6S quad wire/braided shield and soldered well.

I put the tested plug inbetween a partially open vice ,lengthwise as to allow the cable travel freely but stop the plug from moving/traveling through the vice openings( like as if , say, you were pulling a rotwieller through a mouse hole on a leash).

"Switchcraft style" was the first victim: Pulled hard. Real hard. Even harder.....and snap! (results follow)

Neutrik NP2C: Pulled just as hard or harder....nothing. My grip on the cable was matched by the Neutrik's opposite grip on the cable. But I was determined to seperate this cable from it's temporary home, so I got a square piece of steel with some holes in it and tied my best "cable yanking knot" and made some sort of lever/folcrum(sp) thingy to pry it out of it's socket. That worked.

Where do you think the weakest point was? or where did it break?

They both tore away at the wire - in that little space between the solder joint and the cable's jacket/sleeve. The solder was fine. Both plugs remained undamaged (I will reuse these!). The "Switchcraft style" had a small tear where the sharp metal crimp had been. The other left no damage, but the plastic "cinch crimp" just seemed to hold on tighter.

What does this all mean? Well to my thinking, it means that a tearout will not likley ever occur in a studio setting. The plug will just pop out of it's jack first. And a more real world situation, is when you wrap that cable around your foot and yank it while running to catch your Gibson Les Paul from sliding off the chair you stupidly left there while at the same time the cable yank made your precious amp-stack discover gravity, and impaled itself on a short mic stand.
And in that case, the cable/plug will jerk at an angle - and given my tests here, will damage the next weakest link, THE JACK ON YOUR GEAR!

So I have discovered not to worry about a superior crimp system,
but worry about the quality of inferior (interior)gear jacks!

SHORT CONCLUSION: The strain relief on the NP2C is better, although you can make some extra strain prevention on those Switchcraft ones by creatively using some heatshrink tubing .
Don't wiggle/bend those cables so much, and ....put that Les Paul on it's stand next time! Or better yet, give it to me for safekeeping.

=FB=

 

[audio2]

first buy the parts. then make them! it will save you at least half the price with as good quality.

 

[aortizjr]

To save money build them yourself. No question. You can build some high quality cables for way below the price. Of course it does take time. So take that into account.

But for me, my wallet considers my time free...

Since you are in the US, you have some good options. Neutrik is cheaper than Switchcraft, easier to assemble, and I think has better strain relief.

For just general use cable, you can't go wrong with Canare StarQuad. Check out www.fullcompass.com. In quantities they are the cheapest I have found. But with StarQuad, it is cheaper than most, 4-conductor, and can be used in the studio, on stage, etc.

But to save more money, you really need to get the right cable for the application. Sure, StarQuad will work, but getting foil shield install cable for places where they aren't moved much.

Mogami makes great cables as well, but you will pay more for them.

Other info:

www.redco.com has a great selection, great prices and the redco brand is pretty good. They are a small company and have great service. I buy from them a lot.

www.markertek.com - big electronics store so you can gets lots of stuff. Great prices.

www.fullcompass.com - in quantities, best prices around. Great place to buy gear. But they also have a lot of install cable available for cheap. Like Belden, etc.

www.cablesforless.com - cheapest mobile mic cable I have found. Probably ok for shorter patch cables. I have heard good things, but haven't used it.

www.speakerrepair.com - neutrik clones that seem decent and you can get them at a great price. The cable is super flexible. I bought a couple about a year ago and they have been holding up just fine.

www.mouser.com - carries pomona, neutrik, switchcraft. Pretty good prices. When ordering other parts, I will sometimes re-stock some spare connectors.

But grab some beers, a cable tester/multi-meter, throw on some bad TV, and make some cables.

 

[SonsOfThunder]

Nice summary, aortizjr.

I'll cast my vote for Markertek. Good service and always seem to have everything in stock and to my door pretty quickly.

>>>...pushing against each other at my audio interface.

I have the same problem with spacing on my MOTU 1224s. I changed all my 1/4 plugs to Switchcraft because they were easy to get and easy enough to work with.

I use Canare L-4E5C in the back of my rack. I don't have so many cables though. (cause I don't have that much equipment! :green

HTH!
Charlie

 

[Kamel]

DO IT YOURSELF!!!!
for the price of pre made sh*t cable, you will have hight quality ones, and of course, if there is wire problem, you know who is responsible :wink:

my preference is going to mogami to mic cable and canare to wiring gear..... there is so much religion with cable :roll:

 

[CJ]

Not suprised no one has revealed the correct answer here.

1) Go to AES
2) Get your free Neutric I/O samples
3) Go back and Get your free samples
4) Go back and Get your free samples
5) Go back and Get your free samples
6) Go back and Get your free samples
7) Have Tommypiper Go back and Get your free samples
8) Have FUM Go back and Get your free samples
9) Have Pucho Go back and Get your free samples
10) Repeat steps 7-9
11) Repeat steps 10)
.
.
.
.
.
Ooops! Amost forgot. Part 2:

1) Go by the Mogami Booth and get your free sample.
2) Repeat steps 2-11 from above
3) 12) Start your stinkin job and get your pay

If not done like this, it is not DIY but retail, and therefore does not belong round here., because round here were carving out our names
Round here we all look the same
Round here we talk just like lions
But we sacrifice like lambs
Round here shes slipping through my hands