cables we never think about...

Okay. So normally when I am recording on location I am the master of redundancy and backup recording (duh). Two nights ago I went to record my wife's high school orchestra holiday concert with of course narrator for a Dickens Christmas story/arrangement. First off, I didn't roll out the HD24XR and I didn't bring my usual trust flash recorder either. It was just going to be a quick down and dirty SF12 recording and jack rigged PA with the wind bands crappy powered mixer for emcee and narrator. I've done shows like this a bazillion point two times and I had just recorded a chamber music concert last Sunday so I KNEW all the gear worked. Did I?

Oiy Weh! (that carriage return was for you, Max )

I get there much later than I usually would because of honey do's and baby stuff and I throw up the SF12 with an initial guess for position. Then I put up the sh***y Crate speakers for PA and run the new cables I had to make for them since the band's cables were cheap and I didn't trust them-they were basically lamp cord with molded TS plugs and they weren't long enough anyway. I fire up the SKB Flyer and. .RED LIGHT on the Fireface 800. Errr. . WTF, Over? OK. Do all the basic troubleshooting crap like restart the FF800, chain the Glyph and FF800 in different orders, connect only one device, et alia. No joy. Well, maybe it's Audition 5.5? So I open 3.01 and no joy; open Reaper and no joy; open (eek!) Pro Tools and really really no joy. Now it's about 6:49 until the concert starts. Again, WTF? Finally I grab in the box of schween and pull out a new 9 pin firewire cable and plug it in. BAM! Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! [you youngin's go ask yer gramps where that quote comes from-then get off my lawn].

Moral of this great big jack a$$ moment=3

1) No gig is too small for redundant recorders-especially if your wife is involved in the performance.

2) USB and Firewire cables go bad just like mic and instrument and speaker cables. Just because we don't think about them or even touch them much doesn't make them immune.

3) You can sweat but don't ever panic! Anything can eventually be jack rigged if you're Jack.

ps-I just completed my monoprice order for several extra redundant cables.