...approximately 60 feet away from my DAW. I would like to try recording different instruments in two different rooms of my house, the entryway and the living room. They both are large rooms with high ceilings and I think drums, acoustic guitars, or maybe amps could sound cool there. Plus the living room has my family's Yamaha baby grand and I REALLY wanna mic that baby up. All sounds go into my Digi 002, two RNP/RNC's, dbx 376, or Bellari RP503(I know, not the best pre's). Right now I have 4 30 foot Monster gold XLR-XLR cables. Two of my friends record with me so I don't have to worry about recording and playing the instruments all by myself.
So how should I go about this? Use long cables? Get a snake? Brands? I want the best quality possible. My pre's are connected to my computer desk, so they're not mobile. There is no way I am going to buy brand-name mic cables that long(too expensive), so I'm going to have my friend teach me to solder. Thanks for any advice on my newest recording dilemma. Oh yeah, I don't plan on using more than six mics at a time in these rooms. -Andrew
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Make cables ... buy a roll of quality cable and some quality XL'
Make cables ...
buy a roll of quality cable and some quality XL's.
make and repair your own cables and that's not just because I'm a DIY nut ... it just makes good sense.
find a tech near by and get to know him well.
if you want to be in this for years to come and you don't want to be the tech then find one now and be good to him or her.
people do bring rolls of cable to me and the connectors, then say they are now broke ... Kev make this list of cables and you can have the leftovers ... pls, pls, pls.
they usually get their cables ... and the leftovers ... I have enough cable.
BUT a local newbie tech near you may feel this is a cool approach and you may just find your special tech.
Kev, so you think using 75 foot cables would be better than a sn
Kev, so you think using 75 foot cables would be better than a snake? I would think mic cables->snake->pre would degrade the quality a bit. It IS an awfully long distance.
My friend's dad is actually an electrical genius. He used to be a really good engineer but he developed schizophrenia on a Catholic pilgrimage to the Vatican...long story, but he's totally a cool guy now. I go to him if I ever have problems with amps, guitars, my car...anything. He does everything for free, too
WRX07 wrote: ... better than a snake? ... It IS an awfully lon
WRX07 wrote: ... better than a snake? ... It IS an awfully long distance.
long ? nah ... 75 metres might be getting long and that doesn't get you far on a Golf Course.
snake or individual
I have both
BUT I started with individual and I am glad I did.
snakes are great for fast set-up and strike.
I think you should have some individual quality ... long ... cables
.. I go to him if I ever have problems with amps, guitars, my car...anything. He does everything for free, too
cool
then use him for this stuff
quality cable is fine BUT if it doesn't solder well or isn't friendly for terminating,
move to another cable or connector.
Let him explain why he likes a cable or not.
Even if you don't tech yourself ... learn about this stuff so you can be better informed.
I built a couple of sub-snakes for primarily studio use using mu
I built a couple of sub-snakes for primarily studio use using multi-conductor Canare Starquad cable and Neutrik XLR Ends. I mostly wanted to clean up long runs of multiple cables to the drum area and the guitar area. The costs I incurred are below.
4 channel:
Canare Starquad L-4E3-4P $1.93 per foot * 50ft = $96.50
Neutrik XLR Male NC3MX-B (black w/gold contacts) $2.49 ea * 4 = $9.96
Neutrik XLR Female NC3FX-B (black w/gold contacts) $2.69 ea * 4 = $10.76
Some heat shrink for the ends: ~$3 at most
Total cost: $120.22
8 channel:
Canare Starquad L-4E3-8P $2.96 per foot * 60ft = $177.60
Neutrik XLR Male NC3MX-B (black w/gold contacts) $2.49 ea * 8 = $19.92
Neutrik XLR Female NC3FX-B (black w/gold contacts) $2.69 ea * 8 = $21.52
Heat shrink ~$6
Total Cost: $219.04
All cable from redco.com and connectors from audiogear.com
I would rank these cables up there with any Monster cable in signal transmission quality and durability. One thing I would mention if you do build it yourself: make sure the "fan tail" of the Male XLR end is wide enough to reach all of the connections on your preamps. If you have a mix of front and rear connection pre's, you might have to make/buy/use some short extension cables to reach them all. Just something to think about before you get everything soldered, covered in heat shrink, and then realize that it won't reach!
A cheaper alternative would be to buy a small stage snake like this:
http://www.audiopile.net/products/Stagelink_snakes/PSPX-8-4/PSPX-8-4_cutsheet.asp ($130 for 50ft 8x4)
The advantage here is that you have a quite durable assembly that also provides returns that you could use for headphone mixes, etc. I have several cabling products from Audiopile and they work great. If you have questions or concerns about the quality or other products, then email Mark at Audiopile (the owner/operator). He is very up front about what his products can and cannot do (pro's and con's).
Just a couple of suggestions. As Kev suggested, there are tech-minded people who enjoy doing what they do that would probably be willing to do the work for cheap or free parts. It sounds like you have found that someone. I'm one of those dorks who now likes to make cables; it's nice to start and finish a project in one night and know that it's done right!. Good luck!
just a crazy idea, but i've seen it done,, to avoid all the LEN
just a crazy idea, but i've seen it done,, to avoid all the LENGTHY CABLES,,, get extension cords for your KEYBOARD, MOUSE, AND MONITOR/MONITOR SPEAKERS and move your computer and interface/hardware down to the area of recording. i usually put my computer to sleep unless i'm not using it for a few days,,, you can still control and hear everything from your control room and not have to buy/make all these arena cables. In fact,,, this is recommended for mixdown/mastering, for getting the computer in a closet or out of the room so that the cpu noise doesn't interfere(which it does) with what you're hearing.
just a thought
if you want to get a snake though for discount,,, EBAY!!! there's a lot of "power-sellers" on there with plenty snakes at different lenths and # of channels.
good luck!
I think it might be more of a pain to move my CPU, digi 002, and
I think it might be more of a pain to move my CPU, digi 002, and rack stuff downstairs, but I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, KTek.
I'm also looking for an 8 channel stage snake to use with my outboard gear and Neutrik patchbay(MIC-SNAKE-IN ON MIC PRE-1/4'' PATCHBAY-IN ON DIGIDESIGN), but I can't find a place to buy just the stage boxes. If I can't find the right material to build my own, would it be rational to buy a stage snake, remove the XLR's and solder on gold Neutrik ones?
are you trying to release an album on a label, a demo to sell at
are you trying to release an album on a label, a demo to sell at shows, or just something for you and your friends?? we all want the best quality possible, but the important thing is that we "GET'R'DONE." whlle the creative juice is flowin! if you've got a "pressing" project to complete that means $$ or recognition from a label, go out and buy the nice cables,,,, but if it's just something for a small community of listeners,,, don't wait around forever before you record so you can afford those expensive cables,,, i use samash cables right now (don't tell anyone) you just get your stuff recorded while the creative juice is HOT!! and do the best you can with what's available. as long as you can listen to it straight through without your ears hurting, getting listening fatigue,,,, go ahead,,, the next cd will be better when you've got your mothership control station and Alien Spacecraft Wiring!! :lol: sorry if i'm being one of those dickhead philosophers here,,, i'm on a pot of coffee and i'm losing my mind trying to clean up the house.
I want better than demo quality. I just feel like if I'm using a
I want better than demo quality. I just feel like if I'm using a thousand dollar mic and a thousand dollar preamp, I'd be more comfortable if I was using a good quality cable that didn't degrade my sound at all.
What do most studios use to connect mics to their outboard gear? Snakes, XLR patchbays?
i here ya. your top cable brands are mogami, cannare, beldin, a
i here ya. your top cable brands are mogami, cannare, beldin, and monster. (monster 1000's might be the match for your $1,000.00 per link signal path.) there's a post a week old here i started called "EPENSIVE CABLES.'' read up in there,,, the people here's replies really helped me out in understanding the physics/contents of what makes a quality cable.
I would get an 8 channel stage snake ....
I would get an 8 channel stage snake ....