What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Evan Kirkendall said:
Nothing screams amateur hour like a stage full of colorful cables.



Evan
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Amateur that I am I have all kinds of wild colors. My typical stage layout for vocals goes L > R red - white - blue across the front. It helps my po little pea brain remember things. I've been rolling my own for years too and have mostly Canare Star Quad with Neutrik connectors but have lately had a fling with the new Switchcrafts suggested by the cable girl at Camel Traders and the elusive but wildly flexible MusiLUX-Wirelux cable.
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Never bought a "pre made" Mic cable... (or Spkr./Pwr.) always build my own. Grey Canare Quad & Black/gold Neutrik XLR's w/3"shrink under the chuck.. PERIOD...! never fail, but if they did.. i'd just fix em! end of storie :) thats quality!!!
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Ditto on the above... My cable of choice for the money.....
Black Canare Starquad L-4E6S and Neutrik connectors.
I either make my own or Whirlwind sells them pre-made. I've never had one fail.....
 
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Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Micky Basiliere said:
Never bought a "pre made" Mic cable... (or Spkr./Pwr.) always build my own. Grey Canare Quad & Black/gold Neutrik XLR's w/3"shrink under the chuck.. PERIOD...! never fail, but if they did.. i'd just fix em! end of storie :) thats quality!!!
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Its not as though I couldn't, I'm a broadcast engineer by trade.....its just a matter of spending an entire day off soldering mic cables or just paying a few more dollars for someone else to do it.
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Brandon Blakeney said:
Its not as though I couldn't, I'm a broadcast engineer by trade.....its just a matter of spending an entire day off soldering mic cables or just paying a few more dollars for someone else to do it.
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A good point. Funny how I don't mind paying top dollar for certain services yet will often do other things the hard way from scratch. There must me something therapeutic about soldering cables. I do have some nice mic cables made by a local friend that was a wizard with the solder wand. 20 years later and still no problems other than the plastic Neutrik boots fall apart so they look kinda ratty. I've said it before and it deserves a repeat - those really old big heavy Belden mic cables with the old rubber boot Switchcrafts never go bad. There are still plenty of them working 40 years later.

So has anyone else ever run across the ultra wambley WireLUX-MusiLUX wire? I kinda like it but have not had it long enough to say if it will last forever.
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Gene Hardage said:
A good point. Funny how I don't mind paying top dollar for certain services yet will often do other things the hard way from scratch. There must me something therapeutic about soldering cables......
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I agree, there is something therapeutic. And given how fiddly the Canare Starquad braid is, it takes me, about 10 minutes per cable. Not fast by any means. :razz:
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Michael Smithers said:
I agree, there is something therapeutic. And given how fiddly the Canare Starquad braid is, it takes me, about 10 minutes per cable. Not fast by any means. :razz:
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So, how much do you like to make per hour? I'm at about $50 minimum to be happy. Would you pay an additional $8.33 per cable to have a professional do it with a warranty? I sure would, and CBI does it for considerably less than that (usually ends up about being the same as buying the parts alone once you figure in everything).

In fact, I recently bought a 200' D-Cat5 cable from CBI. It was cheaper to have them terminate with RJ45 and Ethercon than to just buy the wire alone...
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Silas Pradetto said:
So, how much do you like to make per hour? I'm at about $50 minimum to be happy. Would you pay an additional $8.33 per cable?
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If I was making $50 / hour to assemble cables I would probably be able to retire on a private island by this point. As owner of a relatively young company I would much rather keep that extra $8.33 / cable in my bank account and sacrifice a little free time to make a $50/ hour sweat equity investment in my company.
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Michael Smithers said:
I agree, there is something therapeutic. And given how fiddly the Canare Starquad braid is, it takes me, about 10 minutes per cable. Not fast by any means. :razz:
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I see no reason for using star quad by Canare, Gepco, et. al. for exactly that reason-it's a royal PITA to work into a regular XLR connector. Just one of the reasons I really like the X-Band cable from Gepco.

Best regards,

John
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

John Halliburton said:
I see no reason for using star quad by Canare, Gepco, et. al. for exactly that reason-it's a royal PITA to work into a regular XLR connector. Just one of the reasons I really like the X-Band cable from Gepco.

Best regards,

John
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All this talk about time and effort for cables is my cue to re-mention that elusive wireLUX-MusiLUX flippity floppity cable. It has a newfangled plastic shield (no wire braid) and it practically makes itself it's so easy to work with. As mentioned before it's too soon to tell how well it will hold up as my oldest one is about a year old. So how about those new Switchcraft ends that are similar to the Neutriks? Anybody else try them yet? I kinda like them so too and hope they hold up.

I have a confession to make...

...I'm kind of a wire nut. :roll:
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Tom Manchester said:
If I was making $50 / hour to assemble cables I would probably be able to retire on a private island by this point. As owner of a relatively young company I would much rather keep that extra $8.33 / cable in my bank account and sacrifice a little free time to make a $50/ hour sweat equity investment in my company.
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Why is everyone missing the point? The point is, it's cheaper to have a cable company manufacture the cable at considerably less than $8.33 per cable additional cost, and you as the company owner spend that extra hour getting extra business for the company instead!

It's the whole outsourcing/core competency thing I learned in college...do what you do best, and leave the rest for another company to do, since it's their core competency!

I don't know about you, but I don't have 5 minutes to devote to making cables (somehow I have 5 minutes to post this?). I guess YMMV...
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

My boss repairs and builds specialized cables between phone calls and other aspects of sales and administration, but mundane things like mic cables are purchased.

FWIW, I still own and use mic cables I built 25 years ago, Belden 8412 with Switchcraft connectors.
 
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Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Silas Pradetto said:
Why is everyone missing the point? The point is, it's cheaper to have a cable company manufacture the cable at considerably less than $8.33 per cable additional cost, and you as the company owner spend that extra hour getting extra business for the company instead!

It's the whole outsourcing/core competency thing I learned in college...do what you do best, and leave the rest for another company to do, since it's their core competency!

I don't know about you, but I don't have 5 minutes to devote to making cables (somehow I have 5 minutes to post this?). I guess YMMV...
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There is a soldering iron in front of my computer at my desk. Today I made 1 mic cable while on hold with Ryder about a truck reservation for this weekend. The connectors were free, cast offs from an old install. The cable was about $4 for 25'. Even at 1 cable per day, that's 20 cables done by the end of the month. If you are resourceful, it's a pretty significant savings.
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

I think it all comes down on whether you like to solder or not. When I was young I used to enjoy it. Now that it requires reading glasses for me to even attempt, much less. I like the EWI cables for a bulk buy. Canare/Neutrik for when I want the best. Both work well and have been reliable. One just makes me feel better although somewhat lighter in the pocket.
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

In my systems, I make all of my own cables using Belden 8412 wire and switchcraft connectors. I also have each cable labeled at each end with my company name, cable number, and manufacture date. The label is color coded so I can tell the length quickly by color. The label is then covered with a clear piece of shrink tube for a very long lasting finish. I make cables a few times a year. Great way to spend some time while watching TV. The nice thing about making my own cables is that they all look the same, and I can easily tell which are mine.

If I'm ever selling cables, I'd go with pre-made, for sure. Cost is less than if I make my own, and none of my labor is needed. But definitely watch out for the 'cheap' cables. I bought some Audio Technica cables ones. Total crap. They started falling apart after 6 months. If you looked at the jacket wrong, it would split open on you. I've since standardized on Whirlwind cables for sale. They have a few different grades to choose from, but even their cheap end is a decent quality cable.
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

Silas Pradetto said:
No, but corporate events would likely make the rainbow unacceptable.

Neutrik makes colored boots for exactly this reason. I use them to mark length.
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I use the colored cables I do have for rewiring temporary and rental racks so I can easily talk someone through a dummy troubleshoot over the phone. Has saved the day a few times when clients don't really grasp the concept of signal flow.
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

CBI Ultimates are all we use , no issues ever and they hold up through the most harsh conditions. Had the cheaper cables with Chinese connectors, won't go there again. The Ultimates are a fantastic bang for the buck.
 
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?

John Chiara said:
I use the colored cables I do have for rewiring temporary and rental racks so I can easily talk someone through a dummy troubleshoot over the phone. Has saved the day a few times when clients don't really grasp the concept of signal flow.
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Agreed! Inside of racks tends to be more of a rainbow, but with the covers on, you don't see it. And when wiring up a rack, I like to make custom length cables for everything, so pre-made isn't much of a savings.
 
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