WJD Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 Anyone here make their own cables? I'm considering doing my own. (No, those $100 (discounted!) 12' Monster instrument cables had nothing to do with it, why do you ask???). I've printed out a copy of the Rane Sound System Interconnection guide. So, I'm going to need some 2 conductor shielded cable and some end fittings. Twisted pair cable, I take it? Are their certain gages or suitable types? Do you get the cable at any old electrical shop? Do you get your end fittings at Musician's Friend or other mega stores, or at audio supply stores? If I use good parts, take care, and test the result with a cable tester, are there still any pitfalls? "War stories" welcome. I'm just setting up a home studio, it's not like I'm going to wasting clients time (just my own?) with cable problems. What are your experiences, (sources?), results? -WJD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.prometheus-design.com Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 Here is the deal with cables. You can make anything, anyone else makes cheaper. The only glitch is sometimes the process monster uses to solder and crimp are cleaner than if you do it. I make almost all my own cables including snakes. I buy cable and connectors from H&L Dalis in NewYork. I can get connectors at wholesale a heck of a lot cheaper than any of the audio stores. The cable I use is belcan or canare. Canare is more expensive, but designs audio cable for audio, not just 22gauge paired. I rarely if ever used unbalanced lines so I don't know which cable to buy for instrument cable. I usually spend the bucks on instrument cables because they sound better than homemade. Last year I spent over $500 on connectors and several thousand on cable. Last month I wired a new auditorium with 28 lines to the stage and laid over 2 miles of cable. What a pain :) Have fun chief. PD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gattof Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 I think it is important for anyone in audio to learn how to make their own cables. There will be times when you may have to repair or make up a special cable to continue working. It will give you more confidence in your setup and troubleshooting. Its practice for soldering skills which come in handy for those who don't on a regular basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
where02190 Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 We made every cable here with very few exceptions. Far superior quality, exactly what we want, and a major cost savings. For all the patchbay wiring we used Belden doublejacketed mulitcore, single run cabling is Canare. All are 22 ga. We buy supplies from CBI in Rome NY. 800 346-2462. Hope this is helpful. Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 [quote]Originally posted by where02190: [b]We buy supplies from CBI in Rome NY. 800 346-2462.[/b][/quote]Is there a web site for CBI? I tried searching for CBI and all I get is URLs of CBI product distributors. I have a few sources that I use for cable/connectors and I always like to check out new sources and compare products and prices, since I make all my stuff too (I did a massive studio re-wiring a few months ago). I'm not crazy about the companies that want you to first tell them what and how much you need...and THEN they'll get back to you with a price quote...they usually tend to over-charge. I prefer companies with online catalogs that give you prices, so you can compare. The other one mentioned above H&L Dalis...they want you to "Request a Price Quote"...what the fuck is that? They don't have ANY information online on specific products...and they have a "Credit Application" form...that's a sure fire sign that they are expensive... As an example of different rates at different suppliers: I've seen prices for exactly the same basic Neutrik XLR connector range from $1.50 to $6.00 each!!! Man...that is some variation in pricing!!! You really need to do a lot of web searching to locate your best source for specific items. One company might have a great price on Neutrik XLRs...but have a totally ridiculous price on Neutrik 1/4" TRS plugs...go figure. So...you just get the TRS plugs somewhere else... How's that go? "An educated shopper makes the best customer." ( or something like that). miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 I'm not doing anything complicated or that you can measure in miles, but I needed speaker cables for our PA. I bought 16 ga. speaker cable at a big home improvement store. Then I was stuck - nobody had 1/4 jacks that could take wire that big !!! I was short of time and went out to buy cables anyway. Since then I learned that Switchcraft makes jacks for this. One of these days I'll buy them and finish the project. The message is that you may not always be able to get what you need from your local retailer... "An educated consumer is our best customer" is the Syms slogan miroslav was looking for. Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
where02190 Posted March 23, 2002 Share Posted March 23, 2002 CBI is working on a website, and they will e-mail you a pdf catalog with pricing, which is very competitive. they've done good by us. Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtrmac Posted March 23, 2002 Share Posted March 23, 2002 We use Canare and Neutrik. I've also used Mogami which is very high quality but it's very expensive. Mac Bowne G-Clef Acoustics Ltd. Osaka, Japan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZsound Posted March 23, 2002 Share Posted March 23, 2002 [QUOTE]Originally posted by Tom Capasso: [b]I bought 16 ga. speaker cable at a big home improvement store. [/b] 16 guage is not big speaker wire unless they had a huge wire cover on it to fool you. I would recommend 14 guage or even 12 guage for speaker leads. Jumbo Switchcraft connectors should work well with 14 or 12 guage. Mark G. "A man may fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame others" -- John Burroughs "I consider ethics, as well as religion, as supplements to law in the government of man." -- Thomas Jefferson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleen Posted March 23, 2002 Share Posted March 23, 2002 I buy all my Canare cable & Neutrik connectors from [url=http://www.markertek.com]Markertek[/url] , in Saugerties, NY. Miroslav, they have the standard Neutrik silver XLR's for $1.64/ea. Good deal! Cheers, Don recording/mix guy don gunn.com myspace.com/dongunnmusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazy Hill Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 If you can solder then I would recommend doing your own cables. We at Sis Productions do our own cables and we save a lot of money. We do both studio and live work so we need lots and lots of cables of every type.. Mic cables, speaker cables, line cables, adapters like XLR to 1/4 TRS, XLR to RCA etc etc, snakes, we make them all. Neutrik connectors are expensive but if you have the budget go for it. They are in excellent quality and very very durable (I know from the live work). As for the cables, American brands are expensive here so we use Klotz and Zeck. Good luck. Ufuk Onen www.UfukOnen.com Ankara, Turkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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