analogman1 Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 Hi Folks, SO I just rack-mounted my Radial K8 mixer (phenomenal piece, by the way!) and a power conditioner. The cabling is an absolute mess, between input cables, outputs, USB cords, etc. Any tips on how to organize this better? I was thinking if I could get really short extension cables and keep them permanently plugged in the back of the mixer, they wouldn't be flopping all over (I'm really fearful that the USB cable and Power supply cable will take a beating with the power brick and other things floating around. Or do I just start zip-tying stuff? I bought the Gator portable rack mount bag with space at the top for a laptop. There is a hole in the space up there...maybe feed some cabling through there and store it there? Your sage wisdom is highly sought and much appreciated!!! Tom Quote Tom Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursers Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 Hi Tom I have the exact same set-up with a KL-8 and power conditioner. I have them mounted in a deep plastic moulded case. I have the KL-8's power supply and brick velcroed onto the floor of the case, and also leave the USB cable plugged in. Everything I do connect each time. Quote The Keyboard Chronicles Podcast Check out your fellow forumites in an Apple Music playlist Check out your fellow forumites in a Spotify playlist My Music: Stainless Fields Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJkeys Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 Hi Folks, SO I just rack-mounted my Radial K8 mixer (phenomenal piece, by the way!) and a power conditioner. The cabling is an absolute mess, between input cables, outputs, USB cords, etc. Any tips on how to organize this better? I was thinking if I could get really short extension cables and keep them permanently plugged in the back of the mixer, they wouldn't be flopping all over (I'm really fearful that the USB cable and Power supply cable will take a beating with the power brick and other things floating around. Or do I just start zip-tying stuff? I bought the Gator portable rack mount bag with space at the top for a laptop. There is a hole in the space up there...maybe feed some cabling through there and store it there? Your sage wisdom is highly sought and much appreciated!!! Tom I use very short cables for all the internal connection. I will even loop them if possible. I have a 3 space SKB rack and extra cable lengths can also be pushed along the top or sides of the rack- -dj Quote iMac i7 13.5.2 Studio One 5.5.2 Nord Stage 3 Nord Wave 2 Nektar T4 Drawmer DL 241 Focusrite ISA Two Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogman1 Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 Hey Nursers! Thanks, man. I will try to velcro that power brick. I'm also gonna try to get some really short extensions that can stay plugged in for the inputs... its hard to reach inside,,,truthfully it was tough locating any shallow rack cases... I will send a pic once I have it all together. Thanks for your input!!! much appreciated... Quote Tom Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogman1 Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 Hey DJKeys, that's what I was trying to find. Any tips on where I can locate some shorter cables for inside? Quote Tom Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 I have 2 studio racks. I have them configured so that AC power (including wall warts, which generally run DC (may be unfiltered DC) is routed to the Furman rack mount power conditioner I have mounted in the top of the bottom rack. I run as much AC as possible - almost all of it - over to the left side if you are facing the backside of the rack. Most rack gear has the socket for the AC cord or wall wart on the left side of the back. I set it all up and then custom cut all power cords to suit the place I've put them. That is a commitment, I run them first for a while to make sure I like where I've put everything. This is a process, not a "fix it right now" kind of post. I also address all audio cables. If an audio cable must cross a power cable I make certain it is a right angle crossing, they will not run side by side ever. I don't think I have one audio cable crossing a power cable. Audio cables are more work, you can just screw on a power plug for shortening AC cords and the 2 wires that are joined to one strand on a DC power supply can easily be shortened, soldered and covered with heat shrink tubing. I buy remade short audio cables and hook everything up with the shorted possible cables from the ones I've purchased. This helps keep them away from power cables, which can induce noise into your audio. So far, so good, I can get very low-noise recordings with my gear. Good luck! Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnector Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 Basically same idea as KuruPrionz above. Separate audio from power cables and shorten them all so they're just long enough to get to where they need to go. I shorten the cables as opposed to buying new ones. I have dozens of cables I can chop. Not such a big deal if your rack stays in your studio, but if you're hauling it around, it's a "must do". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 I have a recollection of a long thread on rack solutions with photos of very clever cable management. I'll see if I can find this. There are a couple of forum members like EscapeRocks and vonnor that have amazing customized rack solutions. Before meeting vonnor and tapping into his awesome skills of building custom multi-pin snakes (which I am using now for ~5 years), I would order custom snakes from Redco with all the cable fantails created to be exactly the way I need them from keyboards to rack and within the rack. Redco does a really nice job with fair prices and very high quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 After working as SysAdmin and racking thousands of servers the key is how much room in the side of the rack there is. The prefered racks we had room to put a PDU (long power strip) on the side inside of the rack so never had to run power cables very far. Narrow racks had to put a PDU in top or bottom and run power down sides and could get messy depending on what we could attach zip strips or velcro strips to. Doing good cable management can take time to make clean runs, but when something goes wrong it makes tracing and changing cables so much easier. Just be glad you don't have to deal with running fibre cables that stuff is a pain, it breaks if bent too tightly around a corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EscapeRocks Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 I have a recollection of a long thread on rack solutions with photos of very clever cable management. I'll see if I can find this. There are a couple of forum members like EscapeRocks and vonnor that have amazing customized rack solutions. Thanks Eric!! For clean wiring inside my rack, I use right-angle 1/4" TRS plugs It's a bit hard to make out here, but those 6 cables coming out the back of my Focusrite 18i20 are all right angle on that side, and then straight where they attach to the pas thru on my rack i/o panel Quote David Gig Rig:Depends on the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 I think it would help us if we could see a picture of the mess; without a picture it is difficult to offer much advice. Quote 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogman1 Posted November 24, 2021 Author Share Posted November 24, 2021 Thanks folks, lots to think about... WIll post a pic once I'm a little further along in this... Quote Tom Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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