Members 55fmj Posted May 5, 2012 Members Share Posted May 5, 2012 What are the opinions on seismic audio XLR snakes ? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Miko Man Posted May 5, 2012 Members Share Posted May 5, 2012 The general opinion (based on my reading of responses to this very question on this forum) is "not very good", and not a particularly good value for the dollar if you plan on having it a while. I own two of the EWI snakes. If I was touring, I would probably step up a notch or two in durability, but I'm a small time operator compared to some of the folks here, and not using my gear very hard. YMMV. Mark C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted May 5, 2012 Members Share Posted May 5, 2012 Lotta love from many of folks here for Mark and Liz's EWI snakes which are a great bank for the buck here's their link http://www.audiopile.net/products/Stagelink_snakes/Snakes.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted May 5, 2012 Members Share Posted May 5, 2012 I have their 16x15x15 splitter snake. I got it new for $100 or so last year when I thought I had a use for it (internet broadcast). It was unboxed for the first time last Saturday for a separate monitor mixer (SL16 on-stage and IEM's) and worked well enough. At first glance it seems well made. I figured I might use it a time or two a year so wasn't too worried about durability but it might now get used a dozen times a year or more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted May 5, 2012 Members Share Posted May 5, 2012 Stay far far away from siesmic snakes/cable. crap cable, crap connectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted May 5, 2012 Members Share Posted May 5, 2012 What are the opinions on seismic audio XLR snakes ?thanks The only Seismic Audio product I own, is a 24-channel patch-snake, which I bought solely for testing a new piece of gear. If I remember correctly, it cost something like $60, so I wasn't expecting much, and I basically got what I expected. At the same time, I ordered three 8-channel EWI patch-snakes, and there really was no comparison in quality. The EWI's were a MUCH better product. That said, Seismic seems to offer two levels of quality, in "some" of their products. I could have bought their more expensive 24-channel patch-snake, but I like doing business with Mark and Liz at EWI. I've always been happy with every one of my purchases from EWI (Audiopile.net) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B. Adams Posted May 6, 2012 Members Share Posted May 6, 2012 I have a Seismic insert snake. It works, but not real well. When it came, it had one broken solder joint on a connector. Easy fix, but that shouldn't happen when stuff is new. The connectors on that cable are crap, the cable is corroded even though its brand new, and the cable just looks cheap inside. Also, the tip side of the cable is labelled red, and the ring black. It's what I consider backwards for an insert snake. The cable does work like it's supposed to, so I guess I can't fault it too much, but it's not my favorite. I definitely won't be buying another. The EWI stuff is much better, and Mark and Liz really stand behind everything they sell. There's a reason they get recommended so often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted May 6, 2012 Members Share Posted May 6, 2012 I bought 2 of these 10' snakes from them. One was XLR at both ends, the other was TRS - XLRM Seemed decent enough, but the male ends were a pretty poor fit for the female jack. So I replaced all the ends with neutrik, that glide in & out like butter. . A 10' 8channel XLR snake is $115 in my neck of the woods. I think the connectors are about $4 each, the snake was $45 off eBay so it probably worked out to the same price. I saved on the XLR - TRS as the TRS ends were pretty decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Miko Man Posted May 6, 2012 Members Share Posted May 6, 2012 My response should have said that I was talking about stage snakes, not patch snakes. The ease of fixing a patch snake, versus fixing something in the stage box, is perhaps worth considering. The stresses and harder life of a stage snake are also an issue. FWIW, I have an 8x4-50' and a 24x8-100' snake. Mark C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted May 6, 2012 Members Share Posted May 6, 2012 I have a 100' EWI 24x8 I really like it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stangconv Posted May 7, 2012 Members Share Posted May 7, 2012 I have a yorkville 100' 16x4 that I really like. Neutric ends. I wish it was a 16x8 but I grabbed it used and it's very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted May 7, 2012 Members Share Posted May 7, 2012 Nice!!! I had a 100' Yorkville snake with power returns. Perfect for when I had a Powermax16! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LewnWorx Posted May 7, 2012 Members Share Posted May 7, 2012 I've got one of Seismic's 24 channel 15/30' splitter snakes. I knew it was a cheap POS going into it, and knew what I was getting into. The cable is horrible. It's got a ridiculous OD (for example, it's almost twice the OD Of my 40 channel "real" snake with only about half the channels). The outer jacket is abysmal, it doesn't over under well at all, and you can feel the inner channels move around under the jacket when you manipulate the cable. The cable is stupidly heavy (this thing weighs almost as my 32x8 150' CBI that has good quality lo-cap Belden, but only has 45' of multicore). The ends are passible but far from ideal. The only way I use this thing is to not uncoil it. I drop it on the stage next to the FOH stage box, bring in my "real" snake and patch everything in one place. It'll hold up as long as you don't uncoil it, so in short, don't use their stage snakes as well, snakes, because the cable will probably fall apart after regular use. I ring it out with a cable tester after every use. Thus far I haven't had any problems with it, but that's mainly because it doesn't really get "used" in the traditional sense (it never uncoils). For a permanent install, they might be passible, but I certainly wouldn't use one in the traditional sense. If you're on a budget, go get a CBI or EWI if you can't afford the high end stuff. I don't have any EWI snakes, so but have heard good things, and if EWI's bulk mic quad mic cable is any indication, is probably a very good product. My main 32x8 150' is a CBI. It's all neutrik, good quality belden multicore, and is easy to work with. Infinitely better quality work on the shrink work on the fan, and is just a far superior product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KF650SB1000 Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 If you're West Coast USA... EWIIf you're East Coast USA... CBI We have both (plus Whirlwind) and haven't had any issue. CBI will custom make you any type of cable or snake set-up for cheaper than you think (contact your favorite local dealer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 I'll +1 CBI. I have a local dealer that's been able to match the EWI prices even when I wanted something semi-custom. I have a 20x0x100 send snake (custom build of a 16x4x100) and an 8x100 drive snake from CBI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 One thing I learned when snake shopping was according to my local Guitar Center rep, the house brand Guitar Center snakes are warranted for life and they'll swap them out if you have any problems at all. That really swayed my decision towards them. I went with a cheap used one just to get through a few shows but I'm still on the market and trying to decide if a 16x8 reel snake or a regular snake would be better suited to what I'm doing. If I go with a regular snake, I'll likely deal with one of the GC ones, as I don't use a full 16 channel snake (so if a channel dies mid-show it's easy to swap out) and it's a lot easier to walk into GC to swap out a product than to deal with warranty work on a mail-ordered or custom one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LewnWorx Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 One thing I learned when snake shopping was according to my local Guitar Center rep, the house brand Guitar Center snakes are warranted for life and they'll swap them out if you have any problems at all. That really swayed my decision towards them. Now that's potentially interesting. What's the fine print? If it's along the lines of "defects in workmanship and materials" what it means is failed solder joints and connectors are covered, which doesn't mean diddly to me, as I have spare connectors, a temperature controlled soldering station, heat gun and shrink tube with me anyway and can (and have) fixed that stuff in the field. Now if it that means it covers damage to the multicore, well then that's something altogether different (and probably a losing proposition on GC's end). I would guess it's just M&W only, or GC would be losing a lotta money on those snakes replacing them every time some body inadvertantly chopped one in half on a gate lift or what have you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 I was told specifically that they cover ANY problems, for life. I didn't get into details as I wasn't ready to purchase and figured by the time I did, their policy may have changed. This was only about eight months ago if I remember right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 The snakes I've seen at GC have the XLR 1/4 combo inputs on them, WTF? Bad idea marketing people, bad idea. If you're going to be using a snake every weekend then look into a reel snake. I decided against it since 95% of my gigs are side stage mix, and it's nice since I've got direct line of communication with the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 I'm actually debating between whether I want to get a reel snake or just bite the bullet and get either the Presonus or Mackie iPad-based mixers and leave the mixer side stage. Either route would cost about the same ultimately (selling the MixWiz and buying the Presonus or Mackie, or buying a 100' 16x8 reel snake), so it's a matter of whether I trust myself running sound with an iPad or not. Worst case if the reception isn't any good or the device fails I can always mix side-stage, which we did for quite a while, and that'd work fine for 99% of venues. Anyway, done derailing now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PureSoundEnt Posted May 10, 2012 Members Share Posted May 10, 2012 I own the Seismic Audio 16x8x100. I've had it about 2 years now. It lives in my trailer on a reel. Use it on just about every gig. I have a smaller snake I use on some smaller gigs. Anyway, never had a problem at all. I'll be sure to report in here if I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChiroVette Posted May 10, 2012 Members Share Posted May 10, 2012 One thing I learned when snake shopping was according to my local Guitar Center rep, the house brand Guitar Center snakes are warranted for life and they'll swap them out if you have any problems at all. This is awesome. I have a Guitar Center in Brooklyn, I just went to their site. Which is their house brand? Is it some other name or labeled as "Guitar Center" as a brand name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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