Members jimivaughnking Posted September 29, 2009 Members Share Posted September 29, 2009 So we finally upgraded from our no name 50 ft 16x4 snake to a 100 ft 16x8 Audiopile reel snakes. We love everything about this snake except the fact that it doesn't have locking XLR connectors. Our old snake had the little push button releases on the box end that locked the cables. Anyone know why the Audiopile snake doesn't have these? We had an issue this weekend where the kick drum cable kept wiggling out. I'm thinking about replacing that jack with a locking XLR plug since it is really noticable when the kick drum drops out of the mix. Just too lazy to replace all 16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted September 29, 2009 Members Share Posted September 29, 2009 your issue is likely not the jack in the snake box. it is far more likely the cable end; try a different cable. many agree that having locking jacks in the snake box is a less than stellar idea as a trip on a cable could cause great damage vs just pulling the cable out of the box. i have an audiopile 24x8 snake and have zero issue with jacks coming out unintentionally. i also have a medusa with locking jacks. and 2 rapco's without the locks. several drop snakes with locks; none have issues with jacks wiggling out. i'd say your better off without the locks. since no other cables came out for you logic dictates it is the specific cable you used causing the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted September 29, 2009 Members Share Posted September 29, 2009 No locking on snakes/stage boxes is my preference. If there's enough force to keep pulling a connector out, there's something wrong with the setup. Eliminate the strain and you will eliminate problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted September 29, 2009 Members Share Posted September 29, 2009 It could also be poor manufacturing tolerance with your XLR cable hardware. If you have different brands of cables, try another one. Better cables may fit better. I've used an Audiopile snake with mainly Audiopile cables, for probably 350 shows and have never had a cable lose contact with the snake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted September 29, 2009 Members Share Posted September 29, 2009 Pay close attention to keeping slack in the mic cables, there shouldn't be any tension, everything should lie down nice and easy. If there's no tension on the cable and the connector is still pulling out, replace the connector on the mic cable. It should fit snugly and should not "fall out" of the jack unless it's pulled out. +1 for non-locking connectors, here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members witesol Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I prefer no locks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimmyP Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I prefer no locks. You may have a bad connector on the snake, or you may have some cheezy mic cable connectors. I suspect the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimivaughnking Posted September 30, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Thanks for all the advise. I should have noted that the drums mic cables are all plugged into an Audiopile 8 channel drop snake. So it is the Audiopile Male connector on the sub snake plugged into the Audiopile reel snake that is falling out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanc Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I have used their reel snake several hundred times as well and have never had a connection fall out. You could lay the reel on it's back with connectors pointing upward...perhaps then gravity will assist in keeping it in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Hey, just curious if anyone has had any luck removing the locks from a stage box that has them? They tend to stick and are otherwise a PITA . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Thanks for all the advise. I should have noted that the drums mic cables are all plugged into an Audiopile 8 channel drop snake. So it is the Audiopile Male connector on the sub snake plugged into the Audiopile reel snake that is falling out. It's likely the contact points within the jack are defective, or have been tweeked where they don't effectively hold the cord end like they should. One difference between the "locking" style FXLR jacks and the non-locking style FXLR jacks is that if the contact points are in a condition where they won't properly hold a cord end, then it's fairly obvoious the non-locking style jack should be changed... not just because it won't hold the cord end properly, but it's probably also unreliable with signal transfer. Locking style FXLR jacks can also suffer from messed up contact points, but there's less indication the contact points are funky since the cord ends will still click in and everything seems fine. W. Mark HellingerPresidentAudiopile Exclusive US distributor of EWI products509-287-2020audiopile@starband.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I use two 16 channel EWI sub snakes into my EWI 32/8 reel snake. I don't have any issues with plugs falling out, but I do use the strain relief on the sub-snakes (fasten them to the reel of of the main snake) to take the weight off the plugs. Each plug only supports the weight of the single channel going to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Hey, just curious if anyone has had any luck removing the locks from a stage box that has them? They tend to stick and are otherwise a PITA . Depending on the make/mfg. of the jack, it can be done somewhat "easily". Commonly the locking assembly is a two part device. Typically the release button/slide portion can be removed by depressing the small keeper tab located on the release button slide just behind the jack's mounting flange. Once the keeper tab is depressed sufficently the release button/slide portion can be pulled out enough to access the release dogs at the end of the slide with needle nose pliers and pry up the release dogs enough to clear the contact body. Then the release button/slide portion can be fully removed. Next the lock "tab" must be removed, which is fairly easy to pick-out with needle nose pliers once the release button/slide has been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted October 1, 2009 Members Share Posted October 1, 2009 I don't like a locking end, I've had them fail and not be able to get the end out. Latest was on a Yamaha P7000 amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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