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Would expensive cables help in my situation?


boosh

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Okay,...

 

I have 2 mics I use to record.

 

1/ a beat up Shure sm58

2/ a crappy Behringer C3

 

Right now I'm using standard not too expensive cables on those two mics.

 

Would it help me if I started using some more expensive cables?

To my idea not because I don't have any crackles or pops and the ordinairy cables do what they do and they do it well.

 

So what would be the benefit?

Or do better cables only work if your Mics are better quality?

 

Booshy

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I don't even have to read your post to answer: NO

 

But I read it and the answer is still "no." And it would have been the same if you had more expensive mics. However, some day when you have a really fine mic and preamp, give it a try. You'll probably find that cables DO make a difference, and it might even be worth while (if only for your personal satisfaction) on occasion.

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It's a good idea to buy good mic and other signal cables.

 

But the job of a wire is probably the easiest one in our whole rigs. Add to that that most "specialty" cable stock comes from the same handful of manufacturers. (There are certainly different grades from any maker. I ain't saying that.) Packagers may order their cables assembled from factories (ie, with connectors) or they may assemble the cables in their own facility. And quality counts -- for sure. A good solder joint is crucial, obviously. But a good solder joint is the province of $12 an hour line workers, not rocket scientists.

 

Buying good cables is smart. But folks looking to improve their signal should likely look at other, harder-to-do-right elements in their signal chain like mics, preamps, compressors, perhaps converters -- and, let's not forget, if you can't hear it, you can't mix it... so a good monitoring environment is also a very good investment.

 

I say put one's money where it counts. ;)

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Okay thanks! That's what I figured. So what's the story about these shops overhere trying to sell $100 cables to people who only use them for their homestereo?

It's all about making money. You CAN prove all their claims (except that it will sound better) with science, and some people with expensive home stereo systems are easily blinded by science. Sure, a large diameter cable with a big spade lug on the end conducts electricity better than a piece of lamp cord wrapped around a terminal board screw.So perhaps it puts a few more milliwatts into your speaker instead of heating up the cable insulation. But does it really sound better? Mostly, in their mind.

 

There's a valid argument for low capacitance cables for small signal use (mic, instrument, phono cartridge . . .) but there are plenty of good quality sufficiently low capacitance cables at non-boutique prices. And a nice, tight, even twist in a cable designed for balanced connections does a better job supporting common mode rejection than a loose and sloppy twist. It's hard to beat Belden 1800F for mic cable at about 85 cents per foot, and it's fine for AES/EBU digital audio as well when you outgrow that old analog stuff. ;)

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You CAN prove all their claims (except that it will sound better) with science

 

 

Also, some expensive audiophoole speaker wires are actually much worse than plain old lamp cord. Especially wires that are flat, with both conductors parallel. A reviewer friend of mine was sent some wire like that, which cost about $500 for a few feet, and the capacitance was so high it made the lame audiophile power amplifier he was also reviewing oscillate. And then there are the ultra-thin speaker wires. The rage these days is to use 30 AWG wire for speakers. I kid you not. Of course, this is speaker wire, not microphone wire, but still...

 

--Ethan

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I've been using things like Belden and Canare and I forget what else. I don't know if this is considered "expensive", especially since I've gone and purchased many of my mic cables used, but these seem to work quite well. I also have some things that I believe are Whirlwind and one other brand that I forget, and they seem to work perfectly fine as well.

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When I buy cables, I'm looking for rugged well built cables. I have a Spectraflex that I bought in the late eighties, early nineties that is still my main guitar cable. The only negative thing about it is that the braided jacket is pink and purple.

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Now, if we're talking guitar cables...well, I must move around too much because I manage to tangle ALL cables to the point of where they get gnarled, even when I keep winding them up properly as I do my mic cables. Mic cables and keyboard cables last me forever; guitar cables rarely last more than a year or two.

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Make sure that you use the cables that were made for those microphones. They are MATCHED to the microphones. You will need to replace them if they have been twisted, kinked or tripped over too many times. Replace with the same cables.

 

You may also be able to switch from unbalanced to balanced with the internal microphone plug on certain models. This can make a difference.

 

Dan

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Make sure that you use the cables that were made for those microphones. They are MATCHED to the microphones. You will need to replace them if they have been twisted, kinked or tripped over too many times. Replace with the same cables.


You may also be able to switch from unbalanced to balanced with the internal microphone plug on certain models. This can make a difference.


Dan

 

 

This is a joke, right?

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Of course they have to match, that is why most mics and most mic cables are Black. so they match .
:thu:

 

What I meant was this.

 

After years of playing and having many different microphones the cables all look the same, but some are real cheap with very very thin wire and even thinner shielding. These will hum horribly. The original cable for the sm 58 is decent (when not frayed at the connections).

 

Dan

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