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how important is microphone cable?


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It depends on what you consider "cheap." You can get some fairly inexpensive cables that sound good and hold up, and you can also buy really expensive cables that really aren't any better than the more moderately priced ones. I'm sure as a guitarist you've been exposed to the Monster Cable hype - those things are expensive and not very durable at all.

 

Still, there are a lot of decent cable makers out there. Try www.audiopile.net if you need inexpensive cables that won't crap out on you. Most music stores should have a selection of good cables by Hosa, Whirlwind, etc as well. Don't buy the cheapest ones Musician's Friend sells.

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A lot of cheap cables come with a "lifetime warranty", but that warranty dosen't mean much at 11:45PM, when the main return cable to your amp rack dies in the middle of a show.

 

As mentioned above, the more expensive cables are more durable. I might use a cheap cable for an individual input, but I would absolutely recommend spending the extra money to put higher quality cables in all the connections from the mixer to the amps.

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We ship over 5000 feet of mic cable a month. Most of it is Audio Technica brand Value series. In the past 12 months there has only been one warranty claim and that was for a 25' cable that got pinched in a steel door.

 

There is no need to ever buy Monster Cable at monster prices.

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Some time ago, maybe they still do, Musicians Friend had 10 20' mic cables for $50. After about a year, I've had one failure. At that price, I just carry a bunch of spares in case one fails. They've been much more reliable than I expected.

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Hmmm, so how much do you have to spend to get an adequate quality cable?

 

I have bought all my cables from www.audiopile.net and have bought the more expensive ones, and mostly, the pro quad blue, figuring that everyone else's will be black and I can hang on to more of my cables that way, (which has worked out well). I have liked them and they have worked great.

 

Usually, I hear people saying that "good enough" is good enough, that companies like "Monster Cable" generally are just adding a bunch of hype to a "good enough" cable, that is of course still good enough, but actually is ONLY JUST good enough - not really much more.

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Wow...these prices on Audiopile are crazy. I can't believe I didn't know about this site sooner. And their cables are good?

 

Best bang for your buck you'll find anywhere. No worries. Mark (Audiopile) is a great guy who's input on this, and other forums, is always appreciated.

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As mentioned above, the more expensive cables are more durable.

 

In addition to durability:

 

1) How the cable lays and coils. Manufactures of better cables go to great lengths to get this right. There's a lot involved:

A) The right jacket PVC (which isn't commonly or universally available)

B) The right dielectric. Some "better" dielectrics make a cable really stiff, which isn't good if it's a cable intended for portable applications. The trick is to use a good dielectric that is also flexible.

C) The manner of braiding and twisting the filaments of the conductors and shield.

D) The right fillers... being the right material and assembled in a "just right manner.

 

All of this stuff is a judgment call. Tougher PVC that remains flexible over a wide temperature range is more expensive, and not widely available,, and even if you have just the right blend of PVC, the extrusion process is very temperature sensitive, so it's not just a crank-it out thing.

 

2) Purity and type of conductors. 99%+ pure annealed copper is what should be used for audio conductors. Typically 99%+ pure annealed copper is first run copper, not recycled copper... but 99%+ annealed is expensive... and takes special handling methods to press and draw into filaments from ingots or the integrity of the annealing will be destroyed. Since the electron flow is generally on the surface of the filaments of the conductors, and impurities in the copper also consolidate on the outer shells of the molecular lattice structure... the electron flow basically happens where the impurities are... and since silver is the ONLY mineral that conducts electricity a little better than copper, and all other minerals conduct worse then copper, a little impurity is actually a lot. Recycled copper tends to be loaded with zinc, and lead, and other "stuff" that's not nearly as good of conductors as copper.

 

BTW: OFC in my opinion is a marketing catchphrase, since I'm fairly certain that the country where much of the OFC marketed cable is being manufactured, OFC is basically unavailable there... and if it is, guaranteed they don't go to the necessary lengths to maintain the integrity of the OFC.

 

3) How the filaments are twisted in the conductors, and how the shield is constructed. Loose twisting can cause noise in the cable. Tight twisting is better if done correctly, but takes more expensive of machinery running at a slower product rate. Incorrect twisting diminishes the noise reduction potential. How's the shield constructed... a good braided shield takes more to expertise to construct than a simple spiral shield.

 

And then there's the ends. And then there's the assembly of the ends. And then there's service to back the product.

 

Guaranteed, commodity grade cable is not fussed over to get it right. In business, time is money, and money is money. Cheap cables are generally the product of cheap ingredients, cheap equipment running at the fastest speed possible... with minimal maintenance... operated by under skilled labor and absentee management. Knowing what I know, I find it extremely difficult to believe that cheap cables can be produced and sold to the public as cheap as they are without cutting some serious corners... and I've examined enough samples to confirm my suspicions.

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Unbelievable. haha...I wish I knew about this 2 days ago when I just blew way to much money on cables at Guitar Center.

 

Well... if the cable lays and coils fine as-far as you're concerned, and seems to have a tolerably low noise floor, and seems to be reliable enough for your applications, then it's fine. Triboelectric noise in the cable is a problem 'cause it's hard to identify, but there's this "noise" happening that you can't quite put your finger on.

 

One quick check you can do to make an assessment of what lengths were went to on constructing the cable is to disassemble one of the ends enough to look at the termination of the shield. First you can see what type of shield it is. Decent braided shield is generally preferred over spiral shield. Note: A good double reverse twisted spiral shield can offer excellent shielding properties, but might not be suitable for a cable that gets a lot of flexing. Next, look to see if the shield was "sized" at the termination. "Sizing" is a practice of cutting off some, or many of the filaments in a conductor to make the job of terminating to conductor easier. Some semi-automatic cable prep procedures involve the use of basically a wire wheel to separate, or comb out the braiding of a shield... which tends to shred the braid. Since electrons flow on the outside of the filaments (the strands), and electrons don't easily jump from filament to filament, any nicked, shredded, or cut-off shield filaments diminishes the ability of the shield to function properly. Disassembling the end also gives you a chance to look at the solder job. Some high-speed assembly procedures skip past the part of stripping the insulation off the conductors... they just solder the insulated conductors straight into the solder wells... using the hot solder to melt the insulation enough to get some sort of solder bond to the conductor.

 

Of-course then there's the part about the cable being actually wired correctly. "Gee... what's that nasty humm... why is the D ring strapped to pin 1, and why won't "this" cable carry phantom power, but it seems to work fine otherwise?"

 

Anyway... pull an end apart and take a look.

 

Also... there's little details... like some sort of identification as to the length of the cable. I have a real disdain for cables without length identification... especially if you have a whole plastic tote full of um.

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Extra cables are still no substitute when one fails in the middle of the show. I did one show with someone else's equipment and had a mic cutting in and out due to a bad cable. I also don't let anyone else coil them up after the show. (Sometimes it's difficult to hold them off after a church event and people want to "help".)

 

Nice to see some right-angle cables.

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Extra cables are still no substitute when one fails in the middle of the show. I did one show with someone else's equipment and had a mic cutting in and out due to a bad cable.

 

You know... Over the years I've developed a reverence for my cables similar to a cowboy's lariat. First, a cowboy is a little fussy with picking out that rope... to some, a rope's a rope, but not to a cowboy. They tend to care for their rope, and they get nervous when somebody else is throwing it around or coiling it up... and with good reason, cause they rely on it to work and work right when then need it.

 

Also... I remember back when my cables were a hodge-podge of whatever... price was more of a concern than most anything else. Over time, and as my sound rig got bigger and more complex, I realized the big problems were the summation of all the little problems, and I'd had enough of Mr. Murphy running my show. I think that with a simple little rig, doing low profile gigs... a complement of a handful of cheap cables is something that can be dealt with... but when you get to the point of using dozens (or hundreds) of cables, and laying a big ole egg on stage isn't gonna go over... then it makes sense to spend the money for assured/reliable performance... in all aspects of your rig.

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+1 for Mark & Audiopile. That's where I get my cables for several years now. I've had a few other cheapies go bad, and it's normally when you don't want them to. Any cable can get crushed, pinched, etc, but better cables can hold up to more stress, especially around the connectors. With his prices, no reason to not get all your cables from Audipile. That's the way I figure it.

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My biggest thing w/ cables is when they kink up after you uncoil them. I know it's not a big deal, but it drives me mad when that happens. I buy really thick guitar cables b/c they seem to not kink on me.

 

 

Do you over-under coil your cables? Makes a big difference.

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My biggest thing w/ cables is when they kink up after you uncoil them. I know it's not a big deal, but it drives me mad when that happens. I buy really thick guitar cables b/c they seem to not kink on me.

 

 

First, be more careful when coiling and uncoiling the cables. I usually coil ALL mine myself to avoid untrained help. I make the coils as big as will fit in the container they go in, less tangles later. Then I velcro them.

 

If someone has kinked your cables, you need to take the time to unkink them, rolling the kinks smooth between your fingers. I've had to do several 4 wire 12ga speaker cables I had "help" with after somebody forced it around their wrist & elbow ;>(

 

2nd, IF you can always use one particular hand to coil & uncoil with, you can use the over/under method. Here is a link to a great video on it. If properly done, you can unhook the cable and throw it out flat.

http://stagecraft.theprices.net/gallery/cablewrap/cablewrap-rm.html

 

Boomerweps

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QuadBlue2.jpg

Now that's what I'm talking about! If only that were a guitar cable and not a speaker cable.

 

This type of cable will usually ruin the jack that it's plugged into. That's WAY too much torque for the average jack on the market. This is the perfect example of bigger is definately not better.

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I coil them the ghetto way, between my elbow and the palm of my hand. I've got thick guitar cables now, though, so they never kink up.

 

 

So you are forcing the cable to wrap around your wrist & elbow, making the kinks yourself. If hired as part of a stage crew, you would be kicked off and never hired again. I have a lot of inexpensive & mid grade mic cables that can and will last me my lifetime because I properly coil them. So will my speaker & power cables and snakes.

 

Boomerweps

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The most frustrating thing is to try and figure out WHICH of the 100+ cables inuse is acting up intermittently. About 7 or 8 years ago I was buying something from MF and bought 12 XLR cables at $2 ea on clearance for a friends PA (2 or 3 for me, rest for him since he was on a tighter budget than I). After 2 months ALL but ONE cable still worked. Granted I don't think they over-undered any cable which shortened the life of a few. Still this loss was unacceptable.

 

Even the XLR ends are so poor quality that they can't be used anywhere else.

 

Now I buy only Rapco, Whirlwind, EWI or better (usually there is a basic model that works well, I don't tend to like to spend a lot of money on fancy cable). Hosa, OSP and any off brand I don't recognize ain't going to cut it. A lot of times people will get the cheapest thing as an after though. Say buy a drum mic package then go, "oh crap, how do we plug these in w/ no cable? ebay again..."

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