Cable Management

[RoadRanger]

Come on Ron you can do it. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PGXKCS/...s=Planet+waves they hold up well come sample them anytime :-)

Yah, as I said those are pretty cool. OTOH I'm still liking the ball bungees after tonight @ Kicker's . BTW did you hear that some band ripped off Charlee Bravo's mics and cables last weekend ? I might end up there tonight (Saturday).

[RoadRanger]

As far as initials on the Velcro, how visible is that from a distance when you're watching the "talent" coiling up cords and stuffing them in THEIR bags ?

Kinda sad - just heard last night that a small venue about 2 miles from me which has its own sound system (ancient 12 channel EV board, older JBL passives, a couple B215A monitors) had its mics and cables (and stands?) "disappear" after a band played there last Saturday night. Musta been one of the junkie punk bands they let play there for free - don't think anyone else would be that stupid, especially in a venue with a military vet's theme LOL.

[StratGuy22]

That's brutal and super douchey.

[Shaster]

If he'd croaked you coulda switched to catgut

"Function" is obvious enough IMO - and "length" is what I'm trying to eliminate or at least make obvious - just having XLR 25's and 10's should do it for me. Sucks to have to replace all the 20's I still had but as I said they seem to always be a couple feet short of what I need anyways . Those were mostly MF $5 "disposables" anyways. As far as initials on the Velcro, how visible is that from a distance when you're watching the "talent" coiling up cords and stuffing them in THEIR bags ?

 

Yea I'd be more mad at my cat, but living across from a green belt, he helps chase the critters away from my house - at least he's earning his keep.\

 

Agreed that colour coding is usually for length, I've just found that the way my brain works (or doesn't) function works best.

 

Most of the talent I work with arrive with their cables in a tangled heap , if they have anything at all. I also try to have my cables packed before them. I generally unplug everything from my patchbay, grab all the mics, unplug speakers, and then wrap cables. On the rare occasions I have volunteers, I let them move monitors, take down speakers, and tear down mic stands - even though somehow they can mess up packing up a mic stand!I

 

 

 

[agedhorse]

At the pro level, we don't see missing cables etc. much at all.

[StratGuy22]

When I provide sound, I provide everything. All the mic cables, speakon, AC. All they need is their personal instruments, and whatever 1/4" guitar cables they need. I even have a couple of those for the odd time they don't have one. They have an acoustic guitar, play all over Hells half acre and don't have a guitar cord. lol WTF

[RoadRanger]

When I provide sound, I provide everything. All the mic cables, speakon, AC.

It's fairly common for bands hereabouts to bring their own power strips and extension cords, occasionally their favorite mic stand(s) and/or mics. Stompbox vocal processors are fairly common too, where they need a shorter XLR to get from their mic to the box - they often bring that cord too. Strangely enough bass players sometimes bring an XLR for their DI output. Then there's all the micstand mounted carp they bring LOL.

 

[Unalaska]

One of the things my bands really like is the ac stage stringer. Best investment ever.

[RoadRanger]

One of the things my bands really like is the ac stage stringer. Best investment ever.

Yah, I just have a couple 14 gauge 24' ones with three outlets every 8 feet ($6 75% off after xmas special + three cube taps LOL) - I'd like to "upgrade" to a quad every 4 feet. Jeff Grocki has a really cool system with quad boxes that have powercon in & out on each and you just patch them together to whatever length/spacing you need .

[Dogoth]

Agreed. If you do, it's a mistake (not intentional). Funny we ended up with a plexi amp shield from a regional band. We Emailed them and told them about it and they replied, we'll pick it up next time we're in the area. While we had it we used it a couple of times and a year later they picked it up.

 

I'm going to miss that shield, it was very handy :-).

[B. Adams]

I use Velcro on all my cables, but I don't like the commercially available ties, so I make my own. I don't like tie line on most cables, I think it's tedious to tie, and doesn't bind as tightly as I want it to without putting too much effort into it.

 

I vary the length of my Velcro ties based on the cable it's going on. I mark the length, and occasionally other information, onto one side of the Velcro tie using a silver Sharpie. I use 1" wide Velcro for normal cables, like mic and instrument cables, and 1.5" on heavier things like snakes and power cords. I based my ties on a commercially available Velcro tie, but mine are better because they're sized specifically to the cable, and they're sewn rather than heat welded or glued, so they don't fall apart.

 

Depending on the cable, I may mark the length on the connector with a colored ring, or a label and colored tape under a clear ring. I use normal resistor code for length and number, so 1, 10, 100 =brown, 2, 20, 200 =red, etc. I've found that it's pretty easy to tell the difference between a 3' and a 30' cable, so using orange for both works fine. I use the same color code for the ends of snakes, which makes them much faster to patch. I have specific colors for up to 16, but typically don't go above 12.

 

I'm kind of anal about my ties, but my system has been working well for me for 15+ years. They take me about 2 minutes each to make, regardless of size. I usually make a bunch at a time, my last batch was 65 ties.

 

I find that having the length written on the tie is usually good enough, but I like having the connectors color coded as well. I've attached a photo of a cable I made a couple years ago, with the length marked on the connector and the tie.

[Unalaska]

I use the 5 color electrical tape: yellow is 5ft & 30ft. Green is 10ft, white is 15, red 20ft, blue 25ft, green/white 50tf. 100' has no color. Not many 15 and 20 xlr. Nl4 is 5,10,20,30,50. XLR is 10, 25, & 50.

[wesg]

I write the lengths right on the male end of the cable. I can never tell the difference between a 25' and a 35' cable when it's coiled up.

 

Multi-coloured electrical tape is reserved for band mates. If they bring something (other than instruments and amps) to my house, it gets marked with tape. If tape wouldn't look right, I get out the label maker. If it's not marked, it's mine. I still have problems with gear "attrition", particularly cables. I don't think there's ever any malice, but stuff happens.

 

My gear is mostly all labeled with black stickers I had professionally printed, made to look like a brand name logo from a few feet away, containing my contact info, usually near an operator interactive surface (like a power switch). Cables are hard to mark well without disassembly. I have been thinking about sourcing some heatshrink, something like 5:1 transparent about 7/8" in diameter, to go over label maker labels. But this is easier said than done.

 

Wes

[StratGuy22]

I have some stickers with my logo and "property of blah blah" on them. I stick them on all my speakers etc etc. I cut out just the name, and put some clear heatshrink over it. I decided that a simple blue piece of heatshrink looks better.