Oct 22, 2008 02:15 pm Cables generally either "work" or they "don't work."
Ultra-cheap and cheesy cables can be a liability -- But the return on investment in ultra-pricey cables is very small.
"Decent" is usually fine.
How important are good cables in a home studio?
Posted on Oct 22, 2008 01:54 pm
Indellable
Music Afficionado
Member Since: Aug 12, 2008
Getting ready to move my studio into our new house and noticed while breaking things down that I have a hodgepodge of cables - some of which have adapters at the end, i.e. RCA to 1/4".
So, my question is - how important are good cables? My problem is cables can be expensive. So, in an effort to be cost effective, if you had too, which of the following areas should I skimp on cables and where should I invest my money?
- Mic
- Electronic instruments (Synths, drum machines, etc.) which go to a patchbay and/or compressor and then from the patch to the board.
- Soundcard to Computer
Thanks!
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Oct 22, 2008 02:15 pm Cables generally either "work" or they "don't work."
Ultra-cheap and cheesy cables can be a liability -- But the return on investment in ultra-pricey cables is very small.
"Decent" is usually fine.
Oct 22, 2008 02:17 pm come on, we all have one or two cables that work if the wire is bent to one side, but not the other or weird stuff...there are cables that "kinda work if you're in a pinch" :-D
Oct 22, 2008 02:58 pm If you are having a problem with your cables and need a bunch of them, devote a day and make your own. Buy a spool of however many feet you might need or can afford and get a soldering iron. Get all the adapters you need and there you go.
Keep in mind that not just any cable will do for just anything. (Besides the obvious different adapter types) there are a few different types of cables:
Balanced: XLR and TRS(tip ring sleeve). Both ends receiving and send the signal need to be set up for this or it's rather pointless to have these a little more expensive cable.
Unbalanced: Typical guitar and instrument cable. Can be used on most but tend be a bit noisy when over a longer distance. Get balanced when you can.
Shielded: Most cables are shielded. They help with keeping the noise out.
Unshielded: Mostly used for speaker level sounds and powered outs... And such.
Now with all that. You can get some cable for like 20cents a foot in bulk, get all the ends you need, and you've only spent about as much as 5 Monster cables and since you made them, you can trust them. (Or hope you can.) :P Don't sell yourself short of cables. They can be the worst thing of the entire session because you got a cheap one.
Oct 22, 2008 06:14 pm I recon a cable is a ******* cable, dont worry about it unless you go for something really cheep and shitty.
I read something recently, may have been on this forum, about when some audiophile nobs couldn't tell the difference in sound between a proper cable and a coat hanger.
Oct 22, 2008 07:00 pm Yep, MM is right. I have been gifted with some of the fancy cables for a few pieces of my gear. And to be very honest, no real difference between them and both my self made cables and the middle of the road or "decent" cables as MM put it.
dB, have you bee messing with my 44 cables again? :-)
Oct 22, 2008 08:55 pm Quote:
come on, we all have one or two cables that work if the wire is bent to one side, but not the other or weird stuff...there are cables that "kinda work if you're in a pinch" :-D
Ha! That's 99% of my cables. The power cable for my FW-1884 is like that right now. If I bump my "desk" (I use that term loosely) it shuts off in the middle of recording.
Oct 23, 2008 08:44 am Glad to hear it. Just saved myself a few hundred bucks!
Oct 23, 2008 10:47 am This rule also applies to HDMI and digital optical cables as well. A friend of mine seems to think that his HDMI and 1/8 cables are better because Monster put thier $45.00 logo on their $10 cable.
I bought 3 HDMI cables from Amazon.com for the same price as his 1 monster.... go figure, he is the only one who can tell a difference :)
Oct 23, 2008 11:41 am Digital is easy - You get an "A" or a "F" -- There's really no in-between. "Quality" cables are nice in that case, but they either transfer the signal with 100% accuracy, or they fail to do so.
And normally, if they fail to do so, you hear it. Easily.
Oct 23, 2008 12:04 pm Yea, the four stages of digital TV reception: No picture, tiled picture, frozen picture, perfect picture. No gray areas.
Some cockholster at Circuit City tried to sell me one of his $90 HDMI cables one day. I sneezed in his coffee, then proceeded to Walmart.
Oct 23, 2008 03:50 pm Circuit City.... oh! you mean that place in the hard to get to parking lot with crappy customer service thats going out of business? ...
Oct 23, 2008 06:04 pm I have to say that I really like my Mogami cables. I don't know that they make a difference when patching gear to gear, but I can testify to the difference in sound with the Platinum series instrument cable. It really made a difference between my guitar and amplifier.
The one bad thing is that the "quality" cables are expensive. I'm a true believer in getting quality cables, not necessarily expensive. There is a difference - perhaps not so much in the perceived audible difference, but more in durability and longevity. When I'm tracking vocals, guitar, and some percussion, the last thing I want is some questionable cable screwing up that amazing riff I just put together.
My $0.02, you may not notice the difference between a "high-end" and "middle of the road" cable, but you sure as hell will notice between that and a cheaply made cable.
Not to plug Mogami, but I have been using Mogami for a long time now and every single piece has been problem free. Not something I can say about any of my other cables!
Oct 23, 2008 06:04 pm I have to say that I really like my Mogami cables. I don't know that they make a difference when patching gear to gear, but I can testify to the difference in sound with the Platinum series instrument cable. It really made a difference between my guitar and amplifier.
The one bad thing is that the "quality" cables are expensive. I'm a true believer in getting quality cables, not necessarily expensive. There is a difference - perhaps not so much in the perceived audible difference, but more in durability and longevity. When I'm tracking vocals, guitar, and some percussion, the last thing I want is some questionable cable screwing up that amazing riff I just put together.
My $0.02, you may not notice the difference between a "high-end" and "middle of the road" cable, but you sure as hell will notice between that and a cheaply made cable.
Not to plug Mogami, but I have been using Mogami for a long time now and every single piece has been problem free. Not something I can say about any of my other cables!
Oct 23, 2008 10:10 pm Even when it happened accidentally those two identical posts, it sure does look like brand plugging to me... ;-)
Oct 24, 2008 06:27 pm I'm a Planet Wave guy when I buy them. I trust my own cables first though.
But, the connection points in PW seem to be better than the other cables in it's price range. F*** Monster Cable!
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