May 27, 2003 02:24 am stereo cables work for mono applications (substitute balanced and unbalanced). making cables is easy. it will continue to get easier as you do it more.
give it a shot!
Do-it-yourself *Snake*
Posted on May 27, 2003 01:28 am
Jamie Garrett
Contributor Since: Sep 09, 2002
i've been looking over this article dB wrote www.homerecordingconnecti...story&id=26 and i was wondering if anyone has tried to make their own snake. i'm getting pretty handy with the soldering iron. how hard is it? should i use all balanced lines and will they still be compatable with unbalanced devices? should i make a little metal breakout box at one end for the female end of it? what kinda of problems might i run into?
never used one. sure would like to have one. not trying to spend an arm and a leg on a bunch of pre made cables.
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May 27, 2003 02:24 am stereo cables work for mono applications (substitute balanced and unbalanced). making cables is easy. it will continue to get easier as you do it more.
give it a shot!
May 27, 2003 06:49 am Jamie, are you talking a live snake or a recording snake?
I tried to make my own live snake back in the day, but after all the $$ I spent on parts and whatnot, the little I did save wasn't enough to compensate for the frustration. I ended up just buying one anyway. Of course I'm terrible at soddering. So take that for what it's worth...
May 27, 2003 07:41 am Ya, I have made a couple "snakes" of a sort, but hero has a point, depending on the gear you choose to use it could cost the same to just buy it...making a snake also includes some metal-working to make the chassis to house the plugs in and stuff like that...which not everybody has access to do, having been a machinist for a few years myself, plus my dad owning a machine shop affords me that ability, but not every one does...that said however, give it a shot if you think it's would be cheaper or a decent learning experience.
May 27, 2003 11:30 am hmm... i just need like 2 M to M TRS, 2 F to M XLR and a couple F to M TRS. only about 6 cables.
i just want to be able to get my mixer more than a couple feet from my computer, and also be able to work further from my mixer in other situations. not really in need of a full-on live snake, just something to give me some freedom.
maybe i'm better off just saving up for the real thing.
May 27, 2003 11:31 am i think i'm just gonna make my own pair of giant 50' TRS cables for now :o) thanks! -j
May 27, 2003 04:15 pm Yes it can be done fairly cheap for what you want. I make all the componant snakes we use when redoing or building a new studio. I have made ones for myself as well. Make sure and dont scrimp on the cable though. And I believe we allready had the discussion on brands of jacks to use. NueTrik or SwitchCraft are the most value for the money. And they are also very durable. If you are running 50' though, make sure you do balanced for sure. And like dB said, the machining thing comes in handy for mountings and so-on. Maybe you know someone allready who can do that sort of thing for you.
May 28, 2003 03:45 am awesome. my local guitar shop sells GH connectors which i think are made just as well as the Switchcrafts. They have the copper core tips whcih i think is really cool looking, regardless of wether or not it makes a difference. Problem is, they don't sell just the cable. I'm not sure where to get 100' of balanced cable.
So if my mixer (mx802a) has balanced 1/4" outs and my soundcard (Delta 44) has balanced 1/4" ins, am I correct in understanding that I can run 50' of balanced line from my computer all the way to the other end of my house and set my mixer up and work where ever I want??
May 28, 2003 04:06 am would this work? cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI...p;category=3278 and is $25 a good deal?
May 29, 2003 10:30 pm Yes indeed it will work Jamie. Its a pretty good and durable cable he has there as well.
May 30, 2003 02:24 am great, looks like i'll be spending $30 on cable, another couple dollars on connectors and maybe a half hour of my time total.
not as much $ as I was hoping to save, but savings none the less. the kitchen has sounds that the minidisc just doesn't do justice on :OD ::big grin::
Jun 03, 2003 10:23 pm Jamie, for a pair of 50' balanced cables, and your under $50.00 that is cheap. Take a look and see what you can find a single 50' cable for, even unbalanced, and question whether it will last as well as the two you will make for less then what one good cable would cost at the store.
Jun 04, 2003 02:52 am yeah, and the sad thing is, now i'm thinking about buying two 100' cables and making them both 1/4" TRS at both ends :O).. nah, maybe next time.
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