Greg,
I am in the UK, do you or anyone know where I can get Mogami 2930 two-chann=
el multicore
cable. Internet searches reveal nothing.
Mike
>--- In "Max Catterwell"
><> wrote:
>>
>> Hi all!
>> I have decided to start making my own mic cables.
>
>Here's a personal perspective on cables, for what it's worth...
>
>I use Mogami 2930 two-channel multicore cable for all of my location
>work - it contains two separated shielded pairs of cable (served
>shields, IIRC), each insulated from each other, just like having two
>balanced mic cables in one. I am always recording in stereo, so I
>figure why run two cables when one will do? This halves my set-up and
>pack-up time, reduces the physical volume and weight required in my
>pack, and means I only have one cable to run up the microphone stand.
>It is also only marginally thicker and heavier than star quad, but is
>considerably more pliable (it's one of the most flexible and limp
>cables on the market) and has very little 'memory' so it stays where
>I put it and always lays flat on the ground - no vertical loops or
>cable bridges to catch your foot in when stumbling around the forest
>at night. It is an absolute pleasure to work with, is reasonably
>priced (relative to what it offers), and performs as well or better
>than anything else on the market.
>
>I have recorded in all sorts of situations with that cable, including
>metres away from a solar-powered mobile phone repeater station on the
>Tibetan plateau, and directly beneath a high voltage power line tower
>after a thunderstorm (I was recording the buzzing and crackling of
>the insulators due to the moisture, juxtaposed with low-flying
>aircraft coming in to land, a very cool composition IMO). *Never* had
>an RF problem, but YMMV...
>
>For my MS rig there is a single 5-pin male XLR mounted in the handle
>of the Rycote, outputting the M and S signals. I have the matching
>female 5-pin XLR mounted on the end of the 2930 (the diameter of the
>2930 cable is just small enough to coaxe into the end of a Neutrik
>XLR). This means I only have to make a single connection, rather than
>two, so I can never mix up the M and S signals - regardless of
>whether I'm in a hurry, stumbling around in the dark of night, or
>both of the previous situations while in a drunken stupor (the
>consumption of local homebrew 'moonshine' is sometimes a customary
>pre-requisite before the villagers will perform for a recording at
>night).
>
>Likewise when I'm using other stereo rigs. For spaced pairs, I have a
>short length of 2930 break-out cable that has two female 3-pin XLRs
>at one end to fit into the back of each microphone, and a single 5-
>pin male at the other end to plug into my longer cable. I mount this
>short cable on the stereo bar (or whatever) using cable ties prior to
>the gig, so that it is not possible for me (or whoever is running the
>cables) to make the wrong connection.
>
>A similar break-out cable is used to plug the signal into my Nagra V.
>This is about 50cm long, has a 5-pin female XLR on one end, and two
>90 degree 3-pin male XLRs on the other end (to go into the Nagra).
>The 90 degree XLRs are rotated in such a way that it is not possible
>to plug them into the wrong inputs, if one is in the wrong socket it
>physically blocks the other socket.
>
>I have three lengths of 2930: 5m, 10m and 20m. They all terminate in
>a single 5-pin XLR at each end, so I can make any length from 5m to
>35m and never have more than 5m of excess cable to worry about. And,
>thanks to the 5-pin connectors, it is impossible to confuse L and R
>(or M and S)and get incorrectly deriw.
>
>I have found this overall approach (using stereo cables and 5-pin
>XLRs) to be very worthwhile and a real time-saver. For long cable
>runs, it also saves considerable weight in my pack - not just in
>cable, but because each stereo connection requires a pair of XLRs
>rather than two pairs. XLRs get heavy, you know...
>
>I used to carry a pair of 12m long Canare Star Quad cables fitted
>with long-bodied Switchcraft XLRs with me (my ultra-RF-rejection
>cables!) in case I encountered RF issues. But these days I don't
>bother because I've never needed them and they just add a pile of
>unnecessary weight. If I ever *do* come across a situation where RF
>is a problem, I'll just get philosophical about it and pass it off as
>a bummer; I've made enough recordings that I'm happy with, and missed
>and/or ruined enough fantastic recordings, to not let that kind of
>thing bother me any more. If it's a paid gig, however, I'll take
>those Star Quads along just in case.
>
>Hopefully this information might give you something to consider when
>assembling/choosing your cables, Max.
>
>- Greg Simmons
>
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