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Re: Microphone cabling

Subject: Re: Microphone cabling
From: "Max Catterwell" oatcruncher
Date: Tue Sep 9, 2008 8:09 am ((PDT))
Hi Mike,
OK, I've had a reply from Phil Tennison at Marshalls. He suggested I try
Mosses and Mitchell, which I have.
At this point in time they are finding out what the smallest quantity is
that they can bring in. It may be 100 meters or it may be 50. Price is
=A31.94 per meter plus VAT. I don't know what your requirements might be,
and I haven't as yet decided on mine.
If sufficient interest is shown by other members in the UK I might
consider buying a reel and splitting it up, on a purely non-profit
making basis, assuming that is that individual requirements are less
than the minimum order.
Any other UK members interested please contact me off group.
Max




Michael Oates wrote:
> Max,
>
> Thank you, I never thought of that!
>
> Mike
>
>
>> Hi Mike,
>> I've emailed Mogami re UK suppliers, and I'll let you know if they get
>> back to me.
>> Max
>>
>>
>> Michael Oates wrote:
>>
>>> Greg,
>>>
>>> I am in the UK, do you or anyone know where I can get Mogami 2930 two-c=
hannel 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
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> ------------------------------------
>>>
>>> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
>>> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Kraus=
e
>>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>



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