DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
Topic: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
I am looking to start making my own 2-channel mic cables. I want to do this without techflexing two cables in pairs; in other words one cable jacket assembly. Low profile, low memory effect (lies flat) and flexibility are also considerations.
Initially I was going to use Schoeps SCH501 cable, but it is quite expensive at $12 / meter plus $13.50 shipping from Redding (very recent quote).
So, I have been looking into other options that would fit my needs. Does anyone have experience with any of these?
EDIT: Added Mogami W3106, and found that both Mogami options are cheaper from Redco, even with non-free shipping.
Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
No first-hand experience to add, but when I looked into this I saw some recommendations for Mogami 3106 on Gearslutz.
Thanks; I'll look into that one. I like that it has lower capacitance, as unrestricted high frequencies are very important for the music I record.
I use the Canare you mention for several of the snakes I build (2,4 and12 channel). It holds up well and is very easy to build with and coils easily.
The Mogami 2930 is also very nice, although I would probably go with the Redco branded version for considerable less cost. They look identical, but I have never seen the Redco version, so it may be jacketed differently.
Unless you are running several hundred feet the capacitance differences should not be an issue for audio signals driven by modern equipment.
One thing to keep in mind is when you "split" the cables, you will have relatively delicate tails that are prone to stress and can fail easily. Extra care must be taken to provide strain relief to the unprotected portion of the cable.
I haven't used it, so I don't know first hand how well it handles or durability.
Mogami W3106 is like thick lamp cord, each one 3~4mm diameter (?). Very nice, flexible and tough cable. Each pair has served shield and solders very easily. Pretty durable as well.For tough runs, or to secure ends, you can techflex this too .
By the way, if anyone finds a good supplier, please let me know. Looking to build some more cables.
I always use tech flex to cover the exposed segments of a snake for additional strength and strain relief. Of course, this means there is less flexibility, but better safe than sorry.
Well that's 3 recommendations for Mogami W3106, so that one is going to the top of my list. It also has the lowest capacitance of any of the cables mentioned, so that also puts it in the lead for me. Markertek carries it - see Walstib's link above.
FYI, Redco is cheaper on both Mogami cables, even with not-free shipping.
I've used the 3106 to make XLR5->2x XLR3 breakout cables for a mid-side microphone. It was easy to work with and I'd certainly use it again, but I'm not sure it would be my first choice for a long run. Since it is essentially two cables fused together I'd be worried about it being unruly when coiling a long length. That said, I've only used it for <2ft breakouts so I have no experience with long pieces.
Yes, that's my only hesitation on it as well. The cables I would be building would all be in the 25-50 ft range. I have a very similar side-by-side fused cable Jon at Naiant made for me as a TA4 extension which I use between my TA4-terminated DPA 4061s and my PFAs. It's only about 15 ft and is smaller than 3106, I believe it is a Belden cable stock. It doesn't coil all that neatly, but I don't really mind with the short length.
Ease of coiling / un-coiling is one of the reasons I want to get away from fully Techflexed snakes. The two I have from Ted are beautifully made and will last forever, but when I need to set up in a hurry, the long lengths often tangle. In contrast, my 50ft mono Canare cables pay out easily and never tangle.
Mogami 2930 looks like it may be the best of both worlds here. Have you found that you needed to heatshrink or techflex the entire fanout portion? Or, are the individual channel jackets sturdy enough to stand on their own, with just your typical shrink at the Y for reinforcement and maybe a short length at the connectors for strain relief?
At the risk of playing devil's advocate here (I tend to stay away from cable discussions), here's a wild-card. If you want a light weight, easily coiled cable, have you thought about using "starquad"? Although this is designed for single channel use where you need to minimize hum pickup in situations with a lot of electrical noise, it has 4 cores + screen & I've found it to work very well for running a stereo pair some distance back to the recorder. Because of the balanced configuration of the mics/recorder and the fact that the two internal cable pairs are fixed at 90 degrees to each other, the crosstalk is minimized.
I regularly use long lengths of Van Damme starquad for nature recording, where I need to be able to quickly unwind/rewind cable, often in difficult low light conditions, without it tangling or kinking.
I terminate each end with 5 pin XLRs according to the standard "stereo mic" pinout. (For one channel use the blue pair, for the other, the white.) Then I have Y adaptors which are used each end to splay out the cable to 3 pin XLRs. With this configuration it's possible to daisy-chain lenghts together to get where you want without having to carry unnecessary amounts of cable. This way there's no issue with having to split cables into heatshrink/techflex, etc. either.
Good starquad (Mogami/Canare/VanDamme/...) is tough &, because all the conductors are bound together it resists kinking when tugged hard. It's also lighter weight than (most) snakes which are bound in pairs.
The only concern would seem to be inter-channel crosstalk. Rather than attempt to model the cable & calculate this, I did a simple empirical test with an AT mic & Tascam DR100-III.
I do the same.A standard stereo mic wiring over a star quad cable.
Note that star quad cable always exhibits higher capacitance (there is no shielding between pairs) than regular mic cable or 2 channel snake cable. Voltronic mentioned he wanted to keep the pf as low as possible, although my opinion is that regular runs at audio frequencies shouldn't be a concern. I have several lengths of star quad terminated in 5 pin xlr (I made several 5 pin to 2x 3 pin tails) and never have a problem with them. Most of mine came from re-purposed star quad 3 pin mic cables.
That was essentially my original plan with the Schoeps SCH501 cable. It quickly got to be very expensive when you add in 4 XLR5 connectors, not to mention the cost of the cable itself. The build would have cost over $200 for a 50 ft run.
This is why I am now looking into cable stock such as the Mogami options mentioned here that are already snaked internally, so there is no need for the XLR5 connectors to make breakout cables.
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