Ordering Wires

Hello,

It about time to start ordering some supplys for my studio. I will be running a bunch of instrument cables into 1/4 wall plates.

Where is the cheapest place to get about 150-200ft of instrument cable and 50feet of XLR cable.'

Thanks,

Phil

Once on the subject, could somebody please clarrify:

I have quite a bit of equipment and everything is wired with balanced cables.

Now, would it make sense to use balanced cables as outputs from my Yamaha Tyros? Why is it that we always use regular line TS cables for instruments?

And why do keyboards come with two (L & R) outputs? Why not just one TRS (Left, Right and Shield)? It seems to work for the headphone output!

Also, are the 1/4 inch inputs and outputs on a standard mixer or interface TRS capable? Or just TS?

I'm just trying to make the most secure connections possible, and it seems balanced is the best way to do this. I'm just not sure if balanced will work with all machines.

Please clarrify!! Thank you
Chony

[This message has been edited by chony (edited 03-15-2005).]

Chony,

A balanced cable only does NOT make a connection 'balanced'. A balanced link needs a balanced-output, balanced cable and a balanced-input.
'Balanced' means :
1. signal +
2. signal -
3. ground.

Balanced I/O is more expensive, what will probably be the main reason it it no standard solution.
Especially low-voltage signals (mikes etc.) are sensitive to pickup external (eg radio) signals and in this cases it is very useful to use balanced interfaces because they make it very hard for ext. signals to 'come in'.
(A positive amplitude on the signal+ wire will cause an oposite effect on the signal- wire : total = Zero)

In fact I dislike jacks because they get dirty very easy what causes bad contacts.

Good Luck,

Gary

Phil,

The best supplies of wiring and cable in bulk is usually local electronic stores, however, not Radio Shack. Their cable prices are out of this world. Internet supplies are usually not very expensive, but because cable is heavy, shipping cost are usually expensive, thereby, making the cost per foot very high. Look in the phone book's yellow pages under electronic parts or supplies, and also under wire. Then make a few phone calls and compare prices.

Good luck on your project and keep us posted about your progress,

Gary

Try this company http://www.cheaplights.com
Hank

or these guys...
www.markertek.com

Gary, this implies that using my headphones output will give me THE SAME quality as using the L and R main outs. Is this correct?

Chony

Chony,

Much of this depends on the keyboard. In some instances, the headphone out will produce a fair degree of high frequency hiss because of a slight impedience mismatch, but this is not always the case. Some of the less expensive Yamaha boards only had a single output, which could be used for headset or standard output, and they were equipped with a single, stereo (TSR) jack. I also know of a few Tyros users who claimed good results as well, but most were sending the signal through a mixer before going to a stereo amp. Give it a try and let your ears be the final judge.

Cheers,

Gary

Thank for the replies, I think I found some that would work well and is quite cheap. http://www.cheaplights.com/catalog/01_info.php?sec=428 Its the bottom one. Can I connect Banana's 1/4's and XLR's with that cable?

Thanks,

Phil

Phil, You could use this for both, however, the site does not specify the gauge of the wire, or at least I didn't see it. For studio work, anything lighter than 20 gauge is too light, and 18 gauge or heavier is preferred.

If the wire meets those specifications, you can use it by twisting the two pairs together, which will then make it a heavier gauge wire, and solder the twisted pair to the tip connection on the 1/4-inch connectors and plugs. The sheld wire or braid is then soldered to the sleeve connection of the jacks and plugs.

For the mics, pin #3 is the hot wire, and pin #1 is the ground wire (shield). It's a straight forward connection.

Be sure to tin all connections, which helps create good, solid solder joints.

Cheers,

Gary

Arg, they are out of the stuff Gee everything is going great for me Does anybody happen to know of another source for that type of wire?

Another Idea I had was ive seen 200 feet or so of XLR cable for like 40 bucks, could I cut off the XLR plugs, cut the wires to length and hook 1/4, banana and XLRs to it?

Thanks,

Phil