Microphone Cables
Hi Greg. I hope I've posted this in the correct place, but if not please accept my apologies. I'm just starting down the road of amplified harmonica playing, and thanks to you and other helpful experts I have been able to gather a whole heap of information on microphones. What I'm looking for is some guidance on the quality of cable to buy in order to get the best out of the set up. I really don't know what price point to buy in at, and also wondered if there were some names to look out for. I suspect there's a whole spectrum of quality and prices to choose from, so some pointers as to the correct direction to take would be very welcome.
My folks got me a great 20' cable from Greg for my birthday. It might be my imagination but my mic sounds way better than it did with an old guitar cable (that also picked up Mexican radio stations -lol). I have a really strong mic I got from Dennis Gruenling last summer that I think got about 1/4 more powerful with a good mic.
Hi Greg, thanks very much for the reply. My current mic is a shure 588 with an XLR cable, so thankfully I shouldn't be too far off the money at the moment. However it's nice to know what to look for if and when I change my set up. Ian
I bought 2 custom cables with screw on connectors...1st one failed very soon after I got it. They travelled a long way to Tasmania, so I figured I better learn to repair them. I think I've just done my 5th repair and this time I think I've done a decent job. In the meantime I obtained a couple more, one of which has had an intermittent fault but I'm thinking its the sleeve connection rather than the centre (which is where mine have all failed to date). I've tightened the grub screw and its passing a continuity test...
But yeah...I'd say if you use screw on cables, cough up for good wire strippers and a soldering iron while your at it.
And be aware of the stress on the cable when you attach it to the mic...
Above all, carry a spare cable and an adaptor for 1/4"
Hi, Dave
I definitely carry a spare cable and 332 adapter. And I applaud your self-reliance. I've now made over TWO MILES of screw on cables - and there's no question I've learned some things in that time. The cables I make today are much better than the ones I made 3 years ago. The most important observation (and this goes for mics with built in cables as well) is that the spring the cable enters doesn't do anything but prevent a sharp bend in the cable. It does NOT prevent the cable from spinning inside the connector, which, if allowed, is the shortest path to failure. Part of the solution is devising ways to mechanically lock the cable to the connector so this can't happen; part of it is observing your behavior (coiling in particular) and modifying it so that as little "twist" torque as possible is ever exerted on the cable/connector joint.
The cable that comes with a Hohner Roadhouse JT30 has ZERO such protection. If nothing else, wrap some electrical tape around cable and spring.
It's not pretty, but an interesting concept that might be adaptable somehow?
(first picture on the page)
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/4511235.htm
Hi, Marcos -
That looks like an effective solution - but you're right - it isn't pretty. I have a better solution. The better harp mic vendors use heat shrink tubing.....
/Greg
Hi there
The answer to this question is - depends on which type of cable you need.
1) Low impedance/XCLR wiring is inherently noise-immune, and a world wide standard so manufactured in huge quantities - even cheaper cables perform very well. I wouldn't recommend going bottom fishing but the cable they sell at the local music store is fine.
2) High impedance 1/4" to 1/4" ("guitar cable") or XLR to 1/4" - the quality of the cable does matter, but, just like speaker wire, there are companies out there who prey on people's ignorance and will sell them something they just don't need. You don't need the "Monster cable oxygen free yadeeyadeeyada" gold plated costs-an-arm-and-a-leg stuff. Again anything but the lowest price cable they sell at the local music store is fine.
3) High impedance screw -on to 1/4" - this is a very popular cable among harp players because many vintage mics used this connector, and it is the shortest/lightest choice. However this is one very going cheap will definitely bite you in the butt. The connector has virtually no effective means of "strain relief" at the screw-on connector end to prevent early cable failure. Cheap cables (like what is being delivered with the current Hohner Roadhouse JT30) are bound to fail quickly. The harp-specific vendors (and there are a few out there, myself included) understand this and go to great lengths to make cables that will last a long time. This is where you SHOULD spend your $$.
Cheers
/Greg
http://www.BlowesMeAway.com