How do you guys keep your cables in order?

superbassman2000 · #1 01-20-2006, 01:43 PM

Hello folks,
I have a problem with all my cables...i have a lot of cables, but no place to keep them together! right now, i jam them in a bag, but, then they all get tangled and such, so how do you people keep your cords together without tangling up?

AaronS · #2 01-20-2006, 02:01 PM

I don't have that many with a combo these days. However, the guy with our PA and mikes coils them and then secures them with with nylon zip ties 180 degrees apart and stacks them neatly in a case. It works pretty well and they don't often get tangled. The other thing I have thought of is using gallon size zip lock bags for the smaller cables, but I have never needed to do that.

guy n. cognito · #3 01-20-2006, 02:10 PM

Go buy a box of Velcro strips. It usually comes in a box of a 10' strip. Cut a 3" strip (or any size you prefer.) Pull both the hook side and the loop side from the paper backing and push the sticky sides together. Now, you have a cheap and easy cable wrap. You can use one or two per coiled cable, depending on your desire for neatness. One box of Velcro will make more of these than you will ever need.

fretlessrock · #4 01-20-2006, 08:01 PM

check in with Butch at Bayou Cables. He has excellent velcro ties at a very good price. So much so that I stopped getting them through my wholesaler and get them from him now.

I coil the cable into about a 8" loop, taking out the twist as I coil so they lay nice and flat. Then I wrap it with a velcro tie. The tie has a slotted tab so you can keep it on one end of the cable full-time. Very neat solution and your cables should last longer and not tangle as easily when you use them.

Funny Story: I make cables for folks, like Butch does. When I joined a band a few years back I made a few for one of the guitar players who needed an upgrade in a bad way. Well, his "system" is to cram all of the cables into a canvas bag after every session. He just wads them up in a ball. As a result he is my staff "stress tester"... after 2+ years those cables are still going strong. Gotta love the dude...

seanm · #5 01-20-2006, 09:15 PM

I also use velcro ties. It makes a HUGE difference.

But buy them at an electronics store. Music stores charge much, much more for the same product.

BadB · #6 01-20-2006, 09:19 PM

Monster cables come with the velcro ties. Good cables, too.

whitedk57 · #7 01-24-2006, 02:12 PM

At Home Depot, they have what is called "Cable Cuffs". I have tried to look for pics, but was unsuccessful. They are orange plastic, and they resemble hand cuffs. I have several musician friends who use them.

Jazzin' · #8 01-24-2006, 04:20 PM

I just toss them on the ground or stuff them in my case.

**JoshB** · #9 01-24-2006, 04:35 PM

I use the cable ties that Butch sells as well and I use the proper cable wrapping technique that any sound engineer or musician worth his salt should be able to show you. (I call it the over under technique, but others call it other things.)

Wrap your cables right and use velcro ties and your cables should last a very long time.

Wesley R · #10 01-25-2006, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

Go buy a box of Velcro strips. It usually comes in a box of a 10' strip. Cut a 3" strip (or any size you prefer.) Pull both the hook side and the loop side from the paper backing and push the sticky sides together. Now, you have a cheap and easy cable wrap. You can use one or two per coiled cable, depending on your desire for neatness. One box of Velcro will make more of these than you will ever need.

get them pre made with conveniant slots cut in them and in mutliple colors, Orange and green etc. easier to identify during tear down. Available at the local electrical or Data supply house.

Best of Luck,
Wesley R.

guy n. cognito · #11 01-25-2006, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wesley R

get them pre made with conveniant slots cut in them and in mutliple colors, Orange and green etc. easier to identify during tear down. Available at the local electrical or Data supply house.

Best of Luck,
Wesley R.

Waste of money. If you want different colors, you can buy Velcro in different colors. You can get a whole box of velcro for the cost of a few pre-made cord wraps.

addylewis · #12 01-25-2006, 11:36 AM

I bought some cheap velcro ones from Poundland about 8 months ago - but alas, I've not done a single gig since...bought 40 of the things for 4 quid so I can't complain really

Mon Rominee · #13 01-25-2006, 11:41 AM

Ibanez cables have the velcro cord wraps on them too. And the plugs are heavy duty. I love 'em.

I have a couple cords that should be bunched together, so I was thinking about zip-tie-ing them at 1' intervals, so they stay grouped all the way to their respective inputs.... I wonder if there will be a wrapping / coiling problem from this? Sometimes cords develop a "memory" from being used to wrapping one way....

whitedk57 · #14 01-25-2006, 02:51 PM

I'm telling you... Check out the Cable Cuffs at Home Depot.

They're re-usable (unlike most wire ties)
They're bright orange (so you don't have look for that silly black velcro tie on stage or in your bag)
They come in different sizes for different bundle sizes.

Passinwind · #15 01-25-2006, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitedk57

At Home Depot, they have what is called "Cable Cuffs". I have tried to look for pics, but was unsuccessful. They are orange plastic, and they resemble hand cuffs. I have several musician friends who use them.

They're great, and you can find other versions elsewhere if you look around too. I have a few in other colors that are labeled "Cable Clamp".

whitedk57 · #16 01-25-2006, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Passinwind

They're great, and you can find other versions elsewhere if you look around too.

Zachary!!

(aka "exactly")

The Golden Boy · #17 01-25-2006, 03:23 PM

Velcro.

Kronos · #18 01-25-2006, 03:25 PM

I use velcro, and I'm lucky enough to have a home made junk box with a handle that I keep all my cables in.

Passinwind · #19 01-25-2006, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mon Rominee

I have a couple cords that should be bunched together, so I was thinking about zip-tie-ing them at 1' intervals, so they stay grouped all the way to their respective inputs.... I wonder if there will be a wrapping / coiling problem from this? Sometimes cords develop a "memory" from being used to wrapping one way....

Ron,

I have way too much experience with this. Out on the dams we ran 5+ miles of Belden 8412 (per dam) each spring for SONAR research widgets. It needed to be bundled to lots of other cabling, and we did use zip ties in many instances. I wouldn't recommend it for anything but fixed installations or really short runs. It'll rip up your hands (and maybe your cables in some cases), and memory is definitely an issue at times. Zip ties are very useful, I just prefer to avoid them for coiling apps for skinny cables. Figure 8 coiling (over/under) is mandatory if you use 'em, at least in my experience.

Look at the looms and soft tubing (split sleeve) solutions that are commonly used for car audio applications. I've had better results with those, generally. Shrink wrap works well too, but it's pretty expensive. Good quality electrical tape (3M Scotch 35 is my favorite) works surprisingly well too. We probably used a few miles of that every year as well.

Stanley Design · #20 01-25-2006, 11:20 PM

You hold one end in one hand, twist as you coil it with the other so it forms a neat perfect 8-10 inch circle in each loop flat same as the pictures above, once you have only a foot left, squish the sides together then use the rest of the cable to wrap around the middle of it a few times. Then tuck the very end through one side. It's easy, you can do it to every and any cable, and it makes them very neat and tidy.