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Microphone Cables, Best Brand/Source?

Thumper

Thumper

Supporting Member
Mar 22, 2000
5,272
10,994
74
Syracuse Ut
#1
I did a search, lots of instrument cable talk, not much for mic cables.

We are upgrading to powered mains (K12s) and IEMs (Shure 900), now the beater and I will need plenty of mic cables. Is there a preferred brand/quality/source? Or do I just go to Amazon and take my chances?

E.G., found a 6 pack of GLS audio 25' for $69.95 at Amazon
 
#2
Hard to beat Monoprice for cables...we use them in the band and in both of our studios for all mics, pre amp connections, etc. and have never had a failure or issue with them. And the prices are a fraction of what you'll spend at a retail store.

scroll down about a third of the way to the XLR cables. lots of options.

Invalid Link Removed
 
#3
The female ends are the ones you need to worry about. Big caveat here, I've not seen the monoprice premier series in person, but they look like junk to me. The GLS ones, again I've not seen them in person, look to be much better quality if you don't mind the rainbow colors. This is all based on zoomed pictures of these two items. I can tell you to stay away from low end Whirlwind based on my personal experience. I bought some and almost all of the female ends have failed. On the bright side, I'm a more informed consumer and a better solderer now. :bawl:. The molded end Standard Monsters have a lifetime guarantee, but you need to get and RMA and mail them in. Live Wire Advantage cables also have a lifetime guarantee, but they can be exchanged at a dealer (aka Guitar Center). The quality of the cable does matter, but good luck finding out what's under the rubber until you buy one and take it apart.
 
#4
Roll your own, just like you do every other cable. That's how you know you got the best quality, tight-fit stress relief connections, good solder work, no frays, etc.

It is worth spending the extra couple bucks on quality connectors as that's where 90+% of the failures are.

X guage, X insulation, X strand copper cable is X guage, X insulation, X strand copper cable, don't get upsold on that stuff, but do buy one step up the ladder from the cheapest and take the stuff apart/look at it for yourself. There are people out there selling supposedly "premium quality" cabling that is really ultra small guage copper strand surround by a bunch of thick, rubbery insulation. Seems good at first glance but is really crap.
 
#6
Wow it's never simple or cheap. From $11 to $70 for a 25 ft cable, although the cheap but good link didn't work.

I can't remember what I paid for Bayou's back in the day, still have them, might get a few Live Wires for insurance and let the beater fend for himself.
 
#9
will33 said:
It is worth spending the extra couple bucks on quality connectors as that's where 90+% of the failures are.
Click to expand...

Virtually all the XLR cable failures I have seen have been at the solder connections on the connectors, not in the connectors themselves. Most of the time the wire breaks right where the solder stops. There is virtually no current in those wires, so thin is not a problem except that they break more easily.
 
#11
ggunn said:
Virtually all the XLR cable failures I have seen have been at the solder connections on the connectors, not in the connectors themselves. Most of the time the wire breaks right where the solder stops. There is virtually no current in those wires, so thin is not a problem except that they break more easily.
Click to expand...

The connectors I've seen physically break are always the cheap chinese ones found at places like Radio Shack. The lower priced mic cables at Guitar Center have those same type of cheap connectors. They're made of some sort of softer, weaker metal than good ones. It's usually the little snap-in connector thing on the end that plugs in the microphone that breaks.

As far as the rest of the constructon, it's more about getting repeatedly rolled up, stepped on, thrown around, etc. than it is about carrying the tiny signal from the mic.
 
#13
Also, if you want to make your own Mogami Gold cable you can do it for about 35% cheaper than buying them from your local store. For example: the 25' sells for $69. The wire (Mogami 2534) is between $1.40 and $1.50 per foot depending on how much you buy and the Neutrik connectors with gold plated contacts are about $4 each. So you can make your own for less than $45 and even cheaper if you buy the materials in bulk.
 
#19
I found these at MF, and although far from premium, have switchcraft ends, and are pretty decent. Far better than most of the ultra cheap cables I had which were not holing up to my use (8-10 shows a month). I would like to get better ones eventually, but at a Talkbass Price at MF - I couldn't pass. I am going to order 2 6pks and see how they hold up over time. Maybe mark them to easy ID and check back after a while? I will probably buy decent ends to fix the old ones, depending on the cable quality. If its not worth it I won't bother. these come in at just under $10 ea. and are already ready already.
I found this
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acce...microphone-cable-20-feet-6-pack#productDetail
 
#20
Funny - The cables came, and they had two different types of ends on 8 and 4 of the cables. 4 had REAN - like neutrik, while 8 had switchcraft like ends, which are of decent weight and substantially tight in the connection. There are splines in the connectors, for both (M and F ends) . Not sure yet. When I went to the Rapco site, the mention different ends, to meet different price points, so I wasn't overly suprised. I guess it depends on what you get based on when you order, and whats on hand? They still seem decent and worth the money. Used them last night to see how they laid on the ground, listened for noise, and paid attention to how they connected and disconnected, along with how they rolled at the end of the night. in all - they worked, they sounded like mic cables and at the pricepoint, if I get a year or better, 5-8 gigs a month not too bad I guess.

I was also able to weed out about 9-10 cheaper crappy cables and eliminate a few issues.
 

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