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Small stage snake for a working cover band.

kevinpmajka

kevinpmajka

Supporting Member
Mar 25, 2013
968
1,243
Phoenix, AZ
#1
My need needs a stage snake for simply connecting to our mixer on stage and not have a ton of clutter every where.

I'm not opposed to spending money - but I'm not that familiar with snakes. They obviously range in price. We are looking for a 25ft 16x4 snake. We just want something for minimizing take down a bit and to run les 50 ft cables across the whole stage. Figured we would park it by the drummer and have the tails go to the left of the stage where we have our mixer racked up.

Any suggestions. New to this part of live sound. I've never been the purchaser.

We are working on getting a rackmount splitter and a small extension snake for FOH, and to just use this small snake for our own monitor mixes via a Mackie DL1608 mixer.

Also if you have any suggestions for moving/storing/extending the life of a non-pro touring level snake that would be great.

Thank you for your help and advice.
 
#2
You may have trouble finding a 25 ft. snake with both send and returns. 50 ft. is about the smallest I have seen. I'm not sure why you would even need the returns. Anyway check these guys out great products good prices and good people to deal with. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#3
I second Audiophile as well. I use the 30/15' snake in the exact same situation. This snake has no returns but our sound man either plugs his end into his snake or just sets his stuff up near us. He has a yamaha wireless FOH setup. When I do sound from stage I still use the Mackie 1608 mixer but I bought two 30 snakes from eBay. One 6 channel and one 12 channel. The six goes by the drums and we plug in the drums and guitar amps. The other goes to front center stage. With 12 channels I can plug in 4 voices, bass, keys, as well as the sends for our Qsc sub, 2 tops and 3 monitors. All on one cable. Very clean. I also run one heavy duty ac cable to the same position and and use an 8 way power strip to power all the above. Very clean setup and fast tear down.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#4
Any thoughts on the Elite Core/OSP snakes? Just checking.

Returns would be for powered monitor mixes or hardwired IEM.

I'm afraid of that passive splitter snake from audiopile. I would want something with transformers to protect from phantom power and some ground lifts in the event we get some noise.

Thanks for the info so far.
 
#6
i'm looking on my local craigslist today for snakes. that's one of the top items on my list. i'm finding only 100', which i've been told is what i want anyway, and they are from $150 to $200. there are some 8 channel snakes on guitarcenter.com starting at $109 but they even look cheap on the pictures.

our stage area is about 30 or 40 feet from the sound room with the board. right now i'm just connecting 25' cables together to make the distance. would be a ton easier if i had a snake to sit close to the stage and not have to link all those cables together to make the distance to the board. plus it's easier to plug and go on the fly without have to route all those doubled up cables everywhere when switching out bands.
 
#7
capncal said:
i'm looking on my local craigslist today for snakes. that's one of the top items on my list. i'm finding only 100', which i've been told is what i want anyway, and they are from $150 to $200. there are some 8 channel snakes on guitarcenter.com starting at $109 but they even look cheap on the pictures.

our stage area is about 30 or 40 feet from the sound room with the board. right now i'm just connecting 25' cables together to make the distance. would be a ton easier if i had a snake to sit close to the stage and not have to link all those cables together to make the distance to the board. plus it's easier to plug and go on the fly without have to route all those doubled up cables everywhere when switching out bands.
Click to expand...

In your situation I agree with using a snake. As soon as the mixer isn't right beside you on stage a snake is a must. IMO.
 
#8
If your band sometimes does its own sound, a snake can also help with speeding set-up, in that everyone can be responsible for running their own lines to their designated input(s) on the stage snake.

If you try to have everyone run their own vocal mic, cab mic, and/or DI to the mixer, you tend to create traffic jams.
 
#9
Personally I just want everything in the middle rather than on one end of the stage. Fifty foot cable runs and everything getting stepped on just makes me nervous.

Elite core makes a 25 ft 16 channel 4 return snake that may be the ticket for us.
 
#12
I run sound in my band and I have three snakes for different purposes. I have a 100' 16x4, a 30' 16x4 and a 25' 12x0.

I almost never use the 100 footer but I have it just in case. But I nearly always use the 30 footer and the 25 footer. I use the 25 footer on the rear of the stage for our drum mics, guitar cab mics and D.I. boxes. Allows me to use short 5 and 10 foot XLR's which are much easier to wrap and store at the end of the night.

The 16 I use for vocal mics and three of the four monitors up front. Drummer uses a monitor about 50% of the time and when he does I just run a separate cord for him to the PA. This allows me to have no cords running all over the place where we stand when we play. I am obsessed with having an uncluttered stage.

I got both on the "bay". $125 for the 30 and $85 for the 25. SO, they are out there and are affordable.
 
#13
If price is a huge concern, check out MCM electronics (mcmelectronics.com). Check retailmenot.com for a coupon code and you'll get 15% off. I just picked up a 8x4 50ft snake for $66 shipped. Obviously it's not the best but it's also not horrible and for the price, can't beat it.
 
#14
kevinpmajka said:
Any thoughts on the Elite Core/OSP snakes? Just checking.

Returns would be for powered monitor mixes or hardwired IEM.

I'm afraid of that passive splitter snake from audiopile. I would want something with transformers to protect from phantom power and some ground lifts in the event we get some noise.

Thanks for the info so far.
Click to expand...

Nah, Used one of their (Audio Pile) passive splitters for years w/zero issues. Elite Core stuff is pretty budget stuff, but the connectors are Neutrik, nice Kellum strain reliefs, and the the whole thing is field serviceable. Pretty big bang for the buck. They are not bulletproof however. Treat them kindly and they'll get the job done at a very affordable price. I wouldn't consider touring with them, but doing mostly local stuff where you know how they are treated, you'll do fine.
 
#15
I have a 50-foot ProCo Stagemaster snake, 12 X 4. They make a 16 X 4 for $279 which is pretty cheap. The Stagemaster line is not as bullum as the Roadmaster line, but they're good for light to medium abuse.

I'd suggest you go with 50-foot anyway because you never know when you may have to run it around obstacles and stuff.

PRO%20SMN1604FBQ50PAK.jpg
 
#16
Geddyfleaharris said:
I must be missing something but when our band has the mixer on stage the last thing I want to do is deal with a snake. Just another piece of gear laying around. I am missing what it is gaining you. If you cable everything to the snake you still have to cable the snake to the mixer. :hmm:
Click to expand...

It sounds like they're running a bunch of 50-foot mic cables to get everything to the mixer offstage. What a mess, and I hate wrapping 50s. I'd much rather use shorter mic cables and one medium-duty snake.
 
#18
kevinpmajka said:
Any thoughts on the Elite Core/OSP snakes? Just checking.

Returns would be for powered monitor mixes or hardwired IEM.

I'm afraid of that passive splitter snake from audiopile. I would want something with transformers to protect from phantom power and some ground lifts in the event we get some noise.

Thanks for the info so far.
Click to expand...

We haven't had any issues with their snake. We did replace a few jacks on the box after 2 years of use. We run phantom over it too. No worries so run and get it.
 
#19
Geddyfleaharris said:
I must be missing something but when our band has the mixer on stage the last thing I want to do is deal with a snake. Just another piece of gear laying around. I am missing what it is gaining you. If you cable everything to the snake you still have to cable the snake to the mixer. :hmm:
Click to expand...

Yes but then you deal with a single home run to the mixer not not one per channel. Also you no longer get people handing you a cable end and saying here is mine :)
 
#20
capncal said:
i'm looking on my local craigslist today for snakes. that's one of the top items on my list. i'm finding only 100', which i've been told is what i want anyway, and they are from $150 to $200. there are some 8 channel snakes on guitarcenter.com starting at $109 but they even look cheap on the pictures.

our stage area is about 30 or 40 feet from the sound room with the board. right now i'm just connecting 25' cables together to make the distance. would be a ton easier if i had a snake to sit close to the stage and not have to link all those cables together to make the distance to the board. plus it's easier to plug and go on the fly without have to route all those doubled up cables everywhere when switching out bands.
Click to expand...

I picked up 2 30' foot snakes on eBay for under $60 each. Very good and brand new. One is 6 channels and one is 12. See my first post for why I use 2 snakes.
 

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