DIY tips for cable management

[JRA]

michaels, hobby lobby, and plenty of other places sell enamel paint pens (fine and medium points), in various colors for coding: e.g., two dozen 20'+ cables get red numbers (1-24), ten 15' cables get green numbers (1-10), twelve 10' cables get yellow numbers (1-12), etc, yada yada. now they are not only color coded, but as they have numbers: easy to track down issues at the stage box (or mixer) on both ends! easy to identify in the box/trunk. easy to do, quickly, and other identifiers can be added (e.g., dmx...)

multi-colored paint pens: can be reused until the paint runs out!

 

[rufus.K]

Person #1: wind cables properly
Person #2: I do

Anyone care to quantify "properly"

For me, it's an over/under pattern. then a single piece of velcro. that mixed with color coded shrink , and I never have issues. they're just laid on top of eachother.

 

[Doner Designs]

I put them in gallon ziplock bags before putting them in my gig bag. Separate bags for instrument, speaker, jumpers and xlr.

 

[road-cat1]

Was beat to the punch.... I bought one of these on AMAZON (around $50 for the size I bought) and it has been great.
Amazon.com: Medium Cable Bag Midnight Black by Phitz: Musical Instruments

 

[buldog5151bass]

Rather than colored tapes, either use the colored braided sleeves, or get some paint for the plugs, color by size.

 

[Roxbororob]

Inexpensive, efficient, rugged, permaculture. Fits all my gig cables (P.A., rig, power & spares).

 

[Robb Fesig]

Person #1: wind cables properly
Person #2: I do

Anyone care to quantidy "properly"

For me, it's an over/under pattern. then a single piece of velcro. that mized with color coded shrink , and I never have issues. they're just laid on top of eachother.

Yep, over/under with Velcro is the "proper" way according to my father-in-law (electrician).

 

[PauFerro]

Exactly. This is pretty much it. I can't tell you how much time I've seen some dudes waste on stage getting their cables untangled. It blows my mind. Id go insane. I learned a long time ago, wind then properly, Velcro wrap them, put then in a bag. Done. So next time I'm ready to use them, it takes seconds to a min to get it all hooked up and ready. Really nothing to it.

Years ago this phrase came to my mind "The key to fast set up is an orderly take down". Exactly what Gregmon is saying.

 

[Roxbororob]

Yep, over/under with Velcro is the "proper" way according to my father-in-law (electrician).

+1

Qwik Tie Die Cut Straps

I dont know if this has been mentioned but loop the velcro through its eyelet on one end of your cable and never take it off. Take the time to wrap it over itself neat and tidy when your cable is in use. The velcro will last much longer that way. If you remove it completely every time you unroll your wire it will die fast.

 

[the yeti]

You could color code them with different colors of electrical tape and keep them in plastic bins.

Or even different colored wraps. then you could have several smaller bags labelled for various length and types and then each of those bage could go into a larger bag or case for all cables.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Person #1: wind cables properly
Person #2: I do

Anyone care to quantidy "properly"

For me, it's an over/under pattern. then a single piece of velcro. that mized with color coded shrink , and I never have issues. they're just laid on top of eachother.

 

[bucephylus]

Velcro wraps.

Learn how to wind a cable properly.

Just a comment about "proper" cable winding.

The current Emily Post lesson on cable winding espoused by the "knowledgeable" folks at GC is to invert every other coil in the wind to minimize twisting. Further, this is supposed to facilitate deployment, allowing the cable to be "thrown" out across the stage. My current gig is practicing this method. After two years, I remain unimpressed by either the deployment performance, which tends to get tangled, or the ease of winding, which I find to be fussy.

Before this gig, I always (since about 1982, when I learned the approach from electricians at the power plant I worked at) practiced jump rope folds with my cables, securing with either Velcro straps or a loose overhand knot. Both work. I still use this method for all of my own cabling.

Human behavior has a funny way of tending to parochial dogma. I'm easy for learning new tricks. But, I also find it somewhat hilarious how dedicated folks will become to particular methods without trying other approaches.

Anyhow, EOR. one does need a system to manage cables. Cables are applied entropy. If you don't have a good feeling for what entropy means, just work with a whole bunch of cables for a while. That's entropy.

 

[andawun]

Before this gig, I always (since about 1982, when I learned the approach from electricians at the power plant I worked at) practiced jump rope folds with my cables, securing with either Velcro straps or a loose overhand knot. Both work. I still use this method for all of my own cabling.

This, much easier to teach others.

 

[bucephylus]

This, much easier to teach others.

Perhaps.

The coil inversion isn't hard to learn though, and just requires about 5 minutes of someone showing you and then do it a few times. It isn't that hard. I just find the performance not to be all that impressive. YMMV.

 

[Sunset Shalom]

I have a big bag I fill with cables, mainly patch cables and pedal power supplies but I imagine it would work fine with bigger cables too as long as they are wound and tied up.

Literally just a big zip lock bag that I keep all my patch cables in, then I put a smaller bag of power supply cables inside and I can transport them very easily in a backpack.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I've seen a guy slip his cables into what looked like toilet paper rolls all stacked nice and neat in a little briefcase type thing.

I thought it was simultaneously cool and disturbingly weird.

That works great for small patch cords, computer/phone charging cables, things like that.

 

[Nev375]

That works great for small patch cords, computer/phone charging cables, things like that.

He was using some 10-ish foot guitar cables for his guitar and the send-returns on his pedalboard. They looked very flexible and braided like spectraflex.
The cardboard rolls may not have been from toilet paper. They might have been a bit larger and thicker. Not 100% sure what they were from, but it worked like a charm for him.

He also had some mic cable that were long but very thin IIRC. I thought it was a brilliant idea. But I only use 1 or 2 cables so never needed to do anything like that.

 

[Robb Fesig]

That works great for small patch cords, computer/phone charging cables, things like that.

I was thinking of doing something like this with lengths of PVC pipe.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Paper towel rolls, shipper tubes, etc. The catch is that the rolled cord has to be flexible enough to be smushed into the open tube. I have a Lava instrument cable that is not.

 

[Bullitt5135]

Velcro wraps.

Learn how to wind a cable properly.

You beat me to it.



Color-coded gaffer tape, separate storage tubs (with wheels) for XLR, speaker, instrument, etc.