I use these - 12 20' cables typcially fit on. I went from repairing 8-12 a year to maybe 2. My experience. YMMV
BTW - these get used for about 110-125 shows a year - if that is any reference
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DIY tips for cable management
- Thread starter Robb Fesig
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- cable diy management tips
BTW - these get used for about 110-125 shows a year - if that is any reference
As already stated velcro wraps but at a push a roll of masking tape is a quick way of securing cables and is not to sticky. If you are also dealing with a lot of ac power cables or long lengths an option to consider if not the case already is going for rubber cable instead of pvc, it is a lot more expensive but compared to pvc rubber cable roles up easier, lies flatter and neater and is very durable in conditions of being worked with all the time, i have also found that pvc can be soft when new but seems to harden over time and in cold weather really does not want to cooperate.. Best of luck
I got a bag of 1000 velcro ties on ebay for like £3 ! perfect for keeping cables tidy and theres so many of them , if I loose some its no issue .
Use a drum tom bag. It's shaped right for wrapped cables.
That bulk cable spool in the factory has a core diameter somewhere between 10" and 16". The "consumer" spools rarely have cores more than 3" diameter. That's a big difference even if it is stupid.
Heres an idea..Im not sure it would work, and Im not sure it hasnt already been suggested (Im not reading through 5 pages of posts to find out hahaha!). Maybe using a disc golf bag would be a good way to sort them by length, connector, etc. It already has dividers and it is made for discs that are roughly the same size as a coiled cable.
Edit: Google image link for those who may not be familiar
disc golf bag - Google Search
Edit: Google image link for those who may not be familiar
disc golf bag - Google Search
This is pretty much what I do and so far no issues or breakages .
And don't be afraid to chuck cables that you don't use are or marginal. I went through a whole "cable hoarding" problem a few years back - had to do a big-purge. Much happier now.
Woof! At their prices they should coil themselves and slip themselves into their satin-lined velvet bags.Ok, try go the down some Evidence cables into those bags...
We always used five gallon paint buckets to store cables. Built in lid, handle, and they are stackable. One or two usually will be enough for most club bands.
I do like the spool idea though.
I do like the spool idea though.
Yeah, that's at the factory. Last time I bought cable, about five years ago or so, I bought it at the local electronic supply house, came off of a spool with maybe a 3" core. Worked fine, in fact I believe my brother-out-law is still using that cable, maybe one day he'll return it to me...
Sure, the cables may be spooled in the factory, but that is before they have soldered connections on their ends. Personally I wouldn't be worried about damaging the cable so much as the terminals which were never intended to sustain being wrapped around a core and knocked around like they would be during (un)spooling.
I "label" all my cables with a neon yellow zip tie on one end. Easy to identify, easy to find on a dark stage and no sticky tape residue.
I used the spools for long extension cords for years with no problems - EXCEPT - I almost knocked myself out once when unspooling line quickly and the female end got loose!
I tried a few things over the years. What seems to work best for me is to keep cables as short as possible. Here's my setup
Rick Auricchio
Registered Bass Offender
We use two of these. One holds colored XLR cables for our mikes (we each have a color), the other has black and gray ones.
Attachments
I agree, keeping your cables as short as possible helps a lot. I have all rack stuff, so my bass rig (even though it's a 6 space rack and a 4x10 cab (with two additional powered 15s)) is very organized. Setup/tear down for bass is under 5 minutes once the equipment is in place. It's the PA stuff that really gets out of hand quickly.
Sure, if you're placing the connector against the core and then wrapping over it, forcing it against the core of the spool, yes eventually the connector is going to give up the ghost. But why would you? These commercially available reels are made for a hose or extension cord, so one end is going to be connected to a power point or faucet, so these reels typically give you an access point into the core so you can do this. Push the connector into the core, wind, the outer connector isn't up against the core, and the effective diameter of the core is now larger. You can get more innovative as well if you are uncomfortable that the connector will have undue stress on it, but the point remains, use your eyes and the wrinkly grey thing behind them, and you'll be fine. As for the knocking about, it's gotta be less than the stress of throwing a cable across a stage (seen it done many times) or dropping a coiled cable on the ground...
Really, it can be done, I never will, I have 7 cables to manage, and 3 of those are spares. Even in the case where we provided PA and such, I still don't think I'd go this route... Any reel is more mass and more volume than the cables it supports on their own.
But like I said, if you use your eyes and brain you can make one of these things work, if your inclined to go down that road, which emphatically I'm not.
I redid all of my cables, sort of, and color coded the Neutrik XLR with these:
Neutrik XXR-2 Colored Coding Rings for XX Series Connectors - Red
They not only help me identify cable length, but for mics, I give the same color to the same band member each gig.
Whole slew of them for different types of XLR, as well as 1/4"
Markertek - Search Results for colored neutrik
Truth be told, no real issue with 1/4" for me, as they're individual instrument cables - change the connector color, or for me, the cable color.
BTW, not that I have any horse in Canare's race, but I use both the GS-6 for instrument cable, and the L-4E6S for balanced cables, in different colors. Yeah, mostly black, but I like Red, and my guitar player likes orange for his MI cable.
Wrapped properly, and small velcro for each cable, and a large velcro to wrap at least 2 together of similar sizes/color/whatever, stacked into a backpack (just because my kids get new ones for school each year, I take "last year's" one).
Note: the BEST thing about the colored XLR, especially if you're running direct to the board, is you no doubt know which channel any given player is on, whether coming from a mic or DI.
Neutrik XXR-2 Colored Coding Rings for XX Series Connectors - Red
They not only help me identify cable length, but for mics, I give the same color to the same band member each gig.
Whole slew of them for different types of XLR, as well as 1/4"
Markertek - Search Results for colored neutrik
Truth be told, no real issue with 1/4" for me, as they're individual instrument cables - change the connector color, or for me, the cable color.
BTW, not that I have any horse in Canare's race, but I use both the GS-6 for instrument cable, and the L-4E6S for balanced cables, in different colors. Yeah, mostly black, but I like Red, and my guitar player likes orange for his MI cable.
Wrapped properly, and small velcro for each cable, and a large velcro to wrap at least 2 together of similar sizes/color/whatever, stacked into a backpack (just because my kids get new ones for school each year, I take "last year's" one).
Note: the BEST thing about the colored XLR, especially if you're running direct to the board, is you no doubt know which channel any given player is on, whether coming from a mic or DI.