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Post by shakermaker on Aug 13, 2021 6:48:07 GMT -6
Hey there, I've made my foray into a proper commercial with separate live room! The live room has a 32 channel XLR faceplate for mics with snake running into control room. The xlr cables are cut wires in the control room and I'm trying to figure out the best way to get them into pre amps. I have soldered a couple with XLR male jacks on the end but it's proving to not be an ideal solution, partly due to my mediocre soldering skills lol but also because the lines are kinda short so there is a bundle of 16 without much slack.
What would the best way to get these cut lines into my pre amps? I was looking at just having a 32 chan normal'd patch bay with 3 pin EDAC connectors but maybe I can just connect a snake in groups of 8 channels to the cut lines? What would the best way to attach a bit of cable length and XLR male to a cut xlr cable? is there a grimping connector I could use? Or is soldering the lines the best route?
thanks for any guidance!
cheers
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Post by bgrotto on Aug 13, 2021 10:32:01 GMT -6
In a pinch, I'd just solder the appropriately-gendered XLR connectors on either end and connect em, with the knowledge that probably at some point they'll fail and need to be replaced.
The "right" way to do it would be elco or DB25, depending on your patchbay (some patchbays are directly-soldered but i personally hate those)
I know you said your soldering skills suck, but, if you wanna run a proper commercial studio, that's like downtime / money-saving skill #1. Wire your studio and by the end of it, i can assure you that you'll no longer suck at soldering 🤣
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Post by Blackdawg on Aug 13, 2021 10:36:21 GMT -6
agreed.
Get good a soldering and building cables. You'll need to be.
And also agree that just putting XLR ends on the cuts is the way to go with soldering joints. Then you can connect whatever you want to it on the other end. You could direct solder cable to the cable too but that's not going to be any easier and not really any better. Cheaper, but not better.
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Post by EmRR on Aug 13, 2021 10:56:23 GMT -6
It could be better to replace the wire entirely if too short. Connectors are the expensive part.
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Post by svart on Aug 13, 2021 11:02:34 GMT -6
DB25 termination. Then you can add DB25-to-XLR snakes, or whatever terminations you need at the time.
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Post by Blackdawg on Aug 13, 2021 11:27:33 GMT -6
It could be better to replace the wire entirely if too short. Connectors are the expensive part. this is a good idea too honestly. |
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Post by jeremygillespie on Aug 13, 2021 18:13:06 GMT -6
I’d replace the cable with the proper length if you’re able to. If not, get a wall plate and terminate at the wall with Elco or DL. Then get a snake long enough to get from the wall plate to your patch bay and you’re done.
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 16,059 
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Post by ericn on Aug 13, 2021 21:11:01 GMT -6
Desoldering the old cable and replacing it at the jacks is indeed your best solution.
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Post by bgrotto on Aug 13, 2021 22:14:09 GMT -6
Just wanna add my quick thought about replacing the existing cable: it is 100% the best option, BUT, if you're not sure how to run cable through walls, don't rush into anything! I suspect since you're new to the commercial studio / separate live room universe and inexperienced with soldering, you probably haven't had any opportunity to experience the, um, "joys" of running cables through conduit. I'd highly recommend consulting a local pro about this before you do anything that may result in massive downtime.
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Post by shakermaker on Aug 14, 2021 7:55:01 GMT -6
In a pinch, I'd just solder the appropriately-gendered XLR connectors on either end and connect em, with the knowledge that probably at some point they'll fail and need to be replaced. The "right" way to do it would be elco or DB25, depending on your patchbay (some patchbays are directly-soldered but i personally hate those) I know you said your soldering skills suck, but, if you wanna run a proper commercial studio, that's like downtime / money-saving skill #1. Wire your studio and by the end of it, i can assure you that you'll no longer suck at soldering 🤣 Haha yeah, I know its something I have to work on, I'm getting better, but I'm not sure my pace of improvement is as fast as I want it to be lol. I'm gonna keep practicing. It's difficult because the cut lines come in from the live room in a two bundles of 16 each and they are hard to manage with the weight of the other ones. I'll keep plugging away though. thanks for all the great advice to everyone in this thread ... I was hoping using 3 pin EDAC connectors crimping them through might be an alternative but I guess soldering is the best way to go. |
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Post by shakermaker on Aug 14, 2021 7:58:16 GMT -6
Just wanna add my quick thought about replacing the existing cable: it is 100% the best option, BUT, if you're not sure how to run cable through walls, don't rush into anything! I suspect since you're new to the commercial studio / separate live room universe and inexperienced with soldering, you probably haven't had any opportunity to experience the, um, "joys" of running cables through conduit. I'd highly recommend consulting a local pro about this before you do anything that may result in massive downtime. Yeah, the lines appear to be good up to the cut point, they run under the floor into the control room so I think replacing them from xlr plate at the live room and running them back under is way above my pay grade at this point haha. I'm going to keep looking for a professional to hire and if I find one take the opportunity to learn as much as I can from him. speaking of which, anyone know a good line tech in the Toronto / Ontario area?!  thanks again for all the great advice! |
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