Every time I do a recording session I end up with the typical cord spaghetti mess and worrying that someone will trip over something, pull a chord and break the input jacks on my pre-amps.  I am thinking it is time to install a small snake, 8-12 channel XLR and I don't need returns but I would like to get the best back for the buck in terms of quality so I don't lose sound quality on the way in.  
 
   I want to get something I can have plugged into my preamp(s)label the inputs and leave it that way so that I am plugging in XLR's in a more central location with less mess.  I have 8 channels now but plan to pick up another mic pre with 8 more this winter (maybe an Octo-capture dynamic or just another pro 40 etc.) to ADAT piggyback off of my Saffire Pro 40 so I can do live drums etc so a 12 channel snake might not be a bad idea for me.

Something like this (8 ch)  http://www.musiciansfrien...e-xlr-male-stage-snake

Maybe others in a 12 channel set up?    Is this a bad idea for studio use?

Many studios are wired with snakes or even permanent in wall wiring with just a connector plate on the wall to plug into. 

As musician's friend is owned by Guitar Center, stop in and check out what is available at the local Guitar Center (looks like the Ft Myers GC is closest to you).

You may want to consider one that also has headphone jacks, too, if you have to string them from your board.

Yeah I suppose the returns could be used as phone jacks huh?  

Hi Chuck,
 If you are really concerned about sound quality you can do several things.

 1) Order a snake that is not much longer than you need.

 2) Make sure the snake you get has good name brand connectors that fit and match your cable connectors well. 

 3) Make sure the mult cable has good shielding... for example a wire braid shield for the complete assembly and foil ribbon shield on each channel wire will be standard for good quality.
 
 4) Investigate the capacitance/foot rating of the mult cable and compare it to other choices.


 I don't use any of the snakes, that I own, in my place. I have a bundle of Canare Star quad cables running through a port in the wall and when the cables are unused they are coiled and stored right at the portal while  the connection is maintained in my rack in the other room.

 When I need an extra channel I select a cable by considering which preamp it's hooked up to and I lay it out.

 My drum kit is semi-permanently set up and the mics are set and wired up... so the extra cables are laid out for guitars, vocals, keys, etc.

 

 It seems impossible to avoid having some sort of cable mess... so I work at making the housekeeping aspect of it a bit easier by keeping it as neat and tidy as possible in between making messes.

 It doesn't seem like a snake actually helped me do that any better than the practice I follow now and so I have avoided having to worry about how my snakes' cables compare to top of the range audio cables such as I am using.

 For me the big break through was when I decided to dedicate a place to coil up and keep the cables, that aren't in use, in a neat and orderly collection where they are more or less immediately available. It provides all the convenience of the snake with none of the drawbacks.


 best regards,
mike

 

A caution that I got from a TV Broadcast Engineer friend (who has also designed and installed recording studios).  With XLR connectors and shielding only have the ground shield connected to the XLR shell at one end.  If the ground and shield are connected together at both ends you can potentially wind up with a ground loop hum. 

We (the Engineer friend and me) went through all my XLR cables and found some that were wired with the ground connected to the connector shell on both ends.  We just clipped the connection on one end of the cables.

This is a popular, and seemingly accurate, description that explains when, why, and where it is useful to lift a shield connection:

http://www.rane.com/note110.html


best regards,
mike

fireberd


A caution that I got from a TV Broadcast Engineer friend (who has also designed and installed recording studios).  With XLR connectors and shielding only have the ground shield connected to the XLR shell at one end.  If the ground and shield are connected together at both ends you can potentially wind up with a ground loop hum. 

We (the Engineer friend and me) went through all my XLR cables and found some that were wired with the ground connected to the connector shell on both ends.  We just clipped the connection on one end of the cables.

yes, you created a groud loop. 

Not all ground loops introduce audible hum.

That is why audio cables are commonly supplied with shields that are connected at both ends.

Corn snake.  Less than a meter.

Not all will have a ground loop hum, but the potential is there for that.  The engineer I worked with is a retired senior Engineer from WSB-TV in Atlanta and an engineering consultant to NBC for the Atlanta Olympics.