Need advice on cable snakes
We're looking to upgrade to a 24 channel mixing board. I know even less about cable snakes than the boards. The best deal I have found for a 24 channel/4 return cable is made by Dayton http://www.nice-racks.com/28_Channel-DAYTON_244X_100_24_x_4_SNAKE_ALL_XLR_RETURNS.html and currently sold at Nice-racks.com for $299.99.
Questions:
1. Is it better to buy a premade snake or make your own?
2. Does anyone have a \"favorite\" place where they buy cable snakes.
3. For the returns, some have 1/4\" returns, others have XLR. Does it really make a difference?
Like I said, I don't know much about cable snakes and before I put down good money, I thought I would ask a few questions first. Any help appreciated. Thanks.
Questions:
1. Is it better to buy a premade snake or make your own?
2. Does anyone have a \"favorite\" place where they buy cable snakes.
3. For the returns, some have 1/4\" returns, others have XLR. Does it really make a difference?
Like I said, I don't know much about cable snakes and before I put down good money, I thought I would ask a few questions first. Any help appreciated. Thanks.
Comments
Pro Co, Carvin, OSP, Dayton make some decent snakes. Have you tried craigslist? You may find a band unloading one.
Are you sure you need 24 CH?
Anything over 100' can be a real drag. I mean as far as setting one up and at that size it's like an anaconda! We use them all the time so if you gig as often you might want a REEL.
something like this:
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=339005X
Personally, I have had great luck with Behringer products that I have purchased. I am currently running a Behringer all-in-one unit http://www.1001hitech.com/beeupmpomi.html which has ten channels. We max those out every night now plus we are running a separate sub mixer board for the drums. We might not need a 24 channel mixer, but when I count up all the channels we currently use, we are at 14. A 16 channel mixer doesn't give us much room to grow and we would like to mic the drummer for vocals and add a keyboarist/vocalist which would bring our needs over 16 channels. Considering the price of the Behringer SX2442FX, getting that 24 channel board is less expensive than buying \"name\" brand mixers at 16 or even 12 channels.
That is why I am looking for a 24 channel snake. I was not aware of the reel concept of snakes, that looks like a back saver. I did come across some rack mounted snakes where the box is mounted in the rack and you just attach the snake cable to the rack unit when ready. That looked like a good option. However, it was quite a bit more expensive than the Dayton snake I found. I plan on getting a 100 foot snake, which is longer than anything we currently need, but 50 foot might come up short at some venues. I'd rather pay extra for more line because our cord stretcher just doesn't work.
Thank you for confirming what I have been advised about build your own vs. buying a premade snake. Although I like to build my own projects whenever I can, I also realize that sometimes building your own projects can cost more than buying the gear already assembled. I have never had any luck with craigslist, but I'll give that another look. I live in Northern Minnesota, so it's not like we have alot of local people on craigslist. I have also been looking at online used music gear stores. The catch there is that the price is nice but they pad the shipping and handling to the point where it costs the same as buying a new unit from MF, AMS, ZZounds, etc... At least at the stuff I have been looking for recently.
Thanks for the suggestions and comments. If you have any comments about the new Behringer SX2442FX I'd like to hear them. I know that you are the expert in this area. Often times it comes down to available money on the table and we don't have the money to go after an expensive \"name brand\" mixer like a Mackie. But from the reviews I have seen, the Behringer mixer is built solid - and I can afford it. But, I don't want to buy junk so if you have some other thoughts, I like to hear them. Thanks.
You can rethink your snake options if you use a sub mixer for drums (6-8 ch). That may save some costs and setup hassles down the road. With a submixer on the drums you can mix that whole kit to 2 tracks that will open up many other tracks needed for expansion or if faults should occur. Most of the time drums are not going to have to re-mixed in a set, but if you have a drummer like one of the guys I jam with, he can change his own mix ( mon's or mains) on the fly if needed.
Also, and I don't know if I have mentioned this, but we are in the running for some larger gigs at about 3X our pay. If we land those type of gigs, we will have to upgrade our mixer and bring a sound guy for those gigs. So, there are alot of issues driving the band at the moment. Thanks for the comments.
channel stay separated and isolated from each other or you can get into alot of other issues. If you have a shortage of patience this can be very frustrating also. Personaly I find it meditative.