In a tangle? - staying tangle free - cable care

michelew
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:05 am

When it comes to the word "tangle", I'd rather it be accompanied by the word "wood", rather then "cable" (I.e. Tanglewood guitars, not tangled guitar cables).

As I continue my journey into recording and especially electric instruments and pickups, I'm assembling quite a collection of cables. There are different cables for my electric and my bass guitars; different cables from my Jam and iRig depending on whether I'm attaching to my iPhone, iPad or iMac; different chargers, cable extensions so I can wear more discrete headphones while recording into my Mac; a stack going to and from a keyboard...well the list goes on. My music room is starting to look like a scene from Firefly; specifically the engine room at its most patched; a million cables going in a million directions all promising to trip me up (again) if I don't tread carefully.

To avoid hazards, I tend to coil them (sometimes tie them) and place them in a specific part of my book case. But, I'm wondering whether there's a better way as there is still the potential for tangles when I placed them coiled on top of each other.

Perhaps I should make a mural to hang on the wall, a lovely chandelier of cables, a cable curtain as the entry to my music room (an updated version of the seventies bead curtain or Aussie fly repellent curtains). I've seen some cable racks, like tie racks but of course for cables. The only problem with that solution is that it would need to be mounted fairly high so as not to develop kinks in the cables (so you don't need to double them at an acute angle.

Do you experience this? Has anyone found a good solution that keeps you untangled and protects your cables from damage?

Shel


sbutler
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:06 am

Michele, I'm still using a slide rule and an abacus. I am so far behind you in the recording area, I'll never catch up. Oh yeah, if I don't wind my watch, it quits :)

Scott


michelew
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:25 am

Hey Scott!

Haha! :)

Actually, there's absolutely nothing wrong with analogue, many would argue it's better I'm sure, especially in the world of sound. In fact, because you're not being distracted by the hundred million new things there is to learn about electrified instruments and pickups and recording them (pickup settings, amp and pedal emulators, etc.) you can focus on the main game. I'm guessing your guitar skills are more solid. I'm sure I could be much better at play guitars if I spent more time .....ahhhhh... well...playing them...and less time trying to understand through trial and error (mostly the latter) how to get a good sound from the paraphernalia.

Shel (trying to be a sponge....though I suspect it's just another form of marshmallow-syndrome)


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daryl
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 6:20 am

Same problem here. :-( I'm forever untangling the few cables that I have.

The only thing I do differently is I use the same cable for my bass and electric guitars. I leave one end plugged into my M-Box (DI) and leave the other end lying on the floor (mostly out of the way) until I need to use either the bass or the electric.

And headphone cables are the pits because they are so lightweight and flimsy and they seem to get caught on everything.


haoli25
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:58 am

Shel, on the shorter cables (3m or less) it is best to hang them on the wall. It allows them to straighten naturally and puts less stress on the shield wires inside the cable. (This is particularly true for video cables) This will reduce future tangling. For cables that are instrument specific, you may want to use color-coded labeling tape and mark each "Go-Zinta" and "Go-Zouta".

Bill



Edit: Oops, sorry for the engineer's slang. "Go-Zinta" = Goes into, "Go-Zouta" = Goes out of. :)


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Music Junkie
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:53 am

Shel:

I am the proud owner of w huge jumbled mess of cables.... :P I try to keep them rolled up and hanging out the way while not in use, but when I have things plugged in, the cables are laid out all over the floor.

Jason


wiley
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:55 am



sbutler
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 3:02 pm

michelew wrote:
Hey Scott!

Haha! :)

Actually, there's absolutely nothing wrong with analogue, many would argue it's better I'm sure, especially in the world of sound. In fact, because you're not being distracted by the hundred million new things there is to learn about electrified instruments and pickups and recording them (pickup settings, amp and pedal emulators, etc.) you can focus on the main game. I'm guessing your guitar skills are more solid. I'm sure I could be much better at play guitars if I spent more time .....ahhhhh... well...playing them...and less time trying to understand through trial and error (mostly the latter) how to get a good sound from the paraphernalia.

Shel (trying to be a sponge....though I suspect it's just another form of marshmallow-syndrome)
Michele, I am envious of those of you that can get such great sound out of your stuff. Neils lessons still amaze me. I've been there with him, and all he has (that I saw) was a tiny little camera, several feet away, and his sound quality is top notch.


thereshopeyet
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 3:17 pm

Thanks.


michelew
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:40 pm

daryl wrote:
Same problem here. :-( I'm forever untangling the few cables that I have.

The only thing I do differently is I use the same cable for my bass and electric guitars. I leave one end plugged into my M-Box (DI) and leave the other end lying on the floor (mostly out of the way) until I need to use either the bass or the electric.

And headphone cables are the pits because they are so lightweight and flimsy and they seem to get caught on everything.
Daryl, earbuds are the worst. :). But, it's a small price to pay to the pastime we love.

Yes - now that I think of it, the bass and guitar cables are probably interchangeable. The one I use for the bass is a better quality one. Sometimes it lives under the lounge room coffee table when I'm playing connected to the iPad. In fact maybe I already use them interchangeably. ???

Good thing we're not having to perform or anything crazy like that. Imagine the mess we could get into then. ;)

M


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