Not only did you help me train my XLR cable craftsmanship, but you also helped me learn to use the exact same cable tester I recently bought. You, Sir, are a scholar. Thank you for this great video! +1
I think many of the tutorial makers on UA-cam should have a look at your video, because it is damn near perfect. You talk at the perfect speed, not like others who fire words like a machine gun or at the other extreme where you fall asleep. Next your camera angles are good and do not move about too much while viewers are trying to look. You also do not constantly back-track on what you have just said like others do, so you avoid confusing people. So to summarise your video is excellent!
A good electrician's trick that will make your finished XLR cable like a pro-tech did them: Crimp all the connections first, then solder them all. You get two things from this, great insulator alinement to the cable stress crimp and double the strength with solder and crimps on all connection. :)
I was once told by my Dad never to blow on the solder, it just might cause a dry joint as it dries too fast. He was a rad/tech in the airforce of the old days...learnt a lot from him. Otherwise your instructions are pretty down to earth.
Just an FYI..I have always heard that blowing on solder can lead to a "Cold Solder" joint because it makes the solder solidify too quickly. Just let the solder joint cure naturally. Beside that a good video.
I put 3 male and 3 female connectors on some wire that was already ran through conduit in our church building. I showed up with a soldering gun and some rosin core solder. That's it! I found a knife to cut and strip the ends and started to tin both the wire and the connector. I had no third had so I found a piece of metal that was on the back side of a cabinet door lock was just the right thickness that I could slightly jam the male pins onto it and it was my holder. The next thing I did was solder #3 first then the rest of them. The middle conductor help hold the other two wires steady. A piece of masking tape held the unstripped portion of wire in place. I had the best luck not tinning the connectors. I tried not tinning anything and that worked also. For the female end I just taped that and the wire down to a piece of wood that was used as a communion bench. Perfect! Thanks for the video!
You should put the boots on the cable first - before stripping your wire. Sleeving the shield is also a good idea. For a clean shield, you can cut the braid down to about a 1/4", then tack-solder a piece of ground wire on to the remaining braid. Takes more time, but it's cleaner. I like the way you stand the iron and work the wire and connector. Good video.
Thanks for the clear instruction! I've got a pile of cables needing a refresher. I have a Pyle cable tester and love it. Thanks again! Much appreciated.
I've always struggled with soldering and this should help me deal with the pile of broken cables I'm about to fix. Thanks. One tip about the cable tester. Hit the reset button above the intermittent led lights. They'll only come back on if the continuity is broken. This allows you to wiggle the cable to test the connection.
Very good very concise yet thorough. So these comments aren't meant to belittle this excellent video. 1. Get better strippers, and a separate crimper. You will thank me. 2. Home made cables when done right are far superior than the junk they have at most online and physical music stores. I had to solder all my instrument cables. I watched this because I have the same problems with my xlr cables and I am going to solder new ends.
I used this video to remind myself how to make one! Thanks! Mine I was having some crossed lines (it’s a very very small/ tight 90 degree angle connector on both sides) so I ended up adding hot glue to keep the wires nearby separated . Also added shrink wrap with a heat gun to protect the wires as well. I tested it out, works like a charm.
One addition .. I would push the "reset" button on the cable tester. The vertical column of LEDS will be reset and go dark. Then, I should shake the heck out of the cable. IF any sort of intermittent open or short does occur whilst shaking the cable, the corresponding LED in that leftmost column will light .. AND STAY LATCHED ON (until you push the "reset" button again.) This is really handy for testing intermittent suspect cables! Great job on the video though .. :-)
Thank you sir, I appreciate the time you took to share your knowledge. This video has now helped me understand how to more efficiently solder my own cables.
Thanks bro. Did my first cable then decided to check if it was correct. Trimming the cable lengths to get a neater more compact end makes all the difference. The cable stand / helper is a must. Trying to hold with pliers while leaving the solder iron on the stand is not very effective..
No. A continuity test in a multimeter will beep whenever there's an electrical connection between the black and red probe. You stick a probe into each end of the cable and check the corresponding pins. So, touch pin 1 on each end (you can just slide the probe into the holes in female connector), listen for a beep, repeat for pin 2 and 3. This tester is nice since you don't have to clamp the cable so it doesn't slide around the desk while you try to put your probes in, and it does all the pins at once.
John, love your stuff, but I thought you always tried to make the best (whatever) that you can? Neutrik connectors are industry standard and with good reason. They are a very well designed product with excellent strain relief (and therefore VERY rugged). They may be a little more expensive - $4 vs $2 - but it's not going to blow your whole budget if you use Neutrik and they could save you a hundred times that in saved time when you find that one of your connections is dodgy and have to stop everything whilst troubleshooting. They do screw terminals also (although I know some people prefer soldered connections) which makes the whole process easier. I don't work for Neutrik, but I use Neutrik connectors on all my important connections and they are awesome. Can't recommend highly enough. Hope this helps.
This will be handy to make short run cables/snakes for my monitor rig. I can make a 16 channel snake, with 1 foot lengths using 2 10 foot mic cables, and XLR ends (Neutrik of course). Thanks for the tutorial. Handy to know, especially at the price for GOOD XLR cables!!
Just for information on soldering, when you blow on a solder joint you create a cold solder joint. You should always let the solder joint harden by it self without blowing on it.
Great video. Good explanations. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to use Neutrik brand connectors instead of the cheapo's. Neutriks have much better strain relief which makes them superior!
Just one little thing about that tester is that you need to press on reset and wiggle your wire around, if one of the intermittent lights turns on, then you know you have a short somewhere along the wire or at a connection.
I'm usually pretty pissy by the time I get thru some dummy's video when I'm watching them (in dubble checking my connections just to be sure they are correct) because the LAG ON AND ON!!! HOWEVER... YOURS WAS FREAT MAN!! Killer and edited correctly and your camera wasn't shaking as thou you had parkensins.. (however u spell it) MAD PROPS dude great vid
parkensins is a realy nasty decise,never hope that you get it,maby you can better saying,its like when you drink to much,this is somthing that people do to her own!!parkensins is somthing you get for nothing
You can wire the pins together but YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING! Each of the five pins is carrying a voltage, if you combine pins you can blow out what ever it is you're connecting
What would happen if you accidentally cross one small strand of wire from the shield to hot, or any other way around? Just wondering how important that is?
That's a tough one and I don't want to give you advice that would ruin your batteries. The tutorial above is really for audio cables. My guess (and this is only a guess) is that you treat it like an electrical cable where as white and black are Positive and Negative. The remaining pin for ground you would leave off. If you have one end that's still connected you could look at it to match the configuration. Be careful.
8 years later so you've probably sussed this by now, that cable tester, if you hit the rest button then wiggle the cables around a bit and those lights come back on there is a fault in the cable somewhere, if they do not come back on then the cable is good :)
Totally agree. The XLRs used in the video look like Switchcraft, and I would only use those if I had no other option. The strain relief is very poor. Always go with Neutrik if you are able, they are considered to be the industry standard in all fields that use XLRs.
Les Kanekuni Thanks! It came with a Solder Removal tool (basically an iron with a bulb for sucking up solder). Only think to be concerned about making your own cables is durability - but I guess it's not any different than buying cheap cables.
Howdy- So forgive me as I dont have a clue to electronics or technical names for parts. I have a problem not with The pins or the wires but when you plug in the pins connecting to the female plugs thing that seems to be loose inside and moving .. Is that an easy fix? Thanks
I have a Karaoke mic cable that crackles, I looked that wiring and the coax sleeve is soldered to two of of the terminals , its linked across. I checked the other cable as i thought it could be a mistake but that is the same. I intend to strip back and re wire following your guide but not sure to go with your way or repeat what is there now
Daniel Startek I scratched up that GoPro lens pretty bad so I replaced it with a security camera style c-mount lens - that allows for all sorts of focusing possibiliites. ua-cam.com/video/7yAdUfzNkF4/v-deo.html
Apologies, i havent checked all the comments and replies. Is there a suggested make/model soldering iron and also whats a type of solder you'd suggest?
The way I was taught was at times more interconnect cables were created than mic cables is to only connect the ground on the send side. This will prevent ground loops.
If I have a wire and connector that needs to be soldered but don’t want to do it myself, what type of business or independent contractor should I take them to?
Dude! great job.......I got a ?? about breakout cables.... Can I use a 1/8" trs to duel xlr to the back of my Crown CE-1000 in Channel 1 and 2 inputs .... will the same signal be on both channels
I'm looking for a very weird cable. I bought I Chinese microphone. with a USB to XLR Cable but this have 4 fins. instead of 3. ¿Do you have this kind of product?
XLR is an analog signal, USB is generally digital data. You could technically send analog audio down the four cables of USB... But I haven't seen it before. Best bet would really try to buy another one. USB is pretty hard to fashion by hand.
Thank for posting this, man. Probably saved me a fortune. I recently bought an XLR but when I used it the microphone gives me a huge shock. I checked the sockets and used different mics so it has to be the cable. Any idea what's causing it and how to fix it? PS, I love how you say "Solder" in the US!
Seph Bentos A huge shock? That's not good... If you recently bought it, I'd say send it back. Otherwise it might be a grounding mismatch - but something's definitely wrong there. I don't pretend to know enough about microphone wiring, but there shouldn't be that much voltage in there to give you a shock.
Filmmaker IQ It's crazy. I used it to play a show and couldn't get near the microphone, then tested my plug extention afterwards. I found that the extention earth had come loose, so I fixed that and it reads as fine now, but that cable still gives nasty shocks if it's used. I've just stopped using it through fear of damaging equipment - or you know, my face!
Seph Bentos Electricity flows in a loop from hot to cold (positive to negative) in a virtuous cycle, kind of like the zen of water flow (rain, puddle/river/lake/ocean, evaporate, rain, puddlee...., evaporate, ...). The ground wire (aka shield) is supposed to protect you when the voltage escapes from the inside of the equipment to the outside part you touch by blowing a fuse or tripping a circuit breaker. At phantom power voltage of 48 volts and your body resistance of a couple hundred ohms it's not enough current to blow the fuse, but its still enough to shock you (uncomfortably painful, but not deadly (usually)). Put your tongue on the end of a 9-volt battery then imagine multiplying the feeling by 5 to 6 times. Grounding needs to be done correctly for three-reasons: 1) most importantly your health (killing people is not good product design --unless you're peddling bullets and nuclear bombs), 2) shielding of your signal wires from external electromagnetic interference (EMI) and 3) to prevent "Ground Loops" where various components of your audio system have different ground voltages causing that annoying 50Hz or 60Hz hum picked up from AC power you were trying to avoid with the shielding in the first place. Remember, your wiring is like a hose. More water (current) flows through a bigger hose (smaller AWG --electricians do sizes back asswards) and takes paths of least resistance, but still flows through all paths, unless blocked (open circuit). Make the grounding path have so little resistance that very little current will flow through you in comparison.
Are you talking about a Speakon Cable? Neautrik is a brand that makes all kinds of connectors. The wiring is pretty basic as you only take two of the pins - ground and live. Check out this doc with all kinds of diagrams: soundwood.weebly.com/uploads/1/5/6/5/15656028/tn231_wiring_diagrams.pdf
@@FilmmakerIQ Hi my apologies you are correct it’s the cable on neutrik it only has 2 the xlr has x3 one I’m assuming is a ground should I only use the 2 wires 👍
Damn Deal Done I should know this but I don't :P I'm pretty sure we use 60/40 flux core as it's pretty common for electronic work. Gauge is not really that important - just something that you can work with easily - i think something like .3mm will work.
Filmmaker IQ Cheers. I think they say something just a bit smaller than the cable. So I can look up the cable and the core gauge and then select the right kester. Think I will go with 60/40 lead. Then get learning.
I'm having a problem with one of the cables I bought some time ago. For some reason, pin 2 is connecting to pin 3 on the tester. Must have got damaged somewhere along the cable
Hello! Is there a way to test an XLR cable without special devices? I have nothing to test it with and don't want to damage my audio interface, could you give me some advice on how to do it as safe as possible in my situation? Is it really that easy to screw it up and be unaware until it's connected? Thank you for this video by the way, watched it earlier, but didn't think I'll actually need this information until now:)
Evilsonic Records I think if you have a volt ohm meter you can check the resistance on each individual pin. Hook one terminal to say pin 1 and then then check each pin on the other side. Pin 1 should give you a reading of some kind and pin 2 and 3 should give you infinity. Change it up and check pin 2 on the other side - this time pin 2 should give you a reading and 1 and 3 should be infinity. Lastly check pin 3. You are right about being wary on testing equipment with home made cables. I blew out a Tascam field recording messing around with bare connectors which required a factory repair. A cable tester is really useful if you plan on doing this often.
Not only did you help me train my XLR cable craftsmanship, but you also helped me learn to use the exact same cable tester I recently bought. You, Sir, are a scholar. Thank you for this great video! +1
I think many of the tutorial makers on UA-cam should have a look at your video, because it is damn near perfect. You talk at the perfect speed, not like others who fire words like a machine gun or at the other extreme where you fall asleep. Next your camera angles are good and do not move about too much while viewers are trying to look. You also do not constantly back-track on what you have just said like others do, so you avoid confusing people. So to summarise your video is excellent!
A good electrician's trick that will make your finished XLR cable like a pro-tech did them: Crimp all the connections first, then solder them all. You get two things from this, great insulator alinement to the cable stress crimp and double the strength with solder and crimps on all connection. :)
Great tip!
I was once told by my Dad never to blow on the solder, it just might cause a dry joint as it dries too fast. He was a rad/tech in the airforce of the old days...learnt a lot from him. Otherwise your instructions are pretty down to earth.
I personally blow on the solder to blow away the toxic fumes and to make sure I don't inhale them.
There’s air extractors for a reason hehe 😉
I made my first XLR cables following this videos and its 100% correct I did not even have a cable tester. Thank u
Just an FYI..I have always heard that blowing on solder can lead to a "Cold Solder" joint because it makes the solder solidify too quickly. Just let the solder joint cure naturally.
Beside that a good video.
Came here to say that same thing!
Always heard the same but I appreciate the vid
“Don’t forget” encourages people to forget. Isn’t it easier to say “remember to”?
Agree... Blowing will make the cold joint.
I put 3 male and 3 female connectors on some wire that was already ran through conduit in our church building. I showed up with a soldering gun and some rosin core solder. That's it! I found a knife to cut and strip the ends and started to tin both the wire and the connector. I had no third had so I found a piece of metal that was on the back side of a cabinet door lock was just the right thickness that I could slightly jam the male pins onto it and it was my holder. The next thing I did was solder #3 first then the rest of them. The middle conductor help hold the other two wires steady. A piece of masking tape held the unstripped portion of wire in place. I had the best luck not tinning the connectors. I tried not tinning anything and that worked also. For the female end I just taped that and the wire down to a piece of wood that was used as a communion bench. Perfect! Thanks for the video!
Very helpful video with kind and easy-to-understand instructions. It is very nice to see people trying to be helpful to others.
Dude, thanks sooo much! saved me 75% of buying separate ready made cables. Works perfectly.
You should put the boots on the cable first - before stripping your wire. Sleeving the shield is also a good idea. For a clean shield, you can cut the braid down to about a 1/4", then tack-solder a piece of ground wire on to the remaining braid. Takes more time, but it's cleaner. I like the way you stand the iron and work the wire and connector. Good video.
Thanks for the clear instruction! I've got a pile of cables needing a refresher. I have a Pyle cable tester and love it. Thanks again! Much appreciated.
I really enjoyed your series on making movies I learned a lot all about the different terms and roles
I've always struggled with soldering and this should help me deal with the pile of broken cables I'm about to fix. Thanks. One tip about the cable tester. Hit the reset button above the intermittent led lights. They'll only come back on if the continuity is broken. This allows you to wiggle the cable to test the connection.
Very good very concise yet thorough. So these comments aren't meant to belittle this excellent video. 1. Get better strippers, and a separate crimper. You will thank me. 2. Home made cables when done right are far superior than the junk they have at most online and physical music stores. I had to solder all my instrument cables. I watched this because I have the same problems with my xlr cables and I am going to solder new ends.
I used this video to remind myself how to make one! Thanks! Mine I was having some crossed lines (it’s a very very small/ tight 90 degree angle connector on both sides) so I ended up adding hot glue to keep the wires nearby separated . Also added shrink wrap with a heat gun to protect the wires as well. I tested it out, works like a charm.
Thanks for explaining the 3, 2, 1 numbers on the male and female connectors! Great job on the tut
Thanks brother, it's something so simple and clearly easy to understand.
Bob Ross of soldering cables!!!! Awesome video!!
One addition .. I would push the "reset" button on the cable tester. The vertical column of LEDS will be reset and go dark. Then, I should shake the heck out of the cable. IF any sort of intermittent open or short does occur whilst shaking the cable, the corresponding LED in that leftmost column will light .. AND STAY LATCHED ON (until you push the "reset" button again.) This is really handy for testing intermittent suspect cables! Great job on the video though .. :-)
greàt video,helps me a lot!
What a well-done video. Thank you for sharing in such a down-to-earth way!
Thanks for making this video. Had an old three meter mic lead and turned it into two xlrs. Saved a packet, they aint cheap new.
thank you sir. it is really a big help for me in repairing my cables
Thank you sir, I appreciate the time you took to share your knowledge. This video has now helped me understand how to more efficiently solder my own cables.
Great video! This really helped me a bunch. From now on I'm just gonna make my own XLR cables or at least repair broken ones.
Great tutorial!! So clear, well explained and easy to follow along. Thanks!
Perfect video.. thanks for creating this.. btw nice photograph on the desk
now that is how you explain things....Thank you very much for making this video..i bet it helped lots of people.
Thanks bro. Did my first cable then decided to check if it was correct. Trimming the cable lengths to get a neater more compact end makes all the difference. The cable stand / helper is a must. Trying to hold with pliers while leaving the solder iron on the stand is not very effective..
Your depth of field got wild there for a second when you shown the xlrs up close.
Interesting as I have used everything you are showing and have repaired XLR and 1/4 Phone cables in the past as an AV Tech. "Very good"
...Tryna focus on the knowledge drop but Zooey Deschanel is staring into my soul! D=
Multimeters work for checking continuity also, but the cable tester is much more convenient.
Eric Pederson like checking for resistance ? if its the wrong pin you have put the wire on its going to have overload?
No. A continuity test in a multimeter will beep whenever there's an electrical connection between the black and red probe. You stick a probe into each end of the cable and check the corresponding pins. So, touch pin 1 on each end (you can just slide the probe into the holes in female connector), listen for a beep, repeat for pin 2 and 3. This tester is nice since you don't have to clamp the cable so it doesn't slide around the desk while you try to put your probes in, and it does all the pins at once.
Awesome video. Clearly explained and nicely edited.
John, love your stuff, but I thought you always tried to make the best (whatever) that you can? Neutrik connectors are industry standard and with good reason. They are a very well designed product with excellent strain relief (and therefore VERY rugged). They may be a little more expensive - $4 vs $2 - but it's not going to blow your whole budget if you use Neutrik and they could save you a hundred times that in saved time when you find that one of your connections is dodgy and have to stop everything whilst troubleshooting. They do screw terminals also (although I know some people prefer soldered connections) which makes the whole process easier.
I don't work for Neutrik, but I use Neutrik connectors on all my important connections and they are awesome. Can't recommend highly enough. Hope this helps.
Thank you for the video!! Time to make some new cables!
Thanks for this - super helpful!
Thanks bud great video... I needed this in my life!
Nice video. Tip for checks. It is cheaper to buy or make a simple continuity tester for checking the wiring is correct.
This will be handy to make short run cables/snakes for my monitor rig. I can make a 16 channel snake, with 1 foot lengths using 2 10 foot mic cables, and XLR ends (Neutrik of course). Thanks for the tutorial. Handy to know, especially at the price for GOOD XLR cables!!
thank you for this, its gonna help with 1/4 inch jacks also as it also uses 3 connections just smaller.
Just for information on soldering, when you blow on a solder joint you create a cold solder joint. You should always let the solder joint harden by it self without blowing on it.
I blew it :( thanks for the tip!
this was very simple to follow im gonna try now
This was great, thanks for posting this and taking the time to explain everything clearly!
The only best so far
Good video, very well done. I've got some betacam sp stuff, and will forever be in need of some custom xlr cables. Thanks.
Great tutorial which is very informative and super helpful - Thank You!
That was great teaching very good.
Brilliant just what I needed to know, thanks buddy
wow very nice tutorial! I am feeling pretty confident on future repairs :)
Do you know why there is a little wire soldered from the ground pin to the xlr body on my cable?
lowandlazy57 Yes - its offer more paths for grounding. I've seen some cables that do it and some that don't.
Filmmaker IQ Thanks
Great video. Good explanations. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to use Neutrik brand connectors instead of the cheapo's. Neutriks have much better strain relief which makes them superior!
Just one little thing about that tester is that you need to press on reset and wiggle your wire around, if one of the intermittent lights turns on, then you know you have a short somewhere along the wire or at a connection.
Good stuff! Making cables is fun lol
excellent..very well made...thank you...JD
I'm usually pretty pissy by the time I get thru some dummy's video when I'm watching them (in dubble checking my connections just to be sure they are correct) because the LAG ON AND ON!!! HOWEVER... YOURS WAS FREAT MAN!! Killer and edited correctly and your camera wasn't shaking as thou you had parkensins.. (however u spell it) MAD PROPS dude great vid
parkensins is a realy nasty decise,never hope that you get it,maby you can better saying,its like when you drink to much,this is somthing that people do to her own!!parkensins is somthing you get for nothing
Hi handy video, thanks!
Have you any idea if it's possible to change a 5 pin XLR male socket to a 3 pin female XLR socket?
You can wire the pins together but YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!
Each of the five pins is carrying a voltage, if you combine pins you can blow out what ever it is you're connecting
What would happen if you accidentally cross one small strand of wire from the shield to hot, or any other way around? Just wondering how important that is?
Probably not much but the cable would be noisy. I have blown things out by Misswiring so it's not a good idea.
what type of wire are you using?
That's a tough one and I don't want to give you advice that would ruin your batteries. The tutorial above is really for audio cables. My guess (and this is only a guess) is that you treat it like an electrical cable where as white and black are Positive and Negative. The remaining pin for ground you would leave off. If you have one end that's still connected you could look at it to match the configuration. Be careful.
8 years later so you've probably sussed this by now, that cable tester, if you hit the rest button then wiggle the cables around a bit and those lights come back on there is a fault in the cable somewhere, if they do not come back on then the cable is good :)
Great video, but where can I buy the cabling and connectors
Totally agree.
The XLRs used in the video look like Switchcraft, and I would only use those if I had no other option. The strain relief is very poor. Always go with Neutrik if you are able, they are considered to be the industry standard in all fields that use XLRs.
Thankyou for sharing this valuable info. God Bless you bro..
John, I love you man and I've obtained some great knowledge for you over the years... but dude, you gotta solder a little tighter.
How many watts your soldering iron bro?and where did you buy the 2 clips to hold the wire?
Thank you bro.kindly send the link please
great job John
Great video! You have made me motivated to make my own cables. I am wondering where you got that metal stand for your soldering iron.
Les Kanekuni Thanks! It came with a Solder Removal tool (basically an iron with a bulb for sucking up solder).
Only think to be concerned about making your own cables is durability - but I guess it's not any different than buying cheap cables.
Howdy- So forgive me as I dont have a clue to electronics or technical names for parts. I have a problem not with The pins or the wires but when you plug in the pins connecting to the female plugs thing that seems to be loose inside and moving .. Is that an easy fix? Thanks
sounds like something is broken. Replacing the entire XLR head woukd fix that
What wire brand and model number did you use?
Thankfully in the edit the outer metal jacket made it back in the video but most will solder the wire before they place the metal jacket.
I have a Karaoke mic cable that crackles, I looked that wiring and the coax sleeve is soldered to two of of the terminals , its linked across. I checked the other cable as i thought it could be a mistake but that is the same. I intend to strip back and re wire following your guide but not sure to go with your way or repeat what is there now
How did you macro focus the pin number designations with the GoPro. You are correct, it is SODDER!
Daniel Startek I scratched up that GoPro lens pretty bad so I replaced it with a security camera style c-mount lens - that allows for all sorts of focusing possibiliites.
ua-cam.com/video/7yAdUfzNkF4/v-deo.html
dude, great job on your video.
Apologies, i havent checked all the comments and replies. Is there a suggested make/model soldering iron and also whats a type of solder you'd suggest?
I don't do that much soldering so I don't have a preference. As for solder I used a 60/40 rosin core solder.
This is freaking amazing.
Can you use another cable, such as an ordinary cable with no isolation, and two wires inside?
The way I was taught was at times more interconnect cables were created than mic cables is to only connect the ground on the send side. This will prevent ground loops.
DandyDon you may be right on that. I've seen it both ways but that makes sense
Microphone cables would be the exception as a ground shield is needed to curb hum, noise etc.
Thanks for the clarification :)
Muchos thank you. El mejor 🤓
I need this to charge my e bike battery, can I just use the red and black cables to connect or ?
Having no idea of the voltage requirements I would strongly recommend against it :)
If I have a wire and connector that needs to be soldered but don’t want to do it myself, what type of business or independent contractor should I take them to?
I suppose you could go to an electrician or a home theater installation technician. But for that money you may just want to buy premade cables.
Dude! great job.......I got a ?? about breakout cables.... Can I use a 1/8" trs to duel xlr to the back of my Crown CE-1000 in Channel 1 and 2 inputs .... will the same signal be on both channels
clg1955 Not really sure about that - I think TRS to dual xlr probably splits the stereo input into 2 mono - but I could be wrong on that.
thanks! Great advice!
thank you... gr8 info and well explained!!!!
I'm looking for a very weird cable. I bought I Chinese microphone. with a USB to XLR Cable but this have 4 fins. instead of 3. ¿Do you have this kind of product?
XLR is an analog signal, USB is generally digital data. You could technically send analog audio down the four cables of USB... But I haven't seen it before.
Best bet would really try to buy another one. USB is pretty hard to fashion by hand.
Thank for posting this, man. Probably saved me a fortune. I recently bought an XLR but when I used it the microphone gives me a huge shock. I checked the sockets and used different mics so it has to be the cable. Any idea what's causing it and how to fix it? PS, I love how you say "Solder" in the US!
Seph Bentos A huge shock? That's not good...
If you recently bought it, I'd say send it back. Otherwise it might be a grounding mismatch - but something's definitely wrong there. I don't pretend to know enough about microphone wiring, but there shouldn't be that much voltage in there to give you a shock.
Filmmaker IQ
It's crazy. I used it to play a show and couldn't get near the microphone, then tested my plug extention afterwards. I found that the extention earth had come loose, so I fixed that and it reads as fine now, but that cable still gives nasty shocks if it's used. I've just stopped using it through fear of damaging equipment - or you know, my face!
Yeah, I don't blame you.
Seph Bentos
Electricity flows in a loop from hot to cold (positive to negative) in a virtuous cycle, kind of like the zen of water flow (rain, puddle/river/lake/ocean, evaporate, rain, puddlee...., evaporate, ...).
The ground wire (aka shield) is supposed to protect you when the voltage escapes from the inside of the equipment to the outside part you touch by blowing a fuse or tripping a circuit breaker. At phantom power voltage of 48 volts and your body resistance of a couple hundred ohms it's not enough current to blow the fuse, but its still enough to shock you (uncomfortably painful, but not deadly (usually)). Put your tongue on the end of a 9-volt battery then imagine multiplying the feeling by 5 to 6 times.
Grounding needs to be done correctly for three-reasons: 1) most importantly your health (killing people is not good product design --unless you're peddling bullets and nuclear bombs), 2) shielding of your signal wires from external electromagnetic interference (EMI) and 3) to prevent "Ground Loops" where various components of your audio system have different ground voltages causing that annoying 50Hz or 60Hz hum picked up from AC power you were trying to avoid with the shielding in the first place.
Remember, your wiring is like a hose. More water (current) flows through a bigger hose (smaller AWG --electricians do sizes back asswards) and takes paths of least resistance, but still flows through all paths, unless blocked (open circuit). Make the grounding path have so little resistance that very little current will flow through you in comparison.
Thank you Jules for a great explaination!
If you're doing a lot, buy some mechanical wire stripers - I use them at work. Like pliers and one action.
Hi is it possible to convert a xlr cable to a neutrik one if yes how please👍
Are you talking about a Speakon Cable? Neautrik is a brand that makes all kinds of connectors.
The wiring is pretty basic as you only take two of the pins - ground and live. Check out this doc with all kinds of diagrams:
soundwood.weebly.com/uploads/1/5/6/5/15656028/tn231_wiring_diagrams.pdf
@@FilmmakerIQ Hi my apologies you are correct it’s the cable on neutrik it only has 2 the xlr has x3 one I’m assuming is a ground should I only use the 2 wires 👍
You would use one ground and one either hot or cold from the XLR but not both. Look at the wiring diagram in previous comment.
Trynna do this tutorial with a kitchen knife, a candle and some faith, 2000’s style
desoldering...great tutorial thanks!
what happen to the shielding that you put solder on?
Generally you solder the shielding to the Ground pin of the XLR.
Best solder gauge for mic cables? Also what are you useing here? lead free? 40/60?
Damn Deal Done I should know this but I don't :P
I'm pretty sure we use 60/40 flux core as it's pretty common for electronic work. Gauge is not really that important - just something that you can work with easily - i think something like .3mm will work.
Filmmaker IQ Cheers. I think they say something just a bit smaller than the cable. So I can look up the cable and the core gauge and then select the right kester. Think I will go with 60/40 lead. Then get learning.
I have it in front of me now 60/40 .32mm rosin core. The gauge doesn't really matter that much because you're melting it anyway :)
Filmmaker IQ That's great. Cheers. Just want to get it right first time as I can't afford to be buying unusable stuff.
Just don't get the kind Plumbers use or the stained glass kind.
Have fun but just be a little careful - soldering is a great useful skill to have!
what if i don't test the cable using the cable tester but instead i go for old fashion way multimeter short circuit testing? (that should work right?)
Sure!
where did you y your cable from & what gauge are you using?
I just had to give you the like for that explanation of malle/female cables lmao
This is called an XLR cable, Mic Cable or Audio cable. Also known as a balanced shielded cable.
What kind of cable is this?
I'm having a problem with one of the cables I bought some time ago. For some reason, pin 2 is connecting to pin 3 on the tester. Must have got damaged somewhere along the cable
More likely not wired correctly at the heads.... Hopefully you can fix it.
Thanks for the video. After watching it, l feel like trying with some of my headphones' cable :-)
You can get all this stuff on eBay. Search XLR connector and XLR cable.
Hello! Is there a way to test an XLR cable without special devices? I have nothing to test it with and don't want to damage my audio interface, could you give me some advice on how to do it as safe as possible in my situation? Is it really that easy to screw it up and be unaware until it's connected?
Thank you for this video by the way, watched it earlier, but didn't think I'll actually need this information until now:)
Evilsonic Records I think if you have a volt ohm meter you can check the resistance on each individual pin. Hook one terminal to say pin 1 and then then check each pin on the other side. Pin 1 should give you a reading of some kind and pin 2 and 3 should give you infinity. Change it up and check pin 2 on the other side - this time pin 2 should give you a reading and 1 and 3 should be infinity. Lastly check pin 3.
You are right about being wary on testing equipment with home made cables. I blew out a Tascam field recording messing around with bare connectors which required a factory repair. A cable tester is really useful if you plan on doing this often.