Do you demand the best for your music production? If so, you have most likely spent the better part of a year’s income on your musical equipment. Although a low-quality, inexpensive microphone cable may work for occasional use, when you are working with professional quality equipment, step up to professional quality microphone cables. Poorly made cables result in low quality audio signal. Constant replacement of cheap cables will soon have you spending more than the best cables on the market would have cost.
Balanced Microphone Cables
The best quality audio signals are transmitted through balanced cables. Cheap cables often fail to transmit the higher frequency sounds. They are more susceptible to noise interference caused by electrical appliances and radio waves in the environment. The longer your cable, the more vulnerable it will be to noise interference. Best quality, balanced microphone cables do not suffer from these problems.
How will you know which cables are balanced? Microphone cables typically have one of three kinds of plugs – jack, XLR, and USB. If you are using an XLR plug, you are guaranteed that the cable is balanced. That cannot be said of all jack plug cables. Many are unbalanced. Check your different equipment boxes to determine what types of connectors they accept. The best and least expensive situation is when each piece of equipment accepts the same type of plug, reducing the number of cables you’ll need to buy.
Microphone cables equipped with USB plugs are specifically designed to be connected directly into a computer. If you plan to use computer software in your recording, a direct USB connection to the computer is one way to go.
Cables can be heavy and stiff. If you move your equipment around frequently or if you need to store your cables, choosing a flexible cable that can be easily coiled will make your life easier. Especially if you move your cables around a lot, you’ll find a high quality microphone cable will last much longer. It will consistently transmit the best sound signals even after it has been repeatedly attached and detached, coiled, pulled around and recoiled.
Issues With The Length of Microphone Cables
How long should your cable be? Give that some serious consideration before you go out to buy cables. You want your microphone cables long enough to reach from equipment to stage but not so long that performers are tripping over them. Especially if you are using unbalanced cables, keep the length as short as you can. The signal quality rapidly deteriorates over distance.
In the studio or on stage, how the cable looks matters. Black cables tend to blend in on stage, but can look dirty and clumsy in a studio. If you want to send a hip vibe, or if your band has a particular color as part of its branding, consider colored cables.
On stage, microphone cables can really be abused. They are pulled around, twisted, stepped on and jerked. Do what you can to reduce the beating they take. Every time a cable is stepped on, its life is shortened. However, the better the cable quality, the longer the expected life, no matter what sort of abuse it is subjected to. Buy the best quality microphone cables you can. In the long run, it will be money well spent.