Cable Management for Recording & Mixing

Good cable management in the recording studio is critical to minimize clutter and distractions, encourage creativity, and maintain audio-signal integrity. It conveys professionalism to those who enter your space and can help put studio guests at ease. Managing cables makes it easier to get your work done without frustration. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your cable management.

Cable Management Ideas

Cable Management Products

Cabling Best Practices

For recording and mixing, you will likely use microphone cables, XLR cables, 1/4-inch cables, speaker cables, 1/4-inch guitar cables, and bantam patch cables. Sweetwater has all the cables you may need, even multichannel snakes. You can find them with our Sweetwater Cable Finder.

Cable Management Ideas

If you want to maximize your productivity, then having your cabling in order is a great way to start. Here are some pointers on how to make your recording and mixing space less cluttered and more efficient.

Organize Your Cables

Hanging your cables on wall pegs can make it easier to find the exact cable you need. Here at Sweetwater Studios, microphone cables are color coded and hung on labeled pegs so it’s easy to find the cable length you need. You also know how long a cable is just by looking at the color on the connector end.

Label Your Cables

Have you ever looked at a big spaghetti pile of cords and wondered which cable is which? Which ends are connected to what? Labeling your cables is the best option to keep things organized. Sure, it takes time in the beginning, but the time saved in the long run more than justifies it. For fixed installations, it’s crucial to label the cables because people will still be using them long after the installer is gone — sometimes decades later.

Plan Your Cable Routing

It takes longer to plan what gear will go where in your studio and measure the cable lengths you need, but it will pay dividends in lack of clutter and avoid huge piles of unnecessary lengths of cable. Sweetwater carries lots of options if you need multichannel cables for your installation, and if we don’t have what you need, then contact your Sweetwater Sales Engineer to spec custom cables or snakes from JumperZ.

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Use the Right Cable Lengths

One easy way to avoid clutter is to use cables of the appropriate length. Sweetwater offers dozens of lengths of microphone, guitar, and even power cables. When you only need to go from your guitar to the pedalboard in the studio, you likely won’t need a 25-foot cable. We offer guitar cables in multiple lengths:

Sweetwater carries an assortment of microphone cables up to 200 feet in length and power cables as long as 50 feet.

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Cable Management Products

Sweetwater carries a host of cable management products to keep your studio tidy and carefully routed. We have everything from Triad-Orbit CCM CableControl cable wraps to Hosa cable wraps, RODE XLR-ID colored XLR connector rings, or Hosa hook-and-loop cable ties.

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For studios that use bantam (TT) patchbays, this Gator Frameworks GFW-CABLEHANGER wall-mountable cable hanger is an absolute must. Mount one on the side of your console and keep all your cables organized at hand.

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Shop all Sweetwater’s cable organizer accessories here.

Note: If certain cables are mission critical (meaning that work will cease if they break or stop functioning), then it’s smart to have duplicates of those just in case they become defective. It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Cabling Best Practices

Only Bundle Cables of Similar Type or Signal Level

Keep low-level cables such as guitar and microphone cables away from high-level cables such as headphone or speaker cables. If there’s no way to keep these cables from crossing (which there frequently isn’t), then make sure they cross at right angles to minimize signal transfer between them. This also applies to devices that are likely to pick up EMF from other items in studio, such as guitar pickups (which are notorious for picking up signals from headphone cables), pedals, or mic cables, which are extremely low level and very sensitive to external electrical interference.

Note: If you are wiring the cables in your studio rack, then run the power cables along one side of the rack and low-level cables, such as mic cables going to mic preamps, along the opposite side.

Tape Down Cables in High-traffic Areas

Cleanliness is next to godliness, as the old saying goes. But keeping mic cables tidy in the studio serves a more important purpose. Tape down cables in high-traffic areas with gaffer’s tape or cover them with a rug. Nothing will disrupt a session faster than someone tripping over a cable and falling into an instrument or knocking over a mic stand. In this case, an ounce of prevention may keep an artist or musician from “breaking a leg” — literally.

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Use Hook-and-loop or Zip Ties to Hold Cabling Together

Bundle similar cables together to make them more obvious to see and minimize potential tripping hazards.

Routinely Inspect Cables for Damage

As you’re winding up your cables, look for things that are suspect, such as crimped cables or cables with compromised shielding. If you spot one, then discard it, label it as suspect, or repair it. Finding the same suspect cable more than once can be maddening. If you’re not convinced it is the problem, then at least label it as suspect and go back and check it later.

Tie Down Cables That Don’t Regularly Move

Use cable troughs or wall hangers to secure cables that don’t need to move. These can be screwed down into walls or inside racks.

Remember to Leave Service Loops

If you’ve ever had to detach a cable — either for troubleshooting or to hook up another piece of gear — and been frustrated because it’s not long enough to reach anything else, then you’re not alone. Always leave a loop of at least a foot at the end of a secured cable run. Though a carefully, tightly bundled and loomed cable can look like a work of art, when it comes time to move or repair it, it can defeat the purpose.

Use the Highest-quality Cables You Can Afford

Sweetwater carries cabling of all types in any price range. Some cabling — mic, line, or instrument cables — can vary widely not only in price but also in sound. We carry XLR cables that cost over $300 for a 6.6-foot XLR audio interconnect, such as the AudioQuest Red River XLR analog audio interconnect cable, and a 50-foot Mogami Gold Stage microphone cable at half the price. Both will function well, but each may sound different to you. The same is true of guitar cables, where you can spend $12 for a D’Addario PW-CGTRA-10 10-foot guitar cable

or over $200 for a Lava Cable LCHL10R Van den Hul 10-foot guitar cable, and the difference in sound will likely be justified.

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Let Sweetwater Help You Manage Your Cables

Sweetwater has everything you need to equip your studio, from mics and instruments to speaker wire and interconnects. Let us help you get your cable house in order. Call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700, and we will get you fixed up.

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Cable Buying Guide – InSync

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