Whether you work in a recording studio or in live production, XLR microphone cables will
be a part of your everyday life. They tend to break over time and they're overpriced, so it's
important to know how to repair them yourself and how to make your own cables. In this video,
I'm teaching you how to do just that, but if you're new to this channel my name is Kyle. You
can learn audio production online by checking out the weekly videos I post to the Audio University
YouTube channel. For more information, check out the website at AudioUniversityOnline.com.
In order to repair and make your own XLR cables, you'll need a few materials and tools.
If you've got everything you need, feel free to skip to the next section
using the shortcut links in the description below. Or, you can go to
AudioUniversityOnline.com/DIY-XLR-Microphone-Cables/
for the full tutorial and the full list of things you'll need.
Let's start with the components of the microphone cable itself. You'll need two XLR connectors - one
male and one female. This is the most important part of your cable, so I recommend getting a high
quality set of connectors. The industry standard and my recommendation is a Neutrik XLR connector.
Avoid connectors like this one at all costs. They get loose over time and are much less rugged than
Neutrik-style connectors like this one. You'll also want to pick up a spool of high quality
production-style microphone cable. You can find my recommendations in the description below. There
are a few tools that you'll absolutely need for this process and a few that will make it a hundred
times easier but aren't necessarily required. In this section, I'll go over that list of tools.
The first tool is a soldering iron. The one I'm using is great because it offers a temperature
adjustment. You can find a link to this one in the description. However, if you're on a budget,
check out the other link in the description that will take you to the soldering iron I used when
I was just getting started. You'll also need some solder. There are many types of solder available.
I recommend a 60/40 blend because it's easier to work with than lead free solder.
Choose a solder with close to the same diameter as the wire you're working with.
You don't necessarily need to use wire strippers,
but trust me they'll make this process a hundred times easier. These wire strippers allow me
to easily remove the jacket from the cable without damaging the components of the cable.
If you don't have wire strippers, you can probably get by with a pair of scissors or a razor blade,
but you just may need to do it a few times in order to make sure that you remove the
jacket without accidentally nicking or cutting the components of the cable. If you're using scissors
or a razor blade, try to score the jacket of the cable rather than cutting all the way through.
Once the jacket is lightly scored, you'll be able to tear along those lines to strip away that outer
jacket. The last thing you'll need is something to hold the connector in place while you're working
on it. Both of your hands will be occupied - one by the soldering iron and the other by
the solder itself. You can use a clamp like this one, which is made specifically for this process,
but I prefer to use an XLR jack to hold it in place. Don't use something valuable because
the heat that you'll be applying to the XLR jack could cause damage to the circuitry of the device.
Luckily for me, this transformer is already broken, so I don't need to worry about that.
The number one mistake that beginners make is forgetting to put the strain relief sleeve on
from the beginning. I've done it before and I'm sure I'll do it again. But make sure you follow
step number one to avoid having to redo the entire process once you've reached the end.
The second step is to remove a bit of the outer jacket from the end of the cable.
Aim to remove about a half inch off of the end of the cable. As I mentioned in the previous section,
this is really easy with a good pair of wire strippers like these. You can also
do it by lightly scoring the rubber jacket with a razor blade and then tearing the jacket away.
The shield is an outer layer of copper that surrounds the two signal conductors. It's an
important component of the cable's construction that helps to protect against unwanted noise.
The shield of your cable may be strands of copper braided copper or in some cases foil. In either
case consolidate the wire strands to one side and twist them into a single group like this. If your
cable consists of any other materials such as this rope, you can simply cut it away with scissors.
You'll need to strip away about an eighth inch of the insulator that surrounds each conductor.
This is where the wire strippers become really really useful. Be really sure not
to accidentally cut the conductor itself, or else you'll have to trim it back and redo it. In order
to get the best connection possible between the cable and the connector, you should tin
each conductor first with a bit of solder. This simply means that you'll apply some solder to
the tip of each conductor. I recommend tinning along the entire length of the exposed shield
as well. These connectors have small metal cups for establishing strong connections to the wires.
Before making the connection, you should also tin the cups with some solder as well.
Be sure not to apply too much solder, especially on the female end of the connector,
because the solder could actually drip down into the connector itself.
Finally, it's time to make the connection between the tinned conductors of the cable and the tinned
cups of the connector. The standard is to connect the shield to Pin 1, the positive wire to Pin 2,
and the negative wire to Pin 3. I like to apply the soldering iron to the cup while holding the
conductor to the solder within the cup. When the solder in the cup reaches its melting point,
the conductor will slide right in. Then just hold the conductor in place until the solder hardens.
The last step is to complete the assembly of the connector.
Slide the collar onto the cable and line it up with the grooves on either side of the connector.
Then slide on the end of the connector over that assembly, tighten the strain
relief collar to the end of the connector, and you've got your first side completed.
Now it's time to go back to step number one and complete that process on the second side.
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