When preparing for this video, I was trying to find a way to make cables exciting.
But, I couldn’t come up with anything.
So, I’m not going to lie, this will probably be one of the most boring videos I’ve ever
created, but you can’t skip it.
And here’s why:
You’ll never get good sound unless you are using the right cables.
So, let’s do this.
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Well, hey.
If we haven’t met, I’m Kade, creator of Collaborate Worship.
And we are dedicated to building confident worship teams.
In other words, we want to help you master technical skills so your church can worship
without distraction.
So, let’s talk cables.
I don’t know why, but whoever created all this stuff decided to make things a little
confusing for us.
Like, why do cables for speakers look the same as cables for guitars?
Yet, if you get them mixed up, it causes all kinds of problems.
So, hang with me.
Because this video is going to save you a lot of grief.
There are three different kinds of cables, and each can go by a different name.
And each of them can also have different types of connectors.
Again, I don’t know why all of this has to be so difficult.
But let me make it simple for you.
Let’s start with instrument cables, which are also called unbalanced cables.
This is the cable that plugs into a guitar or keyboard.
And since it is an unbalanced cable, that means you never want it to be longer than
twenty-five feet.
Otherwise, you will pick up hums, buzzes, and other unwanted noise.
The problem is, your mixer is most likely more than twenty-five feet away from the guitar
or keyboard.
So, you have to convert it to a balanced signal, which is where the direct box comes in to
play.
You’ve probably seen these little boxes up on the stage and wondered what the heck
they were, and now you now.
They convert an unbalanced signal to a balanced signal so you can send it all the way to the
mixer without picking up unwanted noise.
Which leads us to the cable that comes out the other side of the direct box, a microphone
cable, which is also called a balanced cable.
This is the same exact cable that connects to a microphone.
And since it carries a balanced signal, it can be run over one-hundred feet without picking
up noise.
Alright, so there’s two of the three cables.
Now let’s talk about number three, speaker cables.
A speaker cable has a much heavier gauge, or more wire, because it has to carry some
serious power.
And although they can get confused with instrument cables, because they look the same, you want
to be careful this doesn’t happen.
When using an instrument cable as a speaker cable, you are trying to send a large amount
of power through these tiny little wires that were only designed to carry a tiny signal
from a guitar or keyboard.
It may work for a little while, but your speakers aren’t going to sound very good and your
amps are going to be working way harder than they need to.
And worse case, you could melt the instrument cable and cause it to short circuit.
Alright, let’s review.
We have instrument cables which are unbalanced, microphone cables which are balanced, and
speaker cables.
Now, let’s talk about the different types of connectors.
The first one is called a TS connector, which has one ring on the tip.
This is the connector you will see on instrument cables and some speaker cables.
To tell them apart, simply read the writing that is on the jacket of the cable.
Next up is a TRS connector which looks just like the TS connector only it has two rings
on the tip instead of one.
These are used to carry a balanced signal.
They are also used to carry a stereo signal, like on a pair of headphones where you have
a different signal for the left and right headphone.
Now, this one is easy to point out, the XLR connector.
It’s one of the most common and is used to connect microphones and other balanced
signals, like the output of a direct box.
Lastly, there are two other connectors used on speaker cables.
I think this is the audio gnomes attempt at making things a little easier for us, instead
of using the same connector as an instrument cable.
One of them is called a speakon connector and the other is a banana plug.
Both of these are strictly used for speaker cables, so you if you see them, you can be
confident you are holding a speaking cable, not an instrument cable.
I know it would be hard to remember all of this right of the batt, so I’ve created
a Cable Cheat Sheet for you to download and print off.
I’ll include a link in the description.
I’ve also provided a list of all the cables and direct boxes I recommend using in the
description.
And if this didn't make sense the first time, go ahead and replay this video.
Because at some point, you are going to have to change out a cable.
And you’ll be thankful you know what to do.
If you have questions, drop them in the comments.
I’d be glad to answer.
If you’d like to see more videos like this, give me a thumbs up to let me know.
And if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the little bell so
we can let you know when a new video comes out.
See ya next time.