BigYinUK Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hi all. My 8 way, sssnake finally died at the weekend. I have to say for a £36 cable it lasted a whole lot longer than I thought it would! I'm looking for a replacement but really need 12 way (XLR m to XLR f) x 10m (not stage box at one end). Doesn't look like there's much available once you go over 8 ways. I'm tempted to buy 10m of Van Damme 268-212-060 and some XLRs and make my own, which would cost me about £150 plus a couple of hours soldering. There's a Pulse one available (pls00103) at £60 but I'm wondering just how long that would last? Any other suggestions? Regards Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 There's a Pulse one available (pls00103) at £60 but I'm wondering just how long that would last? I've bought some similar ones in the past, and whilst they're fine for installation and light use, I'm not sure if it'd hold up to regular touring like you seem to be doing. What has died on the sssssnake? That should give you some clues as to which areas to concentrate on with the new multi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandall Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Assuming this is for gigging, not installation, IMO you would be better off with the VDC & Neutrics, but you really need to protect the fan-outs (at least at the stage end) with neoprene or braided sleeving, which might extend your couple of hours of soldering. The main problem with el-cheapo Chinese snakes (even those that have a bit of extra sleeving) is the nasty "XLR's", especially the females (the less they look like genuine Neutrics, the worse they seem to be). Cheap snakes ending in stage-boxes seem to be far less trouble, as there is less strain on the females, & the mixer end is more probably going to be treated nicely anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigYinUK Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 3 lines had gone down. Two where wires had broken 6-10cms from the ends and one where one of the wires had pulled off the pin in the plug. Very el-cheapo XLRs. I had planned to use that nylon braid stuff to strengthen the fan outs. The multi is a link between our monitor rack and FOH's stage box(es). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandall Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 3 lines had gone down. Two where wires had broken 6-10cms from the ends and one where one of the wires had pulled off the pin in the plug. Very el-cheapo XLRs.That definitely sounds like -1 for another cheap'n'Chinese!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I'd want to go for the Black Series over the Blue Series, plus, you'd really want to be using sleeving over each line at each end to give better mechanical protection. We can quote to get you one made if you'd like or can do the parts for you to make yourself. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sound Man Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 You can buy them ready made to any length here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandall Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 You can buy them ready made to any length here.Also worth trying Klotz- I,ve had quite a lot from them in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 You can buy them ready made to any length here. A 10m 12way loom comes in at £223. Even allowing for eBay's cut, ouch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrolytic Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 12way 10m here: http://www.audiospares.com/product.php?productid=320&cat=233&page=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigYinUK Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hi Josh Although I'm sure Nub would do a fine job, I'm restricted on cost here. I've worked out that buying the Van Damme cable and Neutrik connectors from CPC and sufficient 4mm nylon braiding for 2 x 12 way fan outs is going to owe me about £170. That's way over what I wanted to spend on this multi but I'll probably do it. Having someone to make one up would kill it stone dead though, so its got to be either DIY or another el-cheapo jobby. Thanks for offering though. I do think that a quality one is the way to go as our kit has to survive life on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Take a look at CLD distribution (you've got to register to see pricing). Parts for a 12 way 10m multicore (comus cable) with xlr's you're looking at £127.17 including VAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandall Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 If you are up against budget you could always get the Studiospares 16-way (c. £74 inc VAT) & trade-off quality against having 4 spare tails as back-up.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&L Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 the view from the cheap seats - I have a couple of ssnake multi's (8 way and 6 way) and they have carried on working fine for for me, they get taken into both bars and theatres and probably do around 20 shows a year and I have had them for a few years - the only real problem I have had is the numbers on the fan ends wear & ferrules crack and fall off - I have ended up painting number on the 8 way as it gets most use for a drum multi and I just can't read the numbers on a half lit stage. thinking about the pulse - I have a couple of their 8 ways (fans both ends) and the quality is pretty similar to the ssnake (budget but not awful) and the xlr's are the same. ditto for the audiospares gear. my big caveat (and my gripe) is that I'm usually the one that plugs these up and I take care of my gear - I'm starting to notice, as I grow bigger, just how little care most take with gear - particularly when they are hired by the hour or day. cheaper gear doesn't often last as well, particularly with cables, there is no doubt about that - but there seems to be a bravado about 'tough gear' as though every piece of gear has something wrong with it unless you can drop it down a flight of stairs, jump up and down on it and it still works. (maybe we all had too many tonka toys as kids). cheap gear has it's limitations but in many cases, all that's needed is appropriate tlc and the cost of tlc in labour terms is far less than the cost of buying top end for everything just so someone can mistreat it if they like. I will add another caveat and say that I pretty much always carry spares to cover or have a spare way on a multi where I can. I'm having the same problem as the OP finding value/cheap multi's with SMALL counts. for a 10m 2 way, I ended up having to tape together two standard mic cables - a little unwieldy but does the job for a keyboard stereo pair. I could do with a 4 way 10m/15m but audiospares are the only one that seem to list fan ended ones and they have been out of stock for over a year! I'm often using an 8 way and leaving ends or taping them back - not as tidy, or as flexible as a 4 way. just to be clear - at the moment, in my world (even in theatres) paying £100 for a 4wayx10m van damme is bit bonkers - I get teh quality and obviously if I was doing 100 shows a year with it and getting high 3 figure sums then I wouldn't blink but at a smaller level it is undoubtably bonkers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigYinUK Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 I've gone for 10m of Van Damme Blue, Neutrik XLRs and some braiding for the tails. £146 all in for the parts and I'll be busy with my soldering iron tomorrow. Thanks very much to everyone who contributed suggestions. Regards Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.