Mic Cable Recommendations needed

[Mike McLenison]

I was leaning toward Evidence cables but they are too expensive for me right now. I currently have Monster mic cables, but have been so disappointed with the tone of their guitar cables that I changed to Evidence... - no comparison. What have you had experience with that you can recommend for mic cables?

[Coschi]

Planet Waves!
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[ggm1960]

I buy the cheapest mic cables I can find, the cheaper the better for my voice.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I like the BLUE Cranberry cable I have. I have a lot of different stuff to be honest with you - most of it reasonably nice - Belden, Canare, Mogami - and I tend to make my own cables as often as not. However, while at OC Speaker last year to get a new speaker for my Princeton, I decided to give their ultra inexpensive GLS mic cables a try. I paid some silly low price for six of them, and they've been surprisingly good. Main beef? The jackets are a bit "soft" and can be accidentally cut easier than on some other cables, but they've held put reasonably well and they sound fine.

http://www.speakerrepair.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=agb_mic_cables

[Phil O'Keefe]

Found 'em - Six 25' cables for $50. (http://www.speakerrepair.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=6P25&Category_Code=all-mic-cables)

[Beck]

I've always made my own studio and instrument cables... mostly Canare, but some Belden. My balanced mic cables are all Belden at the moment. I choose cable for quality construction -- good shielding, size of conductor and oxygen-free for longevity.

I don’t buy into the whole tone thing with guitar cables if the cables are generally of equal quality. Impedance can make a difference I suppose if using poorly made off-brand cables.

[deanmass]

If I am not mistaken, the Monster Cables have been debunked as generally being no better than a standard cable, but damned if I can find it right now.

To me, the cable that are best depend on on the shell and shielding rather than the rest brand, and having a soldering iron around can save your bacon no matter what brand you buy.

[Music Calgary]

You can get bulk Canare StarQuad for .60 cents per foot with no minimum or cut fee (.50/ft on a roll), and Black Neutrik ends (with gold tips) for a few dollars each online.

A few minutes soldering and you are left with incredibly great sound (custom fit) mic cables for far less than typical cost. The Canare cable is awesome quality as are those connectors -- you cannot go wrong.

[MikeRivers]

A good cable is one that's long enough but not too long, and always works when you need it. There are a lot of good reasons why there should be very little difference in the sound between one cable and another, yet people who should (and do) know better say they can hear differences and even better, have preferences. The good news is that their preferences tend to be to the standard brands like Belden or Canare cable used by many manufacturers of cable assemblies (the wire with the connectors attached).

It's really just as important to look at the connectors and construction as it is to look at the wire itself. I've occasionally had problems with Chinese cables that have Chinese connectors, but usually it's the connector (and often just the way it's soldered or crimped) that's failed. They can be fixed, but then, they sometimes HAVE to be fixed.

Cables used in a studio tend to get treated pretty well. Cables used for live sound tend to be put away in a hurry and walked on when in place, so for that service, it's more important to buy cables with good cables and good construction.

[Lee Knight]

Once you've spent any time making cables you realize how easy it is and how little they cost when you roll your own. As an AE in training, many a down time hour was passed soldering XLRs. But...

...if you don't want to go there, I agree with Phil about the Blue cable. Mine is a Kiwi and cost 40 bucks maybe. Nice cable. Well made. Connectors seat beautifully.

Still, a roll of Beldon with a handful of Switchcraft ends suits me fine.