The Show Must Go On

Jan 11, 2008 5:01 PM, By Pat Kirtley

           

Advice from the Cable Guy

FIG. A: Proper cable-wrapping technique will help prevent future breakage.

When equipment fails onstage, faulty cables are often the culprit. Proper handling can help minimize cable breakage.

When storing cables, treat them with care. Do as the professionals do and coil the cable into a loose circle. Starting with the cable flat on the floor, hold one end in your left hand, and then use your right hand to loop the cable into a circle roughly 15 to 18 inches in diameter (see Fig. A). As you wind the loop, gently twist the cable clockwise with the fingers of your right hand, and it will smoothly curve into place. If you store the resulting circle of cable flat (with velcro cable ties to keep it together, if desired), it will be kink-free and flexible each time you use it.

Replace cables (or have them repaired) if they show breaks or looseness at connector attachment points, if there is visible damage anywhere on the surface of the cable, or if a cable exhibits intermittent operation at any time.

Label that cable! Many cables look similar but don't work the same way. For instance some speaker cables, with ¼-inch plugs on each end, look like instrument cables. Confusing the two will cause significant trouble. Avoid the problem by making small labels and taping them on with strong, clear tape. Commercial label solutions are also available.

Tips for Trouble-Free Gigging

• Don't blow things up! Hooking up amps and speakers correctly is critical. It's the one area of audio in which significant amounts of power are transferred. If you hook up a mic incorrectly, about the worst that can happen is that it won't work well. But if you err in connecting speakers to amplifiers, the resulting smoke may signal serious, costly equipment damage. Always check the amplifier's instruction manual when hooking up unusual speaker loads.

• Once you have your equipment setup dialed in, write it down! You can make simple connection diagrams for the P.A. system, instrument amps, and keyboard setups, including all cable routing and the basic settings of knobs, switches, and faders. If anything is accidentally changed between gigs, you have a reference point from which to proceed. That can save critical time before a show.

• Lighting equipment that uses dimmers has a bad reputation for causing noise and buzzing in audio gear. If you can, power the lights from an AC circuit that is separate from the one you're using for the audio gear.

• Do not cut off, bypass, or disable the ground prong on AC power cables. When present, the ground prong performs the function of isolating human beings from dangerous voltages when certain types of internal equipment malfunctions occur.

• Create an equipment checklist to be used prior to loading out for the gig so that you can avoid leaving some critical widget behind. Also, make photocopies of important sections of instruction manuals for all equipment, and put all this information in a three-ring binder with index tabs for quick access.

• Keep audio cables separated from AC power wires and transformers. Power cables, motors, and transformers generate magnetic fields, which can induce hum in nearby audio cables. Keep audio cables at least half a meter away from power cables. If the audio cables must cross a power cable, they should do so at a 90-degree angle to minimize hum pickup.

• If you must use AC power extension cords, make sure they have the proper rating. The ubiquitous 6-outlet switched “power strip” should be used only for devices with small power requirements (rack effects units, keyboards, CD players, and so on) and must be used with care to avoid overloads. The maximum rating for many small power strips is only 10 amps (and that doesn't mean 10 guitar amps!).

• Arriving early at the venue is essential; it gives you time to familiarize yourself with the layout and scope out the best stage setup for your equipment. If the setup and sound check go smoothly, small problems are less likely to become gig-threatening experiences.

• Reduce the possibility of turn-on transients damaging speakers by applying power to mixers, processors, and effects units first; turn on power amps as the very last step. Reverse the sequence when powering down.

Calculate Your Power Needs

Make a list of all your gear and include the power consumption rating for each piece. Convert watts to amperes and then add those figures up to calculate the total amount of power your band needs.

A Musician's Survival Kit

Needle-nose pliers
Standard Phillips screwdriver
Standard flat-blade screwdriver
Miniature screwdriver set
Allen wrench set
Nut driver for tightening loose ¼" jacks
Truss-rod adjusting wrenches for guitars and basses
Utility scissors
Pocket knife
Flashlight
Extra fuses of each type used in equipment collection
Replacement vacuum tubes of each type used in tube equipment
Simple voltage test light to confirm presence of AC power
Cable tester
AC line voltage monitor meter to ensure that line voltage is proper and steady
Various audio adapters (¼" to XLR, RCA to ¼", and the like)
Brand-new cables (mic, instrument, speaker, and MIDI) held back for emergency use only
DI boxes with ground-lift capability
Extra batteries of each type in use
Extra bridge pins for acoustic guitars
Extra strings, drumsticks, and drum heads
Extra all-purpose mic