Recording - September 2013 - 28

Two types of connectors
We’ll deal with mic cables (XLR connectors) and with 1/4" connectors, used for
instruments and other purposes (speaker
cable, headphone cable, footswitches...).
Among mic cables, you will likely see
two types: dual mic cable (Figure 2) and
quad (Figure 3). This refers to the number
of conductors carrying the signal. Mic
cables have three pins: hot, cold and
ground. Ground will always be the
shielding, whether it be spiral or braided.
The four conductors are split between hot
and cold, giving each pin two.

control, and a trough for a sponge that you
moisten and use to wipe the tip of the iron
clean when it gets lumpy or messy). The
one I have is by Hakko and runs roughly
$115 on Amazon. Again, you don’t have
to go that high but the better the iron, the
easier your soldering work will be.
2. Vice. A tech friend of mine once said
that you need four hands to solder. When
it comes to cables, this is particularly true
because the cable won’t stand on its own
like a module or printed circuit board.
Having a vice like the one I use is invaluable to grip the connector and make the
necessary fixes.
3. Solder, and copper braiding and/or a
solder sucker. The first might seem obvious,
but there are different types of solder. I suggest a relatively thin rosin-cored (not acidcored, that’s for plumbing!) solder, thin
enough to not goop but thick enough to not
constantly have to reapply. Here is a good
place to start: 1/32 inch (.03) rosin-cored,
60/40 (tin-lead) or 63/37. Lead-free is fine
too, and if you’re in the European Union, it’s
the only kind available. Here in the US of A,
we still enjoy huffing lead.
The copper braiding and solder sucker are
for cleaning and “undoing” your work. I prefer the copper braiding for most board work,
but the solder sucker is great for those little
beads that sometimes form when soldering.
4. Wire strippers and cutters. Here you
should get ones that will last you a while.
And no, kitchen scissors don’t count. I have
a Klein Tools cutter and a separate stripper
as well as a two-in-one. Klein makes great
tools, as does Paladin, though they are
more expensive.
5. Multi-meter or cable tester. This is vital
so you can check your work before you go
back out there. It will also help you isolate
specific cable issues: no connection, out-ofphase connection. The multi-meter will also
serve you in checking voltages, current,
and resistance.
OK, now you have the necessary tools
to get to work.
28

RECORDING September 2013

The one thing to remember is the numbering. These days, pin 2 is hot and pin
3 is cold (certain older gear may reverse
these) and pin 1 is always ground. You
will see the relevant numbers on the connectors; take notice of those and make
sure you’re not wiring things out of
phase. (Figure 4)
Audio cabling with 1/4" (or mini) connectors also comes in two types; I have
included both balanced and unbalanced
examples because both are used in a
home studio setting. For balanced tipring-sleeve (TRS) cables, tip is hot, ring is
cold and sleeve is ground (Figure 5). In
the case of an unbalanced tip-sleeve (TS)
cable, tip is hot and sleeve is ground,
there is no cold. (Figure 6)
The same steps are taken in fixing these
cables, only the connectors differ.
Now that we have our tools and materials, it’s time to get into a breakdown of
the steps in troubleshooting and fixing
these cables. Let’s get started.
Step by step
1. Start by opening up the XLR or the
instrument cable. It will either be a twistoff or screw housing.
1a. Use your eyes. Is anything disconnected? Are the XLR pins loose from the
connector? Are the 1/4" tip, ring or sleeve
loose? Do you see any cold (thin or weak)
solder joints?
1b. If none of these apply, obviously
check the other end.
1c. Check the integrity of the cable
itself. Sometimes a wheel or the corner of
a road case might take out a chunk.
Once you find the problem, you will
either have to cut to just after the busted
part of the cable or re-solder something.
2. If you’re cutting, you will then need
to strip the cover off, revealing your conductors and shield.
2a. Unbraid or unwind the shield and
make it one wire.

As with anything in audio, people will
argue for days about which is best. There
are of course differences between dual
and quad, but whether it’s enough to
sharply turn your opinion is another story.
At most studios, there are both, and I
have never had a complaint about this coed setup. If you’re out to build your own
cables, I would suggest Canare or
Mogami cabling with Neutrik connectors.
The number of conductors and type of
shielding is up to you to decide.

Recording - September 2013

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