23rd March 2007
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#1 | | Gear Head
Joined: Mar 2006 Location: Lansdowne, PA
Posts: 65
Thread Starter  |  To snake, or not to snake...
that is my question. Having spent some time pouring over various threads on gearslutz.com, I find I'm still in need of some conventional wisdom. In order to speed up the process of setting up location recordings, I'm considering buying a snake. Currently I'm recording the orchestra in which I play. I record five channels, and I run five cables about 100 ft. from the mics to the recording rig. I'm still a recording duffer, and it does take me awhile to get everything set up and to run the lines. Would a snake make my life easier? I'm thinking about an 8 to 10 channel affair (room to grow, after all!), with a breakout box on one end for the mics (and in my case, for the output from the 2-channel Hardy preamp) and a fantail on the other end for connection to the MOTU 896HD. Is my thinking correct here? Is this an appropriate use of a snake? Am I giving up any audio quality in using a snake versus running individual lines? I'm not currently using particularly high-quality mic cables (ProCo, from SamAsh), but I am pleased with the sound I get. Something just doesn't seem right about squeezing all those channels down what looks like a narrow tube. I just don't know... That's why I turn to the Pros!! Many thanks for your advice.
Regards,
Lloyd lfrank@pobox.upenn.edu | 
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23rd March 2007
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#2 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Oct 2006 Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,650
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If you're running 5 lines 100' then I would recommend a snake. It will make life a lot easier (and faster) while you're trying to setup, rehearse, record, and play a gig. You will want a stage box on one end and male fanout on the other. A fan to fan snake will probably do what you want, but for the flexibility I would go with the stage box.
If you ever need any help with anything at all, let me know. I live in Trenton (my wife works in Wayne), and I'd love to come help out. Are there any decent concert halls in that area? Do you record other groups or just your own orchestra? Are you coming to Peter Luger's in April?
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23rd March 2007
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#4 | | Super Moderator
Joined: Aug 2002 Location: NYC  |
As long as the quality of the snake cable is as good or better than the individual cables you're using, you'll be just fine.
If you or your client cannot hear the difference there is not reason to invest in the better "sounding" cable. That's why we say... YMMV, because it does. 
IMO, snakes are the way to go. Even if you're using less channel than the snake provides -- Having a few backup / auxilary channels is a very good thing.
I have snakies available. I you're interested PM or emsil me anytime for further information.
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23rd March 2007
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#5 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Apr 2005 Location: New York Friggin' City
Posts: 2,571
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I could not imagine life without multicore (snakes).
Personally the Whirlwind W1 (up to 12 connectors in a small, robust snake) has saved my life many times. I have only bought female & male tails, not the female stage boxes, but I live with these day to day.
I also have some fan to fan snakes, but these seem to suffer more damage than trunks with pinouts and separate tails.
Good luck in your decision! Hope this helps!
Jim
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24th March 2007
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#6 | | Gear Head
Joined: Mar 2006 Location: Lansdowne, PA
Posts: 65
Thread Starter |
Thanks, guys. You're the best. I showed my wife this thread, and it's a go. I'm so glad I married a gearslut! One silly question: how do you roll a snake with a stage box on the end? Like a mic cable? On a reel?
Thanks.
Lloyd
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24th March 2007
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#7 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Oct 2006 Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,650
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A reel with the stage box built into it is the easiest. They are a little more expensive, larger, heavier, and harder to transport, though. With a normal snake I usually coil into a road case or crate of some sort. I like to keep the slack close to the stage box so I usually put the box in first and coil into the case. Then, on setup, put the case where your stage box goes and pull the tail out to position. This keeps it tidy and saves work at the end of the day when you don't have a lot of extra slack to coil.
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24th March 2007
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#8 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jun 2005 Location: Southern California
Posts: 579
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It is not cheating to make your own snake (so long as you make your own).
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