Any suggestions for cleaning up studio wires?

[Imagine]

Between all AC connections and cables going to and from, anyone have any suggestions as to how to make it look cleaner?

Thx
Dean

[Dave Martin]

I suppose that it's too late for cable trough's...?

[Imagine]

Hi Dave,

Could you explain cable trough's?

Thx
Dean

[djui5]

it's a "path" cut into the floor that cable's get laid into...then covered so you can walk over it.

[Imagine]

oh I see. Yeah it's a little too late for that. I was told that Flexible Nylon Convolute Wire Loom might be a good place to start.

Thanks
Dean

[djui5]

Originally posted by Imagine
oh I see. Yeah it's a little too late for that. I was told that Flexible Nylon Convolute Wire Loom might be a good place to start.

Thanks
Dean

That...some zip ties..and some gaffer tape (for those hidden areas...don't want tape laid all over your studio).

[JKL]

Might not be a perfect solution, but it's much better than spagetti all over your floor - go down to your local hardware store and purchase some lengths of plumbling insulation. It's a foam tube with a slit down it's length. It's cheap (couple 'o bucks for an 8 foot length) and comes in various diameters, and you can chop it up into smaller sections so your cables lay the way you want them to. Works for me anyway.

Jon

[faeflora]

Velcro ties. Home Depot has them for a lot cheaper than Rip Ties.

Removable zip ties.

[Frost]

Buy some snakes

Get an under desk computer cable management system

get short IEC>AC wires for power from here http://www.cablesonline.net/1footacpowca.html


Get some velcro as suggested

Good Luck
Frost

[faeflora]

Good link for the short power cables! I bought 1 foot and 3 foot cables from there.

[Imagine]

Thanks for your suggestions. I appreciate it.

Dean

[dbluefield]

Here's something I put together with some scaps...


Best,

Dave

[dbluefield]

Simply a heavy box (mdf and 2x4's nailed/glued -- scrap Luan glued and brad nailed/stained for look)- it slides on the floor with cover...

Best,

Dave

[genericperson]

what Dave is saying is the most "pro". I was kind of stumped on how these hi-end glossy studios could have a 96 input SSL with 3 racks of outboard and you don't see a single wire in the photos. six contributing factors (maybe more):

1) a lot of the control room wires are buried in the floor in cable tunnels, like Dave was saying.
2) mic lines from tracking rooms are often plugged into xlr "outlets", and the wires get snaked in the walls where you can't see them.
3) wires are often custom length to avoid any excess bulk
4) the equipment is positioned in a way to hide many wires
5) some high-end studio furniture make accomodations within thier structures for invisible wire passing
6) some wires might be removed for the glam-photo session.

[djui5]

Originally posted by genericperson
what Dave is saying is the most "pro". I was kind of stumped on how these hi-end glossy studios could have a 96 input SSL with 3 racks of outboard and you don't see a single wire in the photos. six contributing factors (maybe more):

1) a lot of the control room wires are buried in the floor in cable tunnels, like Dave was saying.
2) mic lines from tracking rooms are often plugged into xlr "outlets", and the wires get snaked in the walls where you cant see them.
3) wires are often custom length to avoid any excess bulk
4) the equipment is positioned in a way to hide many wires
5) some high-end studio furniture make accomodations within thier structures for invisible wire passing
6) some wires might be removed for the glam-photo session.

Most of those studio photos you see are how the studio looks minus some session specific stuff...like keyboards and personal fx...stuff like that. But the wiring is as it is.
When they build those big studios like that...they wire the place while it's all in pieces. Most of that consoles wires are run in troughs in the floor..underneath the flooring. So you don't see it. The cables coming to and from the racks are run through troughs in the floor and covered with the flooring so you don't see them either. The cables from the mic panels to the patchbay are run through the walls and in troughs.
So the studios normally that clean...wires stay hidden.

When your building a studio that big theres a lot of planning involved...

You can cut holes into your floors to put troughs in...but you'll probably have to cut into the concrete...which could become quite the job.
Might be a good idea to build a box like blue posted a picture of...and put it next to the wall....or something to that effect to keep it from being tripped over. Also don't be afraid to run wires through the ceiling and walls....whatever it takes to get them outta site.

[Dave Martin]

Well, I didn't cut the concrete, I raised the floor about 5 inches...

[deft_bonz]

Originally posted by Dave Martin
Well, I didn't cut the concrete, I raised the floor about 5 inches...

much better than cutting the concrete

so you have two floors, the original one plus the new one. have you done it yourself?

deft:::

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by deft_bonz

so you have two floors, the original one plus the new one. have you done it yourself?

I built my building, so there is the concrete slab and then I raised another floor on top of that - I put down rubber isolators, then put the frame for the floor on top of them, laying out troughs for the cabling at this time. On top of that are two layers of orented strand board (OSB in the US) and then the oak flooring. The cable troughs are about 4 inches (is that around 10 cm?) tall and as much as one foot wide.

[GearGuy]

Yes, floating floors are a must for any studio. What Dave has described is called a floating floor, and the best solution to all this if you have the ceiling height to spare.