XLR Microphone Cables, How to solder connectors Studio Balanced DIY ULTRA QUIET

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

By request I've added some to some parts and tools to make the cable, Check out the description for more.👆

[@philipp594]

Neutrik recommends not to ground the lever. You should really use heatshrink on the back to protect the cable from overbending.

[@boxsoft]

It's not a good idea to connect pin 1 to the connector body (with your jumper), as it also connects it to the equipment chassis. All those grounds aren't necessarily treated the same, so it's best to leave it floating. That way the component to which you're connecting the cable can decide how to manage the ground.

[@messedupmayhem]

I'm surprised he still left all that in there

[@JamesFQuinn-kr4wx]

By a mile the best video and comments section I’ve seen covering this area... WELL DONE SIR.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thank you! I'm glad people are digging this vid!

[@JamesFQuinn-kr4wx]

So Frank, I’d just like to check something please. I’m wiring a single pair cable female XLR to a TRRS, to use with my smartphone for convenience. Will I simply be able to plug this into my AKG D321s microphone and record directly to the phone or will I need to provide some power to the mic? Also in terms of wiring I’ve established that the S (Root) on the TRRS I’m using corresponds to the microphone input on the Samsung S9+ so. I think that I wire the silver cable to the ground into the TRRS. That leaves 2 cables the blue and white: So which of those should I connect to the S (root connector) cable. I’ve identified the 2 Left and Right channel cables on the input and left those to one side for the moment. Hope this makes sense and many many thanks in advance for your input so far. Best rgds J.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Sorry for the delay! I believe TRRS(tip, ring 1, ring2, sleeve) on a mobile phone should correspond to Tip=left headset out, Ring 1= Right headset out, Ring 2= Microphone, Sleeve= Ground/Shield. The AKG D321 is a dynamic mic. I don't think you'll need phantom power as most headset mics do, but you might need a preamplifier for it. Most dynamic mics need a fair amount of gain. No reason you can't wire it up and try it though. Wiring, just a guess: T=white, R1= blue, R2=red, S=silver(or copper color). I also doubt you need a "balanced" connection for the microphone, (the TRRS cable doesn't really allow for it), so if you're making an XLR cable for the microphone, Pin 2 (which will go to Ring 2)will be "hot," don't forget to ground Pins 1 and 3 to "S" Good luck!

[@ViciousXUSMC]

A few things I like about your video out of the 10 or so I just watched. 1.) Your the only one that used a shield jumper, I guess its not "required" but seems like a good idea. 2.) I like how you crimped the connectors to give a more secure connection. 3.) If you have a lot of braiding I liked your idea of cutting it in half but still giving it a good base connection with the solder at the base. This is most likely the closest to how I would make a cable if I was going to do it. Good job with the video and thank you.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks for checking out the vids! I get plenty of negative comments about that jumper, but I've never experienced an issue using my cables in pro studios and clubs in and around NYC.

[@wjkgreen]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Well, you're jumping the audio ground, which would connect with the connected device cases. It's not an electrical safety ground, associated with powering the devices.

[@ThusithaThanthirige]

Greetings From Super Extremes- Sri Lanka 💚 💛 ❤️ 💙 💜

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks for stopping by!

[@lynnecabrera4393]

Hi new subscriber here...I like your work, clean and clear. I can see you're a very meticulous person. Thanks for sharing...

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks, hope it helps!

[@MrTellem44]

Nice, well done.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks!

[@waynemiller6070]

I've made a few cables recently. I wish I had seen this video first. I had put my ends in a vice to hold them. Not a bad thing, but using the microphone in a stand would have been pretty handy.

[@gazzgaspay4841]

3:15 is this important? If yes, whats the advantage of this? Coz I am skipping this part.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

On some systems it could reduce hum, but many cables don't have it. If your system is well grounded from mic to DAW, you should be fine without it.

[@deejayactivist770]

Good teaching

[@filipkrstevski5449]

Should you always use the jumper or not because this is the only video of uing it and btw my cables are for connecting active studio monitors to the interface thanks in advance have a great weekend

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

You probably won't need too. If you end up with some hum issues, you could always go back and solder a jumper in.

[@SumansAuthenticRecipe]

great upload

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks for the visit!

[@rapaent]

Isn't #3 Ground/cold (from braid) and #1 Ground w/ shield TM7:50? Maybe it doesn't matter?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

4:30 is the Female connector. 7:50 is the male connector. When you look at them from the back, they will look opposite to each other. That's why most connectors have a TINY number by each pin(male) or on the front(female). There are different standards and they have changed over the years, but the current AES standard is: Pin 1=shield/drain Pin 2=Hot (+) Pin 3=Cold (-) The Case ground is optional. What you're describing would be an unbalanced connection, with both Pins one and three essentially being grounded. Thay may work in some cases, however if you're pulling Pin 3 (cold) to ground with the braided shield, you're losing the balance of the signal. In theory, the Positive lead carries the hot signal, and the Negative lead carries the exact opposite(cold) signal. when they reach their destination in phase with each other, any noise picked up along the way is cancelled out, because it's not in the original signals. So, if you ground pin 3, it might work on some systems, but you'll lose the ability to carry a balanced signal when you need it.

[@rapaent]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Thank you Frank for explaining the differences. I now totally understand the correct way for making balanced XLR's. I sincerely appreciat your help. 👍👍😊

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

No problem, I'm glad it helps!

[@rapaent]

@@FrankOlsonTwins It definetely helped...... Just ordered 250' Canare Star Quad along with XLR Neutriks. Thanks again for the great video! 👍😊

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Great! Yes, make those cables and you'll save 5x $$ on retail cables. Best of luck!

[@VB-hb8xo]

very helpful. thank you

[@VB-hb8xo]

i agree

[@kerekes1952]

Frank, for those of us who don't have a spare capacfitor laying around for a jumper wire, what would be an easily findable substitute solid core wire? Thanks, Steve

[@kerekes1952]

I see the answer below. 🙂

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

A spare resistor lead would work too, but the jumper wire doesn't have to be solid core. You can use regular stranded copper wire. The solid core is just a tiny bit easier to work with. Old telephone wire is often filled with good solid core wire. Don't forget to give a quick polish with a very light abrasive if your solid core is discolored or tarnished.

[@kerekes1952]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Thanks, Frank!

[@faithtonejason]

So, if u don’t use the shield jumper will the shield still connect to the ground somehow inside the gear or is it just a shield? Thanks!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Correct, the shield jumper is optional. Pin 1(Shield) will likely be grounded inside of equipment so it acts as a ground and a shield.

[@faithtonejason]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Great! Thanks for your reply and informative video! Will try the jumper next time!👍

[@bobbyjarsulic862]

Lots of good points in this video. Shield jumper is the "best right way" (cleanest way) to bridge the XLR chassis to pin 1 ground. I also liked that you clipped the shield shorter than the two signal wires- it forces the wires to remain slightly bent & more strain-free, giving them some slack before going taut if the strain relief on the Neutrik fails. Question, though- why use such a fine tip for soldering? You'd get better heat flow with a thicker cone or small diagonal tip, and perhaps larger diameter solder, and wouldn't need to touch up some of the joints as much. Also, why crimp the solder buckets? Only makes it harder to repair or reuse the connector if necessary. I know it's not likely that the cable will fail with Neutrik XX and L-4E6S, but the possibility is still there.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks for checking out the video! That tip is the general one I use for soldering, but I should get a decent flat tip for connectors like this. I crimp the buckets to get the best possible electrical connection, though it does seem strange that one end has crimping terminals and the other end is open socket terminals. Certainly not necessary.

[@bobbyjarsulic862]

@@FrankOlsonTwins I think the answer for why the two solder buckets are different is in the actual metal connector contacts themselves. My guess: The female ones look to be from stamped and rolled metal as they form a "sleeve" for the male pin to grip onto, hence the square stamped solder bucket. However, the male ones are likely some sort of drawn or extruded metal rod, hence the round shape. Love me some L-4E5C Mini Star Quad for aux and patch cables, by the way! L-2T2S also is some pretty good "standard" mic cable with Canare flexibility & durability, although I'm not sure in what application that'd be preferable over Star Quad.

[@elliottj76bandx]

Which guy is right? the guy commenting before you said don't use the jumper and no one replied to him, but you say it's the "best right way"

[@johnpiper2293]

In the case of a dual shielded core (foil around the live and neutral and a metal braid around that) which do I solder to the ground pin in the XLR? The braid, the foil or both?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Just solder the braid. The foil will conduct itself to the braid. Let me know how it turns out!

[@gazzgaspay4841]

Is this important at 3:14? Coz all of our xlr cables dont use this.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

If the rest of your cables don't have it, you can skip it to keep all your cables similar.

[@Spirituahymns]

I want to ask you, is there a problem if I do not do the junction? I just connect the ground terminal and the other two terminals, both in place, but without a junction with the earth, but it works and the sound is good

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

The junction is optional. If the cable sounds good, no need to solder in the jumper.

[@skyluna_music]

If I use copper strands instead of the solid core copper to connect pin 1 to the chassis... do i have to tin the entire piece? Or can i leave the strands looking like the color of copper? Might the un-tinned copper strands cause white noise? does the tinning keep the copper from being overly conductive?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

You don't need to tin the entire piece of wire . The un-tinned copper won't make any noise. Good solder joint will keep the wire conducting properly. The practice of tinning long lengths of wire are usually to keep the wire from oxidizing and becoming unreliable to solder. However, you do raise an interesting question regarding the surface area of wire and the connected part. In theory, solder/tinning does increase the available area for the flow of electrons from a wire to it's contact point, but there's a point of diminishing returns. One way to visualize this, is to think about a resistor leg(lead) soldered into a PCB hole. There's plenty of solder covering the bottom of the lead as well as the copper that surrounds the hole. No need to tin the entire resistor lead. If you're getting noise(or white noise) from a cable, I would suspect a bad joint. Sometimes a really poor solder joint(gray, crackly, dry-looking) can create noise as it heats up, moves or attempts to conduct electricity or signal. Solder joints should look wet, and you should be able to "see" the joint beneath the solder. For example, if you have 2 solid wires soldered to a terminal, you should be able to look a the solder joint and make out the shapes of the wires below the solder. Good questions!

[@skyluna_music]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Gosh you are so helpful, thanks so much xoxo

[@cornerdepassio]

Hi Frank. Can we do float shield with quad core cable? And if yes, how can we do it? Thanks!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Great question. Though I've never used float shield on interconnect cables, you could try it. I'd say when you're soldering up a cable(quad core or otherwise) don't connect pin 1 to the shield on either connector. Likewise, don't connect the jumper. Then test your cable. If it works to your satisfaction, trim back the shield to the appropriate length and seal it off with heat shrink(if necessary). If you try it, let me know how it works for you!

[@RadianFilms64]

Great video, like the explication, but why use a cable with 4 wires and not just two? Thanks!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

In some cases, a "Quad core" cable will minimize hum beyond what is capable by 2 core cables. Either is fine for cables less than 50 feet.

[@RadianFilms64]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Oh, I see. Thank you for the reply, appreciate it! 😀

[@antoniodesanto9372]

Hi how is the scheme from female XRL to balanced TRS Jack? thank you

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Female XLR = Pin 1 Ground/shield, Pin 2 Hot signal, Pin 3 Cold signal TRS Jack = "Sleeve" Ground/shield, "Tip" Hot Signal, "Ring" Cold Signal (TRS= Tip, Ring, Sleeve)

[@antoniodesanto9372]

@@FrankOlsonTwins thank you

[@ridostaff3156]

ground to pin 1 or 2 ? white cable to pin?? and blue cable to pin ??

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Pin 2 hot (white) Pin 3 cold (blue) Pin 1 ground/shield

[@Sixalienasa]

Please explain the Jump ground connection, what is it's function, and why are there 2 cold and 2 hot wires, blue and white, when mine only has 1 of each? Mins IS A cheapie weepie! Thank you.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

The jumper connects the cable shell to the cable shield and can be helpful if you have a piece of equipment that has a bad shield/ground. Some argue it can cause a ground loop, but my experience says it does not. Four conductor Star-quad wire allows for better "common mode rejection," by allowing the second pair of wires to occupy more of the same theoretical space as the other pair. This enhances the rejection that makes the original twisted pair work so well.

[@Sixalienasa]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Thank you very much for your speedy and informative reply. Cheers.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

No Prob!

[@samuraigracie9587]

Does it matter which side of the 3 pin you solder the cable to ?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yes, only one side is long enough to fit into the other connector. Is that what you mean?

[@narz7017]

Why do dynamic mics are using balanced Xlr connectors, when theres only 2 lines from the voice coil?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

The 2 lines(hot and cold) carry the signal from the voice coil to the preamplifier. The third connection is a shield that surrounds both wires for the entire length of the cable. By using this method, the hot and cold signals are able to reject hum and buzz by being twisted together inside the shield(common mode rejection). Now, those hot and cold signals will be used by the preamp equally to amplify the original sound. For more information, look up the term: common mode rejection. Thanks!

[@wjkgreen]

Pin 1 is the ground, Pin 2 is the 0 phase positive and Pin three is the 180 phase positive. The opposing phases are used by the equipment to cancel out unwanted noise, similar to the concept of how noise canceling headphones function.

[@nitelite-audiovisualslight9804]

Cool tutorial!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks!

[@AnthonyMartinsRock]

Wow excellent! I will get on this immediately! Fixing/upgrading my old quad core cables.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Cool! Let us know how it goes!

[@AnthonyMartinsRock]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Thank you once again for offering a solution to my problem! I had an issue with RF noise and my U87ai microphone. I had attempted to modify one cable in accordance with another video on KZbin that simply takes pin 1 out of the equation and connects it to the xlr clip on the ends. This reduced the noise but the jumper connection retaining pin 1 connection reduced the issue to the maximum. I think for my next cable mod, I will use a simple very short cable instead of the wire I used to make it slightly cleaner. Thank you very much!!!

[@AnthonyMartinsRock]

@@FrankOlsonTwins what are your thoughts on EMC XLR cables? Would be good to see your prep on one of those :)

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yeah, I'd be curious to find out what the differences in are between those cables, there are MANY options!

[@jdstewart9689]

can this be used to connect mixers,and amplifiers and subs?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Absolutlely. These are great cables for those uses. Be sure your subs or monitors are "self powered," using these cables as regular speaker cables isn't ideal.

[@dayaaudio2651]

ls ok

[@christianCreo]

this is such a great tutorial.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks!!

[@princeokah4104]

Thanks so much for the video, neatly done, I'm grateful....

[@francispino4455]

It looks so perfect when u do it

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks, lots of practice!😀

[@v.garcia3083]

Great demo! Does it matter which wires are assigned to each lead to be aligned w/ the corresponding lead on the opposite end?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks! It's a little tricky, actually! It's easy to cross wires, so pay close attention to the numbers on the back of each plug. Look closely at the back and front of each connector, there should be a number by each pin. The color doesn't matter as long as each color goes to the correct pin number. For example, pin 2(male plug) red wire should go to pin 2(female). Pin 3(male plug) white wire should go to pin 3(female plug). Whatever color you choose should match the pin on each plug. That's it! Generally speaking, if I see a red signal wire(like in a mic cable), I consider it to be the "hot" wire. If there's no red wire in the cable, I usually consider the white wire "hot." Blue is generally a "cold" signal wire. Black is usually a shield or ground. Inside an amp, however, it's a little different. A red wire means high voltage or B+. Just something to keep in mind!

[@helmanfrow]

I've made hundreds of cables using Canare and Neutrik and I've never done what you do with the shield. I've also never tied the shell to ground as far as I can recall. Just goes to show there's more than one way to skin a cat.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yeah, the jumper is optional. The high quality cable and attention to detail(no frayed wires, clean soldering, etc...) are the secrets to a great cable, imo.

[@helmanfrow]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Yes, and to that I would add that prep and a checklist are absolutely key. I've been doing this for nearly 30 years and yet I frequently realize that I've forgotten to slip the boot over the cable as I'm admiring my beautiful soldering job 😂. Thankfully that's usually the first end of the cable so I can still recover. 😅

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Lol, the curse of the perfect solder joint- you only put on one boot! Been there!

[@wjkgreen]

@@FrankOlsonTwins I've also finished a cable and then realized that I added an additional boot, freely sliding between the two ends.

[@SumansAuthenticRecipe]

great work

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks!

[@narawastu]

what is the big difference in terms of performance on canare L-2t2s and canare L-4E6S? In my understanding L-4E6S is better when we use for XLR male and XLR female cable connection. For canare L-2t2s having a better performance when we use in TRS to XLR male cable connector. Is my conclusion wrong? What is your opinion about this: canare L-4E6S is better in any way from canare L-2t2s please help me, you are my cable guru. lol

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Actually, I think you're on the right track with your concept of how to use these two cables. I prefer the L-4E6S(Star Quad) for XLR cables. I do find it easier to use L--2T2S(3 conductor) for TRS cables. Because L-4E6S is basically twice as much work to use, I've find it to be a bit too annoying to use for TRS cables(I've made many of them). However, our preference for use does not change the laws of physics. Star quad cable does offer better hum/interference rejection than regular 3 conductor cable- no matter what cable end is attached. Therefore, if you're often in a high-interference environment, the Star quad cable will always out-perform at any given length. But the regular L-2T2S is no slouch. Canare copper braid is quite dense and good at shielding, so for shorter lengths of TRS cables, I say make it easy on yourself: use the L-2T2S and save the Star quad for the XLR cables. Just to clarify, I highly doubt you'd hear any quality difference(aside from interference) between the two cables in double-blind testing. The concept of balanced cabling is quite good at preserving the full audio spectrum with 3 simple conductors(2 conductors as a twisted pair, inside a shield conductor). Star quad cable follows the same principle, but is better at reject hum, especially AC power noise. Good luck!

[@narawastu]

@@FrankOlsonTwins thank you. Never use quad cable before. So the quad always better but difficult enough to make. Thank you for your opinion

[@joelcarrier2088]

Love the video. What is the purpose of the shield jumper? You're the first video that i've watched to add this to your connections.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

It's optional. In some cases it may help ground mics or equipment which can lower the noise floor...

[@joelcarrier2088]

@@FrankOlsonTwins thank you for your response. I will try this. Does the type of metal matter?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Any clean copper wire will work. Some companies even split the braided shield wire into 2 and solder one to pin one and one to the shield tab. Best of luck!

[@joelcarrier2088]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Thank you

[@TechButler]

Thanks for sharing. What kind of wire are you using to do the shield jumper? I can see how this might help me, and I'm currently sitting with wires stripped and ready to be soldered to a Mogami 2893 cable. Could I use any wire for the shield jumper? Would it be OK to use wire from a cheap broken XLR cable or steal some from the 2893?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yes, any of the above wire would be fine, just make sure the wire is clean and oxide free(not discolored). I used the clean extra lead from a capacitor 00:34s.

[@TechButler]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Awesome , thank you.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

No prob! Good luck!

[@TechButler]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Thanks. Apparently, I didn't word that well. I meant to say that I was sitting with wires of the Mogami cable, stripped, ready to be soldered to a Neutrik connector. Oh well...the point was there. I'll have to finish this project when I have more time this weekend, but I'm thankful for your help. I also just realized I somehow jumped forward in your video at the start, which explains which wire you were using. Sorry about that. Long day.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hey, no biggie! Does anybody watch videos in a linear fashion anymore? I def don't!

[@jethroadamu9105]

Hey please I made a cable just like this but anything am putting it in the mixer it just making some kinda noise the meter on the mixer will be so high i check the cable and it was OK I really don't know what is happening any advice?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

I always check a few things first: 1. Double check the wiring. Look at the numbers on each connector pin. Are they wires soldered to the correct pins on each end? If pins 2 and 3 are swapped on one end, it will always make a humming or buzzing noise. Remember when you solder one end, the other end will look reversed, so you can't solder them by looking at one end to assemble the other. You have to look at the numbers next to the pins. 2. Are there any tiny stray wires between any of the contacts? 3. Are the solder joints shiny or are the solder joints gray? Gray joints need to be re-soldered until they are shiny. Good luck!

[@GillyGuitars]

Good videos, but why don't you use solder paste? I find that works wonders on the plugs!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Great tip, I'll give it a try. Is there a brand you recommend? I am at a point where I will only use Oatey or Kester solder due to quality control issues, perhaps they have one?

[@GillyGuitars]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Hey! About brands, not really... I tend not to look much at brands for this. But, maybe, the brands you mentioned are of very decent quality. I always use solder paste both on the cable ends and on the plug lugs. It makes the work a lot easier!

[@JBF-GST-Tanda]

Be sure to use resin-based, non-acidic ones to prevent chronic corrosion issues

[@sonidosoncubano3009]

Hello good afternoon friend, I have two questions I hope you can guide me please 1 the copper you put between the mesh and connector to sieve. ?? 2 I have a roll of 24 gauge prosound cable and want to put together my channels to connect my mixer, driverack, EQ, chrysover, and amplifiers. This cable is recommended or you want another caliber and another brand I hope you will help me thank you very much greetings from Mexico .. !!!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hello! thanks for the questions! here are my answers: #1. Any clean copper wire will work well for this connection. #2. if you're going to make a lot of cables, I'd say buy the best you can afford. if you can find Canare L-2T2S Microphone Cable, 2-Conductor, 23 AWG, that would be a very good cable with less work than star quad. Can you send a link to the cable you have?

[@sonidosoncubano3009]

@@FrankOlsonTwins of course I understand My question is the thicker the cable the better. ?? or what gauge is correct because I have a 24 gauge thank you very much !!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

I don't think you'd notice any sound difference with a thicker gauge cable, sometimes it comes down to what what size is more appropriate for the intended use. however, sometimes a thinker cable will have better handling noise characteristics. Make a cable, if it sounds good, you have your answer!

[@sonidosoncubano3009]

@@FrankOlsonTwins perfect thank you very much for the information. In your videos I see that you use a piece of copper and you solder it together with the mesh but they make a bridge with the connector, what is it for or what improvements can I get in the cable. Thank you. !!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

That copper is just to make it easier to solder the shield to the connector.

[@stephanerouault344]

Hello Frank, thank you for this nice video! Still I have a question: is shielding so important? I want switch to active speakers, unfortunatly passive speakers cables (Sommercable elephant Smp 425) are stuck into the walls of my house. Those are 4x2.5mm² without any shield. This is for a non professional use... Is the risk of picking interferences high? Thanks in advance.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hi Stephane, Hmm, well there are a few things to consider here. For one thing, you are right, there's no shield. It could be a problem or not, depending on where you live, and also how close to any other major wiring or electronics your system might be near. For example, unshielded cable will pick up cell phone, flourescent lights and possibly wifi interference. Unfortunately the only way to find out is to solder on some connectors and give it a try. This brings us to Problem #2: The cable is too fat to fit inside the connectors. In this scenario, you'd be trying to make star quad instrument cable out of some very thick wires, each of which is probably thicker than your connector pins. Even with some very creative trimming, I think you'll end up with a less than satisfactory result. Even then, you still won't have the ground that the shield offers. Again, you won't know if it's necessary until you try it. If possible, I'd replace the cable with a good quality 2 conductor shielded cable(or star quad if you want). If the cable is not connected inside the walls, it could be easily replaced by temporarily soldering one end of the elephant cable to your new cable. Tape the joint so it doesn't get stuck on anything as it passes along inside the wall. Then, you'd just pull the unsoldered end of the elephant cable through the wall until the new cable fully replaces the old cable. Clip off the soldered joint and solder on your new connectors(or wall mounts, etc.)... Hope this helps!

[@stephanerouault344]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Thank you very much for the answer. Unfortunatly the cable is very stuck into the wall, it doesn't slide at all (I tried to pull with all my forces and added some special oil as much as I could). It is roughly 10 meters long! I think I have to stick with passive speakers... or... Is there any way to check the interference amount ? (before bying the active speakers!).

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hmm, I wonder if the cable is run through the attic or basement, or directly through the wall. If you have attic(or basement)access you could run another cable. Otherwise the only thing to do is to hook up your existing cable with connectors and try to test it, perhaps like a source(tape player, CD player, etc) on one end, and your preamp, amplifier, speakers on the other end of the cable. That would tell you if the interference would be severe enough to create issues. Otherwise, you'll have to figure out another way to covertly run those cables....

[@stephanerouault344]

@@FrankOlsonTwins The cable runs though the wall and is definetly stuck (it is too thick for its sleeve) no other access possible unfortunatly. How they manage to get it in...? i have no idea. The idea of testing is very good, I will do it. thank you!

[@MixingGBP]

Frank, for this particular Canare quad wire, does it matter if you use blue on pin 2 and white on pin 3, as long as you are consistent on each end of the cable?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Exactly, doesn't matter as long as it's consistent.

[@MixingGBP]

@@FrankOlsonTwins ok, I was confused because Canare says the following in their PDF instructions from their website: "In order to maximize noise rejection, Star Quad must be properly wired to the XLR-3 connector (or terminal block)." And they clearly show a diagram below that quote that shows: pin 1 = ground (bare) 2 = white wire 3 = blue wire I did mine opposite on pin 2 and 3, again consistently from end to end. Based on what they said, I thought I am missing some kind of noise rejection benefit in this particular canare star quad wire design if I used opposite locations (but consistent from end to end) for blue and white. Yes the cables all work, but am I missing a noise rejection benefit? It's that I just finished making like 27 of these cables with quad and I'm thinking OMG do I have to redo this work? The cables work and tested ok on my CT100 cable tester for proper pin outs. I made a few at 6 foot long and most are 3 foot...for my music studio to connect rack gear.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hey, like you said, as long as you remained consistent from end to end, you won't have a problem. If you didn't remain consistent(end to end) you'd have a Phase reversed cable, and it should be labelled as such! You could use a cable like that if you needed to flip the phase on a mic, but you happen to be using a mic preamp that doesn't have a polarity(phase) reverse switch. Not common to have such cables around, but I've used them a few times for old gear that is still set up for pin 3 hot. Congrats on making so many quad cables!

[@MixingGBP]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Cool. Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated! 👍

[@rrmin36]

Thank you for the video! A couple questions. Why create a shield jumper, instead of using the second twist of shielding to connect to the shield lead instead of snipping it? And is quad core wire required?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Sure, Using the shield works well too! No reason not to, just my preference for a simple clean joint. Quad core is not required, again, just a preference. Thanks for checking out the vid, hope it helps!

[@pauljohnson4590]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Chassis to pin 1 is a terrible thing. At the BBC - any cables that test short between chassis and ground are weeded out. Tony Waldren and Jim brown - two industry stalwarts refer to this as the pin 1 problem. Normally not causing problems but with one piece of equipment that needs chassis to be not connected, the enture system falls down and fault finding stupidly hard.

[@elliottj76bandx]

That's what I was thinking/wondering too

[@RicardoSilva-ve7mv]

Hello, I'm looking for a tutorial to make a cable XLR male - 3,5mm jack female. The cable has 3 wires: black, red and white. Can you tell me how to make it? I already have the 3,5mm jack connector in one end... The other end doesn't has anything (only the 3 wires) so I need to connect de XLR connector. Can you help me?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Sure, this ones pretty easy! So, most likely your 3.5mm jack is wired as follows: Red(+), White(-) and black(ground/shield). All you need to do is connect your XLR as follows: Pin 2 Red(+), Pin 3 white(-), Pin 1 black(ground/shield). Double check after you solder to make sure there are no stray wires sticking out. Basically, you'll follow the same rules as the video, but pay attention to the coloring of your wires and solder them in as above. If you can open the 3.5mm jack easily(does it unscrew?) then you could double check the wiring. Red likely goes to tip, white to ring, and black to ground. In the unlikely event that the 3.5mm jack is wired backward, you could simply reverse pins 2 and 3 on the XLR. Good luck!

[@RicardoSilva-ve7mv]

@@FrankOlsonTwins thank you very much. I understood. However i don't have access do the 3,5 female jack because it is no with screw. It's made in china :) So, the cable was female to male jack 3,5 and i cut the wire and I test with a multimeter in the male jack 3,5. And yes... black is ground, red is positive (left stereo) and white is negative (right stereo). Thank you very much.

[@jdstewart9689]

excellent..are these better than 16 ga quad core cable?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

I'm not exactly sure- do you have a particular cable in mind?

[@ttian2]

Hi Frank, I need to connect Pin 1 and Pin 3 together in my application (male 1/8" TRS to XLR male cable, tip for pin 2, ring empty, sleeve for 1 and 3 ). Do you have any other recommendation for the jumper material rather than solid core wire cut from capacitor or resistor? Would paper clip do? Thanks

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hello! Before using a paper clip, I'd recommend using a clean strip of stranded or solid copper wire(even some of the extra braided shielding will do. Any piece of electrical wire will do. I've seen good cables using the some of the braided shield twisted and soldered in. I'd recommend against the paper clip, but if you have nothing else, it would probably be fine to use.

[@ttian2]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Thank you for the reply! I will use thin gauge stranded wire for now and probably switch to solid wire in the future. Appreciate your help! The video quality, presentation, and solder skill are all top notch.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

You'e welcome, and Thanks!

[@munlive5130]

how to connect regular speaker cable to 3pin xlr? because usually speaker cable has plus and minius only. not ground.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

It depends on what equipment you're hooking it up to. I've never personally encountered XLR speaker cable, so I don't know what the pinout would be. Most likely, one of the pins would be left unconnected. If you have an amplifier with XLR Speaker outputs, it should be easy enough to figure out what the pinout is in the manual, or there must be a schematic available somehow. Good luck!

[@PlayGameToday]

Where I can buy this neccessary tools to make better cables?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Amazon: amzn.to/3H3HEcq has soldering irons. So does harbor freight. It depends on where you live. I've also bought things from parts express. Markertek, Performance audio and Amazon all have parts to make cables. I put links in the description as well.

[@skyluna_music]

Hi : ) Wow Really Great Video!!! I'm trying to find the solid core wire, for grounding the chassis to pin 1... I don't have extra capacitors... would you mind recommending me the best solid core wire to use? it looked to me like the one you used wasn't all copper? it looked like it may have been tinned with something? do you know what? and if solid core copper cable works, should I tin the entire thing before soldering it? what thickness is it? 22 awg?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks! You can look for silver solid core wire. A big spool is very expensive, but there are lots of small quantities available in the 10-20 dollar range. 18 ga -24 ga wire will work well for this connection. I also keep a few feet of silver plated solid core "pushback insulation" wire on hand. Whenever I need a solid hookup point, I'll strip a few centimeters or inches from that.

[@skyluna_music]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Wow Thank you so much for the information and for responding so quickly! I'm surprised by the silver solid core wire. Why is that better than copper solid core?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

I wouldn't necessarily say silver is better than copper, but I've found that it's a little easier to source locally. Either one will do exactly what you want for most projects.

[@ran-diy-audio]

Excellent as allways!!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks mate!

[@josephdixonwarnakulasuriya2318]

Eccellent video. One question have to ask. I am using the same Canare cable and Neutrik sockets. normally soldering Shield to pin number 1, BLUE to pin number 2, WHITE to pin number 3. Is it necessary to do soldering shield jumper same as your video or its enough to soldering Shield only to pin number 1. Please be kind enough to explain What is the difference . Thank you in advance

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hey Joseph, thanks for checking out the vid! The jumper is optional, it simply ensures that the shield wire is grounded to the preamp chassis. If you don't want to do it, it isn't necessary. On some systems it can give extra shielding protection. On systems that are prone to ground loops, it could make the problem better. You can find out easily if the grounding the shield works for you: Make the cable as shown in the video. If you find you are getting hum- clip the jumper at one end of the cable. If you are still getting hum, clip the jumper at the other end. If you are still getting hum, your issue lies somewhere else! (Instead of clipping the cable jumpers, you could use a different cable to see if your problem still exists.) At the end of the day, best method is the one that works for you!

[@josephdixonwarnakulasuriya2318]

@@FrankOlsonTwins thank you very much for the information.

[@josephdixonwarnakulasuriya2318]

Which cable of CANARE is suitable for connect microphones to mixing console CANARE L- 2T2S or L-4E6S

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Either one would work fine. The L4E6S is a bit more difficult to work with, so that's something to consider. But If you're in a building(like a theatre) with a lot of EMF issues(random cable noises) the L4E6S might be worth the extra effort. The L2T2S is a good quality 2 conductor microphone cable. In most cases and studios it would be a great choice.

[@josephdixonwarnakulasuriya2318]

@@FrankOlsonTwins thank you very much for the information 👍

[@sonysoni5079]

Thanks. Great series. I have one question? Is it possible to use high quality balanced microphone cable, for making unbalanced, instrument, TS cable. And how to do it? I asked this because most of the time, microphone cables have lower capacitance, witch I read somewhere is the most principal thing for preventing high frequency signal loss in guitar cables? It would be great if you can make video tutorial about this. Sorry on my imperfect English.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hello! You can make an instrument cable from a microphone cable, however, it won't work the way you'd expect. Guitars and amps both are hi-z instruments. They are designed around a "single conductor" cabling system. But, if you want to make a hi-z cable from a 2 conductor cable(mic cable), you'll need to either ground one of the inner conductors to the shield/ground OR connect both conductors to each other. Either way, it's still going to be a single conductor hi-z cable connecting hi-z instruments, so it will still act like a hi-z cable. The best thing to do is to keep guitar cables under 20 feet(6 meters) in length. If you need a longer run, you can use a buffer pedal to boost the signal. I hope that helps!

[@sonysoni5079]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Vary informative ! Thank you Frank.

[@dayaaudio2651]

It is very slow to operate without professional tools.

[@Martin_Gregory]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Can you use the cable and leave the second conductor totally floating? Will anything care if there is that extra bit of wire in there if you just happen to have mic cable handy and not single core :)

[@MattVanSchie]

Hi Frank, firstly -great video! One of my speakers will be 50 meters away from the desk and I'd like to make a cable for it. Can you recommend a type of cable? .. does it matter if the cable is 2 or 4 core?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

If you're talking about a powered speaker, then either 2 core or 4 core XLR will be fine. In fact, I'd say you could get away with 2 core XLR Cables. Canare L-2T2S audio cable Mogami 2549 audio cable Performance Audio or Markertek has great prices on both. If it were a microphone, or another low output device, I'd say go for the star quad cable. Canare: L-4E6S However, if you're talking about an unpowered(passive) speaker and you're looking for 50m speaker cable, I don't have a good suggestion, becasue that's a pretty long speaker cable run. Hope this helps!

[@MattVanSchie]

That's great. Thanks for your quick reply. It'll be two powered JBL speakers chained together and 50m apart.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yeah, regular XLR cables will be fine.

[@LiveDeerCamByCajun]

thank you for the video

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

You're welcome!

[@vongdong10]

Does wire/cable thickness matter? I just took a look at my mogami cables and they're super thin

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

It's debatable. Generally speaking, if it works well and sounds good, it is good. But there are factors to consider, and most engineers would tell you that it does matter. Regarding the shield wire, if it's wrapped with poor coverage(many very cheap cable brands are) then it's less effective against noise and interference. Braided shield cables are very good in this aspect. Also, thicker inner conductors might be a bit stronger over time. Very thin wires fray a bit easier, and can be annoying to work with. One reason I like star quad is that the inner conductors are quite stable when joined and soldered. I've had some for 10+ years that have never failed. But, star quad is more work to solder.

[@frequentguest3051]

good job

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks!

[@sridharraju2770]

Why you hav soldered the metal wire to the ground first ?? And i hav tried it cuz of that the deep is clear . And i hav tried other cable without doing it the deep was not so good as compared to the u were trick Can u tell y??

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

It sounds like the ground was not good in the system, and maybe the cable corrects the system(bad ground) with a solid ground.

[@SimpleRanch]

Do you have a link for any of the items used? Mainly for your cable and connectors.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hey, I don't have any links, but I can tell you that the cable is Canare L-4E6S (Star Quad) and the connectors are the newer version of the Neutrik XLR: NC3FXX (female) NC3MXX (male) Hope that helps!

[@SimpleRanch]

Frank Olson Twins Thanks. I cannot wait to do this.

[@ashraf4333]

What you use when shield solder ..rod or what

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

I use regular solder, either Kester or Oatey brand if possible.

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

U din’t detail which wire goes into which pin number? Don’t they reverse from one end to another?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yes, It's imprinted on the back of each connector. Look closely near the pin cups and see 1, 2, and 3.

[@CABDICASIISFARXAANTECHNOLOGY]

Wow great job thanks man but i wanna to connect my eaphones in this xlr mic can you explain it i dont have Audio caples so i wannat to use my earphones to use the mic in may mobile android

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Android Mic cable is different than this. Look up TRRS microphone/headphone cable. TRRS means "Tip, Ring, Ring, Sleeve." The second ring(away from the tip) is the microphone. You could try something like the iRig Pre if you need a ready made solution.

[@CABDICASIISFARXAANTECHNOLOGY]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Yes i need every solution to solve this problem

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

What specific microphone do you want to use? And what exact model is your mobile phone? Also, what are you using this for?

[@CABDICASIISFARXAANTECHNOLOGY]

@@FrankOlsonTwins I have Adio 98xlr mic I have a samsung mobile So im youtuber i wanna to record good quality Audio my earphones are short also not good in recording So can use this xlr mic to my android To record videos idont have camera so i use my phone as a camera Can i stick together eaphone tale and xlr mic thats all man thansk for your helping me, sory my bad english

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Ok great. I think your easiest option is a longer, better pair of headset/microphone , perhaps with an extension cable. You might be able to find a headset with a long cable. If you need more control, and you want to use your xlr microphone you will need a microphone preamp. Do a search for mobile phone mic preamp(TC Helicon Go Vocal, for example) the are many options for plug in mobile mics and preamps. Good luck!

[@ifeomaobiano7181]

Hello

[@batangkidlat6903]

Dmx cable for mic?????

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

This is designed as an analog cable, but I guess it's possible to use it for DMX. Your results may vary!

[@GeekyGramps]

I am not sure how to determine which wire goes ti which pin .

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

It doesn't actually matter as long as the wires are connected the same on each end AND pin 1 must be the shield. There are tiny little numbers if you use a magnifier next to the pins.

[@chapoy1798]

What if did not put capacitor, what will happen master? Thanks for the answer ☺️

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hey Edmar. The cap lead is optional, but I often include it when making cables. It's just a bit of extra ground protection between devices. On a well grounded system, you wouldn't notice the difference. Thanks for the question!

[@rapaent]

Hi, I really learned something here from your video!! I have made up balanced patch cables without making the ground jumper. This may very well be why I have some hum going on in my audio. What is the proper name for the ground jumper wire you're using? Thanks again. Ray

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

The jumper is optional, it simply ensures that the shield wire is grounded to the preamp chassis. On some systems it can give extra shielding protection. On systems that are prone to ground loops, it could make the problem better or worse! In the latter case you could either snip the jumper, or use a different cable.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Not exactly sure if there's a proper name for the shield jumper...

[@rapaent]

@@FrankOlsonTwins So now it's really up in the air?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

I used the cable to narrate the video, as well as many others, and on my system- there's no problem. In my experience, nothing in Pro Audio is ever easy! But, you can find out easily if the grounding the shield works for you: Make the cable as shown in the video. If you find you are getting hum- clip the jumper at one end of the cable. If you are still getting hum, clip the jumper at the other end. If you are still getting hum, your issue lies somewhere else! (Instead of clipping the cable jumpers, you could use a different cable to see if your problem still exists.) At the end of the day, best method is the one that works for you!

[@rapaent]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Great tips...... Thank you for taking the time in explaining everything. Appreciate it, Ray 👍😊

[@paulhansard4048]

Couldn't manufacturers build the connectors "pre-jumped?"

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

In fact, many are! However, this tab allows for more secure grounding or the possibilities to tie resistors or other components to ground as well.

[@paulhansard4048]

@@FrankOlsonTwins So the excerpt below from Neutrik - is this relevant to the topic? "In the course of the evolution of the AV industry, it has come to be that this tab is practically never terminated. This means, in turn, that the shell is not grounded. (1) When in doubt, simply leave this tab unterminated. (2) By contrast, some specialized XLR cable connectors are designed to send the ground signal through the shell. Examples of these specialized cable connectors are Neutrikʼs EMC series and XCC series. (1)This grounding would be performed by wiring the shiny silver tab (shown below) to the cable shield-i.e. wiring the cable shield or drain wire both to the shiny silver tab and to pin 1. (2) Many audio professionals would prefer it if this tab were always tied to the cable shield and pin 1.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Yes, this is specific to this topic! Grounding the shell has more to do with the overall ground scheme between pieces of gear. It's not always necessary, but sometimes helpful. I find it does more good than harm, but if you find that grounding the shell is causing a ground loop, certainly swap cables or snip the ground-shell connection.

[@nn567]

Why did you choose white for positive and pin 2. Why not blue?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Generally, red or white will be positive(hot), black or blue will be negative(cold). In this case I used white for hot and blue for cold.

[@fl7210]

I wish this were more beginner friendly. I have no idea what I’m doing and no idea what this jumper stuff is about or the cups or whatever.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Hey! Yes, this is a slightly advanced video for people with a little bit of soldering experience. If you want to start at the beginning, check out the "Pace Soldering lessons" here on youtube, like this one:kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHq3ZaWXa7KiZtU There are even videos about soldering to cups! kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXivlnaqlNpmi5o Good luck!

[@mayashacham9227]

WoW! it helps a lot! can you please put some links for the electronics and parts you used?

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

hey, thanks for the comment, I'll do that!

[@wjkgreen]

Your video thumbnail depicts a ground, a hot and a cold. Technically, there's no hot and cold. Pins 2 and 3 are both positive. 2 is 0 phase and 3 is 180 phase.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Agree, sometimes the "in phase" wire is referred to as "hot" in the audio industry. Many manuals for Pro audio dictate phase connections by describing it, for example as "Pin 2 +" or "hot" and "Pin 3 -" or "cold."

[@rajuc8089]

Idid subcribe. Sir give new methods. Pls

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

This is from a few months ago, but has good info for soldering terminal cups: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIrMpYlnn7uArrs

[@milanssite]

why do you use 4 core wire? 2nd, it you solder so close to the mantel it self is not a great idea,, bending the cable can build op stress and possibly break at that point, I personally just cut off all the excess ground and solder only in the cup (some type of cable has a dedicated strand of non breaded wire for this purpose, then you can cut all the braided cable away and use the loose parallel strands)

[@milanssite]

one more thing, bridging the shield to pin 1 is not always a good idea, If you really like the idea of a "shielded plug" just solder the highest inpedance side (otherwise it can function as a antenna)

[@guilbertdelacruz62]

panu po mawala yung feedback

[@thill47]

Why quad core ???

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

In some situations, it's even quieter than regular 2 conductor- balanced cables

[@YeShihSeY]

This is the only video I see did the ground connector correctly!

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

Thanks!

[@G5Hohn]

Just commenting to see if anyone else noticed the thumbnail labeling? I think it’s labeled as if its female from the back, but shows female from the front.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

It's labelled correctly as you see it from the front. Pin 2 hot, Pin 3 Cold, Pin 1 Shield.

[@G5Hohn]

@@FrankOlsonTwins Looks like the confusion is on my end, thanks for confirming.

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

No worries, front to back labelling vs. diagrams is always tricky

[@GojekDriverTangerang]

Made In Japan

[@syaz4380]

a quad core cable.. bruh thats overkill most cables only have 3 cables

[@poinkero]

I thought those cables are for dmx🤔

[@FrankOlsonTwins]

I'm no DMX expert, but I don't believe these are particularly well suited to DMX. DMX is a digial signal which requires a particular set of criteria such as impedance and shielding. There are also 5 pin DMX connectors. These "quad-core" cables are useful for audio. The 4 conductors make 2 twisted pairs in one twist: One hot signal, one for cold signal. Since the hot and cold signal occupy more of the same space in that single quad twist, it helps eliminate signals which might be picked up along the wire. I think quad core cables are probably not suitable for long runs of DMX, but maybe someone has more experience with DMX could let us know?

[@johnpiper2293]

Dmx cable needs to have 120ohm rated cable for clear signal travel! As long as the microphone cable is rated to 120ohms then it is suitable for use for Dmx signals! Anything lower or higher just messes up the data stream and leads to problems with your rig!