By Leticia Trandafir TOOLS 20 . 09 . 16

Audio Cables:Everything

Musicians NeedTo Know About

Audio CableTypes

[Infographic]!

"22

!Artists Tips Tools

News

More about LANDR

Get your audio cable knowledgetogether.

Cables matter.

Unfortunately wireless music studiosaren’t a thing yet. In fact we’reconnecting all kinds of old, new,analog and digital geartogether more than ever.

Yeah I know, audio connectors mightnot be the most exciting part of yourmusic studio setup…

But recording a clean and loudenough signal from guitars, synths,

Leticia is a lover of acid basslines andhypnotic techno. She DJs andproduces under the namesoftcoresoft. Writer at LANDR.

drum machines, and mics into yourDAW has a lot to do with the audiocable types you choose.

So here’s an illustrated audio cableguide (I wish this was around when Iwas learning!). It’ll help you get abetter sound when playing gigs,recording, or even just jamming.

The Differencebetween Analog andDigital Audio Cables

First things first, what’s the differencebetween analog and digital audiocables?

Well, they both transmit audioinformation. The only difference isthat analog cables transmit electricalaudio signals while digital cablestransmit digital information in binarycode (zeros and ones, the languagethat computers speak).

Balanced andUnbalanced CablesNow let’s start with the mostcommon question about analogcables…

What’s the difference betweenbalanced and unbalanced cables?

Unbalanced cables have a bigger

chance of picking up radio

interference and noise. If you were to

cut open an unbalanced cable you’d

see two wires: a conductor wire and a

ground wire.

Balanced cables on the other hand

are designed to cancel out those

interferences and electrical hums.

They do it with the help of an added

wire inside – so two conductor wires

and a ground wire. With the help of

that second wire, both wires cancel

out the noise.

We’ll look at which cables arebalanced and which are unbalancedin a moment. But first…

Balanced andUnbalancedConnectionsNow the million dollar question: dobalanced cables make a balancedconnection?

The answer is no! Here’s a crucialthing to remember: all points in yourcable circuit must be balanced foryou to have a balanced connection.That includes the:

Output on your gear

Cables

Input it’s going into (like your mixer or

PA)

If just one of these is unbalanced, it’llmake your connection unbalanced.This is worth writing on a post-it andsticking it to your bathroom mirror.

I know it might be confusing for now,but keep reading!

How do you know if your gear isbalanced?

Your gear is balanced if:

It has XLR outputs or inputs

It’s written on it or in the manual

For example: microphones, somemixers, PA systems, some pro gearand synths with XLR out (like theRoland Jupiter 8 and others).

Your gear is unbalanced if:

It’s a guitar or bass

It has ¼ inch mono or stereo outputs

It has RCA inputs or outputs

A lot of gear is unbalanced if it has

only ¼ inch outputs. It’s most likelyunbalanced if it doesn’t say anything.Always check the manual or do someresearch if you’re not sure.

Why does all of thismatter?Knowing the difference betweenbalanced and unbalanced cables iscrucial for choosing the right cablesin each situation. This will preventnasty signal loss or gross noiseinterference in your recordings or livesets. The wrong cable might evendamage your devices.

If you have balanced gear and abalanced mixer, then by all meansuse balanced cables that will giveyou a nice balanced connection!

But if you don’t have a balancedconnection, remember to keepcables as short as possible.

Hot tip: for unbalanced connectionskeep your cables under 6 feet (about1.8 meters) to prevent interference.

Don’t worry, I’ll go into details belowabout which cables are balanced and

unbalanced in a second.

Audio Cable TypesPhew, I’m glad we got all that out ofthe way. Now it’s time to demystifythe most common types of audioconnectors.

ANALOG CABLES

XLR Cables

XLR cables are always balancedcables. They snap into place – so youwon’t unplug them by mistake if youpull on them (think of all the punkshows this has saved). XLR cablescan be very long without noiseinterference.

XLR cables are used to connect:

Microphones>

Powered speakers

PA systems

Instruments equipped with XLR

TRS Cables

TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) areconnectors that have three wiresinside (two conductors and oneground), as I’ve explained withbalanced cables. They’re easy to spotbecause of the two rubber stripes onthe connector.

TRS cables can be both balanced orunbalanced depending on how youuse them. They’re the chameleons ofcables.

Let me explain!

TRS cables will be balanced whenyou use them as mono cablesbetween balanced devices. That’swhen you use a pair of them, one forthe left channel and one for right.That way in each cable, one of theconductor wires will be for the signal,and the other will help cancel thenoise.

When you use a single TRS cable instereo (left and right together in thesame cable), both conductor wiresinside will be used for the signal. Onewire will transport the left signal andthe other wire the right signal. Sothere’s no wire left for noisecancelling. This will be anunbalanced cable.

This situation is most common inheadphone cables and headphoneoutputs on gear.

TS Cables

TS (Tip-Sleeve) connectors arealways unbalanced. Why? Becausethey contain two wires: oneconductor and one ground. They’rethe ones with one rubber stripe onthe connector.

TS cables are also mono. They’rehandy for gear that has a monooutput: guitars, mono effects pedals,some synths and drum machines.They’re super common in any musicstudio.

Make sure your TS cables are asshort as possible – or else they mightpick up noises and electrical hums.

RCA cables

RCA connectors mostly come inpairs to achieve stereo. Most of thetime the red is used for Right (Redand Right both start with the letter R!)and the white is used for the Leftchannel.

RCA cables are similar to TS cables.Each RCA cable has one conductorand one ground. That means they’realways unbalanced.

So the same tip applies: keep themas short as possible.

RCA connectors are the DJ’s breadand butter. They’re the mostcommon wires used to connectCDJs and turntables to DJ mixers.

Hot tip: When you’re plugging yourCDJs and turntables, there are twotypes of RCA inputs: Line and Phono.

Line is for CDJs and otherinstruments, Phono is always forturntables.

Turntables have a much lower signal,so they need a more powerfulpreamp to bring them to line level(more on levels below). Always usethe correct input when plugging yourDJ setup to avoid noise anddistortion! For more on turntables,check out Turntable Lab.

DIGITAL CABLES

You’ll find more and more digitalcables in today’s home studio.

But I’m not gonna go in depth aboutthem because they’re morestraightforward than analog. And yes,I’ve left out some of the less

common ones – like AES/EBU,S/PDIF, etc.

Lots of people think that the lengthof digital cables doesn’t matter(some say it either works or itdoesn’t). But from experience if yougo really long with digital cables(several meters), there’s more chanceof it working improperly. So keep itshort!

MIDI Cables

MIDI cables are used to sync andcommunicate instructions betweengear.

As I’ve written in another post, MIDIdoes not make or transport sound. Ittransmits event messages.

Today most modern gear has MIDIin, MIDI out and MIDI thru. So theimportant thing to remember is yourMIDI signal flow.

When you’re asking yourself: should Iplug my MIDI cable in the IN, OUT, or

THRU jack? think about whether yourmachine is:

Sending the information = plug the

cable in the OUT

Receiving the information = plug the

cable in the IN

Passing the information along to

another machine = plug the cable in

the THRU

USB Cables

USB cables have become supercommon in audio production.They’re on MIDI keyboard controllers,audio interfaces, modern synths anddrum machines.

They make information exchangepossible between music gear andcomputers. USB cables alsotransport MIDI information.

The most widespread types of USBcables for instruments are USB A-Type (the classic flat one) and USB B-Type (the ‘square USB’).

USB connectors are following anongoing trend in electronics towardsminiaturization. Most new pieces ofgear come with their own USB cable,so you don’t need to worry.

The important thing to remember isthat if it stops working, it’s easy toreplace – just look for thecorresponding shape. They also tendto be quite fragile, so avoid keepingthem plugged in and wrapping themaround your gear when you transportthem.

Convert Unbalancedto BalancedThis is a scenario that will happen toyou at some point.

You’re playing a show, and the PAsetup has XLR connectors – whichare balanced.

Your gear is unbalanced becauseyou have a guitar, bass, or synth.

Plus, the main mixer console is veryfar from the stage, so longunbalanced cables will attract noiseand interference.

You need to convert the unbalancedconnection to a balanced one. Whatdo you do? How do you convert anunbalanced connection to abalanced one?

This is done using a DI box.

What is a DI box?

A DI box (direct injection) is deviceused in recording and live audio toconvert signals and match audiolevels (more on levels below). Itallows you to plug unbalanced gear(guitar, synth, bass) to balancedinputs on mixers and PA systems – itconverts it to a balanced connection.You get noise reduction, nointerference and the ability to runlong cables. Thanks DI box!

Plug a TS to TRSYou might be asking “can I plug anunbalanced TS plug into a balanced

TRS jack?”

The answer is yes. Most of the timethose ¼ inch (6.35 mm) inputs areboth balanced and unbalanced –they’re built to switch between thetwo. Manufacturers often write it onthe mixer itself: BAL/UNBAL.

As a general rule, read what it says onyour gear and mixer! It’s as simple asthat.

Audio Level 101:speaker, mic,instrument, and linelevelI promised to talk about levels. This ispretty crucial when you’re pluggingyour devices together.

What’s the difference between Mic,Instrument, Speaker and Line levelsignals?

What is Speaker level? Speaker level

is the strongest signal. And it makes

sense, speakers need a lot of power—

as anyone who stands in front of a

club sound system will know!

What is Line level? Line level is the

standard signal level (in terms of

voltage). Instrument, phono and mic

levels need to be boosted to match

this level.

What is Instrument level? Instrument

level is somewhere in between. It’s

weaker than line level but stronger

than mic level. Synths, basses and

guitars are usually at this level. A DI

box is used to match the level of

these instruments to line level.

What is Mic level? Mic level is the

weakest signal. It needs a mic

preamp to be brought up to line

level, otherwise you don’t hear it.

Untangle ThoseCablesKnowledge about audio cable typesand audio levels is key when you’rerecording music and playing livegigs. It’ll give you the know-how youneed to plug in your setup and getyour best sound.

Sign-up to our newsletterGet the best of our production tips and news, weekly in your

inbox.

Enter Your Email

Plus, when you’re talking to thesound person at the venue or buyingsomething at the music store, youwanna know what you’re talkingabout right?

So keep this audio cable guide inyour bookmarks and return to it everytime you need to.

Because even though ads of gearalways show instruments floating inspace, the magic of music onlyreally happens when you plugeverything together.

Subscribe

You'll like that too.

TOOLS

18 . 07 . 19

WhatisLoopingandHowto Useit InYourMusicProduction

Don't beout of theloop.

!

TIPS 17 . 07 . 19

Watch:Howto FixDistortedBassinYourMix

Get yourbass out ofthe red.

TOOLS

17 . 07 . 19

Lethal:ThePowerofSynthesisWiththeFlexibilityofROMplers

Get themostpowerfulproductiontool.

Products LANDR Resources

Enter Your Email

Newsletter

Make your mail moremusicalGet the ideas, tools and tipsyou need to grow yoursound straight to yourinbox.

LANDR 2019 All rights reserved

Mastering

Distribution

Plugins

Samples

Collaboration

Promotion

Video mastering

Desktop app

Pricing

About

Blog

Help

Careers

Press

Legals

What ismastering

How to mix music

How to promote

Subscribe

©

Privacy policy Terms of service

! " # $

%

English "