Music in the studio and live doesn’t work without cables. High-quality cables are needed on everything from instruments to microphones, speakers, and computers. As a pro musician or hobbyist, there are a few cables that you should just have. You never know when you might require a spare. Here are the pro audio cables to get your hands on and keep with your instrument.
XLR Cables
Anyone speaking into a microphone is having a signal sent out through an XLR cable at the opposite end. XLR cables are very important in live performance and should be professional-grade, balanced and premium-made.
Quarter-Inch Cables
Quarter-inch cables are for guitars, pianos, and any electric instruments. They come in varying lengths and designs. You have right-angle connectors and straight connectors, depending on where an input is located.
XLR to 1/4-Inch Cable
The tough thing about having a few different cable standards is that they don’t always line up perfectly. Sometimes you need to use an adapter or get a conversion cable. An XLR to 1/4-inch cable for musicians is most commonly used to carry audio signal from a mixer to the speaker though you can also see it used elsewhere on stage and in the studio.
XLR to RCA Cable
No adapter needed! Convert a balanced audio signal into an unbalanced one with this premium-quality cable. An XLR to RCA cable will be a major help any time you need to send audio from an XLR source to an RCA input.
6-Inch Quarter-Inch Cables
For guitarists with a set of guitar pedals, they need very short cables to connect one after the other. A set of 6-inch quarter-inch cables are what you want. The beautiful thing about these is you can daisy-chain them without an end in sight.
8-Channel Snake Cables
You have multi-channel snake cables for use in live performances and studio recording. An 8-channel XLR snake cable is the most popular version of this. They are used to connect various inputs into a console or board of some kind, such as a mixing board or a soundboard. Your average musician may not need this but if you have a PA system or have a DAW with more than two inputs, you may want to consider some snake cables like these.
Music cables aren’t cheap. When you have the chance to buy them, get them in bulk and decently priced. PrimeCables.ca has long been a go-to for cables, adapters, and pro audio accessories. They’re a great resource for bedroom musicians, professional touring musicians, studio engineers, and more. If you’re looking for premium-made music cables, check out PrimeCables.ca.