stupid question regarding XLR cables

tekbow

Do female jacks and male jacks fit together?

I mean as in the plugs on the end of cables, taking into account the locking clip some have.

Basically, my cables are all run to length and I've got a piece of gear coming in that's gona Sit on my desk and take a feed from my load box.

I figured I can unplug the male XLR from interface, buy an appropriate short female XLR to TRS and use it as a crossover to the new piece of kit which needs a TRS In.

John_P

Yea. It’s common practise to link cables to make a longer cable.     Not ideal but works fine when needed.  

Keefy

Yes you should be able to extend an XLR cable by plugging one into another.

Are you planning to connect to the balanced input of a Torpedo CAB by any chance? I have done this from a load/DI box and it does work.

octatonic

tekbow said:

Do female jacks and male jacks fit together?

I mean as in the plugs on the end of cables, taking into account the locking clip some have.

Basically, my cables are all run to length and I've got a piece of gear coming in that's gona Sit on my desk and take a feed from my load box.

I figured I can unplug the male XLR from interface, buy an appropriate short female XLR to TRS and use it as a crossover to the new piece of kit which needs a TRS In.

Small point but they aren't jacks- they are "connectors".
Also what people call a TRS Jack is actually a plug.
The Jack is the hole you put it in- the female socket.

Yes, you can extend XLR leads by connecting them together.
You can also do the same with midi- solder an XLR onto two midi cables (one make, one female) and then use an XLR cable in between them to run very long lengths.

Stuckfast

Yes and a convenient way to store lots of XLRs is to chain them all together and put them on a cable reel.

octatonic

Stuckfast said:

Yes and a convenient way to store lots of XLRs is to chain them all together and put them on a cable reel.

I have 3 of these in the studio- one for each of the three XLR cable lengths that I use.
It is very convenient and saves a lot of space.

Musicwolf

octatonic said:

Stuckfast said:

Yes and a convenient way to store lots of XLRs is to chain them all together and put them on a cable reel.

I have 3 of these in the studio- one for each of the three XLR cable lengths that I use.
It is very convenient and saves a lot of space.

You can also plug either end of the chain into a cable tester and check the whole lot in one go (of course, if you get a failure you then have to check each one individually to find the culprit).

Having different coloured cable for different lengths is also a time saver.

tekbow

Thanks folks

@Keefy, it is indeed for that very purpose. Will have one arriving next week

Have you ever stuck line level FX Between the loadbox and C.A.B-M in an FX Loop arrangement. Granted the out put wont be balanced, but I'm talking about a short patch cable between the output of a Strymon Brig and CAB input.

@octatonic, not a small point, I'm picky about nomenclature myself and was actually unsure if the terminology was correct whilst writing. If we use the right words, then there's no confusion.

tekbow

@music wolf, I've started using different coloured Cable for different units, and send/returns.

Keefy

tekbow said:

Thanks folks

@Keefy, it is indeed for that very purpose. Will have one arriving next week

Have you ever stuck line level FX Between the loadbox and C.A.B-M in an FX Loop arrangement. Granted the out put wont be balanced, but I'm talking about a short patch cable between the output of a Strymon Brig and CAB input.

...

No I haven’t tried that - I’m not sure I have any line level FX!

I have the old Torpedo CAB btw, not the CAB-M. My load box is a DIY unit with a bunch of ceramic resistors and a Maplin audio transformer. I have not been thrilled with the results from using it to put the speaker output through a speaker IR, in fact I get better sounds combining my Revival Drive with the CAB. I don’t know whether the transformer is to blame, or the technique itself.

When you get your CAB-M I recommend you try some free 3rd-party IRs - the free Celestion IRs were miles better than the installed ones.

tekbow

Keefy said:

tekbow said:

Thanks folks

@Keefy, it is indeed for that very purpose. Will have one arriving next week

Have you ever stuck line level FX Between the loadbox and C.A.B-M in an FX Loop arrangement. Granted the out put wont be balanced, but I'm talking about a short patch cable between the output of a Strymon Brig and CAB input.

...

No I haven’t tried that - I’m not sure I have any line level FX!

I have the old Torpedo CAB btw, not the CAB-M. My load box is a DIY unit with a bunch of ceramic resistors and a Maplin audio transformer. I have not been thrilled with the results from using it to put the speaker output through a speaker IR, in fact I get better sounds combining my Revival Drive with the CAB. I don’t know whether the transformer is to blame, or the technique itself.

When you get your CAB-M I recommend you try some free 3rd-party IRs - the free Celestion IRs were miles better than the installed ones

I've got a bunch of virtual cabs in my WOS Licence, plus OH and celestion ones, so all good there. Was actually some of the celestion blends I wanted to recreate