"james of tucson" wrote:

[...] the barrier to entry (1000' of mic cable, a bin of connectors)
has me sticker shocked. For the cost of cabling, I could buy
another instrument, or an effects box or a mic or something :-)



If it helps any, you're not alone. Seems lots of people make wiring an
afterthought and don't budget for cable.

I'm building a little overdub/post room in my house. I already have
whatever equipment I need, so the costs have just been minor
renovations, fixtures/millwork, acoustic treatments and interconnects.
Since the rooms are small and there isn't much gear involved, I figured
the budget would be credit card small. Whoops.

Looking at just wiring (since that's all that's relevant to this
discussion):

- four 48 point patchbays, which I bought used really cheap. Since I'm
only ever moving eight channels or so at a time, this was enough for
mixer interconnects and a small assortment of outboard (a more
complicated rig would require many more points). $300

- a ten foot line from each patchbay jack to a corresponding point on a
piece of gear in the rack or the mixer. Doesn't sound like very much
wire until you do the math -- 48 x 4, x ten feet each. Almost half a
mile of wire just for a simple little rig! I had planned to use name
brand cable (I've always used Mogami in the past) but this time opted
for generic simply based on price. Two boxes of 1000 feet each was
$200. Double that for name-brand.

- connectors for the "other" end of those ten foot lines. Fortunately I
know a connector wholesaler so I was able to get Switchcraft and Neutrik
at a substantial discount, but enough 1/4"-TRS and XLR connectors to do
the job still came out to roughly $750.

With other miscellaneous materials and supplies, the cost of wiring a
*very* basic rig with generic cable, used patchbays and discounted
connectors was close to $1500. Something for everyone to consider when
budgeting for system upgrades.

--
"It CAN'T be too loud... some of the red lights aren't even on yet!"
- Lorin David Schultz
in the control room
making even bad news sound good

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