How To Properly Wrap A Mic Cable

Microphone cables, also known as XLR cables, are an important part of your churches sound equipment. Microphone cables are used for plugging your input instrument (or microphone) into and then plugged into your soundboard or snake. The proper care and treatment of your microphone cables is vital to help maintain clear, noise-free signals and most importantly, the assurance that a cable will not cut out during your church service.

How To Properly Wrap Your Microphone Cable

Microphone cables are frequently mistreated for one reason or another, and it makes for a very unreliable sound when you fail to properly maintain your cables. One of the biggest mistakes that ‘sound techs’ make is by incorrectly wrapping microphone cables. Microphone cables have microscopic crossed pieces of metal, which carry electrical signals. This is surrounded by a shield of insulation that protects the signal from being interfered or lost. If you wrap your microphone cables around your arm like an extension cord, you will force these delicate wires to rub on each other and they will lose signal quality.

Instead of doing that method, most churches and studios recommend that you do the “over/under” cable wrapping method. This is a technique is quite simple. First grab one end of the cable with your left hand, now make a clockwise loop.  Grab the loop with your left hand, now with your right hand grab the loose end of the cable with your palm facing outward. Now twist the cable 90 degrees counter clockwise and grab that loop with your left, hand. Just keep repeating this process and you will get perfectly coiled, undamaged cables.

Cost

The cost of microphone cables varies on the length in which your application is. There isn’t much of a market on high quality microphone cables; making it probably the easiest part of a church PA system to buy. Mic cables are relatively cheap, running you between $12.00 - $25.00 for a 25’ cable.

Conclusion

Microphone cables are important to church sound and having working ones is important. Keep microphone cables from being stepped on and run over on stage. Through the proper pack-up and storage techniques of microphone cables, will ensure a lasting life in your collection.

Back to Church Sound Articles