What are Audio Snakes?

Audio snakes are used to limit the length in which microphone cables carry signals to its final destination (generally a soundboard). Audio snakes are usually the longest piece of cabling that a church PA system will need. They are great because all of your outputs and inputs can be plugged into this.

Audio snakes are long cables that run from your stage to your soundboard. They enable all of the instruments and vocals to be plugged into one signal cable and also control the amount of cables going to and from the soundboard. For churches that rent out space, such as; gymnasiums or halls, having an audio snake will bring a lot of freedom for the distance and placement of the soundboard and will make for an easy setup and take down.

What Are The Benefits Of Snakes

There are numerous benefits of having a snake in a church setting; the lack of cabling running to and from your mixer, the stepping and damaging of running cables. There is nothing worse then having a mess of cables going to your soundboard. A snake will limit that problem and keep a nice, clean area around both; the soundboard and the stage. Snakes have a numbering system on both ends. See Parts Of Audio Snakes for detail on these ends.

Where Should Audio Snakes Go?

Almost every church has an installed snake into the floor or in the walls. If you are renovating, building from scratch or replacing your sound system at your church; the placement of these snakes in the walls and floors is important. Make sure you have permission with your engineer before running a snake through the walls. Some city by-laws and building codes, in your area, might need to be considered. It is best to find the shortest route from your soundboard to the stage. Pro custom snakes can be measured and installed to fit your church exactly. Consult your audio installation company for more details.

Cost

Depending on the length and number of channels your church needs are; will depict the cost. The approximate length that should be considered for audio snakes is around 100 feet, with a minimal of 16 channels. This will start around $800-$1200. Planning your church’s future, where it wants to go, is important before purchasing your snake. If you church, within a year, wants to expand and have more functions to its audio system; with a snake that is now limited in size is a problem. More is better and more will cost more. Plan ahead and you won’t regret it.

Conclusion

Audio snakes are, without a doubt, important for carrying all the signals to and from the soundboard. Make sure you do all of the appropriate measurements, calculations and post planning (where your church will be in 3 years) before purchasing your audio snake.

Back to Church Sound Articles