Type and

Usage of

Important

Studio Cables

Mary Michael

Hello, I’m Mary Michael! :D

I’m from Athens, Greece

I will be teaching about the type and usage of some important studio cables for week 1 of Introduction To Music Production at Coursera.org. http://goo.gl/gGX6SW

Analog cables work

by transmitting

information through

stream of electricity

Digital cables work

by transmitting

information through

binary code (1’s

and 0’s)

There are two

types of cables:

Analog and Digital cables

http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/audio-cables-types/

A. Analog Cables

Types

Balanced

Unbalanced

Audio signal levels

Line level (standard

signal strength) –

balanced

Mic level – balanced

Instrument level

(electric guitar/bass)

- unbalanced

http://goo.gl/H7w1Kf

Balanced vs. Unbalanced Cables

Balanced

They have 3 wires:

Signal (+)

Signal (-)

Ground

Unbalanced

They have 2 wires:

Signal

Ground

The addition of the 3rd wire in a balanced

cable is exactly what makes it relatively

immune to noise

Analog Connectors Balanced:

XLR Male - connects to

inputs/ has 3 pins (+, -,

ground)

XLR Female - connects

to outputs/ has 3 holes

(+, -, ground)

TRS - connects to inputs

and outputs/ has 3

surfaces known as Tip,

Ring, and Sleeve

Unbalanced:

TS connectors - seen on

instrument/guitar

cables

http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/audio-cables-types/

TRS vs

TS Connectors

TRS:o Tip = Positive

o Ring = Negative

o Sleeve = Ground

TS:o Tip = Positive

o Sleeve = Ground

http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/audio-cables-types/

The extra 3rd contact

point on a TRS

connector is what

allows it to carry a

balanced signal.

Converting Signals from

Unbalanced to Balanced Due to the design of electric

guitars and other instruments, it’s

not always possible to start off

with a balanced signal. In this

case, we can use a direct box.

A direct box is used to change

the unbalanced guitar signal

into a balanced mic signal,

which can then be extended for

several-hundred-feet, through a

standard XLR mic cable.

http://goo.gl/cI6l5C

B. Digital Cables

There are many digital

cables, but the most

important ones are:

Interface Cables (USB,

Firewire, Thunderbolt)

MIDI cables(Musical

Instrument Digital

Interface)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/

0/02/Midi_ports_and_cable.jpg

They connect your audio interface to your computer:

USB - for budget interfaces, but has the slowest data transfer of the 3

Firewire - on pricier interfaces, significantly faster than USB

Thunderbolt - on newer high-end interfaces, with unprecedented data transfer rates

Interface Cables

http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/audio-cables-types/

MIDI Cables

http://goo.gl/dQ70gT

MIDI cables transfer data between various electronic instruments and related digital devices, using a language known as MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), which communicates various types of musical information, including notes and velocity.

In home studios, these cables run from keyboard/MIDI controller to a MIDI interface, which connects to your computer, and lets you control the virtual instruments within your DAW.

These days, USB cables have now made it possible to transfer MIDI data directly to the computer.

That’s it!

Those are the basic cables you need to

know about, to get started!

I really hope this presentation helped you

understand the use of these cables a little

bit more.

All comments and corrections are

welcome! :D