# XLR Jacks



## FunnyFellow (Sep 22, 2009)

Do you hate all these xlr jacks that dont match the colour of the microphone like this:
http://www.mveducation.com/assets/products/65685_l.jpg

It looks terrible and the audience must think we cant even afford to get cables that match the microphones.


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## Chris15 (Sep 22, 2009)

Get over it. Everyone uses metallic XLRs in the real world. It might be the rare occasion for a corporate event that black connectors get used with black mics.

The pope got a white mic with a black windsock and black clip...


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## Anvilx (Sep 22, 2009)

Chris15 said:


> The pope got a white mic with a black windsock and black clip...



Yeah but the pope is just that cool he can pull that off. 

If not then he got god to smite the sound tech.


-Tom Brady


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## gafftapegreenia (Sep 22, 2009)

Out of everything I obsess over this has never bothered me. Just be happy cables are black now (usually) and not gray or brown!


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## Traitor800 (Sep 22, 2009)

The color of the XLR end is usually the least of my worries, you should see some of the wind screens that I have ex. bright blue, green, yellow. Plus for one offs that have multiple mics on stage I usually put colored spike tape around the XLR end so that I can tell which mic a performer has. However if Im doing theatre and the mic is in view of the audience then ill use an XLR with a black end.


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## Chris15 (Sep 22, 2009)

The real reason for a black windsock likely has more to do with the number of companies in the world who make them in white.

Last I heard Windtech in the states were the only ones known and rumour has it they were on factory holiday at the time it was needed...


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## fredthe (Sep 22, 2009)

Most of our XLRs are black, but matching the mic was never a concern for me.

Of course, all of our wireless mics have a large band of colored electrical tape wrapped around them, so we can tell from the mix position which is which. Aesthetics isn't a big concern here, functionality is.


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## derekleffew (Sep 22, 2009)

gafftapegreenia said:


> ...Just be happy cables are black now (usually) and not gray or brown!


Ever done _The Taffetas_ (a great revue/musical)? YouTube video. It is _de rigeur_ that the mic cables match the girls' dresses (pink, yellow (sometimes green), blue, and lavender).


You kids today. There was a time, not so long ago, when all XLRs were silver and all mic stands were chrome!


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## fredthe (Sep 22, 2009)

derekleffew said:


> ...all mic stands were chrome!


Not only that, but they didn't have a funny adjustable arm on them... it was either a [black] mic clip right on the [chrome] pipe, or, of you were lucky, a gooseneck 
Oh, and no lightweight tripod bases, either...


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## icewolf08 (Sep 22, 2009)

FunnyFellow said:


> Do you hate all these xlr jacks that dont match the colour of the microphone like this:
> http://www.mveducation.com/assets/products/65685_l.jpg
> 
> It looks terrible and the audience must think we cant even afford to get cables that match the microphones.



That looks the tried and true Switchcraft connector, and no, I don't hate it. If your audience is thinking that the connector doesn't match the mic, then the show must be really boring!

Oh, and by the way, your "first rule of theatre" (in your sig) is actually Murphy's Law...


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## cprted (Sep 22, 2009)

FunnyFellow said:


> Do you hate all these xlr jacks that dont match the colour of the microphone like this:
> http://www.mveducation.com/assets/products/65685_l.jpg
> 
> It looks terrible and the audience must think we cant even afford to get cables that match the microphones.



Sorry ... what ... ???


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## Sony (Sep 22, 2009)

I usually use black connectors...but only because I usually use Neutrik connectors which by default come in Black. If I were to use Switchcraft connectors I would use chrome connectors. Honestly the audience doesn't give a flying c*** about the color of your connectors, you're just paranoid.


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## Chris15 (Sep 23, 2009)

Sony said:


> Neutrik connectors which by default come in Black.



No they don't. Someone's diddling you out of the premium per connector for black ones...


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## Sony (Sep 23, 2009)

Eh, they don't really cost all that much more IF they do cost more at all, at least not when you buy a lot of them all at once, especially if you get them from someone like High Output with a big order, I've had them throw in a few for free or at severely reduced cost. 

Ether way...Black or Silver they are both good, and the audience wont notice. Unless your production is so boring that people start staring at the mic connectors instead of the actors...at which point I think connectors are the LEAST of your worries.


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## Chris15 (Sep 23, 2009)

My numbers put a bulk pack of NC3FXX at $822, black at $879 and black with gold contacts at $1009... So it's 7 percent extra...


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## mathnut (Sep 23, 2009)

I am sorry to state the obvious, but the normal audience, unless the performance/ show is extremely dull, is not....ummm.....smart enough to worry about XLR/ mic coordination. I am not saying that they are complete idiots, but that they are untrained to the technical side of performances.


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## derekleffew (Sep 23, 2009)

How many in a bulk pack, Chris? Are those prices in US or AUS?


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## Chris15 (Sep 24, 2009)

derekleffew said:


> How many in a bulk pack, Chris? Are those prices in US or AUS?



AUD (retail) for the standard Neutrik bulk pack of 100 unassembled connectors...


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## mrb (Sep 24, 2009)

that seems insanely expensive for those connectors. Or is that list price before any discounts?


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## Chris15 (Sep 24, 2009)

Recommended Retail Price. Yes mostly one gets it for a sum less.

But things generally seem to be more here than you guys pay, you gotta ship it.


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## Anvilx (Sep 26, 2009)

Chris15 said:


> Recommended Retail Price. Yes mostly one gets it for a sum less.
> 
> But things generally seem to be more here than you guys pay, you gotta ship it.



How much are you paying for shipping? At 800 or so AUD ($693USD) it almost seems like it would cheaper to license the designs and manufacture them in Australia.

-Tom Brady


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## Chris15 (Sep 27, 2009)

It's also about volume, there's only 20 million people down here so we don't use enough connectors.

That and all genuine Neutrik is manufactured in Liechtenstein except the NYS series and other Ningbo branded Neutrik which is made in China


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## mrb (Sep 27, 2009)

Chris15 said:


> Recommended Retail Price. Yes mostly one gets it for a sum less.
> 
> But things generally seem to be more here than you guys pay, you gotta ship it.



I will mail you as many XLRs as you want at those prices


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## VeeDubTDI (Sep 29, 2009)

If the audience is paying attention to (and being bothered by) the color of your XLR cable connectors, then your show needs more help than you think.


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## Anonymous067 (Oct 3, 2009)

Eh...switchcraft connectors look obnoxious anyhow...
The silver Neutrik ones looks fine to me, it's what I buy, I save a few pennies going silver over black...and usually only a few of them are actually visible...a few lead vocalists if I don't use wireless. 

And if we're talking about a band, talent show, etc etc...nobody notices or cares because silver/black they don't know the difference and they look normal.

And I can buy 100 NC3FXX for <200 bucks...so idk why it costs 1000 in other places??


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