When working in the studio you're going to find that there's a huge number of cables and connectors that you're going to need and have to be fluent with. And before I start going through the individual cables and what they're used for, I'd like to just stress that this is not a place to skimp. You really do want to get high quality cables and connectors. Whenever there's a problem in this studio, the first thing you'll look for is a broken cable or a noisy cable. That's what breaks. These cables and connectors get a lot of wear. They're being plugged in and pull out regularly and they really are what break. So get good quality connectors and good quality cables and they'll last you a long time. So in this video we're going to look at, kind of, the really important cables and connectors you'll have to use, in the in the standard studio. And the first one and probably most important cable you're going to be using is a quarter-inch cable otherwise known as an instrument cable or a TS cable. So, it has a quarter inch jack. And you're going to find that it has two, segments to it. It has a tip and a sleeve. And we call this a single conductor cable. the signal is sent along, the, the, the single conductor. And the outer sleeve is there to kind of prevent noise from getting into the cable. There's kind of a braided shield along the entire cable. Now, a single conductor cable like the TS or cable here, this we call it instrument cable, really is susceptible to noise. And we want to use as short a cable as possible when using this type. This is the type of connector that goes from a guitar into your microphone preempt, and you often connect many pieces of gear in your studio with a cable like this. The next cable we might find in the studio is kind of a variation on that. And it looks very similar, it's still a quarter inch connector, and we call this a TRS cable, in that its a two conductor cable with a shield. So we have the tip, the ring, and the sleeve. Now, this can be used in actually two different ways in the studio. The first way, which I think you probably see and you're used to is using it to connect headphones. And, so you'll see a cable like this connected at the end of your, end of your headphones. And in that case, it's functioning as if it was two of these cables kind of combined in a single package, in that it's two single-conductor cables with a shield around it. So, in that instance, we might call it a stereo cable and then it's just transmitting two separate signals, it still is susceptible to picking up noise. The other way a cable like this can be used is in a balanced configuration in which you really are sending a single signal across it but it's being done in a way that can actually cancel noise that gets into the cable. And an XLR cable, which is a standard mic cable, like this one, is similar and if we look at the end of an XLR cable We see that it does have three connectors, like the TRS cable did. but these are designed for microphones, and that they have a nice locking feature. So when they connect to the microphone they stay stable there, which you don't have with the TRS cable, and these are not really ever used for stereo signals. They're really only used in this sort of balanced configuration. So in general in the studio if you're going to have long cable runs, or on stage too, if you're going to have long cable runs, you'd rather use an XLR or balanced type of cable because it will reject noise that comes into the cable. Along the length of the cable. Now, very often, you'll have to convert between the unbalanced or TS cable into a balanced or XLR or TRS cable. And a direct box is the device that allows us to go from a quarter inch or TS cable. And then output and XLR or bounds cable. Now a direct box is a really useful device. And something you're going to want to have. And probably have a few of in your studio. they're hugely important on stage. We'll talk about using them to connect guitars and basses. In to your, in to your DAW. they're just a necessary component. And it's one of those things where they're not very expensive, but they have a big payoff. And that you can use a short run of a quarter-inch cable, and you plug in to the input side. And then you can have a long run of an XLR cable that would be on the output side on the other end. Another feature that a direct box has is a parallel output so I can plug a quarter inch cable in here. I can have a secondary output for that, so I can go maybe to my amplifier in a quarter inch run. And then I also have the output as an XLR on the other side. So yes, a very important device, and something you're going to want to have. maybe even a couple of in your home studio. Now you will find a variety of other cables in your studio. one that I'm sure your familiar with is the eighth inch stereo cable used primarily for headphones. so it's the same thing as the TRS cable used in a kind of a stereo configuration. But it has a smaller form factor. Right, and there are simple connectors that can go between the quarter inch stereo connector and the eighth inch stereo connector. Another common connector you'll find is an RCA cable. Now which is like this. And this is, this is actually three of them combined designed for video. But you'll find that they function just like a quarter inch cable or a TS cable. They do have a single conductor and a shield around them. The one thing to watch out, when using RCA cables is very often they used to connect kind of home consumer grade appliances or or devices. And if you're going to connect one of those devices like your home CD player to your Pro Gear, you're going to have to be concerned with that plus four minus ten difference, because very often the things that connect with RCA alright, are assuming a minus ten line level. But your pro gear will have that plus four. So you have to be careful about that switch. There are simple interconnections or simple adapters to go from RCA to quarter inch. Which are also quite useful in something you probably won't have access to in your, in your studio setup. Now, there are a variety of other cables you're going to find in the home studio. Things like MIDI cables, and Toslink cables, SPDIF cables. This is another instance where you can go to the forums, and talk about those. really though, the ones we've covered here are going to be the most useful, and will be used in the widest range of applications in a home studio.
