• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Behind The Mixer

Behind The Mixer

Learn Church Audio Artistry | Church Sound

  • ABOUT
  • CHURCH AUDIO 101
  • BLOG
  • PODCAST
  • GUIDES
  • CONTACT
  • START HERE

Six Common Cable Problems and Solutions

Topics: cables, Equipment Usage By: Chris Huff February 21, 2012

Cables: common problems and solutions

Cables: common problems and solutions. Photo provided by ros.

Water was streaming out the end of our driveway.  The main water pipe going to the house had sprung a leak.  There were only two ways of fixing the problem; digging up the driveway for finding and repairing the leak or running a new line without disturbing the driveway at all.  A problem with an audio cable isn’t always solved by running a new cable.  Sometimes you’ve got to look under the driveway.

There are six common cable problems you’ll find when working with audio.  All but two of these show themselves by not passing audio through to the mixer.

1.  A bad cable.  This is usually an easy one to spot and resolve.  If no sound is coming through from the sound source and everything else checks out ok, then swapping in a different cable usually solves the problem.  This goes for all cable types, from XLR’s to TRS cables.

2. Wrong cable in use.  A TS might have been used instead of a TRS or vice versa.  Make sure you use the right cables and check the user manuals for audio equipment if you don’t know which to use.  An easy way to avoid this with stage cabling is by keeping cables bundled with their appropriate equipment whenever it’s taken off the stage.  You can also label inputs/output, if they aren’t already labeled, by using a bit of tape and a Sharpie to put on the bottom or back of the electronic equipment with a note as to the cable type.

3. Plugged into the wrong place.  This typically happens when you plug an input into an output jack or vice-versa.  It’s easy to do this with DI boxes if you don’t pay attention to what you’re doing.  I’ve probably set up DI boxes a thousand+ times and it’s easy to zone out.  I’m just sayin’.

4. Seating.  You might not hear any sound because the cable was not properly seating in a piece of equipment.  This usually happens with guitars/basses when they plug the instrument cable into their ax.  Whenever I’m not getting a signal from a guitarist / bassist, this is the problem.  I’ll ask the musician to re-seat the cable.

5. Hum in the channel.  This can happen for a variety of reasons.  If it’s because of the cable, it’s likely an unbalanced cable that’s running parallel to another unbalanced cable or electrical cord.  Cross those cables at a 90 degree angle and secure the angle with a little gaffer tape.

6. Cable used incorrectly.  You’ll see this problem occur more in the booth than on the stage.  A perfect example is connecting an ipod to the mixer.  You can’t just plug a stereo TRS cable signal into the mixer.  The mixer is expecting a balanced signal via the TRS cable but you’re giving it a stereo signal.  This can cause intermittent audio or generally poor audio.  Fix by using a task-appropriate direct box or other transformer.  You can read more about ipod connections here.

For more information on audio problems, check out this article on resolving line check problems.

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: cables, Equipment Usage

Reader Interactions

Thought? Questions? Comments? Cancel reply

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

Comments

  1. Don says

    February 26, 2018 at 5:41 am

    Sir ,
    I use Yamaha mg166cx sound mixer.
    I’m facing some problem in the mixer. The female xlr pins provided in the mixer is not taking input properly .. When I shake the male pin and insert pin then it happens..
    Some time in between the sound doesn’t come ..after then when I shake it then the sound come..
    What’s the problem sir in my mixer sir…?

    Reply
    • Chris Huff says

      March 3, 2018 at 10:25 am

      Replace the cables. If that doesn’t work, then the jacks within the mixer need replaced.

      Reply
      • Don says

        March 3, 2018 at 12:55 pm

        OK thank you sir…..
        Let me do n see…..

        Reply
  2. Anthony Samuels says

    July 9, 2014 at 1:29 pm

    I had a great experience in dealing with Jade Communications. Their customer service was outstanding and the quality of work was excellent. I will be recommending them to family and friends in Boca Raton. Visit their website at http://www.jade-com.com/ to check out more about them.

    Reply
  3. Jeff V. says

    February 5, 2013 at 8:54 pm

    Thank you for your site. For years I too, made it seem simple. But apparently it wasn’t enough. Maybe now people understand what we have to do to create a great mix.

    Reply
  4. Christopher Battles says

    January 2, 2013 at 2:04 pm

    Learning learning learning.
    Thank you.

    K, bye

    Reply
  5. (@purplehayz) (@purplehayz) says

    February 24, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    Six common cable problems and solutions (#music) http://t.co/j5s9rIzc

    Reply
  6. Hans Kolberg UK (@HansKolberg) says

    February 21, 2012 at 11:11 am

    Six Common Cable Problems and Solutions: Cables: common problems and solutions. Photo provided b… http://t.co/eQDN6cHI #behindthemixer

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

35,000+ Members

Get the Guides

Audio Essentials for Church Sound
Audio Essentials for Mixing Vocals
Equipping Your Small Church for Audio

Talk with Chris

Audio Essentials for Church Sound

Article Directory

  • Visit the Directory

Featured In…

  • church production magazine
  • live sound magazine
  • pro sound web
  • technology for worship magazine
  • worship leader magazine

Footer

Resources

About Chris
Blog
Podcast
Guides
Toolbox
Talk with Chris
Contact
Academy Sign In

Article Categories

Mixing Skills
Monitor Mixing
Equipment Usage
Gear Reviews
Leading a Team
Your Health

SEARCH

  • Email
  • Twitter

Behind The Mixer · Church Sound | Disclosure and Privacy
Copyright © 2023 Tiger Green Productions, LLC. - All Rights Reserved.