Karaoke Forums

WAY WAY too expensive! Is it better,,, yep! I just small carpets and tape the edges so no one trips over my cables or carpet. If I can tape to the front of the stage and not have any exposed wiring, that's the best!

_________________
KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

That is exactly what I do

Forgive me if anyone mentioned this. And many probably already do the same or similar. But for anyone not doing so, it's a great time saver.

Use colored electrical tape on every cable. Something like this, (but you don't need 12 packs):
http://biz.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8289332&CatId=8825

I put one or two colored strips on every cable end, and match color code with same strips on speaker /monitor / mixer / etc. inputs so there is no guessing on which cables plug in where for setup.

Grab my red/white taped cable end, - plug it into red/white speaker, other end into red/white sub crossover and so on.

Just a tip

You can get Speakon and 1/4 connectors in different colors. I just color coded the connectors themselves. More expensive, yes but if you make your own cables anyway, it's not a big deal. Plus no tape to fall off and cleaner.

We never use tape. We lay the cords so they follow a wall. As for mic cords, people like to move around so we don't bother with them.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

My suggestions....


Get down to the minimal amount of gear you need. Don't be dragging in extra stuff just because. Leave you backups in the vehicle.

Also tear down in the opposite order you setup, that way cords don't get tangled.

And for wrapping up cords, use the 1/2 method. Just keep halfing the cable/cord till it is a storable size and secure it with one of these....

I'm afraid I have to strongly disagree with halving any cable. (off topic, sorry)

Improper wrapping is one the worst things for a cable.
Every cable that is made of stranded wire (and pretty much any cable you use is) has a natural wind to it. the braiding of the internal conductors will cause the cable to curl into a specific circle. This is the best way to wrap a cable. It doesn't matter if it is a 3-foot 1/4 inch or a 200-foot, 48 channel snake, it will 'try' to curl itself into it's natural shape. Accomodating this curl greatly reduces strain on the conductors, and will make uncurling it exponentially easier, and, if done properly, tangle-free.

I do an opposite side circle when I loop cables. Hard to describe.. Put the first circle in your hand. make the second loop over your fingers. Transfer those directly to your other hand. Make the next loop over your fingers. Transfer rinse repeat. What this does is keeps cable twist out of your cables and they unroll without having to straighten the twists out. You can almost throw it on the ground and pull it one way or the other without a mess or cable twist when you are ready to use them the next time. That's a time saver right there.

This is a demonstration for 'video' cable, but it works for ALL cables.

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

BINGO Lon! I've always moved back and forth. It's kinda quick if you learn it but this video method is much better. The result is the same except this method puts the coils on the same side. It's a much better plan than my method and I'll be switching up this from now on.

A couple things I'll add:

I use what I'll call a snake for my TVs (because it's kind of like a stage snake). The power for the TV, 2 mic cables, and the AV are all tied together as one. My TV stand is "hard wired" for power and Video, so at the bottom, I just plug it in. I then plug in 2 more XLRs into the end of the snake and I'm ready to go. (P.S. - don't ever hard wire a TV stand for XLR cables. It's just a matter of time before some drunk pulls it over).

Also, I have made several racks in my days, each one better than the first. I've learned a lot about the best way to make a rack. I've come to the conclusion that it would be better to make the rack so it fits atop a rolling storage box (if that makes sense). So, my podium style rack that is intended to fit on a tabletop instead fits on top of the rolling rack that I can use for books, lighting, etc. And, that would make it so much easier for transporting stuff in and out of a bar. That is going to be my next rack.

A lot of the guys around here have built "carts", necessitating a special vehicle (truck). Some put no thought into it and just went out and bought a trailer (you don't make money off a trailer!). All of my stuff fits in a small SUV because I took the time to figure out the efficiency aspect of set-up, tear-down and transportation.

_________________
I'm not a cheerleader, but I paid for my pom poms with my own money!