Studio Wiring and Snakes

[spicyitaliano]

This is a touchy topic because everyone seems to find their own way of doing it. But I've come into sort of a small delima. Here's the story.

I'm currently building a new project studio. I've got a 12x14 ft control room and a 13x16 live room. I've got a 002R on the control room side with various mic pres as front ends into the system. That's it.

But my weak point is the design of the connection between the two rooms. I have seen it done in various ways. The first way involves a typical (or custom-built) snake pulled through a pipe between the two rooms. The breakout box sits simply in the middle of the room. As for sound leakage between the two rooms, stuffing some foam into the pipe does the trick. Great, but it may look somewhat tacky. The other, and usually more professional way, is the same idea as the first, but instead, the snakes are installed in the walls, and the breakout boxes form a nice panel on the wall for everyone to plug into. The problems that are introduced here involve the hole put in your wall, as well as the chance of a possible break-down of the snake, needing repair, which leads to wall damage, etc.

There are many other ways to do this that I have noticed. But these seem to be the most popular ways. Of course, those of us with absolutely no experience in building these snakes, I'd much rather prefer to have a professional build it. (So don't bring that up! ) This brings me to another question. Who can build a snake for me that is trusty and built to my exact specifications.

And what about the other wiring other than XLR and TRS ins and outs...like phone lines or optical, or even BNC, or S/PDIF, among many others? Can you get these installed in custom-built snakes at reasonable prices? (Again, that isn't the focus of this post, but just a side note that I need some help with)

As usual, I always need help.
Whatever advice the pros can offer, bring it on.

[DesertDude]

The cool thing about the snake/box type is you can move it around the floor to the optimum position depending on what you are doing. ( like closer to the drums when a full band is in there, or near a vocalist during dubs). Shorter mic cables to the box...etc


custom snakes


Worldwind


more custom snakes

[PTLance]

Another way to do it, is to put in the wall mounted connectors (much better looking professionally wise)Once they are in the walls, there is usaully no problems because the wires aren't moved around. From there you can get a small snake with a stage box on one end and XLR's on the other and plug it into the wall and put the box where ever you need it. This is the way it is done in the top studios and gives your place a great, clean look. If for any reason there is a problem with the internal wall wiring, it will be at one end or the other and all you have to do is unscrew the plate from the wall to make the repairs.