Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I've been buying stuff and fluffing up my toolbox with the usual barrels, adapters, cables and connectors.

Any secret weapons we should all know about for typical or atypical situations that you're finally ready to talk about? Any 'once in a lifetime' war stories are welcome.

Gender benders of all shapes & sizes. A bunch of 50db mic pad barrels, all kinds of mounting tape, velcro strips, pads & dots. A couple of MAX-MINI powered speakers, pens, markers, flashlights and assorted stuff at the bottom that's been there so long I'm afraid to put my hand down there but I know what it is.

Eric

P.S. Always have these guys with me. 2-Sescom PO 28 1x4 line level splitters, 600 ohms in/out.

post-22-0-69720200-1321554848.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a 1/4 inch splicing block in mine;~) Nagra cables too. A lap top and ProTools interface. All the cross over cables n barrels and phase reverse and pad barrels out there... You will never stop buying stuff. Sooner or later a tool box becomes a AKS case. A tool will never save you IMO. Using the tools available in some manner may. Good subject.

CrewC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got more than one tool kit now. I have had to thin them out and make them more job specific.

One of my favourites is the Speakon NL4 Y lead of which I have 2. That has saved me more than a few times.

I've git so many XLR y splits (with earth lifted) and other XLR patch cables of various flavours. Those plugs are seriously heavy when you multiply them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Tom I think my days of splicing 1/4" are well and truly over so if any one wants a splicing block let me know .I have not had a Nagra on a shoot in well over 10 years.But I suppose you never really know what is round the corner and that is why we clutter up our garages and boxes with these things.

Best John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah, yesssss, the JIC kit (aka AKS, and other monikers)...

It does need periodic re-organizing, and I think all my Nagra and Tichel cables are now stored with my Nagra's, except for a couple with my Cooper Mixers...

I'd have to agree with just about everything, except the candy (prefer sugarless gum or mints), and the IL-19's are essential... and a ground lifting barrel, Shure A97 transformer, and a phase reversing...... there is so much else

Link to comment
Share on other sites

P.S. Always have these guys with me. 2-Sescom PO 28 1x4 line level splitters, 600 ohms in/out.

Sescom IL-19 isolation transformer - it has saved my butt on more than one occasion.

Secret weapons: Sescom IL19s,

If anyone hasn't got this message yet, start at the top and read again slowly...

Two sets of DIY ass-savers:

A set of male and female XLR-3 connectors, with color coded alligator clip leads extending a few inches from the back of the connector. Great diagnostic tools, with many other cool uses. Think about it for a moment...

A similar set of XLR-4 connectors, with a foot of 16 gauge zip-cord, split, bared and tinned at the ends, with wire nuts on them. From voltage testing to quick-fix on DC power cords. Wire nut the two together for a quick DC extension, etc.

Jay

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I've been saved a few times by the Shure A15AS Attenuator. Having the ability to drop the input level going into a camera or an external device (in my case, yesterday it was video assist), has been very helpful. I've also carried the Shure A15TG Tone Generator -- which I used to use in the studio as a continuity checker -- and a Shure A15PRS phase-reversal plug. Haven't had to use the latter (yet), but you never know. Shure makes a bunch of weird XLR adapters that I've managed to hang on to for decades, literally since I was a teenager in high school. And they still work!

I also just added the Mix-Pre back to my goody bag, after letting it sit on the shelf for a couple of years. This would have helped a specific situation I had where I needed to combine 2 dialog tracks to mono for a special feed, but couldn't do it with a bag set up I had at the time. Nothing's worse than when you're confronted with an emergency and say "damn! I know exactly what I need to fix this, only the thingamagic isn't right here!" I try to carry every known plug to jack combination in a case in my van, but inevitably, the one I need (like Lemo TC to 1/8" mini-plug) isn't there, requiring me to stack about 2 or 3 adapters in a row. It ain't neat, but if the signal gets there and is secure, nuclear meltdown is averted. I much prefer dedicated single-purpose wired cables to adapters, except in emergencies.

--Marc W.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

picked up an 1/8" male to 3 way 1/8" female shorty for a 3 cam dslr shoot recently(they wanted audio fed to all 3…) but ended up being helpful on a gig this past week when i showed up with 3 comteks(thats what client requested…) and then 2 others where needed so the rest ended up sharing a rx in video village.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

There's quite a few suggestions in here that I may incorporate in the near future. I have an ambient universal TA5 (Lav) to XLR transformer in case something bad happens in the wireless world (stand up or sit down interviews). A lot of reversal barrels and it seems like every time I pull something, thinking I won't need it, I end up missing it, a few gigs later. One thing's for sure, the more stuff I acquire, the harder it is to find them in a pinch and 1/8" is a very faulty connector so I have lots of backups for those.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice topic !

I just found out Sescom makes a 2 into 1 device: hum eliminator + phase reversal (Sescom IL-19-PRS-GLS) (not sure I like the switches though; I'd probably tape'em every time I use)

Marc: I always carry my MixPre with me: it's a spare mixer, it used to be my ''phantom power'' unit for using a shotgun or CUB-01 wirelessly before I got my HM. On my future cart project, I may use it for comms ... In fact, I recently bought the MixPre-D (used on a gig now and slowly paying itslef) and will probably use it in a pouch for the boom op next may, the same way lots of guys here use the MM-1 for wireless boom. MixPre-D rocks...

:-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...