Suitable Wire for Building an XLR6 Cable?

iaresee

Well-Known Member
My GT/22 should be here Monday and I want run MIDI + power to it from my rack using the XLR6 connection.

Looking to build my own cable and I'm wondering what wire is most appropriate here. I was going to order: https://www.redco.com/Mogami-W2789.html -- is that suitable?

Totally open to other suggestions.

Thanks!
 
That cable uses thin conductors, which limit the length the cable can be. The GT draws a lot of current, and thin wires cause a lot of voltage drop over the length of the cable. You might be able to use it if the cable isn't too long, and you can increase the maximum length by using two wires each for the phantom power pins (pins 1 and 2). I don't know what the maximum safe length for this cable is.

We use Best-tronics CA-0447 or Belden 9538, both of which use larger conductors than the Mogami cable does. We find that any cable shorter than 25 feet / 7.5m will be okay wired normally, but longer cables need to have two wires for each power pin. We can get up to 50 feet with this strategy, and some have done longer cables.
 
@rjmmusic many thanks.

Is there a pin schematic for the XLR6 connection?

Edit: Found what I needed in the manual!

IMPORTANT NOTES ON PHANTOM POWER: Don’t connect a power supply to the Mastermind GT if you are phantom powering it! Doing so can damage the Mastermind GT and/or connected devices! Also, before attempting to phantom power the Mastermind GT, please make sure the device you’re connecting to is compatible. The device must provide 12 volts DC or 9 volts AC over pins 6 and 7 of the MIDI cable (or pins 1 and 2 of the 6-pin XLR connector), and must be able to handle the current draw of the Mastermind GT. Please visit our website for a list of devices known to be compatible.​

The board I've got coming has the power supply for the GT mounted underneath it now with an IEC connector for powering. I might just leave it like that and not run power over the XLR connection.
 
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Something I just did that might help, I got a 7pin xlr Mic cable off ebay, 32' for $40. Used for tube mics, made an adapter for it and it works great. I'm on the GT 16 though. Might be a cheaper option for you.
 
Something I just did that might help, I got a 7pin xlr Mic cable off ebay, 32' for $40. Used for tube mics, made an adapter for it and it works great. I'm on the GT 16 though. Might be a cheaper option for you.
I just ordered 60' of Best-tronics CA-0447 from them. That'll cover the immediate needs.
 
That one should be ok. If your cable is 7m or longer, I recommend using two wires to connect pin 1 and two to connect pin 2 so that it can handle the current draw of the GT.
 
Great, thanks! The longest I will go to is 5m so I have plenty of headroom there.

Thanks for your advice!
 
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