XLR Signal Loss Question

A few years ago I installed an XLR jack in my bass drum shell and attached a short length of cable inside, plugged into my D6 (which has been living in a Kelly Shu suspension mount). It has worked fine for live work, and I've been satisfied with the sound and thrilled with the convenience.

The other day I got the urge to test different mic positions while recording, comparing them to the internal mic sound. Surprisingly (to me), I needed MUCH less gain when the mic was connected directly to the cable than when the using my bass drum XLR jack.

Is this normal, or do I have an issue with the jack? I soldered the cut off piece of cable inside the bass drum myself, and the connection LOOKS secure and has held up for almost three years now, but I can't think of what else the problem could be. (same mic was used)

I'll include a pic, so you can see what I'm talking about.

Dennis, or anyone else, do you have any advice

Could be a bad jack, or the connection from the jack to the mic, or both could be bad. Too be honest, that's some sloppy soldering work. Try re-soldering first. Then try replacing that short cable, then try replacing the jack itself. Unfortunately that's the only way to troubleshoot the issue. At least you know the mic isn't bad

I've heard that every time you link up cables, there is some signal loss. Like, it's better to use a 25 foot cable than to link two 10 foot cables. I've also heard that there is noticeable signal loss with cables longer than 18.6 feet. I don't know if this helps, but it's what I've learned along the way...

Bo Eder said:

Could be a bad jack, or the connection from the jack to the mic, or both could be bad. Too be honest, that's some sloppy soldering work. Try re-soldering first. Then try replacing that short cable, then try replacing the jack itself. Unfortunately that's the only way to troubleshoot the issue. At least you know the mic isn't bad

Click to expand...

True on the soldering - that was my first attempt. It's secure, but ugly. I am not sure I can do better, so maybe I'll have someone else do it.

Caddy, I think I'll try connecting two cables just to compare the loss. If it's more or less the same, I'll assume it's just the result of the additional connection.

Thanks guys. Anyone else, please chime in.

Either your black or white wire are disconnected inside the connector at the mic, or you have the wires swapped between pins 1 and 2 on the connector at the mic. You do have the male connector (fitted to the drum shell) wired correctly.

Length of cable or number of connections will have almost no effect on the signal level, until you get over 300 feet or more, then you'll notice more tonal degradation than level degradation.

Milt Hathaway said:

Either your black or white wire are disconnected inside the connector at the mic, or you have the wires swapped between pins 1 and 2 on the connector at the mic. You do have the male connector (fitted to the drum shell) wired correctly.

Length of cable or number of connections will have almost no effect on the signal level, until you get over 300 feet or more, then you'll notice more tonal degradation than level degradation.

Click to expand...

OK, I will check that. I haven't rewired the connector at the mic, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything...

Thanks!

You should not get any signal degradation at all with that length of cable as long as it is wired correctly and there are no shorts. I can't see the pin arrangment on the shells XLR in your photo. But like any balanced XLR jumper or extension cable, #1 is your ground connention, pin 2 is usually positive in relation to pin 3 which is (-) or return. As long as the connecttors are wired exactly the same pin to pin, there really shouldn't be any type of signal loss in either gain or high frequency response. If you have a VOM, volt/ohm meter, check your resistance on all three pins making sure that 1 goes to 1, 2 goes to 2 and 3 goes to 3. I have seen some balanced XLR cables that were incorrectly wired because pins 1 and 2 were reversed at one end of the cable. Also check to see if you might have a solder bridge at one of the connectors. When checking cables, I always check any one pin to the others just to make sure there are no bridges.

Do what checking you can do and get back to us.

Dennis

audiotech said:

You should not get any signal degradation at all with that length of cable as long as it is wired correctly and there are no shorts. I can't see the pin arrangment on the shells XLR in your photo. But like any balanced XLR jumper or extension cable, #1 is your ground connention, pin 2 is usually positive in relation to pin 3 which is (-) or return. As long as the connecttors are wired exactly the same pin to pin, there really shouldn't be any type of signal loss in either gain or high frequency response. If you have a VOM, volt/ohm meter, check your resistance on all three pins making sure that 1 goes to 1, 2 goes to 2 and 3 goes to 3. I have seen some balanced XLR cables that were incorrectly wired because pins 1 and 2 were reversed at one end of the cable. Also check to see if you might have a solder bridge at one of the connectors. When checking cables, I always check any one pin to the others just to make sure there are no bridges.

Do what checking you can do and get back to us.

Dennis

Click to expand...

OK, I'll take a look again and see what I can figure out. Thanks again.

You might have a cold solder joint in one or more of your connections which is common for inexperienced solderers.

"Cold" solder joints occur when the joints aren't heated enough to allow the solder to completely flow and make a good connection. While they may be physically strong, they have much higher resistance than a good joint, which could result in the level being down.
Cold joints tend to look "dull" while good solder joints appear shiny.

Here's a good video on how to solder a panel connector. I would suggest resoldering the shell connector. Use a new, quality connector (Switchcraft, Neutrik, etc) and cut your cable to start fresh.

Thank you to all who have commented. I have checked to verify that the connections are wired correctly at both ends, and they are. (I matched wire colors - I don't have a volt meter, Dennis.) I compared my setup to two 20 ft XLR cables connected together, and the two cables showed no noticeable signal loss, whereas my shell mounted connector definitely does, though it's not horrible. After all, I've been using it for two years without realizing there was any issue. It was only when I compared recording levels that I noticed.

My conclusion is that Bo and Rogers73 are right, my soldering is faulty. The explanation of a "cold solder" joint seems to fit, as my joints are not especially shiny, but are physically strong. I had almost forgotten, but I had to be careful not to melt the insulation that the pins are imbedded in when I was trying to solder, so maybe I damaged the integrity of the insulation? (By this, I mean the plastic from which the pins protrude from the back of the jack.It got soft while I was soldering, IIRC)

Anyway, it seems a new connector jack and re-solder is in order. Thanks for all your input, gang!