Recording Tips 01: L/R Organization

Here's a tip that costs nothing for materials, might be good for the environment, and can save some headaches down the road. I don't know about you, but our Postal Delivery Person insists on bundling our mail in rubber bands (gum bands for our Pittsburgh readers). Within a month or two we had a pint glass full of these guys. We had need of the pint glass for other purposes, and didn't want to throw all of the rubber bands in the garbage. First, we tried to return them to the Post Office, but they didn't want them. So, we looked for ways to use them in the studio. Rubber band fights got old fast, but we did notice that its really easy to put these on the left channel for all of our XLR interconnects. We chose the left channel from the days when left meant mono if you loose both, but there's nothing to stop form doing this on your right channels. Just be consistent. We wrapped the bands around the barrels of both ends of a cable that is the left channel and boom: instant organization. Note the photo below of this method in use. You may also note the Brother Labels on every cable. See Larry's review in Tape Op No. 65 (May/June 2008 for more). When pulling the cables through desks, racks, and across rooms, its great to know which is left and which is right. Again, the only cost is your time. But the organization is worth it.