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Title: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Tommy Peel on November 15, 2012, 01:40:00 PM
Has anyone had any experience with Seismic Audio Snakes? They are cheaper than most others that I've looked at. Here is a link to the one I am thinking about getting our band:

http://www.seismicaudiospeakers.com/24-Channel-Send-8-Return-XLR-TRS-Snake-Cable-p/sajt-24x8x100.htm#ReviewHeader

We have a 16 channel board right now but I'm thinking a 24ch snake makes more sense in the long run in case we get a larger board in the future. Our board now has 6 pre/post selectable auxs so we need 8 returns(probably won't use them all but we need more than 4).

Thanks in advance for the advise,
Tommy
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: g'bye, Dick Rees on November 15, 2012, 01:50:31 PM
Has anyone had any experience with Seismic Audio Snakes? They are cheaper than most others that I've looked at. Here is a link to the one I am thinking about getting our band:

http://www.seismicaudiospeakers.com/24-Channel-Send-8-Return-XLR-TRS-Snake-Cable-p/sajt-24x8x100.htm#ReviewHeader

We have a 16 channel board right now but I'm thinking a 24ch snake makes more sense in the long run in case we get a larger board in the future. Our board now has 6 pre/post selectable auxs so we need 8 returns(probably won't use them all but we need more than 4).

Thanks in advance for the advise,
Tommy


Save yourself the grief and get a good snake.  They're cheap for a reason.  For affordable, serviceable snakage, check out:

www.audiopile.net

I have one of their 24 ch, 150 foot reel snakes, several sub-snakes and a bunch of patch snakes from them.  I also have one Seismic POS......or should I say had.

The upside of investing in decent gear is that it will have value when you're done with it or upgrade.  The cheap stuff, not so much.
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Brian Wilkinson on November 15, 2012, 02:09:31 PM

Save yourself the grief and get a good snake.  They're cheap for a reason.  For affordable, serviceable snakage, check out:

www.audiopile.net

I have one of their 24 ch, 150 foot reel snakes, several sub-snakes and a bunch of patch snakes from them.  I also have one Seismic POS......or should I say had.

The upside of investing in decent gear is that it will have value when you're done with it or upgrade.  The cheap stuff, not so much.

+1
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Gary Weller on November 15, 2012, 05:38:19 PM
Or check with some local sound co. and see if you can find a good, well mantained used one.
Title: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Rob Spence on November 15, 2012, 07:45:04 PM
I bought some Seismic Audio stuff once. Never again. Cheap.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Robert Weston on November 15, 2012, 08:19:38 PM
I tried out some seismic audio just to see what the negative-hype was all about... now I know! 

Buy quality gear...
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Bill McIntosh on November 15, 2012, 08:27:04 PM

Save yourself the grief and get a good snake.  They're cheap for a reason.  For affordable, serviceable snakage, check out:

www.audiopile.net

I have one of their 24 ch, 150 foot reel snakes, several sub-snakes and a bunch of patch snakes from them.  I also have one Seismic POS......or should I say had.

The upside of investing in decent gear is that it will have value when you're done with it or upgrade.  The cheap stuff, not so much.

+1 -- The Audio Pile snake is one thing I got right the first time.  It gets dragged, dumped, and generally roughly treated several times a month -- two years going now and no trouble.

+1 on their mic cables too.

And +1 on getting more channels than you think need, especially the returns.  If you run a DSP or crossover at FOH and want stereo you will use up 4 returns. Then separate monitor mixes for a 6 piece band...let's just say I didn't get that right the first time. 
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Robert Piascik on November 15, 2012, 08:55:54 PM
+1000 on what everyone else has said. The cheap snake might be suitable for an install where it never gets moved but for gigging regularly will break down guaranteed. Get a good one and if you get more channels than you need you can get some M-M and F-F XLR turnarounds to turn extra snake channels into additional returns.
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Tommy Peel on November 16, 2012, 01:10:10 AM
Thanks for the advice, I'll be avoiding those snakes. We've got a 16x4 snake right now and it's not in very good shape and doesn't have enough channels. We are playing a gig tomorrow morning using 13-14 channels with a 6 member band. The main issue I have with our current snake is not enough returns(and no extra channels to make into returns). I has also thought of getting an 8x4 to complement our 16x4(and fixing it up). I'll probably be looking for a used one in good condition.

Sent from my Milestone X using Tapatalk 2

Title: Re: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Tommy Peel on November 16, 2012, 01:19:28 AM

Save yourself the grief and get a good snake.  They're cheap for a reason.  For affordable, serviceable snakage, check out:

www.audiopile.net

I have one of their 24 ch, 150 foot reel snakes, several sub-snakes and a bunch of patch snakes from them.  I also have one Seismic POS......or should I say had.

The upside of investing in decent gear is that it will have value when you're done with it or upgrade.  The cheap stuff, not so much.

Another question, I just checked out that link and was impressed with those snakes and their prices. Is it worth the extra money to get the "neutrik xlr equipped" one vs the other one? There is a fairly significant price difference and I was wondering if you have used both kind. I know that neutrik makes some of the best connectors but I don't know if their worth that much extra money.

Sent from my Milestone X using Tapatalk 2

Title: Re: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Robert Weston on November 16, 2012, 07:23:40 AM
Another question, I just checked out that link and was impressed with those snakes and their prices. Is it worth the extra money to get the "neutrik xlr equipped" one vs the other one? There is a fairly significant price difference and I was wondering if you have used both kind. I know that neutrik makes some of the best connectors but I don't know if their worth that much extra money.

Sent from my Milestone X using Tapatalk 2

I use both types between snakes and cables; never had any issues with the non-neutrik type.  Some people have said the non-neutrik don't fit as well (or securely) as the neutrik.
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: g'bye, Dick Rees on November 16, 2012, 08:26:36 AM
Thanks for the advice, I'll be avoiding those snakes. We've got a 16x4 snake right now and it's not in very good shape and doesn't have enough channels. We are playing a gig tomorrow morning using 13-14 channels with a 6 member band. The main issue I have with our current snake is not enough returns(and no extra channels to make into returns). I has also thought of getting an 8x4 to complement our 16x4(and fixing it up). I'll probably be looking for a used one in good condition.

Sent from my Milestone X using Tapatalk 2


I have a separate 8 channel fan to fan "drive snake" for returns to the stage.
Title: Re: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Geoff Doane on November 16, 2012, 08:41:43 AM
Another question, I just checked out that link and was impressed with those snakes and their prices. Is it worth the extra money to get the "neutrik xlr equipped" one vs the other one? There is a fairly significant price difference and I was wondering if you have used both kind. I know that neutrik makes some of the best connectors but I don't know if their worth that much extra money.

Their pricing is a bit puzzling to me too.  For a 12 channel snake, you pay a premium of about $66 dollars for the real deal Neutrik connectors, or about $2.75 per connector on average.  I can buy raw Neutrik connectors cheaper than that, and I can only imagine that OEMs can do even better.  What this implies to me is that the standard connectors must be practically free to the manufacturer (assuming the same cost of manufacture), which makes me wonder about their quality.

I've been a long time fan of the Neutrik connectors, and every generation has made significant improvements is reliability and usability.  Even though the pricing seems a bit wacky, I'd still take the Neutrik option for anything I was going to plug into and disconnect on a regular basis.

I did rebuild an insert snake for someone once that used imitation Neutrik TRS plugs.  Although they looked good, the threads were sloppy, the strain relief chuck ineffective, and 2 plugs out of 36 simply did not pass audio, even though the soldering (and my resoldering) was fine.  That split snake doesn't look quite like the Audiopile one pictured, so it may have been a Seismic or something similar.

GTD
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Robert Piascik on November 16, 2012, 09:43:38 AM
Like Dick, I have also gone to a separate return snake. You might also consider using two snakes (e.g. an 8 ch AND a 16 ch) if you ever have use for a small, med and large set up, in other words, making the snakes modular. At one point my small sound company had a variety: a couple of 16x8, 24x6, 24x8, 32x8 to fit a bunch of different scenarios. Might not be practical for use by just one band but it might be more economical (and easier to wrangle) to have a 16x4 AND a 16x8 than one 32x12 (also allows one box for upstage and one box for downstage)
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Mark McFarlane on November 16, 2012, 09:49:09 AM
FWIW, I recently had some rack panels made with Neutrik looking 'clones' (not by EWI).   The clones do not fit as well, in particular the female XLR chassis mounts don't always want to lock with my Neutrik connectors.  In retrospect, I should have found a different fabricator and stuck with Neutrik.  One guys experience / lesson.  Personally I'd pay the extra money.

I do have an EWI 8 channel XLR drum snake and have never had a problem with it, so the EWI connectors may be better than my rack panel.

I suspect the seemingly high price from EWI is because the Neutrik connectors are 'special order', not what they normally stock in the (I assume) overseas factory or in the shipping inventory.  If they went all-Neutrik then maybe the cost would only go up $1.50 a connector, which still adds up in $64 in a 24*8 snake.
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Norman_Jadczak on November 16, 2012, 11:05:18 AM
Has anyone had any experience with Seismic Audio Snakes? They are cheaper than most others that I've looked at. Here is a link to the one I am thinking about getting our band:

http://www.seismicaudiospeakers.com/24-Channel-Send-8-Return-XLR-TRS-Snake-Cable-p/sajt-24x8x100.htm#ReviewHeader

We have a 16 channel board right now but I'm thinking a 24ch snake makes more sense in the long run in case we get a larger board in the future. Our board now has 6 pre/post selectable auxs so we need 8 returns(probably won't use them all but we need more than 4).

Thanks in advance for the advise,
Tommy

Bought a Seismic drop snake a couple of years ago.  It never left the house because I was afraid to use it because of it's poor quality.  Too ashamed to sell it to anyone else.
Buy Audiopile!
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Don Spaulding on November 19, 2012, 06:49:11 PM
Do some hunting on fleabay. I've seen some great deals on Whirlwind Medusa because lots of engineers are going to digital snakes.
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: W. Mark Hellinger on November 19, 2012, 09:56:10 PM
I suspect the seemingly high price from EWI is because the Neutrik connectors are 'special order', not what they normally stock in the (I assume) overseas factory or in the shipping inventory.  If they went all-Neutrik then maybe the cost would only go up $1.50 a connector, which still adds up in $64 in a 24*8 snake.
Mark... that's close.

The Neutrik connectors I specify on the EWI snakes equipped with Neutrik connectors are the Liechtenstein manufactured Neutrik connectors... which are manufactured in Liechtenstein.  Shipping those connectors first to the US, then to S. Korea where the EWI snakes are assembled, then shipping the finished product back to the US has a cost.  Also, the margins on Neutriks products can be slim over what end users can buy on-line... IOW: My price as a dealer/manufacture for Neutrik is seemingly not all that much different (if at-all) of what end users can sometimes (or possibly oftentimes) can source the same product on-line.  We offer the Neutrik connectors assembled on some of the EWI products for those who prefer that, at a price that recoups my cost to offer that option... simple as that.  It's not so-much a back figure thing since purchasing Neutrik in the US can be different than supplying Neutrik equipped assembled products via a 3 boarder crossing supply chain, which figures into the expense of offering that Leichtenstein produced product, shipped to the US, forwarded to S. Korea for assembly, then shipped back to the US as a finished product.  I've been working on a more efficient method for a couple of years, but... It remains that sourcing all the parts, pieces, hunks and chunks in the same country via the same manufacture that makes a product continues to prove to be much more cost effective than sourcing across 3 boarders back and forth.  I guess if you want French wine shipped to ? and loaded on a plane to be served wherever else, it cost more than the domestic stuff served from a box.
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Guy Morris on November 20, 2012, 07:51:22 AM
We all buy one budget snake that does not cut it!  My mistake now sits in a friend's old rehearsal barn slowly falling apart (it never got used on the road). The main problem is cheap construction and a twisting snake which will not coil well on storage and then fractures the cores quickly mine had a PVC outer jacket that had less strength than a bin liner!

As a snake is the main path of audio from the stage do not skimp, hums and buzzes waist valuable time and much less likely to be a problem on a pro end product. In the UK I found Van Damme (VDC) it was like discovering the holy grail of audio connectivity, upper cost level but how much is integrity and your sanity worth!





Has anyone had any experience with Seismic Audio Snakes? They are cheaper than most others that I've looked at. Here is a link to the one I am thinking about getting our band:

http://www.seismicaudiospeakers.com/24-Channel-Send-8-Return-XLR-TRS-Snake-Cable-p/sajt-24x8x100.htm#ReviewHeader

We have a 16 channel board right now but I'm thinking a 24ch snake makes more sense in the long run in case we get a larger board in the future. Our board now has 6 pre/post selectable auxs so we need 8 returns(probably won't use them all but we need more than 4).

Thanks in advance for the advise,
Tommy
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: Rick Powell on November 20, 2012, 08:43:29 AM
Bought a 16 x 8 x 100' EWI snake off ebay for $225, barely used and one of the best investments I have made to date in the used market.  It was local too, had to drive maybe 50 miles to get it.  The connectors have been very reliable and well fitting - I like Neutrik a lot, but the EWI brand (that came with this particular snake) I have had no issues with so far.
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: RYAN LOUDMUSIC JENKINS on November 20, 2012, 09:10:01 AM
I think I have 9 EWI snakes of various forms and sizes. They all have worked great.  The sheathing is a little softer than A whirlwind Medusa.  I have managed to get a couple small slices in one of my snakes but nothing that a little bit of E-Tape couldn't cure.  I also have the sheathing stretch and expand a bit here but I think that my 115 degree weather is the cause of that.  I have put a little extra shrink tubing in places to help prevent that.  My summer weather here is a lot more extreme and abusive on gear than most of you can imagine and overall I would say that the EWI stuff really holds up awesome.

I also have several patch and insert snakes from EWI and they have all been great too!

When I order XLR connectors, I order the EWI brand.  They have been everybit as reliable as the Neurik connectors.  The EWI 1/4" connectors are not quite as good as the Neutrik ones but I think that the issues I have have been from the plastic breaking down in  the heat and breaking the threads easier.

I use a lot of EWI microphone cables and I love them.  I have had a total of two EWI mic cable failures out of maybe a 100 or so cables.  They are sitting in a pile with about 30 other mic cables of various other brands to be repaired.
   
I have been buying a ton of stuff from Audiopile for many years and will continue to do so.  In fact I just received some more cases and connectors last week.
Title: Re: Seismic Audio Snake?
Post by: g'bye, Dick Rees on November 20, 2012, 09:14:31 AM

When I order XLR connectors, I order the EWI brand.  They have been every bit as reliable as the Neurik connectors. 

Me, too.