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[Lyle Williams]

Get a digital mixer and ditch the snake...

[Aaron Maurer]

Get a digital mixer and ditch the snake...

I have a digital mixer and would love a digital snake.  My mixer is a few years old so it would cost nearly the price of a new upgraded mixer to make the digital snake work. As a hobiest my next spend is on more subs. Ya still have to protect the digital cable feed but it sure is a lot easier with one that is a few lbs at most and could be hung on the drop ceiling with ease and limited fear of bringing it down. I will at some point get the digital snake which will mean an upgrade of the console but my strategy is to wait and hopefully some costs will come down a bit. Even to outfit with a X32 its $4000+ with cases and snake box. Need to stay with my current configuration unless I hit the lottery in the near future.

[Scott Olewiler]

I have a digital mixer and would love a digital snake.  My mixer is a few years old so it would cost nearly the price of a new upgraded mixer to make the digital snake work. As a hobiest my next spend is on more subs. Ya still have to protect the digital cable feed but it sure is a lot easier with one that is a few lbs at most and could be hung on the drop ceiling with ease and limited fear of bringing it down. I will at some point get the digital snake which will mean an upgrade of the console but my strategy is to wait and hopefully some costs will come down a bit. Even to outfit with a X32 its $4000+ with cases and snake box. Need to stay with my current configuration unless I hit the lottery in the near future.

I think he meant to use the ipad to mix remotely.

[Aaron Maurer]

I think he meant to use the ipad to mix remotely.

Believe you are correct.  I am wireless with the iPad and honestly am not comfortable enough with it to mix all night. 

[Michael Lascuola]

This is one of the main reasons I went to the iPad (now an iPad Pro).  After a handful of gigs, I felt just as comfortable mixing as on my old analog boards, and teardown is at least 20 minutes faster without dealing with that blasted, beer-soaked snake

[Lance Hallmark]

As you provide most of the sound here, any chance of having the venue purchase and permanently mount a snake where you want it?

[Brian Jojade]

I'd be very cautious about hanging anything from a ceiling grid, as you never know how much weight the grid can handle.  If something happens and you damage the grid, that would make for a bad day.

If you are doing a lot of work with the venue, it may be best work with them to have a solution installed that helps you out as well as anyone else that may come in.  It is possible to have decorative hooks placed on the walls that can help with a cable run, which could be useful for other events in the space.

The temporary stick hangers won't give you enough strength on the wall unless you use a ton of them. And then you risk damage to the wall as well, depending on what it's made of.  At a buck or 2 per hook per use, your costs over time will be obscene.  Spend that money on a digital snake instead!

If you're stuck with running along the ground, using cable ramps is the way to go. Yes, the regular ones can cause a trip hazard, but if the band is loading over your snake, it's a trip hazard already. A big cable ramp is more visible than a small black cable.  Using the ADA ramps makes for an almost unnoticeable cover for the cable, but it does take a large amount of space to fit the ramp.  Keep that in mind.

And then, of course, I also second the idea of looking to move to a digital snake system, as the cable management is far easier with a cat 5 cable than with a big ole snake.  People still use big fat snakes, and there will still be resale value in the one you have. If you wait for digital to get cheaper, so too will the resale value of what you have decrease.  The net result is you're messing with that snake for an extra couple of years with little net savings.

[Mike Monte]

I have a venue that I provide almost all their production and it's difficult to deal with the snake more so where to place it. It's about 80' from the stage to FOH and drywall on the walls and drop ceiling. It has some formal events so messing with the walls or aesthetics is a no no with regards to hanging or placing hangers. So the snake comes off the stage and follows the wall to FOH. Problem is I don't like it there although I do gaff tape it every 10' so it cannot be pulled out easy to the walking area and the band loads in over it. I know they make cable protectors and am in the process of finding something that works for the band load in. I do not want to cause a trip hazard either as the load in door is 90 degrees to the isle (cable cover sticking into isle too far). Any ideas or solutions you might have are appreciated. I was thinking of asking to install hangers near the ceiling down the wall but I am sure that may get shot down. Anyone ever use those temporary sticky hangers?

Since you provide almost all of the production at this particular venue: Is there any way that you can run the snake under the floor or above the "drop ceiling" to the FOH location?  If the venue has a basement (many do) you could probably get away with a 2" hole for the fan.  The fan's "strain relief" ring is about two inches wide.  It would take some time to snake things through but once it's in you are all set.  If you went the ceiling route you could gather the snake's fan and extra trunk and store it above....   

Snakes can be had for cheap these days (I purchased a used a 24x8x100' snake for $150.00 a couple of years ago.  With a little soldering of three channels at the stagebox, it was as good as new). 

A DJ friend of mine does a fair share of work at a local banquet hall.  He brings a huge light show with truss, etc. that he hangs from the drop ceiling (chained from the ceiling joists).  When he finishes a DJ gig at that venue he leaves all of his DMX cables up in the ceiling.  No one can tell.

If I were you I'd check the basement/ceiling route.   

If you need an extra 24x8x100' snake send me a pm.

Mike M 

[Aaron Maurer]

Since you provide almost all of the production at this particular venue: Is there any way that you can run the snake under the floor or above the "drop ceiling" to the FOH location?  If the venue has a basement (many do) you could probably get away with a 2" hole for the fan.  The fan's "strain relief" ring is about two inches wide.  It would take some time to snake things through but once it's in you are all set.  If you went the ceiling route you could gather the snake's fan and extra trunk and store it above....   

Snakes can be had for cheap these days (I purchased a used a 24x8x100' snake for $150.00 a couple of years ago.  With a little soldering of three channels at the stagebox, it was as good as new).   

A DJ friend of mine does a fair share of work at a local banquet hall.  He brings a huge light show with truss, etc. that he hangs from the drop ceiling (chained from the ceiling joists).  When he finishes a DJ gig at that venue he leaves all of his DMX cables up in the ceiling.  No one can tell.

If I were you I'd check the basement/ceiling route.   

If you need an extra 24x8x100' snake send me a pm.

Mike M

No basement so that is out. I do have a 32X12 200' snake in inventory that just sits due to the fact it has EDAC multi pin connectors. To make it work will require all 32X12 pairs soldered on the FOH end and the time alone is not worth the cost in my opinion. It may be cheaper to just buy a used snake as Mike M stated and leave it in place.  What would be great about the 32X12 is that it would support anyone's needs in that venue.

[Scott Harris]

A DJ friend of mine does a fair share of work at a local banquet hall.  He brings a huge light show with truss, etc. that he hangs from the drop ceiling (chained from the ceiling joists).  When he finishes a DJ gig at that venue he leaves all of his DMX cables up in the ceiling.  No one can tell.

Until they have a fire and people die from toxic gases.  Any cabling done above a ceiling grid typically has to be plenum rated.  Also, cable runs above a ceiling cannot just lay on the ceiling tiles.  It should be suspended by hangers from the framing.  A single DMX cable across the grid may not raise too many eyebrows, but leaving a coil of cable on a tile is not cool.

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