Cable labels

[Bidley]

How are you guys labelling cables? I've got 4 cables running from my pedalboard to my amp and I reckon labelling them would make things a lot easier. Any of you resourceful types got any hints and tips?

[Viz]

Coloured cable tie round the plugs at each end

[uncle_psychosis]

Coloured cable tie round the plugs at each end

Yes, or coloured heatshrink if you're feeling fancy.

[ICBM]

I use those nice cloth-braided Horizon cables in a variety of fancy colours, no two the same.

[thermionic]

Lots of ideas at Studiospares. I have some Neutrik jacks with coloured rings but they're not really that visible from a distance.

[stickyfiddle]

I use pieces of coloured insulating tape. Double stripes made up from 4 colours gives you loads of combinations

[guitarfishbay]

Like stickyfiddle I go for the tape combinations approach. I always have a roll of duct tape and a roll of masking tape in my guitar bag, so that is what gets used to differentiate between identical cables.

[maltingsaudio]

White electric tape and a sharpie for marking on the fly, for more permanent stuff bought a label maker from Aldi for about a tenner invaluable

[StageStruck]

I use pieces of coloured insulating tape. Double stripes made up from 4 colours gives you loads of combinations

^^ This, it's also easily changed should you want to use the cable for something else.

[ecc83]

Coloured shrink. But learn the resistor colour code, worth doing anyway..
Thus brown is cable #1, red #2. Up to white for 9 then brown black, brown brown, brown red and so on.

You might not find all the colours in shrink so use tape (or coloured paper, whatever) but then cover with clear shrink.

When I was in the AV/PA game not only were cables thus coded but the Cannon plugs had blue shrink on them for ID. The XLR plugs of the day also had wee screws on the cable clamp and the shrink kept them safe.

The Independant TV boys were notorious for "gathering" every cable they saw!

Dave.