ProCo or Hosa??

[jmather]

Hey everyone. I'm looking to buy an 8 channel 1/4" to 1/4" snake to go from mixer to interface. Anyone have experience using the ProCo and Hosa brands?? Hosa is MUCH cheaper and I guess my question is: does it sound cheaper? Are they junk?Any input would be great!Justin

[ibanez468]

Hey Just,Not familiar with ProCo, but do own several 1/4" to 1/4" stereo cords, a couple of 1/4" to rca cords, and a bunch of foot long 1/4" mono cords from Hosa. Oh, now that I think about it, I do have two 3 ft. 8 channel snakes. I've never had a problem with one yet. They've been very durable thus far. Whatever ya' do, don't buy Jade audio snakes. They're cheaper, but I actually had two tips come off inside the inputs of my Alesis HD24. Was a mutha' to get 'em out. Those are junk! I don't think Hosa cords sound cheap. They're probably MOR cables.ibanez468

[jmather]

Hey thanks Ibanez, 'preciate it. Glad to hear your Hosa cables have been good, the procos are almost double.Justin

[matto]

I've had a lot of Hosa snakes over the years, they sounded okay but never lasted very long. Before too long one of the cables would go bad...then another.This was back in the days when I had an analog 16 track and a big analog console so I needed 4 8 channel snakes just to hook up the 16 track, more if I wanted to go via a patchbay...and I was too poor to afford anything better. I think if I only needed one 8 channel snake I would probably get a better quality one. Not sure how good ProCo is though.

[jmather]

Thanks Matto, that was my concern. Seems like ProCo makes really high end cables. I feel a little rediculous - I'm talking about like $70 for the ProCos but man, I'm kind of poor at the moment! Though I think it'd be worth the extra $.thanks guys

[sgs4u]

I have 6 Hosa snakes gathering dust, since my 1/2" deck went into mothballs. (time to throw them out) Maybe Hosa makes them better now, but they were pretty low quality when I bought them. Better cables = better sound. I now buy the best quality I can afford. The only reason I wouldn't buy the best cabling I could, would be because something else was a weaker link in my audio chain. Then I'd fix that first.

[mazz]

I've had decent luck with Hosa snakes over the years. Most of them ended up with at least one dead connector in them, though. They are affordable but they might not last a lifetime like good cables will (if you take care of them).You get what you pay for usually in cables.Cheers,Mazz

[ibanez468]

I would say get the best that your pocket can afford. If you think the Procos'll be better, then by all means, get those. Those are the types of cables you don't want to have to go out and purchase again. One really good quality snake should take of the situation. As steve says better cables=better sound, which usually translates into spending more money for the better cable. And like mazz says, "you get what you pay for", plain & simple. That just about applies to anything & everything.ibanez468

[nickbatzdorf]

Hosa's snakes use molded connectors. I've had several over the years, and you always end up with at least one of the channels that doesn't work. They probably make some higher-end cable too, but the cheap stuff is what it is, and you'll end up buying it again when it breaks - especially if you're going to be plugging and unplugging once in a whille.You can easily pay $70 for a single cable, never mind a snake. That's nothing.If you're poor, go to Markertek.com or Pacificradio.com (I think that's their site) and order some Mogami or Canare snake cable with eight balanced cables, cut to the length you want, plus 16 TRS plugs (Neutrik or Switchcraft are good), and then go to Radio Shack and buy a soldering iron and some solder. It takes s little while, but you'll end up with a much better product.One word of advice from the School of Hard Knocks: do not buy unbalanced 1/4" cables (two conductors) - always buy balanced 3-conductor cables. You'll end up with balanced equipment that drops in level when you use unbalanced cables, while balanced cables work fine with unbalanced equipment.

[ibanez468]

Quote:One word of advice from the School of Hard Knocks: do not buy unbalanced 1/4" cables (two conductors) - always buy balanced 3-conductor cables. You'll end up with balanced equipment that drops in level when you use unbalanced cables, while balanced cables work fine with unbalanced equipment.That IS good advice Nick!ibanez468