The very first recording studio lesson I was taught when I was a Music Technology student was how to coil a studio cable. I thought this was a bit of a boring topic to learn, however, it did teach me how to respect and look after studio cables. My entire class were lined up, each with a cable. We were not allowed to leave for our lunch until we mastered the art of coiling a cable.

How To Coil Studio Cables

It pains me to see a cable that has been wrapped and tied up in an ad hoc mess. It's not smart for a couple of reasons:

1. Cables that have not been cared for break
2. Cables that have not been wound up correctly get quickly tangled in with other cables making it a pain to get a cable set up quickly

Whenever I see a cable wound ad hoc or incorrectly I just think that the person who did it was being lazy, don't be that person! Instead, be the Pro that properly coils and stores cables. By doing it correctly you will keep your cables in working condition for longer and out of tangled messes. 

Have you ever noticed how studio cables are neatly packaged when you buy them? Cables are perfectly coiled, it's this neatness that we need to replicate each time we pack away our studio cables. All cables have natural curves. These can easily be found when we hold one end of a cable in one hand while holding a section of cable between our middle finger and thumb with our other hand, usually our strong hand.

In your strong hand put the cable between your thumb and middle finger. Roll your thumb over the cable, you will see the curves of the cable present themselves to you. Continue until neatly wound... but don't finish the job by using the cable to knot the coil. If your cables do not have a cable tie attached then use either elastic cable ties or electrical insulating tape to hold the coil together. Avoid Duct Tape as it leaves a sticky residue on the cable, electrical tape doesn't leave sticky spots on cables and works perfectly.

Tying up your neatly coiled cables will ensure a tidy cable box meaning you have quick and easy access to trustworthy studio cables.

Watch our short free video tutorial that shows you how to properly coil up a studio cable.