Cable Control

Contributed by Al Maier

For those of you who have your cables, powerstrips and various power supplies loosely on the floor ..... try this:

I bought a KETER brand plastic tool box (but any other would work). I like this one because it is the stacking type that came with TWO BOXES that clip together top of each other. The top one has a flip-up handle for pulling it (a la travel luggage) and the bottom one has the wheels. The bottom one stays at home for extra cables I may only need once in a blue moon. For the ZD, I use only the top box, which, besides the removable tray, has all kinds of neat little extra EXTERIOR compartments on the lid, plus a removable parts organizer on it's front, in which I keep various audio adaptors, BATTERIES, patch cables, CD player PBJ sandwich and stuff. THE MAIN P0INT BEING THIS: Below it's removable top tray, I put TWO POWER STRIPS along with some other 'creative' 110 volt plug types, where I plug in all my POWER SUPPLIES FOR SOUND MODULES, BEHRINGER MINI MIXER, EFFECTS UNIT, WIRELESS HEADPHONE TRANSMITTER and..........the all important MIDI MERGE BOX. I neatly made a hole on the bottom (side) of the toolbox and I feed all my cables out of that, keeping them tie-wrapped together, with enough play on the ends to comfortably reach all my electronics.

My ACTIVE MIDI CABLE along with the merge-box-to-module MIDI cable runs out of that hole as well. One power strip is plugged into the other and the main power cord comes out of that hole, too.

I especially enjoy the clean(er) looks and fast(er) setup/tear-down time, for getting in/out of the house/stage. I simply roll the cable bunch into a circle and vellcro tie it on one spot. It dangles a little when I lug the case from A to B, but I've never had a problem stepping on adaptors, or loosing stuff. For quick repairs and any extras you otherwise would tend to forget, you put lots of that stuff into the Tackle box, or whatever YOU decide to use. ONE haul brings it aul...hheee heee!!

I like looping the ZD midi cord at the end. I cynched a loop with a simple zip tie. I temporarily hook the loop under the straplock, so it's easy to remove when I'm done and it DOES NOT compromise the cable end or anything else.