Velcro or tie line

[FMEng]

Which do you prefer for audio cables, velcro ties or tie line? If you prefer velcro, is there a superior brand of tie?

 

[techieman33]

I prefer velcro for my data cable, don't own any audio cable. I buy mine from monoprice.com I like having plenty of color options so each length has it's own color. Makes it easy to quickly identify the length of the cables and tell a hand to go grab me 5 red cables and a blue one. They probably aren't the greatest quality but they're pretty decent and work great for the 20 days a year that my cable gets used.

 

[chausman]

I prefer velcro. I am mostly working in a church with a wide variety of people using the spaces and velcro'd cables always come back neat. The high school that used tie line? Not so much. We've just used whatever was cheapest at the time. Haven't noticed any particular brand that was better or worse.

 

[Lextech]

If you are using any sort of stage box then you want to use tie line. There are few things in life i hate more than trying to get 40 lines all stuck together with velcro apart at the end of a gig. Wait there is, when I am trying to get 40 lines apart between acts. This assumes that you are putting the fastener on the male end. Since I spent many years with TV cameras pointed at my mics I never put anything on the female end. Also velcro in the middle idea tends to make friends with rugs and slow down load out. Tie line, cheap, effective and helps people remember how to tie their shoes.....

 

[GreyWyvern]

If you are using any sort of stage box then you want to use tie line. There are few things in life i hate more than trying to get 40 lines all stuck together with velcro apart at the end of a gig. Wait there is, when I am trying to get 40 lines apart between acts. This assumes that you are putting the fastener on the male end. Since I spent many years with TV cameras pointed at my mics I never put anything on the female end. Also velcro in the middle idea tends to make friends with rugs and slow down load out. Tie line, cheap, effective and helps people remember how to tie their shoes.....

That's why I also take the extra 2 seconds to wrap the velcro back on itself so it doesn't get stuck to its neighbor or carpet. Also, fuzzy side ALWAYS goes OUT.

 

[Dionysus]

I prefer tie-line for one important reason, it is more flexable in tying the (near) end of the cable to something (if needed). Otherwise as long as the velcro is long enough its just fine. Nothing worse than coiling a cable and BARELY if at all being able to put the velcro strap around it.

I remember FM Systems back in the day using plastic ties on the end of their audio cables that worked fine as well. Sort of like a giant re-useable zip tie.

 

[AlexDavila]

I'm camp tie-line, I think it takes less time to unwrap a bunch of cables when I'm laying down a pit and they're easy to replace when they get ratty (or stolen for dressing). That said, when it comes to Velcro, I'd much prefer the thin flat variety that comes on a roll to the ticker varieties. It's only really good for thin mic and data cables, not snakes or other multi's, but it doesn't stick to everything around it.

 

[gafftaper]

Velcro is quickest and easiest especially one handed. Don't care what brand, whatever is available.

 

[NickVon]

Team Velcro. I use them for our theaters XLR's Mic and DMX cables. I remember picking up a pack of like 25 all in a roll from amazon for like 3 bucks a pack. I kinda like the idea of colored velcro ties for cable length over colored electrical tape though ?

My larger 75ft-150ft cables still get 2 ties on them from tieline. But we arn't pulling them out that often. Snakes and Larger Heft cables still get Tie Line.

 

[soundlight]

Tie line all the way. Velcro isn't useful for tying cables up to pipes and just gets in the way.

 

[Calc]

I remember FM Systems back in the day using plastic ties on the end of their audio cables that worked fine as well. Sort of like a giant re-useable zip tie.

NEVER USE THESE. There's nothing worse than trying to straighten a cable and finding the hard plastic tie with your bare hands. Ouch!

I'll echo the above posts- Monoprice ties, fuzzy side out. They come in a couple of different lengths, too. The latest batch I ordered was the fuzzier, shorter velcro too.

 

[Dionysus]

NEVER USE THESE. There's nothing worse than trying to straighten a cable and finding the hard plastic tie with your bare hands. Ouch!

I'll echo the above posts- Monoprice ties, fuzzy side out. They come in a couple of different lengths, too. The latest batch I ordered was the fuzzier, shorter velcro too.

They weren't hard plastic, they were more "rubbery". Not sure what the plastic was.

 

[Joel - Studio 52]

I started out with velcro, but am moving to all tie line. I bought a 100' roll of parachute line on Amazon. Cut it to each required length and use a lighter to soften the ends. Keeps them from unraveling. While it's warm I can also shape the end a bit.

Also, as someone mentioned above, always attach to the male end of audio cables.

Working great for me.