LightSnake – XLR to USB Cable
Reviewed by Robert Pritchett
444 East Courtland Street Mundelein, IL 60060 847-949-0444 http://www.soundtech.com/lightsnake/xlr10.asp Forums: http://www.soundtech.com/discuss/default.asp $70 USD, $82 CND, £49 GBP, € 72.52 Euro Specs:
Requirements: ¼” Microphone; Any Mac or PC with USB port; GarageBand or other. Comes With: 10 foot (3.05 Meter) ¼” Mic to USB Cable; mini USB Driver CD for non-Mac systems; SONY DVD. Strengths: Hooks a standard XLR3 microphone up to a USB port on a computer. Cross-platform. Plug&Play. Weaknesses: None found for the Mac. Unknown for the PC-side of things. What I found was that most issues have been PC-related and not to the cable itself. Care to guess why? Reviewed with Garageband and iMac G5 and RadioShack Super Omnidirectional Dynamic Microphone. Other Reviews: http://www.applelinks.com/index.php/more/soundtech_lightsnake_soundcard_in_a_cable/ |
|
What They Say
See the Light. Now that you have a "Soundcard in a cable", digital music recording has never been easier. Just plug in your microphone and start recording in CD quality. You can start your own music production straight out of the package. Package includes Sony demo software and cable is Garage Band ready. You no longer need any additional interfaces the SoundTech LightSnake brings new meaning to "plug and play".
This LightSnake cable is a XLR microphone to USB cable which is ideal for vocal recording or Podcasting. The LightSnake microphone cable is basically a “sound card on a cable” and with this cable you can record audio directly onto your computer. Connect the XLR connect of the LightSnake cable to your microphone and then connect the USB end to one of your computers USB ports.
This is a true USB plug-n-play connection. No additional drivers are needed for the following operating systems – Win 98 SE/Win ME/Win 2000/Win XP and Mac OS9/OS X. An ASIO driver is forthcoming for recording software that implements this technology.
An embedded 16 Bit Analog to Digital Converter with audio signal boost ensures extremely low audio loss and 48/44.1 KHz Sampling Rate provides you with high audio quality while recording. The HSDL (Host Side Data Loss) Noise Reduction function prevents any unwanted noise when converting the audio signal to digital format and saving to your computer.
The SoundTech LightSnake line was born out of the desire to create a simple solution to provide the ability to enjoy digital recording to everyone. An intelligent cable with embedded analog to digital converter and signal booster was created.
The LightSnake USB’s unique design enables anyone to plug their microphone directly into a PC eliminating the hassle, clutter and learning curve associated with high-quality digital recording. This was accomplished by virtually placing a sound card onto the cable.
The LightSnake features SoundTech’s patented “Live when Lit” technology cable ends that glow when connected properly and flash indicating when sound is being transmitted. The simplicity of these cables and their price point make the digital recording arena accessible to every one.
The cables are packaged with a DVD that contains 30 day trail versions of all of Sony Media Software titles, including Sound Forge, Acid, Vegas, etc. This addition makes the cable a complete solution right out of the box. Mac users are not left out as GarageBand recording software is on every new Macintosh sold.
What I Say
What is XLR? Oh, it’s that standard 3-pin XLR3 mic plug - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector
The LightSnake XLR to USB is true plug&say stuff. No extra equipment needed. No extra software either, if you already have GarageBand installed. This is “live when lit” with green LED lights at either end of the cable and they really do flash when recording.
What gives it the snake moniker? The cable is a thick, shielded cable within a clear plastic flex-hose.
Oh, and this isn’t limited to just mics. If you have a keyboard or other device that uses the XLR jack, you are in business.
Listen to this MusiciansCast podcast interview:
http://www.musicianscast.com/Player.aspx?filetoplay=files/McastEpisode_216.mp3
I used a RadioShack (not a Shure) Super Omnidirectional Dynamic Microphone, removed the cable and replaced it with this unit and it worked great. At first in GarageBand, I got a lot of feedback, but that is because I didn’t have the app set up correctly. Once I corrected the mic input, it worked like a dream. No, it is not a mic with “phantom “ power.
This is way cool technology at work!
I found the cable for about half the MSRP on Amazon.com. Go get one if you want to do live sound music on your Mac!
