Information about labeling sound equipment with console tape
There are lots ways to secure coiled cable, including tape, but Shurtape 724 paper label tape is not one of them.
The adhesive on this tape can interact with the natural rubber jacket on some cables, leaving a residue when the tape is removed.
This residue is not a problem on surfaces like sound consoles and patch bays, but it can cause a sticky problem on some audio cables.
Instead of tape, we recommend Velcro One Wrap Straps for cable bundling and coiling. Those are adhesive free.
Flipping a few guitar picks into the crowd is a time honored way for a concert performer to honor a few audience members with a prized souvenir.
After attending a recent concert, i happened to notice a couple of kids begging the sound man for the console tape used to label the mixer for that night’s set.
To each his own.
The term “console” (as a noun) is used in lots of different ways, but the most common seems to refer to some sort of control surface. Whether operating computers, playing video games or mixing audio sources (microphones, tape playback, etc.), the area that these applications refer to have a common beginning.
The first use of the term “console” when relating to some sort of “remote” control was the pipe organ.
The housing for all the keyboards, stops and pedals for a large organ is called a “console” and this appears to be where the term got its start.
We’ve discussed in the past that PH neutral/acid free tapes are the best for console labeling. They are the best way to insure that no damage is done to the finish of a piece of expensive sound or lighting equipment when the label tape is left in place for a long time.
With the recent popularity of console (artist) tape in colors, users need to know that only the white version of this product is acid free.
Pastel and neon colors are great for high visibility, but should be removed as soon as the show is over.
The amount of space available for labeling on most sound mixers is really limited, so sound people have developed a pretty standard set of abbreviations for marking which input is what.
Here are some of the most common:
Vox-Vocal
Kik-Bass Drum
SN-Snare Drum
Tom-Tom Tom
Sn-Snare Drum
Hat-Hi Hat
OH-Drum Overhead
Bs-Bass
Key-Keyboard
Gt-Guitar
Fid-Fiddle
Using these abbreviations means that almost any knowledgeable sound person can step up to the mixer and know what is going on.
Tool boxes get heavy fast, so any time you can find a single product that fills multiple roles, it can save space and weight.
While paper console tape can be used for making signs, marking stage and spike marks and creating temporary labels, one job it is not right for is cable bundling.
It is a common practice to use tape to create temporary cable bundles or to secure cables to keep them from tangling.
Unfortunately, the rubber adhesive that makes this tape easy to remove and normally residue free, tends to react with rubber coated audio and power cables and it can leave a mess behind.
If you want to bundle cables with tape, gaffers tape is a much better choice.
