Fear of rewiring gear

[beats me]

I have some new speakers I need to set up but I also noticed the spaghetti spectacular I have going on behind my desk after several years of not giving a shit. I’m sure there are wires back there not connected to anything anymore. This would probably be a good time to clean that up but as everything is currently working I have this fear that if I disconnect everything and plug it back in something isn’t going to work anymore.

Anybody else suffer from this paranoia?

On a related note, anybody else keeping the electrical tape industry afloat from covering up all the blinking lights with the intensity of the sun that can’t be shut off?

[doc holiday]

somewhere I have a photo of my keyboard stands covered in cables, it was from back in the day when the computer just recorded tracks and i had a ton of analog gear. I did a re-arrangement so unplugged everything and left the cables there for later. I'll try to dig it up, I really like the shot.

[beats me]

I think I would be less nervous with an old school hardware setup, but when you get network and wifi stuff involved, that’s when I get nervous. My modem and router is part of the mess too.

[regretfullySaid]

Zipties can be helpful for long-term setups like yours, just to keep things more tidy. You could use some board tape to wrap around some cords for labeling as well.
Zips can be better than tape to allow more slack and not add stickiness.

[doc holiday]

but when you get network and wifi stuff

and here all this time I thought wifi got rid of wires!

[simmerdown]

just dig in, it'll be ok..the alternative is you never get it back together again, which seems unlikely

when you get Vonage in the chain, uggggh, ive spent hours, days...

[doc holiday]

I always like a re-wire, it's fun actually.

things might not go back together the same way, they may go back together better!

[beats me]

My wiring started out nice and organized, but then you know, you get more stuff and you just want to plug it in and have at it.

[simmerdown]

that reads like a metaphor for Life in general

[Komodovaran]

I coil up the excess length and bundle all my wires with strips.

that reads like a metaphor for Life in general

And as I said, I coil up my excess friends and bundle them with wire strips.

[regretfullySaid]

Re-wiring can be fun though, you never know what treasures you might find.
One time I found a $10 bill and another time a big dried up bud.

[Muzik 4 Machines]

when i do that i start by labelling everything that is currently plugged in with what it's plugged in

if its a small mess is just pick up the unplugged cables and follow them to remove them, but if its a big mess, i unplug everything and take the whole mess out on the floor and untangle everything, then using my labels replug everything that was once plugged and tidy all up

[H20nly]

Re-wiring can be fun though, you never know what treasures you might find.
One time I found a $10 bill and another time a big dried up bud.

this!

I coil up the excess length and bundle all my wires with strips.

that reads like a metaphor for Life in general

And as I said, I coil up my excess friends and bundle them with wire strips.

this too! all of it!


juz dew it beats.
the time has come...

[Quiggers]

I'm a stickler for racking up equipment, and tidying the cables, so from my normal working position , everything is neat and tidy and secure, but if you nip behind my desk and rack and there is an attempt at tidying the wiring.
All my extension leads are mounted to the desk, power cords zip tied, audio leads are velcro tied.

I generally only re-wire it all if i'm moving house or room, but live8's external devices plug in has me looking at my patch bay and contemplating normalizing synths to audio ins. But I'm due to ship out of here soon, so i'll do it where ever i land

[doghouse]

If you're completely paranoid, just label each wire before you unplug it.

That strategy has worked for me every time I moved a stereo system, computer or MIDI rig.