Question guys: just ordered the Beast (a1) from amazon.com it gets here
next Thursday ;-)

Should I buy a short 3ft balanced XLR angled cable, and then connect
that up to a bigger 50 footer?? as long as they are balanced cables
i'm good, right??? I noticed probably i'd want an angle cable so it
doesn't protrude and i can run the cables down my tripod leg right??

a newbie,

Jim

Go to sound room, they have customized cables that you can order to your likening, they do right angles connectors too. I use their 1ft cable for my mic, The 1ft cable right angle connector fits on my Me66 and also Oktava mic and i have them on a Rode SM5.

here is thier site: http://oktava.com/inc/sdetail/1410

I essentially agree with David, a short cable (say, 12-to-18 inches, to connect to an on-the-camcorder mic of your choice, or to connect to longer cables running to where ever.

A right angle connector may be helpful, but is not vital.

I don't see why you'd want a short cable dangling off the camera. Just plug in the XLR from the mic or mixer. If you keep a shotgun mic mounted on the camera, then obviously you'd want a short 1' or less cable for that. If you leave the mic on the camera all the time, a right angle XLR will cut down on how far out the cable protrudes, which might make the difference between the camera fitting into one bag versus another. I keep two mics on the camera--a short shotgun and a wireless receiver. The shotgun is only used for ambient sound and is unplugged when used on a boom for recording dialog.

I don't see why you'd want a short cable dangling off the camera.

Good point. About the only reasons are to continue to use a right angle connector at the camcorder (if that is important for the setup up), and perhaps leaving it connected means you do not have to stow the short cable while connected to the longer cable, both minor benefits at best.)