XLR and TRS when using a preamp...

[ghetto3jon]

i'd like to buy a patcbay (48 point trs), and use it with various preamps, compressors, and reverb units. the problem is this:

an example...since i am now not using a patch bay, i run an XLR cable straight into a behringer t1953 preamp. everything is great. when i run a quarter inch (not trs) cable into the behringer, i have to switch the unit from "microphone" to "line" mode, and the preamp behaves very differently. so my question is: when i get a patch bay and start using TRS cables, will i have to run the preamp in "line" mode...because that would really suck. will the TRS cable behave exactly like a XLR cable, or will it behave like a quarter inch cable? should i get an XLR patchbay if i want to get the same performance from my preamps that i am gettng now?

i've never used TRS cables with my preamps and compressors, so excuse my ignorance.

thanks,
jon.

[sjjohnston]

You can connect an XLR in/output on a piece of equipment to the patchbay with a cable that has an XLR on one end and a TRS on the other. It shouldn't make a lot of difference.

BUT ... though you can there are a few reasons why you might not want to run mic signals (that is, lines that are connected to a microphone at one end) through your patchbay:

- If you've got phantom power running, plugging a TRS into a patchbay isn't a great thing to do. Unless you insert the jack really, really fast, there's a moment when the tip of the plug is connected to the ring contact in the jack, and nothing is connected to the ring of the plug. You've got 48V on one leg, and nothing on the other. This is avoidable by always switching off the phantom power before putting anything in or out of the relevant jack on the patchbay. But you'll screw up at least once.

- Mixing mic and line signals in the same bay invites mistakes -- such as hooking line-level outputs to inputs that expect a mic-level signal. At the least this can produce really loud thumps; at the worst it can wreck equipment.