Thinking about building an xlr pannel..but, some questions

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talontsiawd

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I've found all the stuff i need to make an xlr pannel. The only thing is i realistically only need 2. I only have 4 preamps total and 2 of them will probably be used for something else. So...I've been thinking of other convience things since i'd have all that extra space. I'm thinking about putting a stereo jack or two (one 1/4 in, one 1/8) that i'd split in back, should be easy enough, things like that.

One thing i thought of was putting accouple USB plugs in. I don't even know where to start looking for these. Also, i'm concerned about cutting the pannel and how it will look. I may be able to get it cut or machined from my brother who does it for a living though.

I'm just curious, i figure if i do this, i may as well put everything i can to make life easier. Sorry if this is the wrong section, i've just seen many of these DIY threads in here.
 
You can get the panel made Here and they have software to help you design it. Connectors can be found Here
 
Just curious as to what you want to use the USB sockets for?

You could also put in regular 1/4 inch TRS jacks.
 
You can find just about any type of connector you want in a Neutrik D-series connector. I'd also recommend putting in a couple of returns on TRS and/or XLR connections for when you need to send signals from your control room out to the recording room (I'm assuming that you have two separate rooms here).
 
You can get the panel made Here and they have software to help you design it. Connectors can be found Here

That's pretty damn cool and the prices arn't bad at all either. I made a pannel messing around with most of what i want and engraving, as well as anadized-only $45. However, i'm hoping i can con my brother into making one for free or just pay for materials.



Thanks for the links everyone.


As for the usb stuff, i just figured since i really only need 4 xlr jacks most, i may as well put other stuff on as well. People come by with sampers and other stuff that i have to hook to the back of my computer, may as well just throw that on. Same with the stereo jacks, i personally don't need them but people want to play something they are working on with an mp3 player, may as well throw a jack for that.

Thanks for the info here though.
 
That's pretty damn cool and the prices arn't bad at all either. I made a pannel messing around with most of what i want and engraving, as well as anadized-only $45. However, i'm hoping i can con my brother into making one for free or just pay for materials.

If your brother has a punch for keystone jacks, you can get keystones for USB (jack on both sides) and just about any sort of audio connector you could imagine online. That's the easiest way to deal with those, IMHO. I have a keystone panel in my rack set up for a mix of USB, FireWire, and TOSLink (optical ADAT, specifically) jacks.

For example:

http://www.homeavcables.com/network-products-keystone-inserts.html

(I don't know anything about this company, but they were the first one I saw in a Google search that looked like it had a wide range of non-networking keystones. Man, I wish I had found them a year ago. I had to buy my keystones from three or four different companies to get everything I needed....)

About the only thing you can't put in a keystone hole is an XLR connector, since those are much larger, but I figure you already either have a punch for XLR or are drilling them (pain in the backside), so you can handle those, presumably.
 
If your brother has a punch for keystone jacks, you can get keystones for USB (jack on both sides) and just about any sort of audio connector you could imagine online. That's the easiest way to deal with those, IMHO.

This might be the way to go then actually. Then i'm not "stuck" with anything if i want to change. I found some pannels for less than $10 with no xlr obviously. I have to talk to my bro, see what's up. Thanks, great idea.
 
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