i need help/ input on what to do now

[chevy32]

i have a presonus fp10 and about to spend about $2300 on mics, compressors, preamps, and cables and such, and i want to run a patchbay or 2 to keep things clean. now if ur not familiar with the fp10, there are 8 inputs in the front, and on the back it has 8 outputs, spdif, midid, cue mix line out, main cr out for my monitors, line input for channels 1&2, and preamp out 1&2. now im asking how i would be able to do a patchbay? i want to keep it looking clean without a million cables hanging around everywhere, if i cant get a patchbay to work, should i sell the unit and get another interface that i can do the patchbay with, let me know your input, my feelings wont be hurt thanks

 

[mjbphotos]

Assuming you have recording experience already? Why step into a huge amount of equipment purchases at once - starting a studio business?

 

[chevy32]

i have a little bit, and no not really a studio buissness quit yet, id love to start one at some point but money is the issue and ive been saving for months. just trying to see what would be my best option would be to keeping everything easy and clean looking around the desk and rack

 

[dintymoore]

The reason to have a patch bay is if you have outboard gear that you want to reconfigure.

I'd draw out on a piece of paper how all the stuff will go together, and how you like to work is super important. No one can tell you that, and a lot of whether you need a patch bay and how to hook it up is based on that. There's no "one right way" to hook up a patch bay.

One thing you may or may not be familiar with is the concept of normalized inputs and outputs on patch bays. You can set them up so that when nothing is plugged in it is wired a certain way, with no cables plugged in the front, and that can save lots of cables being used and make things a lot tidier.

Again, it depends on how you like to work, how many mics you use at once, if you like to swap a compressor around from track to track, all kinds of variables. If you start working with your gear you might see yourself unplugging the same things over and over and then you'll be able to see what a patch bay could do for you.

I used to have two 48's and one 16 1/4" patch bays but have gone to not using them because I grew into a method where everything is wired one way. But patch bays are great when you need them. I might go back to using one.

 

[gecko zzed]

i have a presonus fp10 and about to spend about $2300 on mics, compressors, preamps, and cables and such, and i want to run a patchbay or 2 to keep things clean. now if ur not familiar with the fp10, there are 8 inputs in the front, and on the back it has 8 outputs, spdif, midid, cue mix line out, main cr out for my monitors, line input for channels 1&2, and preamp out 1&2. now im asking how i would be able to do a patchbay? i want to keep it looking clean without a million cables hanging around everywhere, if i cant get a patchbay to work, should i sell the unit and get another interface that i can do the patchbay with, let me know your input, my feelings wont be hurt thanks

A patch bay is going to do little for your tangle of cables except to add more.

You described the FP10 . . . eight inputs at the front, and a whole heap on the back, i.e. the messy end is at the back anyway. All you need to do is plug mikes into the front. As for the back . . . it is at the back which is generally out of sight . . . so you can keep the cables all nicely hid anyway.



The front consists o

 

[chevy32]

i know to stick mics in the front, lets just say im recording drums. hook my audix mic kit up to the drums and i want to use the acp88 that im getting (8 channel compressor/limiter/gate) for all 8 mics being used, how would i go about doing that? using a xlr-f to 1/4'' trs into the acp88 and then from there use a 1/4'' trs to xlr-m into the fp10?

 

[gecko zzed]

i know to stick mics in the front, lets just say im recording drums. hook my audix mic kit up to the drums and i want to use the acp88 that im getting (8 channel compressor/limiter/gate) for all 8 mics being used, how would i go about doing that? using a xlr-f to 1/4'' trs into the acp88 and then from there use a 1/4'' trs to xlr-m into the fp10?

A compressor is normally patched into a mixer via an insert. The FP10 doesn't have inserts, so you would have to do as you say. Using a patchbay is just introducing an extra device and an extra set of leads into the signal path. I can't see the benefit of doing this.

 

[chevy32]

if u cant see a benefit then tell me how to use my compressor/mic pres/ effects and interface together without a patchbay

 

[chevy32]

i think i figured it out, tell me what u think

from the 8 inserts on the front of the fp10, take a 8 channel xlr-m to trs and go to the patchbay. then get a 8 channel drop snake that has trs ends for my drums and other instruments and plug it into the patchbay. take patch cable and plug the 8 channels with mics, and insurt to the fp10 insurts on the patchbay,

would that work????

 

[gecko zzed]

i think i figured it out, tell me what u think

from the 8 inserts on the front of the fp10, take a 8 channel xlr-m to trs and go to the patchbay. then get a 8 channel drop snake that has trs ends for my drums and other instruments and plug it into the patchbay. take patch cable and plug the 8 channels with mics, and insurt to the fp10 insurts on the patchbay,

would that work????

It may work, but I have trouble deciphering your description.

Have you bought all this gear yet?

You need to figure out the difference between an "insert" and an "input". An "insert" allows you to plug something into a signal path (e.g. a compressor inserted into a mike signal path). An "input" allows you to plug something in to create a signal path, e.g. a mike plugged into an FP10 input.

The simplest and cleanest option is simply to plug mikes or instruments straight into the FP10.

You need to think carefully about the specific purpose for adding peripherals (compressor etc.) into this path. What is the problem for which these devices are to be a solution?

 

[The Cancers]

Stop.
Don't buy anything.

First,
the FP10 has an option for an insert style thing.
Channels 1 and 2 each have their own "preamp out" and "line in" TRS jacks.
There's a diagram on the presonus website that shows exactly how you would hook up an external compressor or whatever using those.
But it's only two channels.
So there's absolutely no reason to waste money on an eight channel compressor that you're only ever gonna use two channels of.
Second,
why would you want to compress/gate any of your ingoing signals when you're recording to the computer?
With the number of free, quality plugins out there, why force yourself into those alterations to the sound on the way in when you could record it clean and then compress or gate to your heart's content without permanently altering the sound?
That compressor is pricey. I've never used it, but when it comes down to it it's a $110 a channel compressor. I've heard of some good compressors in that price range and I've heard of some awful ones. I'm gonna go ahead and doubt that it's gonna do much more for your sound than a nice clean vst compressor that'll come with just about any DAW.
Now I may be wrong about that, because I'm not much of an outboard effects guy, and haven't really used many compressors going in except for really nice character compressors in friends' studios.

Anyway. no patchbay in the world is gonna make it easy for you to utilize all 8 channels of that compressor. Honestly, the best way to do it would be to plug the eight outputs on the back of your FP10 into the 8 inputs on the compressor, then the eight outpus of that back into the eight inputs on the front of your FP10.
Ok, a patchbay might actually help there (you'll still be doing a bunch of plugging/unplugging everytime you switch between recording and mixing), just in that the wear and tear from plugging and unplugging will be on the patchbay and not on your interface.

But yeah, so you record clean, then send eight channels out from your DAW into the compressor back into the DAW on different tracks, but at that point, since you really aren't paying enough per channel to be getting really nice "character" compression, it all seems a lot simpler to just load up some vst compressors and use them in the box.

Ramble ramble ramble.

I'm gonna go ahead and summarize here.
Don't buy the eight channel compressor.
If you wanna compress on the way in, buy an equivalently priced two channel compressor. You'll get two better sounding channels, and that's all you can use at a time with the FP10 anyway.
Or use that money on room treatments, monitors, a couple of nicer mics than you're gonna get in that Audix drum mic kit.
Please ask any questions if that whole diatribe just got confusing.

 

[chevy32]

i get what ur saying buy the inserts on the back are for only channel 1 and 2, and if im recording drums im using at least 8 mics so that wont work. what im getting from your post was use the plug ins already in my studio one that came with the fp10. i can agree with that and ill take into consideration for sure. and ill take your advice right now and buy better mics and i have decent monitors (krks) and i bought room treatment off ebay last week. so what im getting is, no to patchbay and just use plugins

 

[The Cancers]

I'm not saying no to external effects.
I'm saying no to external effects you don't need.
Part of my overall goal to convince people not to spend money on items until they know the items will be worth their money.
With the number of reviews, sound samples, mic shootouts and generous return policies out there, there shouldn't be any reason to spend your hard earned cash on anything that will end up sitting in a corner, looking cool and never being used.

 

[chevy32]

if i do get external effects, should i just mess with plugging/unplugging everything to use it?