balanced cables...

[cabbages]

i have been thinking about getting a patch bay because my outboards are starting to pile up.. anyways, the patchbay is cheap enough, but i was told i would need balanced cables for every connection. is this true? or does it just depend on the outboard? also, i wouldnt be plugging and unplugging too much, could i get away with a $50 beringer or do i need to opt for something better? (i read here that the cheap ones only have a thin layer of nickel, but i figure if i dont plug and unplug too much it shouldnt be a problem)

 

[Treeline]

You don't need balanced cables if you are using short runs, as is likely to be the case in a small studio patchbay. Patchbays are like anything else - you do get what you pay for unless you are at either end of the extremes of price. The cheapest patchbay on the market is the cheapest for a reason. I'd shoot a little higher, maybe look for good used gear and so forth. OTOH, it's a fifty dollar experiment. Try it and let us know.

 

[cabbages]

thanks for the help man (i figured they were just trying to sell me something i didnt need....salesmen...)

p.s. OTOH??

 

[MOFO Pro]

p.s. OTOH??

On The Other Hand... and if there was one piece of gear I wouldn't but used...it's a patch bay... Used could be really used... and it could look pristene... a well cared for patch bay just plain wears out eventually

 

[Weasel9992]

On The Other Hand... and if there was one piece of gear I wouldn't but used...it's a patch bay... Used could be really used... and it could look pristene... a well cared for patch bay just plain wears out eventually

I agree. It's hard enough to get a *new* patchbay with connectors that all work.

Frank

 

[porritta]

I use to have the Behringer Ultra patch bay.
After a while half of the connections started playing up. The main problem was the switches for THRU/HALF NORMAL/NORMAL which became temperamental.

Not fun to have to keep tracking down connection problems...

 

[MOFO Pro]

The main problem was the switches for THRU/HALF NORMAL/NORMAL which became temperamental.

It's sounds like a great feature on paper... but in application, nothing but problems... just adding more unnessesary points of failure... honestly, if you change your patch bay configuration enough time to really need switches... you're just not planning ahead...

 

[porritta]

Indeed - that's why I threw it away and worked out a more permanent signal chain.

 

[Farview]

i have been thinking about getting a patch bay because my outboards are starting to pile up.. anyways, the patchbay is cheap enough, but i was told i would need balanced cables for every connection. is this true? or does it just depend on the outboard? also, i wouldnt be plugging and unplugging too much, could i get away with a $50 beringer or do i need to opt for something better? (i read here that the cheap ones only have a thin layer of nickel, but i figure if i dont plug and unplug too much it shouldnt be a problem)

If you aren't going to be doing too much patching, there is no real reason for the patchbay. All it will do is double the amaount of cables you need.

You only need to get balanced cables for balanced hardware. But, if you are buying a bunch of cable for your patchbay, you might as well get balanced. There is nothing worse than upgrading a piece of hardware and having to replace perfectly good unbalanced cable with balanced at the same time.