Different solutions on wiring the studio?

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jas

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Is there a web site where you can list all the gear in your studio and they give different solutions on how to wire it together? I am a bit confused about all my options.

My gear

Karma keyboard
Alesis Qs8
Roland V-drums
Motu 828 firewire
Motu micro midi usb
24 track mixing board
Tascam CDRW 700
Alesis HD24
3 patch bays
Computer mac
 
Sorry I guess it was a silly question. I am using DP as the main mixer and everything goes through the 828 for audio and the Micro for midi. Let the good times roll!
 
Options? Not many options. You take each line level input and output and connect it to the patch bays. Done!

Now, how to organize a patchbay, *that's* a hefty discussion. :)
 
Heres my layout, but how DO you ground it correctly, pipeline? Is that a reasonable question for a experienced studio entreprenuer to answer? Heres why. I'm not done with this yet. Grounding is the question of the moment.:eek: Don't laugh. CAD is the only way I could lay this out. That way I can put each circuit(signal chain?) on a layer and call it up at will. Its easier than trying to trace out one wire.

http://home.rcsis.com/beachchic/osagewire2.jpg>
heres 1 Zoom to a patchbay 1
http://home.rcsis.com/beachchic/patch1a.jpg>
heres a closer zoom
http://home.rcsis.com/beachchic/patch1.jpg>

This layout includes only 1 of 2 MSR-16's

By the way pipeline, I appreciate YOUR input here. You are a gentleman pro. Sweetnubs gets the finger.(excuse me jas)

fitz:)
 
Nice CAD drawings Rick!
The first one didn't work for me though.:(
 
Hello Michael, yea the first one doesn't yet, my wife has to upload them to her ebay picture host server, and she forgot to send that one. Trouble is, that file is SOOOOOO big that for some reason, when I converted it from .dwg to visio to jpeg the text became 100 times larger than in autocad. Thats why I wished there was an autocad file reader on HR's server. Oh well:( The smaller files work ok though. And thanks so much Michael, that means A LOT to me, knowing how you draw. Pretty cool file though. I have each signal chain on a seperate layer that I can view. Anyway, sorry for the first one. Jas, I wished I could help you. I am NOT that familiar with your equipment, but it sounds like the perfect setup if there is such a thing.:D I'm sure someone here can help you. Not every person views every thread.:eek:
fitz
 
Hey JAS

Gazintas goesinta gazoutas and gazoutas goesinta gazintas! It's simple!! (Sorry, my smart ass side just couldn't resist)

Here's some questions you need to answer before you can really make any decisions:
How do you work? Do you play/record and mix all in one room or are you using a dedicated recording room and a control room? If you have separate rooms you may want to be able to bring your mic inputs from the other room into a patch bay so you can easily swap which mic input comes up on which console input. There are some around here who say they wouldn't do this but every pro studio I have been in does it so I don't see a problem as long as you can do a neat job of the soldering.
Are you going to mix in the PC or on the console? (This will determine how much of the mixer needs to be made available at the patch bay and how much can be "hardwired" to the MOTU's, PC, CDRW, etc.)
Are you going to add any external outboard gear or use plug-ins exclusively? In other words, are you planning to add any additional equipment which you would want to be available on the patchbay?
Are you going to be working with anyone else who will be bringing in other equipment that you will want to easily hook up to your system?


If you decide that you want every input, output, insert, aux send, aux return, group output, etc, etc, etc. to appear on the patchbay you may find that you need more than 3 bays. Also, you don't say what type of patchbay you have, but you won't be able to hook a balanced signal up through an RCA patch bay and keep it balanced. Running an unbalanced signal through a balanced patchbay though is no problem.

In the end, plan everything out and also be SURE to plan for expansion.
Hope this doesn't scare you if you aren't familiar with the terminology, but just do as Track Rat suggested; Hang out here!

Mike
 
Hello jas, I'm sorry those pics didn't come up. Here they are again. This is what I did so I could see and layout all my options. This is one of 20 drawings that are interlaced in CAD layers. I can look at the options at a click of the mouse. You can not see all that is in this drawing because the server at HR does not support CAD. You can only view what I convert to .jpg to post here. The second and third drawings are zoomed views to illustrate how far down you can see in detail. When I first layed this out, my studio was much smaller. I use this DAILY. I change and add to it DAILY. This way, I know EXACTLY what my current settup is as I build and install, and modify. Remember, this is homerecording.
http://home.rcsis.com/beachchic/osagewire2.jpg>
http://home.rcsis.com/beachchic/osagewire3.jpg>
http://home.rcsis.com/beachchic/patch1a.jpg>
http://home.rcsis.com/beachchic/patch1.jpg>
I don't know how commercial studios pre plan thier wiring and document it. Or who does the planning and actually cables it. On bigger studios, those that are built from the ground up especially, I would think it would be part of the architectural construction documents. I have had the opportunity to use and add to, large scale communications, digital, audio, video, computer, telephone and security installation plans many times for MACYS, and they are very complex. But this is how I do mine.
My studio is all analog tape, 32 trk, plus a digital system, entertainment system, instruments, 2 MSR-16 and synch units, and all the other crap that goes with it. My studio is in a 9' x 11' bedroom at the moment(temp.) so I must use every square inch of space. My cable troughs are actually part of a wall graphic to hide the cables as they must be long to reach the tape cabinet behind the engineer position. Works great. Heres a pic to illustrate. Sorry for the long reply, but I have found that you are not the only one reading this and someone may be interested, as it relates to your question.
fitz:)
PS, the black bar across the wall is a cable trough with 6 snakes, and synch/midi cables in it.
http://home.rcsis.com/beachchic/studio8.jpg>


Well, I guess the first two are tooooooooo big of files, they wont open:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
cool drawings! good idea...

about grounding:
Thems fighting words...there are a few very different ways, VERY different and the proponents of each get HEATED about it...r.a.p. used to have threads for days in fighting about grounding

personally I like to NOT buss ground the patchbays, and take off the ground of balanced inputs at the patchbay... on the side of stuff that IS grounded, I try to run big buss wires to one spot, then out of the room from there...but theres so many good solutions
 
Great drawings Rick! Where did you get the wall graphic thing? It looks like something that came out of a store. I bet it works great though for changing the acoustics of your room. Working it in as a cable trough was right on too. I love seeing how those with shallow pockets (me included) get around problems that arise. I'm storing all these great ideas and will use them will my pockets expand or my kids get a life instead of using mine. :-)

Here is another way of doing a patching layout. It's an Excel file that I did a couple of months ago for Wes 480 when he asked about laying out his equipment to a patchbay. He mentioned he had a Soundcraft M12 mixer, an Aardvark Q10, a couple of compressors, and a couple of mic preamps. He also has a keyboard. It was all hooked into 3 patchbays and an XLR panel that allows him to connect mics/instruments from the patchbay directly into the Q10. It could be dropped if needed.

**The file was too big to post so I zipped it up.
 

Attachments

Rick - VERY inovative idea on the cable run doubling as a graphic.
It looks cool too!

Yesterday they started laying out and forming up the cable troughs for my place. I need to check them for proper placement and dimensions, but its sooo damn cold out! 38 degrees f this morning, and windy. Yesterday it was 77!
I'll check them before the pour though.
 
when I converted it from .dwg to visio
Click to expand...
Do you use Visio as well? Why did you have to convert from the .dwg format to .vis? Do you edit in Visio?

I'm just curious. I've never met anothor Visio user. I used it to design and build my room. Everything from floor and wall construction to wiring and routing, to sectional details. It's a great program.

I also used it to make up my track sheets and several other smaller projects.

Merry Christmas.;)
 
Hi guys, thanks for the comments. Hey Mike, it looks like its from a store cause it is.:D The silver stuff is slatwall. I design for MACYS. I am a detailer(draftsman) for a large store fixture manufacturer. We build everything you see inside macys. All over the states. And I didn't buy it. I built it. I build everything in my studio including my console. Most of the time I post this kind of stuff on the Building forum. Take a look there under "Think yours is small" Ha! I'm trying to show what you can do in a REALLY small space. My current setup is in a 9' x 11' bedroom. But not for long. I'll be moving soon. BTW, how do you open your file? Or unzip it(I'm a dunce sometimes:rolleyes: )
Hello Michael, thanks very much., Actually, thats only the backdrop for the actual graphic. I should be hanging them soon. They are almost done. They are a mirror image of each other for the sidewalls. Its made of colored plex with lights and aluminum extrusions to match the ceiling diffuser I'm building. I'll post a pic in the building forum as soon as I finish them. Heres the design. Kind of. The actual graphic is much more complex than the drawing. This just shows the overall. Not details.
http://home.rcsis.com/beachchic/osage3.jpg>
The cable trough is the bar in the middle. Theres one at each side of the room as the graphics are mirror imaged. Actually, I don't think they do anything for the acoustics but there are parts of the ceiling graphic/diffuser/absorber that are fabric wrapped 703
but their not done yet either. Damn, the more I build the smaller this room gets:eek:
fitz:)
 
Hi Sennheiser! Well, I draw in autocad. In order to post it here, it has to be a .jpg for it to come out like it really looks. A .gif looks like shit. So I export it as a metafile, open it in visio, scale it, save it as a .jpg and upload it to my wifes ebay server. What a convoluted process, but its all I can do for now. Sucks.:D I don't have the time to learn another program. Crap, thats just one more thing to take away from recording and playin geetar:(. Building is bad enough. Hey senn(damn, too many Michaels here) I just posted a pic of my TAPE MACHINE cabinet, as I just finished installing and wiring the second MSR. Thought you might be interested as you are an ANALOG guy like me!! Its in the building forum a few days ago.
fitz:D
 
Sounds good. I'll go have a look.

I've never used or even looked at an AutoCad program. Is it one of the programs that has a pad hooked to the CPU that you use to select different shapes, lines, and other drawing tools from with your fingers?

Oh, someone just picked up a very nice Tascam synch set-up on e-bay for $300 "BIN". Came with everything and was is excellent condition. Came with the rack mount sync box, slave unit and all cables.
 
I've been using Visio and it's pretty cool for simple sketches. I'm working on a console design with it right now and will hopefully build it over the holidays. I wish I had gotten the pro version with more of the real cad functions but even the room design tools work for doing mechanical drawings.
 
Well jas, sorry your thread has become this:eek: It happens to the best of em:D I plead guilty of thread theft:) Sorry!

Hey Senn, you home today? Merry Christmas and all that stuff to ya!!
Yea, thats the program. You can do everything from the screen. But I use different command lisps. Its quicker. Autocad is TOOOOOOOO cool. Much more comprehensive than Visio. But a GIANT learning curve. Once you learn the simple commands though, it becomes very intuitive to draw. Expensive though(got mine through work cause thats what I do.)
As to the synch, I bet that was a ES500 or something to that effect. I use a MTS-1000 "MIDIIZER". Holy you know what. Talk about a learning curve:eek: I think you could fly the shuttle remote control from this:D Havn't even scratched the surface yet. Hmmmm, all I started out to do was record a little guitar. Ha!!!! You know how this hobby is. Once your hooked, everything else takes a back seat!
fitz:)
 
Not a problem. I have learned so much from all of these great replies.

My studio is a converted one and a half car garage and as soon as spring hits I'm going to sound proof it and then dry wall it. Because it's to darn cold and uncomfortable to spend hours of quality time in.

I have three patch bays in my rack and for the most part are pretty reliable but my keyboards were getting a very unfavorable hiss and I now know that's do to grounding problems. I guess I am experimenting with everything (software, setup, midi, daw) until I can officially call it my working studio.

Are there any books or magazines that I could check out for more info?

Thanks!
 
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