Is your studio all wired up??

[sweetbeats]

If yes, then count your #*%$& blessings.

I've been limping on jury-rigged connections and/or partial and no connections and I decided its time to finally get the custom snakes I made months ago into place and finally get the Tascam M-__, Ampex MM-1000, 3M M-64, DAW setup and about 20U of outboard gear all interconnected.

PITA.

It doesn't help that my studio is small, and my gear is big. This is no surprise to me but being twisted into contortions and breaking a sweat to plug stuff up is a stark reminder of my choices.

I'm really good looking at the back of the mixer with a mirror and hooking stuff up that way now; done it enough.

The big challenge in all this is working through the logic of how to get the analog and digital realms logically interfaced at the Tascam mixer in such a way as to minimize any re-patching. It's a 12 channel mixer, so there are some limitations as far as trying to meet that goal with all the stuff. I've worked it out so I have the 8 group outs connected to the Ampex (balanced via two Tascam LA-40mkIIs), and also to 8 DAW inputs (there are two parallel outs per group), and 8 returns from the DAW to channel 1~8 LINE 1 inputs and 8 returns from the Ampex to the channel 1~8 LINE 2 inputs. The MIC, LINE 1 and LINE 2 inputs all have separate trim knobs on each strip and can be simultaneously accessed in a number of different ways individually and via programmable group source switching, so that's nice. Then I've got the remaining 8 line inputs (LINE 1 and LINE 2 on channels 9~12) patched to various sources including two outboard instrument pres, the stereo out of a guitar effects pedal board, the output of my spring reverb, a couple more DAW outputs (intended as effects returns), and the DAW master stereo output (via a foldback from one of the "EXTRA" inputs in the master section). All that stuff is patched via a Neutrik patchbay. The 3M deck is in there as well but a little differently since it goes straight to the mixer first. It's really been a brain-bender and it doesn't help that it's been months since I last put thought into this so I'm having to try and retrace my steps as far as how I labeled the patchbay (but stuff wasn't hooked into it yet...trying to remember what I was thinking at times).

I'm sure I'll change things up a but as I start working with it, but there are things the kids are wanting to do and I'm tired of having to say "we'll get there...it's just not all quite hooked up yet."

It's been a crazy couple years.

Anyway, for those of you that are well past this stage of getting everything interfaced, and/or to those of you that have a nice straight-ahead setup, I'm envious.

 

[Track Rat]

You mean like this?

 

[ecc83]

For those of you contemplating this task, look at this cable..
PP3746 - PRO POWER - CABLE MICROPHONE 3MM BLACK 100M | CPC

It is very easy to terminate having a foil shield (better RF proofing than braid) and drain wire, being just 3mm diameter, bundles of it are not so hard to manage. Cheap too!

You can also save money on jack plugs. Get the plastic cased variety for line conns and use heatshrink sleeving to beef up the cable retainer.

Naturally I do not suggest such economies for "free" mic leads or stage work but for behind the rack statics? Fine and electronically just as good.

Dave.

 

[mdainsd]

I wish I was done! Heck I wish I was done starting over (again).

I spent a good amount of time doodling around with it in bits and pieces on paper to see if what I was thinking made sense and would actual do what I want it to all do in the end. Then about a year ago I decided to ditch the consoles I had and get a "real" one. That of course had a major impact on what I had gotten done so far, so back to the soldering iron. This time though, I did the risers for the consoles to have both rack space and casters. All the snakes are routed off the back and long enough that if I need to access the back of the console (and I do with some regularity) I just move my chair, and pull it out from its spot to the middle of the room where I can get to everything. Im happy I made that effort.

I started knowing that I wanted decent patching capability. So first round, 1/4" trs patch fields. Mmmm Ok, those things sure use up a lot or rack or equipment space. So now Im onto my second re-configuration of TT patchbays (first try didnt work out). In studio rev A, I thought that since I always used certain channel strips for say the drums, I had just hardwired those channels each to their own gate and compressor and back. Quick and easy until you want to make a change, Arggg. But going over board with patch points has its own pitfalls. More and more cabling, and every single patch point is a problem waiting to happen...

Im am now just about to the end of my second 5000' reel of Beldon twisted shielded pair. I hate not being done, but it adds up to hundreds if not thousands of hours of work, and I have a life that I like to peruse outside of the studio.

 

[Beck]

I recently moved, so I've just begun... again... and I've lost count how many times I've done this, but each studio is different. I'm starting over as far as studio furniture because I didn't want to move it. I've got tables and shelves to build, and miles of wire and cable to run. I'm putting it off big time... just sitting here staring in disbelief of all I have to do. The older I get the more the thought enters my mind that I might not live long enough to set everything up one of these times. And each time I keep adding more stuff and making it more complicated.

 

[ecc83]

Y'know? Were I not in part time employment and too old and creaky I would LOVE to wire up a studio!

20yrs ago when I was first made redundant I would have done the job for nearly free (a bed, 3 squares and some beer money and I don't even drink these days!) .

I am never happier when making cables and stuff.

Dave

 

[miroslav]

....twisted into contortions and breaking a sweat to plug stuff up is a stark reminder of my choices.

I'm really good looking at the back of the mixer with a mirror and hooking stuff up that way now; done it enough.

I know your pain.
The last studio setup I had was in a very small room, full of gear, so I didn't have the luxury of leaving walk-around space behind the racks/console.

When I moved back in '99...I wanted my new space (which was also substantially larger) not to have the problem...but I still didn't have the luxury of leaving walk-around space behind the gear.
So...I built all my own racks and console desktop with attached racks on each side, and put everything on heavy-duty wheels.
Then when I wired up the gear, I left just enough slack in the snakes to allow about 2-3 feet of movement away from the walls. So now if I need to get behind the majority of my gear, the hardest part is pulling the racks or desk/console away from the wall. The furniture with all the gear is not light, but not that hard to pull out either.

Since the gear is in an L-shaped configuration....console & racks in front of me, and two tall racks & tape decks to the right of me...I still had run the snakes from the gear on the right side, over to the patchbays, which sit in a rack on the side of the console....so I ran a vinyl roof gutter along the wall and dropped all the snakes/cables in there, with power lines for the racks, on the floor about 2 feet below, that way audio and power are not mixed up at any point.
There's still the corner area of that L-shaped configuration that has all my synchronizations and MIDI gear in it above, and below that on the floor are all my power supplies....so sometimes getting at those wires is a bit of an acrobatic maneuver, but I've learned to leave myslef a way in, and I don't have a lot of need to get behind there, unless I'm adding something or reconfiguring the setup....
....so the studio is all wired, and has been pretty much from the day I set it up. Only when a new piece is added, do I need to get behind the gear or when I'm really bored and decide it's contact-cleaning day.

Key point:
Number/lable every snake/cable/connection, and then write everything down, to include every patchbay connection w/number of snake/cable going to it. Also draw as many diagrams as needed for clarity to support the cable connection notes.
You will be gald you did....many times over.

 

[Blue Jinn]

I just had some work done on my house and hurriedly had to move stuff out of the way, which meant pulling patch bays out of a rack and laying them next to a desk. I just spent some time labeling everything last night "A" 1-8 B "45-46, like a bingo game to get where I can I hope not spend too much time behind the console redoing everything....

 

[sweetbeats]

I know your pain.
The last studio setup I had was in a very small room, full of gear, so I didn't have the luxury of leaving walk-around space behind the racks/console.

When I moved back in '99...I wanted my new space (which was also substantially larger) not to have the problem...but I still didn't have the luxury of leaving walk-around space behind the gear.
So...I built all my own racks and console desktop with attached racks on each side, and put everything on heavy-duty wheels.
Then when I wired up the gear, I left just enough slack in the snakes to allow about 2-3 feet of movement away from the walls. So now if I need to get behind the majority of my gear, the hardest part is pulling the racks or desk/console away from the wall. The furniture with all the gear is not light, but not that hard to pull out either.

Since the gear is in an L-shaped configuration....console & racks in front of me, and two tall racks & tape decks to the right of me...I still had run the snakes from the gear on the right side, over to the patchbays, which sit in a rack on the side of the console....so I ran a vinyl roof gutter along the wall and dropped all the snakes/cables in there, with power lines for the racks, on the floor about 2 feet below, that way audio and power are not mixed up at any point.
There's still the corner area of that L-shaped configuration that has all my synchronizations and MIDI gear in it above, and below that on the floor are all my power supplies....so sometimes getting at those wires is a bit of an acrobatic maneuver, but I've learned to leave myslef a way in, and I don't have a lot of need to get behind there, unless I'm adding something or reconfiguring the setup....
....so the studio is all wired, and has been pretty much from the day I set it up. Only when a new piece is added, do I need to get behind the gear or when I'm really bored and decide it's contact-cleaning day.

Key point:
Number/lable every snake/cable/connection, and then write everything down, to include every patchbay connection w/number of snake/cable going to it. Also draw as many diagrams as needed for clarity to support the cable connection notes.
You will be gald you did....many times over.

I can identify with so many of the things being stated in all the reply posts. I'm glad I'm not the only one who clutters up scratch paper with cryptic lists, notes and diagrams trying to plan stuff out.

I love idea above with the vinyl gutter to separate power and audio runs. That was a whole separate part of my planning was where to put the power distribution so I could try as keep those runs separate. The gutter is a great idea.

At heart I'm such a neatnik and the unavoidable cluster mess of different lengths and types of cables "behind the scenes" bothers me but it really is unavoidable. I at least thread cabling so it isn't tangled A&D can be moved/changed/extracted relatively painlessly.

I have my gear in a mix of SKB racks on the floor under the mixer table and the rest of the furniture is some Scandinavian modular office workstation furniture that's about 15 or so years old...good stuff, works well and the center piece support structure is actually well-suited for cable support and guiding.

Once things are hooked up I really should have little need to get behind the mixer, which is good since the entire area under the table is packed solid with the aforementioned racks and my bass combo.

I'm already making bizarre scratch sheets to start mapping and planning the MCI console's TT patchfield. Incorporating that console will mean a complete changeover of everything since it isn't a connectorized desk but uses punch panels.

Focus...fohhhhhhhhhhcussssss.

 

[miroslav]

I was in Home Depot one day getting some gutter clamps to fix some sagging aluminum gutters on my house....and that's what I had the EUREKA! moment as I stood there looking at the white vinyl gutters.
All of a sudden I had an easy/neat solution for the cable runs...and I could screw the gutter up higher off the ground, which meant I could run my power lines on the floor below.
Perfect!

You will be surprised at how many 24-channel snakes you can fit into one gutter.

I wasn't a crazy-neat as you are (looking at the pic with the wiring you did on the mixer)....but I was pretty neat.
I've done the crazy-neat thing in the past, and sometimes it was a mistake making all the cable runs perfect in length, and tie-wrapped to the point of insanity.......because when I needed to get in there an make a change or swap out some pieces in a rack....I had to undo my overly neat wiring, and sometimes the exactness of the cable run lenghts forced me to redo stuff. Try pulling out one bad cable from the pile when it's tie-wrapped every few inches.

So....I keep it neat, but now I leave thing a lot more loose, and I also don't go nuts with tie-wrapping every few inches.
I just do enough tie-wrps so the cable runs are secure and clean, but also with some play and the ablity to seperate them appart withtou a lot of work if needed.

 

[sweetbeats]

I meant to attach this earlier...

 

[Ignatius-]

It's funny, I'm at this exact point right now too and I feel your guys' pain... I've been putting off upgrading all my cabling for a while now (I'm gonna do it, I swear!). It's just so expensive to do it all at once! And I seem to buy more gear or microphones or reel to reels instead . Anyway, I only have like 12 total RCA>1/4" cables (all Radioshack ), so I constantly have to switch around cables on the back of my main tracking R2R (I switched from an all RCA ins/outs mixer, so I had to ditch like 30 RCA>RCA cables ). Anyway, just thought I'd share...

 

[sweetbeats]

It's funny, I'm at this exact point right now too and I feel your guys' pain... I've been putting off upgrading all my cabling for a while now (I'm gonna do it, I swear!). It's just so expensive to do it all at once! And I seem to buy more gear or microphones or reel to reels instead . Anyway, I only have like 12 total RCA>1/4" cables (all Radioshack ), so I constantly have to switch around cables on the back of my main tracking R2R (I switched from an all RCA ins/outs mixer, so I had to ditch like 30 RCA>RCA cables ). Anyway, just thought I'd share...

I have a number of RCA to 1/4" TS 8channel snakes I'd sell for cheap. PM me if interested.

 

[technoplayer]

Last year or two I have been refining my setup/selling stuff/ acquiring small bits.
When I went to set up my racks from scratch, I started by getting it all down on paper. I work on a CAD system and am have an "E" size color plotter and film laminator in the office.
I have pictorially drew my entire system with all thecomponents. ins/outs/ patchbays/routings/etc and have whatever color code in on the end of each cable shown on the print. You have no idea how often I references this when trying to sort out signal routings...and I have what may be a relatively simple system. Document Document Document

 

[ashcat_lt]

I recently got rid of the eight foot rack (replaced by a PC ), but for a while back in the day I had a intranet web page where you could go, choose which output you wanted to plug to which input, and it would tell you which patch points on which patchbay needed to be connected.

 

[miroslav]

I recently got rid of the eight foot rack (replaced by a PC ....

 

[sweetbeats]

Finished converting 8 channels of one end of a 16 channel snake from TRS to XLR-F and plugging it up. The Ampex MM-1000 is officially hooked up to the Tascam M-__.

Just have a 12-channel TRS to RCA snake to plug up between the mixer master module and the patchbay.

 

[Mo Facta]

My studio is also in need of a re-wire. Last time I did it I hand soldered FIVE D-Sub25 to TRS snakes because I was too cheap to buy the $500 worth of pre-made snakes. I had (have) miles and miles of cable left over with a mountain of connectors so I thought, eh, what the hell?

WHAT THE HELL (WAS I THINKING)???

Needless to say, they actually worked without any re-soldering and because I was meticulous, I got the pinouts right first time. MISSION, though.

So I finally bought a few DSUB to TRS snakes, which cleaned things up a little. Now there are a few low-level buzzes creeping their way into the system so once I'm done with the current album I'm busy on I'll have to tear it all down and start fresh again. Luckily I got a 16 channel multicore snake that I intend on using as my main TRS snake to the patchbay from the console. That combined with the neat and new DSUB snakes will clean things up a little. BTW, if you need DSUB snakes, check out the Hosa brand. Well made, robust cabling for a really good price.

Once the main analogue connections are done it's a matter of wiring up my rack. I'm actually planning on getting a road case custom made where I can house my computer and rack units with minimal cabling in and out. Everything will stay perma-wired and therefore minimize handling and breakage.

Cheers

 

[Muckelroy]

You could go wireless.

 

[mdainsd]

This thread is timely. Im in the thick of the wiring re/re-do. Too freaking much and I may be over doing it.For twenty-four channels of the board dedicated to the tape machine, I have every strip's send and return (which are balanced so require twice as many runs :-( ) going to a rack where each one goes to a patch field, then 24 gates and 24 compressors. the mastering or stereo processing has its own rack, but fortunately its far less wiring and patching. Then there is a rack for alternate media input and output. That ones causing some head scratching while thinking out what I want it to do (there is mono, stereo, four track and eight track stuff in there). Another small rack for amps, eqs and switching for monitor speakers for control room and live room. And finally a mini rack that houses power monitoring, loudness meters and of all thing a phono pre-amp.