Patchbay clarification and revelation(correct me if i'm wrong)

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Rocket Boy

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I've started to realize why Patchbays are important... and why I'm going to very soon going to need more than one. I just wanted to ask here so someone could clarify and let me know if my use is correct.

The main point of using the patchbay from what I can tell is... Let's say I have 8 input channels on my recorded... eight preamps... and various eq's, effects, compressors. Sometimes I may want a certain compressor or EQ and sometimes I wont... so I can patch my preamp output to my compressor to my soundcard input... or put the eq in there or an effect in there with just an extra patch... and if i want i can take any or all of those out of my signal chain and just patch the pre directly to the soundcard.

This is also why, even on a not huge setup... I'm going to need more than one patchbay in short order. Since every input and output needs it's own channel pair... so if i wanted to do that on every channel even with just 8 inputs and 8 outputs without any compressors or anything I'm up to 32... Or is there a way to use my Patchbay so that this isnt nessecary that I'm not undestanding?

Am I correct in everything I'm thinking? I guess I need more gear to make sure :-D
 
Rocket Boy said:
I've started to realize why Patchbays are important... and why I'm going to very soon going to need more than one. I just wanted to ask here so someone could clarify and let me know if my use is correct.

The main point of using the patchbay from what I can tell is... Let's say I have 8 input channels on my recorded... eight preamps... and various eq's, effects, compressors. Sometimes I may want a certain compressor or EQ and sometimes I wont... so I can patch my preamp output to my compressor to my soundcard input... or put the eq in there or an effect in there with just an extra patch... and if i want i can take any or all of those out of my signal chain and just patch the pre directly to the soundcard.

This is also why, even on a not huge setup... I'm going to need more than one patchbay in short order. Am I correct in everything I'm thinking? I guess I need more gear to make sure :-D
Click to expand...
Short answer: Pretty much, yeah.

Slightly longer answer: Patchbays are really convenient, but they are another expense. For every input and output of your gear you want to connect to the bay(s), you'll need a cable. And then there are the patch cables for the front. You can never have enough of those. And there's also the task of actually assigning patch points and hooking it all up.

In the long run, though, it's really worth it. There are times when it can by bypassed, too, and that's fine. But once you get the G.A.S.*, a patchbay pretty much becomes a necessity.

IMO, YMMV, etc...........

*Gear Acquisition Syndrome
 
Okay, but me saying I would need 32 channels was incorrect... right? I only need 16 to do it this way... Because I realized if I'm in Half-Normalled... I have my eight preamps hooked above my eight channel inputs in the back of my patchbay. And then patch my compressor or whatever in the middle of that just by patching the top front to the input of my compressor or whatever and then back to the bottom to go back into my souncard. I can take the compressor out, simply by removing those patch cables. Or I can add more in by sending that compressor output to something else....

It's all coming together...
 
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Rocket Boy said:
Okay, but me saying I would need 32 tracks was incorrect... right? I only need 16 to do it this way... Because I realized if I'm in Half-Normalled... I have my eight preamps hooked above my eight channel inputs in the back of my patchbay. And then patch my compressor or whatever in the middle of that just by patching the top front to the input of my compressor or whatever and then back to the bottom to go back into my souncard. I can take the compressor out, simply by removing those patch cables. Or I can add more in by sending that compressor output to something else....

It's all coming together...
Click to expand...
First of all let's not confuse a track (recorded audio) with a channel (signal path).

Second of all I, and others here I'm sure, need to know more about your set-up. What's your gear and how have you been using it?
 
If you want to have the ability to run everything through your patchbay, you need a patch point for every input and every output of each piece of gear you have, including your mixer. Usually you won't actually run every single routing option of your mixer through your patchbay, so you can economize a bit there.

The exception would be mic preamps - where you might want to keep your inputs as XLR connections.

The convenience factor is not a small one. Theoretically, you could have your equipment racked up in such a way that it becomes almost impossible to access the inputs and outputs - but with a patchbay you won't need ever worry about accessing those hard to reach jacks.

But there is an additional advantage to using a patchbay. In a half-normalled configuration, you can "mult" or split a signal - sending it to two seperate destinations. There are many scenarios where this can be very useful.
 
Sorry for getting my terms mixed up... I was sort of just putting it out there as I was thinking so that it would sink in. I think I'm finally understanding why this is such an important piece of gear. It will obviously become alot more usefull as I collect more outboard gear over the next few months.
 
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