Patchbay Routing Question

[Scinx]

I am an absolute dope when it comes to using patchbays. Never have used them before...just dealt with repatching, etc. But I'm wondering if I can streamline my inefficient process.

Here is my question:

I want to be able to:
(1) record a signal into a mic, thru the preamp, and to my hard disk recorder.
(2) Do #1, yet intercept the signal post pre, send it to compressor, and then to HD recorder
(3) Do #2, yet intercept the signal post compressor, sent it to delay unit, and then to HD recorder
So on and so forth.

Essentially I'd like to be able to have the signal go straight from the pre to HD, or be able to connect 1, or 2, or 3 pieces of outboard to the signal, and then have it get to the HD Recorder. Even better, I'd like to be able to determine the order of the outboard as the signal passes between pre & HD Recorder.

Is this something that a patchbay can do?

 

[altitude909]

Yes, it can. The best approach will be a half-normalled or normalled connections (depending on how flexible you want to be), we will call the top row in back A and the bottom row in back B: your PRE will be connected to A (the input) and B will the connected to the recorder (the output). Your effects/dynamics should be connected with thru connections (no routing, just straight thru). With normalled connections, with nothing connected to the front A will route to B and when you connect something, it will interupt the signal from A to B so all you need to hook an insert is to patch the inputs and outputs on the front panel to the effect or processer. With Half normalled connections, patching to the A channel will send the signal out but still have the A connected to B internally so you are effectively tapping the signal but still maintaining the connection to the recorder. This would be useful for recording the track dry and having another track recorded wet

Here is a link with diagrams
http://www.prosoundweb.com/studyhall/ab/patch/patch.php

 

[Scinx]

Say I have a compressor tapped into the second row of connections, which will be denoted by a .2 - denormalled. (Compressor hooked into Back(A.2) and Back(B.2). When you patch from Front(A.1) to Front(B.2) [which sends the mic signal to the compressor], how does the signal get from there, back to the recorder? Would you connect the Front(A.2) to the Front(B.1)?

 

[Scinx]

bump.
maybe I should have posted this in The Rack...

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Say I have a compressor tapped into the second row of connections, which will be denoted by a .2 - denormalled. (Compressor hooked into Back(A.2) and Back(B.2). When you patch from Front(A.1) to Front(B.2) [which sends the mic signal to the compressor], how does the signal get from there, back to the recorder? Would you connect the Front(A.2) to the Front(B.1)?

I don't think it's so much that you posted in the wrong forum (though the Rack forum would be a good one), I think it's a combination of your question not being very understandable, and it being posted during a holiday week .

If you are using a normalled or half-normalled rounting configuration, the rear of the patch bay is where you wire in a basic signal chain of gear. The front of the patch bay acts like a series of insert points along the signal chain. inserting a patch into the front will either tap off of the rear signal path or it will redirect the signal path out the front, depending on whether your full or half normalled. In such a case, you'd simply have your recorder at the end of the signal chain on the back of the patch bay.

If you're running an isolated configuration, then there is no default signal path through the patch bay; you'd basically create the signal path by patching from device to device via the front panel. In such a case, you'd have to run a patch cord from the output of the compressor on the front of the patch bay to the input of the recorder on the patch bay.

G.