will a patch bay work?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jason M Hancock
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J

Jason M Hancock

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So, this will seem incredibly basic to anyone with real experience in a real studio:

I don't like the idea of constantly plugging/unplugging cables between my CD-R, my multitracker, and my monitors just so I can run sound through the monitors first from one source and then from the other.

Would a patch bay allow me to keep everything plugged into it and then just use patch cables on the unit to route the signal to the monitors from whichever source needed?

This seems to me more desirable as it would save the wear and tear on the inputs of the other equipment. Just not sure whether it would work.

Thanks!

Jason
 
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See above icon!

Check out the line of Neutrik patchbays!
 
icon?

Sorry, Misterqcue, but I'm not seeing the icon...is it a link to Neutrik?

Thanks!
 
Bwah ha ha hah.......Thats funny!

Sorry, but my icons were turned off once too.

Mr.Q basically said yes.thats what patchbays are for... and go find the link yourself!


I don't have one though, used to use one but I haven't need one with my latest setup.

Peace,
Dennis
 
Absolutely. As soon as you get to the point of having more than 5 or 6 pieces of equipment, a patchbay becomes useful. When you get to having 10 or 15 pieces of gear (counting DAWs, tape recorders, mixers, monitor amps...), a patchbay becomes _essential_.

Good patchbays allow you to set up a "normal" connection of your gear: think "default". By using the normalling capability built inot the bays, you can set up a default configuration: mixer outs go to monitor amp ins, mixer channel direct outs go to multitrack record inputs, and so on. If you plan it well, and think about that you really need for the default behaviors, you can have it set up so that the sutdio is completely ready to track (for example) with no patch cables plugged into the front of the bay.

If you do the planning part right, the only time you really need a patch cable is when you need to set up an _exception_ to the default patch- like putting an effect on an insert, or redirecting the main mix from your CD burner to a cassette machine (for a work tape).

Here's a long thread from last year where a lot of us got into patchbay design, setup, and terminology:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25365

Hope that helps...
 
A good mixer with lots of inputs and outputs is more likely what you need.

Everything in my studio goes through the mixer at one point or another.

The computer also dose this somewhat too, right now I have a delta 44 but I think I'm going to get a 1010lt soon.
 
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