Patchbay Navigator Requested.

[hunterchristy]

Folks, I need some help. My outboard setup grew like a weed this year (ebay is addictive, no?) and I just got two patch bays, and am trying to get everything wired up in a logical way. And i'm failing terribly. Does anyone have any advice?



also, I *just* purchased a Hosa XLR patch bay so that I can have all of the rear XLR's to the Saffire's hooked up, and then will just do a 1/4" to XLR patch cable for getting sends back in...or is that stupid? This is why I need help!



If anyone has any advice, i'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

[brew]

What is the specific problem you're having? I don't understand your question about the XLR patch because I don't know what's on the back of it.

How many mics do you record at once? You might want to dedicate some Saffire line in's (TRS) to the patch instead of the XLR mics, because if you use a different pre, you don't want to patch it into the Saffire pre as well.

Otherwise, put outputs on the top and inputs on the bottom, that's about it. Take advantage of normals like the Saffire main outs to speakers. Or you don't need to put those on and just wire it directly. You could even normal the other outboard pre's to the Saffire line inputs on the patch. Make a spreadsheet with all the IO listed, then draw it out to look like a patch and move things around in the document till you find something that works.

[hunterchristy]

a spreadsheet is a good idea.

and i suppose the max number of mic's I'm doing at once is 14.

i def see your point about outboard pre's. I'd love to get some, and haven't yet.

in terms of the xlr patch, it's more of a pass-through. it has XLR female on the front, and xlr male on the back, essentially allowing me to have those hooked up to the corresponding Saffire in's and still utilize phantom power, etc, and I'd just be able to plug mic to the front of the Hosa, rather than always reaching behind the rack.

thank you for the feedback. I guess my biggest problem is it's a lot of ins and outs, and to just look at it all at once seems to be like a massive amount of confusion. more outputs than inputs, etc.

i guess more specific questions would be:
1. should i have compressors stacked over the other effects for normaling?
or
2. should i have them running back into line inputs.
3. will there be a negative impact of using a 1/4" to XLR cable through the Hosa patch, rather than just having the whole signal chain be 1/4"? (i was under the assumption that whether you plugged in 1/4" or XLR, it all went through the Saffire's preamp's anyway.)

[brew]

I suggest downloading an SSL or API manual and seeing how their patch bays are laid out for an idea.

1. Should i have compressors stacked over the other effects for normaling?

This is not common practice, but if you work that way all the time it's fine to do.

2. should i have them running back into line inputs.

It's more typical to have insert effects not normalled, just available on top of themselves ready to be patched. It's also not standard to normal a compressor to a converter input, but for a personal setup anything goes. The only effects that usually get normaled to a console are send effects and returns or a main bus compressor.

3. will there be a negative impact of using a 1/4" to XLR cable through the Hosa patch, rather than just having the whole signal chain be 1/4"? (i was under the assumption that whether you plugged in 1/4" or XLR, it all went through the Saffire's preamp's anyway.)

No, cables are the same, the connector doesn't make a cable. It would be better to refer to them as TRS, TS, or XLR. 1/4" doesn't tell one anything about it being balanced or not. A TRS and an XLR are the same with just different ends.

You'd have to look into Focusrite's documentation to confirm the mic/line thing, but that's usually how it works. Afterall, one would not want phantom power traveling down a TRS cable if you were using an outboard pre or effect! Phantom doesn't usually go down a TRS because it would be easy to zap yourself. Thus TRS combo jacks are usually dedicated line level.

[ott0bot]

good info here so far.

we were just talking about this on another thread:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... d058073e1b

[hunterchristy]

It would be better to refer to them as TRS, TS, or XLR. 1/4" doesn't tell one anything about it being balanced or not. A TRS and an XLR are the same with just different ends.

You'd have to look into Focusrite's documentation to confirm the mic/line thing, but that's usually how it works. Afterall, one would not want phantom power traveling down a TRS cable if you were using an outboard pre or effect! Phantom doesn't usually go down a TRS because it would be easy to zap yourself. Thus TRS combo jacks are usually dedicated line level.

This is all great info. Thank you, so much. I'll do a bit more research and ask more dumb questions.

we were just talking about this on another thread:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... d058073e1b

That's a great thread too! Thank you for the heads up! I'll keep an eye on this thread too.