Console Install

[cgarges]

For those of you who have gone through a console install, or more importantly, a console swap, what did you learn from the experience and what would you have done differently? Were there any particularly slick or smart things that you did that made it all go smoother? What was your time frame like for purchase, install, getting rid of the old console, etc? Were there any surprises?

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Professor]

Guess it depends on the kind of console and the level of install & swap.
I felt pretty comfortable with my skills of studio design, prep work, and installation before going into the school studio install. I researched the gear choices, researched alternatives, fretted & worried about what decisions were right & wrong, arrived at final decisions, researched some more, revised the decisions, and so on. Once I had a pretty good handle on the gear and how I hoped to integrate it all, I dove into the individual pieces in more detail (hooray for downloadable manuals) especially as regards the I/O connectivity so that I could order up the cabling (bulk & custom-built), plan the patchbay, plan the furniture, etc.
I recall hitting an interesting snag with the Yamaha DM-2000 when I saw in the manual that the Mic/Line inputs were not switched on the front panel but rather were normalled at the 1/4" jack for the line input. That meant I couldn't have an XLR mic input and a 1/4" line input cabled to the patchbay for the same channel. That was a huge issue since I expected many sessions would use lots of mic inputs and I was told to expect lots and lots of electronic music, and it is a large reason why I pushed from one DM-2000 to two consoles in tandem. And of course, that decision meant reconfiguring the budget, the desk, the cabling, and so much other stuff. And I really wanted to order things to arrive sequentially, so I ordered furniture, then cabling, then primary gear, then accessory gear.
The other really weird issue that I hadn't counted on with a digital console, is that the outputs are soft. I mean, I know that's the case, and that's part of why we choose those kinds of systems, but I hadn't expected how that would make normalling a patchbay seem really bizarre. I didn't know how I was going to use the console on a day-to-day basis - would I track more or mix? acoustic or electronic? mix in stereo or surround? I knew I needed to be prepared for everything, but I also wanted a normalled patchbay, and couldn't really do that when the "Omni Outputs" could be auxes, busses, control room speakers, analog direct outs, or a host of other software assignments (literally anything on the board). The solution was to just pick one setup and go with it, then plan to rearrange as necessary. The first rearrangement of the patchbay came after about 6 months, and it effected almost every patchpoint, but it pretty minor ways, like removing a normal, or moving 8 channels of output 12 spaces to the right and stuff like that. The most recent was this time last year, and was just sort of a periodic repatch based on how I'd been working the last couple years.


So yeah, if I recall correctly, you're on an analog board, and I'm guessing you're moving to a new analog board?
If so then the transition should come down to whether or not you'll keep the old infrastructure or not, and how much needs to be added or can be taken away. If all the snakes & patchbays are being replaced, then it's just like starting new. If the patchbays are hardwired vs. terminals, then now would be about the time you would regret that call.

So what kind of transformation do you have in mind?

-Jeremy

[cgarges]

Yeah, I'm not really asking about choosing a console, but more about the actual ripping out old stuff and dropping in new stuff. The mechanical end of the planning seems sort of straightforward. I'm just curious about what sort of unforseen things might come up. Issues, expenses, time-consuming elements, etc.

And yeah, I'm mostly curious about a "getting rid of the old console, putting in a new old console" scenario.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Professor]

Most obvious one to me is the cabling.
There are always lots of little things that can go wrong in that area. I figure you would account for moving from say, a 24-input console to a 40-input console. But if any of the cables are kinda short and the respective connections on the replacement aren't in quite the same location. Then you suddenly might have to replace more cabling than you had planned, and if the materials aren't on-hand, then there goes some time. I ran into that a lot when I was doing pro installation. And it's not always just at the console end. Moving from 24ch to 40ch means more patch points, which may mean one or two more patchbays, which may mean that one or two patchbays need to move up or down in the equipment racks, and things may be pulled a little more snug on one or two pieces of gear.

-J

[djimbe]

Yeah, cabling for sure, but also the connections on the consoles in question. We went from an Amek BIG to and MCI 636 in 2006. The Amek patchbay had ELCO's, the MCI's are Tuchel. The 'bay on the MCI is bigger and we have more outboard than when we started with the BIG, and the bay on the MCI is on the other side of the desk, so all of the cables had to be at least 8 feet longer. Add all this to the fact that we took a shutdown to install the board, it arrived a few days later than planned, and we didn't want to cancel a session for some out of towners after what we planned for commissioning. This all made for a bit of a rush.

We got as much information on the MCI Tuchel connections as possible (i.e. which points are on which Tuchel and their wiring detail) and we got some spare Tuchels before we took delivery of the desk. Cable changes started taking place before the desk hit our place. We basically had to change just about every connection to our gear, which was some 700+ points. It was a solder party for 3 or 4 days. We only got 5 points wrong when we rang it all out at the end of those days. So planning is big, especially if you are contemplating changes to the layout of the gear in your racks (like we did). So is having spare muti-pair and XLR's or whatever you need for hooking to your gear.

What did we screw up? We blew a golden chance to change the carpet in the control room and do other cosmetic and wall patching type jobs before the desk hit the floor. I had to do all that 2 months later when we were slow (and still haven't changed the worn out carpet due to the 600 lb. gorilla sitting on it). Doing that work around the new board was a drag that could have been prevented had we been just a bit more prepared.

[joel hamilton]

For those of you who have gone through a console install, or more importantly, a console swap, what did you learn from the experience and what would you have done differently? Were there any particularly slick or smart things that you did that made it all go smoother? What was your time frame like for purchase, install, getting rid of the old console, etc? Were there any surprises?

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

I had all the connections on my Neve wired to DL's, and had a prewire crew wire all my outboard to DL, so just "clicking them in" was ll that was needed once we physically got the console in there. I de-commissioned the old one with toaster3000 , who was buying the old one off of me.

I had done this a few times before, like 4 times, so I knew what i wanted to do. Chris, give me a call if you want to talk about it. I saved myself some serious time. I would have booked more than 7 days around the swap date.... but aside from that, we made it! minimize down time by doing lots of prewire work without a console in the room. Multi-pin connectors will be your best pal...
call me.

[@?,*???&?]

Don't plan on using the existing troughs to run cables. You may need a more generous size and it's about the upgrade, isn't it?

Also, one running the cables use ropes fastened to either end of the snakes when you pull them through. It's impossible if you don't. You then use the rope you just pulled through to pull another through the other way.

[joel hamilton]

Don't plan on using the existing troughs to run cables. You may need a more generous size and it's about the upgrade, isn't it?

Also, one running the cables use ropes fastened to either end of the snakes when you pull them through. It's impossible if you don't. You then use the rope you just pulled through to pull another through the other way.

Why would you be changing wire in the troughs though?

I just had to change the terminations on the cabling that was already there. Chris, I believe, already has cable for the number o channels that will be going in, along with the outboard stuff.

[cgarges]

Y We blew a golden chance to change the carpet in the control room and do other cosmetic and wall patching type jobs before the desk hit the floor.

Good stuff! Thanks!

Don't plan on using the existing troughs to run cables. You may need a more generous size and it's about the upgrade, isn't it?

Also, one running the cables use ropes fastened to either end of the snakes when you pull them through. It's impossible if you don't. You then use the rope you just pulled through to pull another through the other way.

Those are already in place. They were there before the last patchbay upgrade and I actually replaced them with longer and stronger ropes. But that's good advice in general.

Why would you be changing wire in the troughs though?

I just had to change the terminations on the cabling that was already there. Chris, I believe, already has cable for the number o channels that will be going in, along with the outboard stuff.

Yeah, none of the external wiring is going to change. We're just upgrading the console and I did the last set of patchbays with enough foresight to leave everything that's external in place. The number of console channels will increase, but that's all taken care-of in the console's patchbay wiring. I'm sure we'll have to do a bit of juggling with the new patchbays, but that shouldn't affect anything in the troughs.

Good stuff, guys. Keep it coming!

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[ulriggribbons]

Labelling.

Make sure that as new stuff is put in, that every cable get's labelled in an appropriate manner (if it's a harness, one label on it that states it's purpose is adequate).

Nothing sucks more than having a problem, and finding a ratsnest of unlabelled cabling that you have to spend a half hour to weed through.

Resist the urge to get the things up and going quickly, make sure it's all neatly routed and labelled. If the connections on the console are numbered, put the number on the cable as well, so you know where it goes.

ju

[The Scum]

I know the cabling is mostly handled, but - Service Loops! Enough slack in cables that one device can be removed and unplugged without any reaching or contortion.

For labeling stuff that isn't super high traffic, I'm really digging the silver sharpie.

Those handy, precut velcro strips that used to be like 3 for $5 are now sold in bulk rolls at HD, like $5 for 50. I use them all over the place now.

And since you're still picking out the console, keep an eye towards what sort of connections it has...Teuchels are pretty tough to track down, XLR, ELCO, DB25, etc are a lot more common.

And if you get one with multipin connectors (ELCO, et al), buy the tools to insert and remove the pins before you really need them.

[channelcat]

Those handy, precut velcro strips that used to be like 3 for $5 are now sold in bulk rolls at HD, like $5 for 50. I use them all over the place now.

I was just professing my love for velcro strips last night while moving stuff around on my patchbay. That, and my Stanley tripod LED flashlight - priceless.

Chris, have you taken into consideration any additional power needs your new board may have? That's the only other thing I can think of besides cabling, and making sure the thing will fit through the door! Otherwise, do what Jim said and get the old one out and take a look around the room for anything else you've been meaning to fix/touch-up/paint.

What are you going to do with the old board?

Good luck!
Stu

[ledogboy]

Chris, have you taken into consideration any additional power needs your new board may have?

Also, will the new board require a beefier HVAC system? Some of those big boards are like ovens and can totally overwhelm a system (Neve VR, I'm looking at you!)

[drumsound]

Consoles are so last century.

[cgarges]

What are you going to do with the old board?

It's looking like it's currently available with local pickup preferred. I'll officially consider it for sale when I reach an agreement on the new console.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC