Elco / Edac vs. Hard wiring a patch bay

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alexdingley
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Elco / Edac vs. Hard wiring a patch bay

Post by alexdingley » Fri Sep 18, 2009 7:22 am

I'm thinking of taking my new setup (about to get a Toft ATB-16 & apogee symphony rig with 16 i/o's) and making it so that I can have a nice setup at home that is also road-case-able and can be taken out to record on location for other groups. I do a bit of recording for small choirs and orchestras, and other groups... so I don't expect to be setting up in bars at this time.

I'm thinking of what kind of hassle & wear/tear patching in all the TRS jacks on the back of the console would be when I break down / transport / setup / tear-down / transport and re-set at home... So, it occurred to me that I might just want to leave all the gear in nice road-cases and put ELCO's or EDAC connections on/in the cases and be able to snap them together whenever I re-locate.

So my question is... a) does that seem smart for saving wear/tear & making setup easier...? b) does the extra set of analog interconnects introduce a problematic amount of signal degradation into my chain? I know there's a suppose loss of db whenever signal jumps across an interconnect of any kind... so I'm just looking for thoughts on the subject.

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decocco
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Post by decocco » Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:10 am

I have a good bit of experience with those types of connectors, and I think they'll save you a big hassle.

You shouldn't notice any degredation in your sound.
-Chris D.

The Scum
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Post by The Scum » Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:48 am

a) does that seem smart for saving wear/tear & making setup easier...?
Yes. There are pro rigs in the field that d exactly this already...including FOH boards to the stage snake.

Just be careful when dealing with "local crew" goons. If they don't realize that the connectors screw together, and try to force them, they can bend the pins over, which is a huge hassle.
b) does the extra set of analog interconnects introduce a problematic amount of signal degradation into my chain?
The key here is "problematic amount." You probably won't notice any change, and would have to employ some careful test instrumentation to measure the change.

3 more things:

If you're making the snakes yourself, buy the pin removal tool before you need it. It's a life saver.

If you've got the pin removal tool, you can buy old ADAT snakes for low cost, and repin them to meet your specs.

If you go this route, and you need a rack panel with knockouts for ELCOs, PM me, and I'll see if I can dig an old one up, which could be yours for the cost of shipping.

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alexdingley
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Post by alexdingley » Sat Sep 19, 2009 2:03 pm

Clever input (no pun intended) everyone! I like the re-pinning idea on other snakes... might be a good move. I've made them in the past at the studio I used to work in, so I definitely planned on buying all the right pin insert/removal tools... which are tardulously expensive... but hey.

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