How do patchbays work? - Pls help me decide if i need one

Discuss the various methods you use in music production, from compressor settings to equipment type.
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By llasher Mon Oct 21, 2002 3:58 am
Hi
My local 2nd hand music shop has a Behringer Ultrapatch cheap, and I was thinking my bedroom studio might benefit from one.
I only have a small mixer without enuf channels for all my outboard devices. I don't use its mic pres or eq much at all (do it with software and a vc3), nor do I often record more than one instrument at a time when tracking/recording to my DAW (which is a PC with a Gina20).
I gather a patchbay is a kindof switchboard, which might reduce the need for me to constantly change plugs on my desk. Is this right? There appears to be about 24 pairs of sockets on the front and back of this one, so how does routing work with these things?
Any help would be gratefully received. ???
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By J Smacks Mon Oct 21, 2002 12:59 pm
A patch bay can have many functions but its main function is to bring the connections up front so you don't have to climb behind a board to change wiring.  It also allows you to change where signals are routed.  I suggest buying a book on patchbays.

Check out: Making your own demo.[/color]
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By Flipsyde Wed Oct 23, 2002 12:01 am
Basically you plug all your inputs in the top row at the back and all your outputs in the bottom row on the back then, using short patch leads connect them up how you like on the front panel. seems a bit daunting i know coz i gotta sort one out for my studio soon, i dont even wanna guess what my signal path looks like...[/color]
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By Smoove03 Wed Mar 31, 2004 4:19 pm
so thats how it works. never understood patch bays. but i will need one pretty soon. :)

By jontakiff Wed Mar 31, 2004 6:09 pm
If you find yourself leaning over your mixing board and pulling out cables and being like, okay so this connects to this, and you find yourself behind your effects boxes, and you are constantly pulling and replacing cables like this, you need a patchbay. Another benefit - it saves wear and tear on your gear. Once you got it wired in the patchbay, you almost never need to get behind your gear. Way easier.
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By mesh Thu Apr 01, 2004 7:47 pm
i wanted to offer my expertise in this field. if anyonehas a question regarding patchbays, signal flow, etc, you can pm me or hit me up in this thread. i now work in a professional studio as an audio engineer and the only reason i got this job is because i wired the entire facility(i built over 1000 cables and laid down over 30,000 feet of them). so, let me know, cuz the whole patchbay thing is really quite easy once you understand it, but it can be a b*tch to learn if you dont have someone explain it to you.

just let me know the gear you are working with and the amount of i/o you have going on and i could design a patchbay for you that would help prolong the life of your eqipment. Hit me up!
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