maninthedark30 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Hey everyone, I'm finally getting everything routed through the patchbay (after owning it for 2 years!) and am almost finished. I am looking into ways of labeling the channels for easy reference, and came across these neat little round magnets at the clearance aisle in Target. I initially thought about sticky labels, but hate the idea of having to peel them off if or when connections change. I don't necessarily require words to label them as I am familiar enough with all my gear to only need colors for quick visual reference. So does anyone foresee a problem with the magnets being stuck on the face of the patchbay near the jacks? Would this cause any interference? I've already tested a few just to confirm they are not actually strong enough to come off onto a cable when making patches, but I wonder if having 48 of them across the whole thing would create an issue. Also, what about sticking them on the front of my interface (mackie onyx 400f) and/or preamps (studio projects VTB-1's) to color-code those to the snake channels as well? The magnets themselves are pretty tiny, probably less than 1/8", then they are wrapped in the round colored plastic, with the overall size slightly smaller than a 1/4" jack. ALSO... Does anyone have any other recommendations for labeling besides this or multi-color stickers? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantomimeHorse Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 If you have a decent design program, like Adobe InDesign, you can do a sheet on glossy paper, which serves as both a reference diagram and strips which can be stuck to the jackfield: - http://www.kbodance.com/studioJackfields.jpg - Personally, I wouldn't allow permanent magnets anywhere near my studio desk or computers. - C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maninthedark30 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 Hmm... okay. I don't really have a design program specifically, but thought about just doing a spread sheet or something once i figure out the right size and/or cell spacing. Your configuration frustrates me a bit because I know there is a much better way to make connections on these things, but no matter how much I try to get my head around it I always come out frustrated! I understand (on paper at least) the concepts of normal, half normal, through, etc. which my PX3000 will do at the flick of a switch on each channel, but I have no idea how to approach setting up all the gear I have that I want to try to route into the PB. Like for instance on yours you have gaps between mixer/motu channels, which I don't understand... why not put them all next to each other? With mine I'm trying to route an analog mixer, a FW interface, a USB interface (2nd computer), a few reverb/effects units, external compressors, EQs, headphone amp (same as you actually, the Q-Mix), 2 power amps and possibly the audio outs of my 2 keyboards (for easier quick access to the sounds). So I would set up my first 12 channels or so with just the outs/ins of the mixer and interfaces, and the right 12 channels with the out/ins of the amps, all the "insert" devices, and so forth. Further, the best way for me to make sense of it is to have everything connected straight "through", as I can't figure out what should be "normalled" and/or how to arrange things any better. Even just looking at yours, I'm not exactly sure how I would "patch" certain things together! But as I said, I just can't get my head around these concepts enough to know how to make it more useful for me. The more I try to figure this stuff out, the more I forget that I'm even trying to make music at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maninthedark30 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 double post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantomimeHorse Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Hi. I was recommending the design method for the strips, definitely NOT my own routing, which is well due for overhaul owing to new kit ! ! ! - You almost NEVER need full normalling if you have thought through your layout properly. Half-normalling solves 99.9999% of all jackfield routing. - ALWAYS have inputs on the bottom row; outputs on the top. Lay your jackfield out according to work paths, NOT according to whether everything from the same unit is adjacent. Pretty does not equal efficient. - Never bring mic channels with phantom 48v through your jackfield ! Some berk will plug an unbalanced jack in there when you ain't looking. - Those jack pairs that are not half-normalled need to remain "free" (ie un-normalled). - Allow spare capacity on your jackfields. 3 x 24-way is by no means excessive for a small production studio. - Have float leads going to spares in the jackfield so that you can easily route visiting synths, V-drums, etc etc - Careful thought FIRST = smooth working LATER. Good luck. - C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmdaugherty Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Thats why I love TT patchbays. More secure connection and you cant confuse it with a guitar cable. I dont think they even make unbalanced Tiny Telephone plugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.