Patchbays 101

[JonnyAngle]

I've read a few articles about patchbays and I'm more confused than ever now. I'm losing a lot of time re-routing things. But I don't necessarily want everything "out" either.

What I have:
Fender Reverb Tank
Gibson Reverb Tank
Roland Space Echo
Zoom Q8 (Recording Interface)
Pedalboard
Guitar Amp

I like a very clean and open floor, so I'd prefer to find a permanent home for some of these items. I might decide to play surf on Monday, so I'll need the Fender tank. I'll play some ambient stuff on Tuesday, so I'l need the Gibson and the Space Echo, and may want to change the order of the two.

Am I best off just wiring a patchbay with using the "thru" mode? It seems too simple for that to be the answer.

[ibarakishi]

im interested in peoples insight on patchbays too

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

if i were u i would use normal mode to create a default routing using the back jacks
then use the front jacks to rearrange as necessary and "break" the connections on the back when i want to move things around.

thru mode i would use if i i was plugging the ins and outs of one device into one patchbay module to avoid a feedback loop.
u could use thru mode to achieve the above, but using the normalized mode saves u from having to patch everything in manually on the front as well as the back

may depend on which patchbay u are getting.
some do half-normal as well.

imo, patch bays are nice for some things but also create their own sort of mess.
u generally are gunna need twice the amount of cables to get everything hooked up
so this can create a whole new cable jungle and u still gunna be plugging shit in and out just on the patchbay and not your devices.
but generally they are pretty rad once u get it setup how u want it.

[DRodriguez]

Usually, the best is a normaled setup. So that you have a working system with 0 patches in it. Then you can use a patch cable only when you want to interrupt that usual chain.

Thru mode would work but it takes more patch cables. If you get one with half normaling you can do fun things like multing or splitting your signal. Most patch bays will allow you to configure this per channel.

[JonnyAngle]

Usually, the best is a normaled setup. So that you have a working system with 0 patches in it. Then you can use a patch cable only when you want to interrupt that usual chain.

Thru mode would work but it takes more patch cables. If you get one with half normaling you can do fun things like multing or splitting your signal. Most patch bays will allow you to configure this per channel.

So how would I have 2 reverb tanks in parallel with no patch cables?

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

^ half-normal

[JonnyAngle]

^ half-normal

Lets dumb it down some more.

Guitar > Bottom front of channel 1
Back Bottom channel 1 > reverb tank input
Reverb Output > back top channel 1
front top channel one > amp

???????

[crochambeau]

^ half-normal

Lets dumb it down some more.

???????

What patchbay do you have?

I know some are configurable in a variety of ways (Neutrik NYS SPPL as an example will allow the user to rotate each "module" which will change what each jack does).

See here:



I'm going to prioritize effects over channels, this is a matter of personal taste.

With a monophonic effects unit, I will dedicate a side by side pair of the plug modules depicted for each effect. In a half normalled configuration, send TO effect will occur at the lower rear jack of the left cluster. It can be fed by a source from the upper rear jack (from mixer/other effect/whatever). The return FROM effect can patch into the lower rear of the right cluster, and then the upper rear jack can proceed on to the next stage (as a source in the upper rear left hand jack)/dedicated mixer or AD channel/whatever.

Then you can interrupt the input/output with user insertion, the lower sets of plugs will isolate your effect in or out of whatever it was normalled to, and you can patch into the channel/chain/whatever was plugged into the back as well with the upper plugs.

Conversely, you can prioritize your signal path/mixer on the lower switching channel, this will result in Y cable action with whatever is normalled at the rear when you just plug into the upper user insert.

Clear as mud?

[JonnyAngle]

I don’t have one at tha moment. The thing that was confusing me was one doesn’t use vertical pairs. It’s the sawtooth in and out on the back.

There’s a lot of things to simultaneously remember which i think I’m coming around.