SAMSON S-PATCH PLUS - 48-Point Balanced Patchbay

Product Information

And it’s not just a matter of being able to use one. You want to learn it right, because there is a correct way and this is the way all of the other professionals you’ll encounter learned it. To connect to gear with ¼” TRS or XLR inputs you’ll need DB25 snakes with the correct connector ends.

TRS—1/4″ TRS patch bays are the type most commonly seen in home studios. TRS stands for tip ring sleeve. For whoever might be interested I'll summarise the options as I see them now. This is assuming one uses an interface with DB25 ins. The front panel connections are where you route signals with patch cords and connect additional inputs. None—Pro studio patchbays are often configured for maximum flexibility. This means that big studios with complex systems often wire their own patchbays with soldered connections. Patchbays are becoming increasingly important due to the increased popularity of structured wiring, where commercial buildings and homes are built with cabling within the walls and flooring.

You can have an output of an equalizer on the far left of your bay and the input on the far right. You can use this to your advantage in Normal mode, as discussed below. In the end, it may take some experimentation or looking at another tutorial to fully manipulate these monsters, but once you know how to use a patchbay the right way, things will never be the same. Our XLR mic cable is always plugged into the preamp (you can get an XLR patchbay if you want to pull all of those inputs to the front, too!) so all we need to do is consider the preamplifier’s output in Panel 3. Patchbays allow you to change routings on the fly by simply re-patching the cables on the front panel. Should I use a patchbay? Only Patch What You Use: If you don’t mind buying several bays, then you can disregard this but for those who only have one or two, it’s important to only connect what you use regularly. This reduces the options in the bay, which in turn reduces mistakes

There is no rewiring in these cases so even the casual user is beginning to be confronted with the issue of using a patch panel. For example, the line level outputs of a bank of mic preamps are typically normalled to the line level inputs of the analog-to-digital converter in a pro studio setup. Every home studio is unique. You’ll have to decide on your own if using a patchbay fits into your workflow.

You can have more recording equipment than inputs on your mixer or audio interface and still use it all by rerouting the signal on the fly. The DBX PB-48is old school and I like that. It’s built well as is all of DBX’s signal processing units. Like the ART P48, you only have the options to deal with Half-Normal and Normal, not the Thru mode. Again, that’s fine by me. The feature that makes me call this “old school” is the dry erase strips supplied for labeling. Don’t goof up and use an ink pen or sharpee! This is great especially if you have a set of acronyms in your head for your gear and channels. You’re not going to have room to write a lot on there, but “L Main” and “Pre 2” can fit just fine. DB25 or DSUB—DB25 connectors look like the kind that connect to an old school desktop computer—because they are.