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A tip I can share is to put FX units near the middle. That way you can use shorter patch cables in front for less clutter

I have to say, it is the best tutorial on KZfaq. In every other Video, they do not explain it detailed enough. There the people can misunderstand the connecion and set the wrong setting to the Patchbay (Normal). This here was the first video where i learned how to connect everything correct. Thank you.

To state definitevely that through mode is the "way to go" is possibly a little misleading? As long as the outputs of the unit don't feed it's own inputs and create a feedback loop you will be fine...for example setting everything to through mode would stop you utilising normal or half-normalled connections which kind of the whole point of a patch bay. Normalled connections greatly reduce the need for excessive patching on the front of the unit whilst half-normalled connections can be used in making creative connections by feeding two sets of inputs from a single source...one possible solution to your feedback problem might be to use more than one patchbay in your setup....patchbays should be used in whatever mode is needed and only the user can determine which one to use.....Thanks for the video!

DavidSJ, you are a legend and the scourge of improper patch bays!!

This - IMO- Is the BEST Step-By-Step video, that I have seen yet! GREAT job!

Very practical introduction for the home studio newbie to patchbays

I swear you're living in my head because I'm building a studio right now and about to acquire patchbays. Thank you for this!

thank you DavidSJ from NY everything makes sense now 👊

This was great info and I appreciated the tip about getting a patchbay with a thru mode. It's been a while since I wired a patchbay from the old school analog console days, and it was some great advise, especially showing the signal when in Normal and Half Normal. Great job! However, I was a bit puzzled when I saw Dave connecting the mic input of his preamp to the patchbay using an XLR to 1/4" cable. No mic pre that I have ever used has provided +48V phantom power over a 1/4 connection, whether TRS or TS. It doesn't matter if the other end is XLR. At best, that mic pre could handle dynamic mics and send that signal to the input section of the patchbay, but it won't be able to send phantom power from the XLR connection through to the 1/4" end. You would need an XLR to XLR connection to bring the mic level signal of a condenser mic up to a line level signal, which is where phantom power comes in. So, Dave's setup would be fine if you're only running dynamic mics through the preamp, or if sending line level signals through the preamp for some color. But it will not power condenser mics or certain ribbons that use phantom power. This was an issue that I was trying to resolve in my own studio, and have come to the conclusion that I would have to wire the patchbay where the male XLR connections from the snake go directly into an XLR to XLR patchbay, which then feeds the XLR connections of the mic pres in my audio interface or external analog mic pres, in order to supply phantom power to any channel, if needed. The outputs of the external mic pres would be sent via 1/4" TRS connections and would feed the line inputs on my audio interface, since those mic level signals would have already been amplified. That's the only way that I can think of that I could provide +48V to condenser mics. If you have any tips on a better way, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Best KZfaq video l have seen regarding patch bays thanks for the visual explanation.

Thanks you for this video. Best tutorial I’ve found. Finally I understand how to hook up my patchbay.

This would have saved me a bunch of time back when I was setting up my patch bay! Great video

And suddenly I see future purchases I'll be making. Thanks for that!

Very insightful and clear

Well done. I had a basic understanding, but it was very satisfying watching you hook it up in the back. No one ever shows that!

Well done guys, loved this video, have seen many "patchbay" vids, but you went above and behind 🙂 ....great work, ps. loved part 2 as well.

Excellent video. So many people on here do not actually show them putting the cables into the patchbays. Well done

Thanks for showing and explaining the different ways to use the patch bay. This help me understand the interface hookup better. Looking forward to the next video. 😀

Thank you Dave. Great job and very well done. Patchbay has been on my list of things to finally do and this will surely be viewed more times.

DavidSJ is the MAN!

Super David, helped me a lot on my way for analog gear, thanks !

Thanks, excellent educative video with a real use case. The best way to explain and answer all doubts one can have when looking at videos with zylion of cables and hardware in studios :)

This is the best video have ever seen on patchbay installation. Thanks for sharing

Great video thanks. This explanation was very easy to understand, I've been collecting some retro outboard effects over the years and have been using them in an unconventional way for electronic music. It's clear this way of working is going to save me a lot of time and open up some more options for me. I'll be investing in a patch bay now 👍

Thank you so much for this video, just starting out with patchbays in this studio I am working in and this is really helpeful.

Easily the best video on patch bays i have seen, Thank you for taking the time to do this, i know its not easy and can be a lot of work, but you have helped me see this clearly. 😀Def will subscribe

In my oppinion the best way is normaled. If you want lets say a single compressor you just insert it in your daw, configure the send and return and thats it... Also if you want a custom chain you can patch cables and do the above. If you are worried of the constant flow of signal that your gear is gonna break you can leave one end of a cable always patched in...

Great tutorial David. Now I am on track.

Thanks for sharing this and explaining it so thoroughly. I greatly appreciate it. Thinking about getting the black lion audio patchbay

My plan is to have channels more dedicated in a path and interrupt them rather than running everything in through mode. I am not sure if you did this setup for demonstration purposes, or if you just don’t mind having a bit much of patch cables going everywhere all the time. I’d prefer my patch cables to be present only when I am actively changing a planned setup

Amazing stuff guys, looking forward to the next part now. Would it be possible to show how to gain stage correctly on a Master Bus or in general with hardware. I see so many videos gain stagging with plugins but none with hardware. I think you guys would be the first to do it.

Incredible info!

Very good video - big help for me setting up a first patch bay! Keep it up.

Awesome video! This is exactly what I needed to know to set up my new studio!! Great explanation and demonstration!!!

Well done Dave. Well done (I wouldn't use the autofocus anymore)

wow! Thank you so much for this!! First time its making sense!

Thank you!! This helped me understand it a lot better!

Hi David and thanks for an excellent tutorial on patchbay applications. I can see clearly why the Thru option is the best way when connecting outboard gear with an audio interface. Can you maybe sometime do a similar tutorial using patchbays with say a 16 channel analogue mixer like my Soundcraft FX16II which has direct outs and inserts on every channel. I'm wondering if the channel inserts could be connected to outboard gear like compressors etc using normally or half normalled configurations on the patch bays. I notice you have a different set of patch bays on your real studio rack. Is this because you can select the different modes from the front and if so what patchy do you recommend? Kind Regards. Alan

Love it

Thank you very much for your time, great video, bless you!

THANKS!

Hi Dave!. Very interesting video!. So basically the patchbay is used in isolated mode, to allow easy rewire of any connection.

This is amazing! This is the first video I've watched that is giving me a couple "aha" moments! If I may get a little more tactical I'd appreciate your feedback. I have an RME audio interface. It has 4 mic/line inputs on the front (9-12). In the back, it has balanced TRS line level inputs 1-8. For the outputs, I have balanced outs (XLR) for outputs 1 and 2, which are my monitors. The remaining outputs are TRS balanced outputs 3-8. I also have a 6 slot API lunchbox chassis with a couple of 500 series units in there (preamp, compressor). So, would I plug the inputs and outputs of the RME interface into the back of the Patchbay (i have the same patchbay you are using in your demo), and if so, would I then ALSO plug the inputs and outputs of the lunchbox into the patchbay as well? I'm confused about where to plug the lunchbox in (it has 6 slots, so there is an input/output for each slot, assuming there is a component in that slot). So if you wanted to plug a microphone in to do a vocal, would you have just plugged it into the actual audio interface channel 3, and then patch channel 3 to the compressor, and then back into the interface? Hoping to understand a proposed approach here. I'd like to be able to track with outboard gear, or also use the outboard gear during mixing. Thank you so much and I hope that's clear!

Yeeeeah! Patch those bays!

Hello, thank you for you video. Question, do you plug your speakers directly to the output of the audio interface, or do you go through the patchbay for that please?

A video on advanced cable management would be great

Did I notice the cables on the Lexicon are incorrect ? Red should be on the left, if looking at the rear. No biggie. My classic problem, is I always seem to have a deep unit right above the shallow patchbay, making the rear cabling very hard to access.

But...plugging in the interface main outs 1 & 2 would give you a choice to plug in anything to your monitors at the front, right?

Thank you very much. After having watched multiple other videos on the topic, I was still totally lost. Your video is brillant, I think I understand. Just one question to apply this to my setting. I have 8 hardware devices going into a cheap Moukey mixer then into a Steinberg audio interface. Do I need to plug in separately my 8 devices or do i plug in my mixer 2 outputs or do i plug in my interface 2 outputs ?

When tracking vocals where would the mic be plugged into. The interface correct? or directly with preamp? Newbie question lol.

Hi, if i use a mixing console console plug into my audio interface , do i need to use both of my inputs and outputs of the AI and my mixing console or only these of the mixing console :) ?

Do you attach mic inputs into the patch bay, and what about phantom power? Also by only using thru mode, how do you do for example parallel compression?

Love the video but please tell me my GAS will stop :)

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Lost me when you connected the 3rd set of cables lol