The Last Piece of my new Studio Puzzle - the Flock Audio PATCH XT
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- Analogue Patchbays - what is it? What's better in a creative situation? ARE YOU EXCITED OR WHAT!??!!!?!!?!?!?!?!
I'm a little more sleepy than usual - just coming out of an insane work bender. Listen to me yammer about the ubiquitous Audio Patchbay, some MEGA SUPER AMAZEBALLS Patchbay moments throughout my career, and ultimately arriving at my current studio build (which is near completion).
I'll be deploying the Flock Audio PATCH XT Digitally controlled analogue patchbay system in conjunction with using AES72-2019 to fly audio around the room using spools of CAT6 cable.
- - -
Contents:
0:00 Yo!
0:34 What is a Patchbay anyway? (hey that rhymes!)
1:30 Common connectors
1:46 Bantam/TT and high density
2:37 Where in the studio?
3:00 Time and Planning
4:04 "Normalling"
5:06 Patching is easy.. but IMHO cumbersome for creativity
6:06 Digitally controlled analogue patchbays - why?
6:24 Secrets of stereo sales
6:34 Dating myself.. the 1st digitally controlled patchbay system I ever saw in 1998
7:50 Dating myself again.. the 2nd digitally controlled patcbay system I saw in 2001
9:46 Dating myself again again... the 3rd digitally controlled patchy system I saw in 2009
10:43 Almost near present time - when I discovered the Flock Audio PATCH in 2018
12:10 Gear-o-holic running out patchpoints... PATCH XT teaser in 2020 ... holy bananas!
12:59 Yuuuuuus. the PATCH XT has arrived in 2022!
13:29 What it'll route
14:09 Keeping the existing 32x32 PATCH - a test with Speaker routing for jumping between my primary output DACS and Dolby ATMOS authored content from a decoder
14:51 AES72-2019 - say what in the who now?
15:41 Here's the Flock Audio PATCH XT!!
17:15 Escaping running over to the computer to re-patch when working around the room
18:20 Eliminating my biggest annoyance with manual analogue gear recall
18:59 Multiple data locations/redundancy
19:24 The next steps...
- - -
More info on the PATCH XT:
www.flockaudio.com/patchxt
More info on the AES72-2019 standard:
www.aes.org/publications/stan...
- - -
Various analogue patchbay pictures from:
vintageking.com
audiomunk.com
ask.audio
hosatech.com/products/analog-...
The beautiful bantam patchbay wiring:
/ ams_neve_88r_patch_bay
During WWII the German Enigma Code machine use up to seven patch plugs in addition to four or five thumb switches to encrypt or decrypt messages. Alan Turing built a machine that would stop when the output read Heil Hittler. This was a universal flaw in the German messaging system. All German messages started with Heil Hittler. So once he found a "H" the machine would work on the next character looking for an "e" then the "i" and so on. This cut the time do discover the enigma patches and switches to less than one hour. Since the Germans changed the patches every 24 hours this allowed us to intercept German war plans. The machine Alan built was the predecessor of ENIAC.
So cool! Love the way you explain things. I've never need or be the level to need this stuff, but it's cool to see a musical wizard like you having fun with all the new toys
Thanks Nathan! I was a little nervous with this one as I'm so bagged tired with work this week! hehe
Can't wait to see another studio tour Neil
it'll come once this is all done, as all the wires will be hidden finally! :)
I used to day dream about tools like these being available. Tech has finally caught up
Neill, as always, love your content, and your such a good teacher even though most it is over our heads. ## but I think I speak for us all when I say... just lean over and TURN SOME OF THOSE KNOBS, PLEASE !!!
Beep Booooop!
Thanks for including some evolutionary history of this gear. I definitely geek out on instrument and music tech history.
I absolutely love your excitement Neil. It really shows your passion for music, gear and the whole process. Please don't ever change :)
That thing is way smaller than I imagined! So cool!
3U! But it makes up for its small size in heft! hehe
Neil - there are very few professionals of any skill or subject matter who have Channels like yours. Yes, you can find thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Channels with amateurs pretending to be professional, speaking to truly amateurs who will never advance their skills, but only 1 in 100,000 are real professional channels.
While your subject matter expertise is niche - not niche as in useless, but niche as in specialized at such a demanding level, that there are only true professionals doing - it is fascinating to watch. I wish there were other Channels like yours in subject matters that are important to my use case.
You set the standard for professionalism, knowledge, and humble presentation.
thankyou so much!!
What a flash back for me to the patch panels we had at NorthWestern Motion Picture. and Sound Recording, Inc. in Portland, Oregon (ORY-GUN). Think Louie Louie by the The Kingsmen, and Paul Revere and the Raiders both recorded at NWI.
Please give us another clip once you are done.
So good to geek out with you for 20 minutes. My mind boggles with the infinite possibilities!
Hey Neil: GREAT info & talk-thru! I’m an old IT/network guy, working a relatively small project studio in the Seattle area, and have a Flock Audio Patch (32x32; 64 ins/outs total). That said, I am DIGGIN’ on AES72-2019! Really didn’t want to run DB-25 cables all over. I’m HOPING that your setup on your XT scales down to the 32x32 Patch easily. Unless you think otherwise, I will try to contact Josh at Equilibrium to see if it’s as straightforward as I hope.
CONGRATULATIONS on nearing your studio completion! Now that you’ve got your “final” piece of gear…well…for me, not so much. Thanks!
Hi Leon! Thanks!!
Yeah the PATCH is the same in every way when it comes to deployment - if you’re going down the AES72 rabbit hole you’d have up to 8 of those adapters on the flock vs up to 24 on the XT. I actually have both units - so it ended up being a stack of those adapters from Josh. Luckily I had all my XLR harnesses for the other side made already years ago before Ward Beck went under during COVID as I been running AES72 before it became ‘official’ as it was spearheaded by Anthony Kuzub (as QTP) via Ward Beck and then ratified by AES a year or so later.
I will do a follow up as yep - the install is done and tidied. 48 cat cables is waaaaaay less bulk than standard snakes… it’s pretty unbelievable!
Thank you Neil. The blue flashy light will be coming soonish.
Thanks very much. Super interesting.
I see the lyrics ”la la la la la la la la la” in the background.
Yes I have one of those integrated into my Atmos work flow
"This will be the final thing ill need" the biggest lie in every gear heads life haha
But jokes aside, this seems like such a neat product/solution. Someday I want to do something similar with my guitar pedals, just running everything through a patchbay. Don't know when exactly, but it seems more suitable than building pedalboards over and over again.
Thanks for sharing Neil, excited for the outcome!
Haha.. this is the last module I’ll buy! Yup, famous last words. I have a running bet with a client with “this is the last eurorack case I’ll need”. 😂
Neil I don't know if it's you being cheeky or not but I like how that thing behind your right shoulder says "LA LA LA LA LA".
P.S. I also like how I understood absolutely nothing in this video. But that's OK because FLUX CAPACITOR
Haha I’m always cheeky .. but those are actually 5 different modules in a mode called LAyout 😎
Pretty smart using something cheap and ubiquitous like a RJ45 and repurpose it for analog audio signal - you can get RJ45 connectors and cat6 cable in every decent computer store for next to nothing.
Neil !!! You are The Freakoid !!! Super cool Dude 😂!))))
I literally stumbled yesterday over it and asked my self who’s inventing an analog routing matrix these days. In my work field the main goal is ad everything and everything without an Dante/aes67 port kinda sucks 😬😁 but yes analog studios and getting rid of all these ghielmetti and neutrik bantam patch bays is a great use case 👌💪
While analog is more fun I really appreaciate the practicality of digital audio in live sound enviroments. All sources digitized as early as possible and from there on just one cat cable.
nothing like that one kinked cable in a high density snake to ruin the day! heh
Expensive cable makers shaking their fists in air cursing whatever genius invented the cheap and ubiquitous CAT standard.
Bob Metcalfe
That is so awesome Flock Audio Patch XT is where it's at.
Neat patching device! Love these kind of videos!
T-shirt on point! Also killer content as always dude❤
Fascinating technology and interesting video!
I can’t wait to see the installation vid.
Congrats. I’ve been eyeing the XT as well. Look forward to the next progress update vid
Buddy this is fantastic! I’m trying not to drool about this on my own gear. Way to go!!!
Seems like Christmas comes early for you this Year. :)
All I can do is remember back in the day when I had Reason, and how all the patch cables would sway back and forth when I would rotate the rack to patch something!
One could hope Tim Cook himself comes to your studio to deliver the next Mac Pro, and doesnt leave until everything works.
The list I’d have for that guy….
Neil... You're a God... I am so very happy that this chunk of tech is in place (i noticed the rj-45s over the DB connectors when you showed it) and it can be configured whatever way whenever you need it. Looks like you'll get back to experimenting, which is what a tinkerer like you needs. I haven't forgotten about the consultant thing I hit you with a few vids back. Been working like a demon to get some hardware that I need, and then I'll drop a line to your website mail. This is SUCH a great video. I can see why you smile through the whole thing. HAVE FUN!!!!
Looking forward to the final build out...
My son just started flipping burgers at McDonalds in July but I have to say your professionalism is a cut above! 😎🍔
I wonder if it all stems from the McD bday parties I went to in the 80’s?!?!
@@NeilParfittMusic I attended quite a few McD birthday parties in the 80’s too - perhaps that has been my edge as a professional engineer as well (aero, not sound)! I should get myself a McDonalds Professional t-shirt just like yours!!!
Congrats Neil, I have to say this video was great - And your enthusiasm is infectious, and I have a similar issue in my studio, yours DWARF's it in scale of course. My resolution was to buy another UAD Apollo (X6) to handle 5.1 surround speakers, and my existing Apollo 8's outputs have now been free'd up solely to use my few pieces of external gear, vs having to go out to a patchbay which I HATE. The pieces I have don't need to run in series, so I only need a single piece of hardware at a time, Now via the direct output of the Apollo and plugged back into the free'd up inputs...and called in as an insert in logic. Nice and Tidy :-) Will leave the wires for my future modular gear lol!! There's no price on tidiness and simplification.... congratulations again!
Most pro studios, who don't use the smaller TT patch cables, use 1/4" long frame jacks (Neutrik makes them, much sturdier than the standard 1/4 inch connector.. We have them in the racks at the TV network I work at) They look like jumbo TT cables.. with the ball tip. Regular 1/4 can be jammed into the long frame patch bays, but they dont exactly work..
I remeber those - I got my first synth in 1991 - and my dad stole some of those cables from the radio station and wouldn’t work with the regular 1/4 jacks hehe
@@NeilParfittMusic Whats neat about them is you can score the patch bays pretty cheap from old radio / tv / etc stations.. If youre good at soldering, the ends are still being produced.
I have a 5 TT bays sitting in a box with about 50 patch cales for it.. Though once I finally build my own studio Ill be going FLOCK or converting everything to DANTE and virtually patching things by computer..
Hey Neil, did you ever go to Active Surplus on Queen Street in Toronto? Your background totally reminds me of the flashing/flickering lights they always had on display there. Great store! I wish it was still around.
Yesssss the gorilla!!
i hate and use 1/4" patch bays. I wish a quality one would be made. Its just easier to use that cable. I do love how the mini tt feels though but I'm mostly normaled so I don't touch it often.
I had the SSL X-Patch for a short time, big difference having that digital patching, I never should have bought it though as I went overboard on my home studio at the same time LOL.
More options.. more power.. aghhhhhhh!!!
@@NeilParfittMusic 🤣
Thank you so much for this. I have been looking for somebody with practical experience with and a professional use case for these devices since forever and already had an epiphany when you showed the DB25 to RJ45 adapters. So many problems solved... But: Are you planning any tests about signal quality comparing straight DB25 and CAT (what CAT btw? Will 5 do?)? That would be awesome. Sounds tempting, but kind of paranoid about adapters in a signal path 🙂
I did some phase/null tests years ago. I'll do it again shortly when things are rigged up fully. The spec says 5 or 6 is fine. STP is more ideal if phantom is involved but I believe one side of the ground has to be lifted on the cable. I'm using UTP and running into no issues so far. I'm not done all my tests though... to be continued...
when the final thing you need to make it all work cost 15k!! super cool can't wait to see it deployed.
Well, it all works now, but working better/smarter usually come with a cost. This one blows the door open for creative flexibility and reconfiguring the room instantly.
I’ve gone with the basic version (the patch) but will soon run out of capacity so thinking about adding another. The Xt Is a beast but a big chunk of change! Looking forward to seeing the follow up once you have it all hooked up!
Interesting! I wonder how a 4 channel I/O is gonna end up in a cat cable? If you can please explain that in the next video will be helpful-thanks
It’s 4ch in one direction .. as each twisted pair is a balanced signal. So if you want to move 4ch of I/o it’ll require 2 cat cables
@@NeilParfittMusic thank you
Hey I have been looking around for that DB25 to AES72-2019 adapter you have. Where did you get them? They look like they'd be useful in my situation, and I'm sure others too.
First of all cool studio and love the back to the future stuff I was wondering what those counters were until I saw the capacitor … anyway I thought the 64 patch was not enough channels cause if you run a 24 track analog you have 24 inputs inserts and what ever gear you have… but my question is that they say you can run mics right in the patch which would be cool to audition different pres but people tell me you can’t
As far as I know it runs at +4 balanced through and through. I was always confused about it offering phantom with that being the case as most mics will not play nice without something changing the impedance
Hello Neil Do you think it could be another solution for house of Worship?
Very well explained!
Is there much disparity from company to company in terms of quality or is it pure ergonomic preference?
I’ve been eyeing Behringer's smaller products because they’re quite cheap but that has me worried I’ll just get a decently functional tin can.
Are you asking about patchbays or another piece of equipment?
@@NeilParfittMusic 16 input patchbays specifically.
@@minder01 depends on how much use they’ll be seeing. The cheaper ones tend to use bottom of the barrel connections and more plastic. Those will break or fail eventually.
Aes72 not bad...
Thanks for sharing…. I do a have a question / request for a video topic if I may….. why does it seem that newer movie mixes are so hard to hear dialogue, ie Tenant, Interstellar & many others? As someone the works in technology I’m interested in the details and the why. I meant to say as someone that works at McDonalds just like yourself maybe you know someone that can answer this for us.
It's a creative choice by the director - and not by coincidence interstellar and Tenet are both the same director with the same Dialogue style in places.
www.ctvnews.ca/awards/movie-sound-veterans-explain-interstellar-s-hard-to-hear-dialogue-1.2245462
Hi Neil, your channel has been an inspiration for me and has helped answer a lot of questions in the past. I have one, Where do you purchase the cards for AES72-2019? Is this an option from Flock or a 3P addition.
3rd party. Drop Josh an email at josh@equilibriumaudio.ca as I think the site is in the middle of revamp.
@@NeilParfittMusic wonderful! Thank you
@@NeilParfittMusic got hold of Josh and picked up whatever he had left. Thank you again.
@@philipgalaura760 awesome! just double check to make sure you get the screw ends you need. My didn't have any on the second order so went to lowes to get some small 4/40 screws. I cant figure out the absoltely consenses for db25's hold down screws.. as it can be 4/40 or M3 depending on where the gear is built. it mostly seems to be 4/40 though
@@NeilParfittMusic Woah! Thanks for that bit of info. Didn’t realize I had to get those. Seriously good to know, well Lowes is around the corner for me, hopefully it’ll all work out. Josh should be shipping them out today,
Hi Neil - where are you getting your AES72 DB25 adapters? Looking around, hard to find many options.
There’s a guy local to me who makes them. Message me from my site www.Neilparfitt.com and I’ll give you the details if you’d like.
$15k for the XT!
The niche tools that turn complication to invisible tend to be $$$.
How do you feel about Dante and related systems, Neil? My stu utilizes rednet to interconnect rooms and I've heard about studios routing absolutely everything into a dante network. Just curious about your thoughts on it as a composer. 🙂
I'm in that weird spot where I have too much existing MADI gear in the mix that works perfectly to justify a changeover. The good thing is, if I do end up going there at some point , the AVID MTRX can accommodate by popping in a card or two. I've wanted a Focusrite Rednet AM2 for my tracking floor, but damn is it ever $$$$ for a 2 ch headphone box. Any ideas?
ooo this is new!
www.radialeng.com/product/dinet-dan-rx2
@@NeilParfittMusic I think the most important thing is to take an overhead look and see what gear you need for the job-at-hand in your existing setup. A Dante overhaul could be a pricy headache to have for a while. Lots of options with patching, tie lines, monitor controllers, surround, atmos.. Seems like something that should be done from the ground up and much more difficult to implement to an existing signal flow network. If MADI and your own build works, great! What matters is getting the job done on time. I'm a mixer so my idea of routing is a bit different to that of a composer with all those awesome toys that need to get routed in. I'm also one of those modernists that prefer to keep it all in the box if i can lol. So my thoughts are, what works best is what works for you. Thanks for replying 🙂
@@NeilParfittMusic Oh right, as for tracking floor, the networking stuff isn't really my strong suit, sorry. I kind of just learn how to use whats there and get to using my ears. 😅But I got used to using DAD converters and monitor controllers in the music rooms. Rednet X2Ps and PT Carbons in the adr booths.
Hi could you not use an additional audio interface instead?
it would end up costing around the same to have that much ADC/DAC, with the added issue of additional ADC/DAC stages, latency compensation and reliance on the DAW for everything. Not as streamlined for my use case.
Hey could you link those DB25 to CAT5 adapters?
Anthony Kazub introduced me to the concept and
showed me some prototypes he was building for Ward Beck Systems (RIP)
Maybe 5-6 years ago.
Yep - that's when I dove into it - it was a year before AES ratified it. I had bought my first round of adapters from WB directly, including their QTP to XLR breakout harnesses and some of their BOBCat boxes. I've bought my latest 24 DB25 to RJ45 adapters from a guy in kitchener. He's in the midst of a rebranding - you can reach him at josh@equilibriumaudio.ca
@@NeilParfittMusic
Thanks..
I work at a TV network a couple blocks from the old WB location.. Kazub was a freelancer here.. and we have a ton of WB gear throughout the facility.. distro amps to meters..
All in all, the concept has intrigued me since and I've tried to keep up with the twisted pair world as much as possible
@@drdelewded i think he's a guy that's EVERYWHERE. He's like Agent Smith in the matrix :). I'm guessing you're over at CTV?
@@NeilParfittMusic
I try not to divulge my irl persona online.. so I can neither confirm nor deny that assertion.. but get into it..
Mixing post since 2001z
@@NeilParfittMusic
I did leave a pretty easy breadcrumb if you're local
What about the quality ?
to come shortly...