3 ways to use a Patch Bay // Why they're amazing but not necessary.

I often get asked for a breakdown on how my patchbay is setup, but there isn't too many ways to setup a patch bay. So i figured i'd make a video showcasing how to use a patchbay! There are 3 main reasons you'd use a patchbay. One of course is simple routing for your studio. It gives you easy access to your audio interface without having to rewire much of anything. Another is being able to Split an audio signal and send it elsewhere. With that you can multitrack FX and dry signals at the same time. Lastly would be to plug-in any new gear you might have just picked up without having to ruin your studio routing!
Best Patchbay - amzn.to/3h2Smk2
My Patchbay - amzn.to/3i3DOlh (bought mine used for $40)
Patch Cables - amzn.to/2GxJmXz
Once upon a synth video - • Why PATCHBAYS are AWESOME
See You Later Oscillator HAT - www.SynthShit.com
// Let's Connect
Instagram - / ricky_tinez
My Music (Most is free!) - rickytinez.ban...
Spotify - open.spotify.c...
open.spotify.c...
What i use to get my music EVERYWHERE - distrokid.com/...
Where i get most Samples - bit.ly/2EQK0im
// Everything I Film With
My Main Camera - amzn.to/3kpGhs6
My Lens - amzn.to/3kerS1z
My Mic - amzn.to/2WPiRQO
Free Video Editing Software - bit.ly/bmdr-rt
If i was stuck on an island i'd take this..
amzn.to/2VGs0gH
//Contact
EnriqueMMusic at gmail dot com

[@RickyTinez]

OnceUponASynth vid here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5abe5KOn7SUfNk As well as the Samson patchbay I was talking about - amzn.to/3h2smk2

[@toastyghosty489]

Dope video but that link is dead for me.

[@seanspartan2023]

@@toastyghosty489 The link works for me

[@elpotato198]

What if you wanna hookup 5 synths to this and then depending on whatever one you want to route into your audio interface, you just patch it to there? so no bottom plug on the output for each synth, but a single output and no input on the channel for the audio interface?

[@zenkomusic]

Can confirm that the Samson one is very good!

[@l1fef0rm]

Are you familiar with the BoredBrain Patchulator 8000? Never knew I needed, couldn't live without.

[@WillisZzz]

I think what can add to the confusion sometimes, is our choice of words when describing connections, like "plug the input of your sampler/intertace IN to the output of the patch bay". If we instead describe things in terms of the signal flow, starting at the beginning of the signal chain and ending at the end of the chain, I think that would make more sense to more people. In that case we'd say "plug the output of your synth INTO the input of the patch bay and the output of the patch bay INTO the input of the interface/sampler"; to me that just naturally makes more sense. Does this make sense to anyone else? Personally, when I plug a cable into an output I don't think of it as plugging IN, I think of it as plugging OUT... By the way, great video, as always, thanks Ricky.

[@stealthyBLK]

you are right yes .

[@sebhamel]

Yeah exactly, the flow goes as a waterfall on the front of the patchbay, from top to bottom. Coming out of the top connectors to the ones on the bottom.

[@Brokeninc]

YES!!!!

[@phxphy]

I would agree. ❤️🤘🏼

[@mrfender5001]

I do the same so I understand my own routing better bc I lose myself easily on stage and hooking up rack gear in the home studio

[@JamesReedy]

Other big benefit Ricky is that it really reduces wear and tear on gear IO’s; better to clap out a $100 patchbay than an expensive or vintage piece of gear.

[@RickyTinez]

Yeah, I never thought about it that way! That is a completely valid point

[@Morne555]

my analog keys headphone output has a broken tip from a jack plug stuck in it, that was a major reason why i bought a patch bay.

[@LeslieDugger]

Even just moving the gear around to get to the output will cause wear and tear

[@burprobrox9134]

Leslie Dugger or could drop a heavy keyboard or something.

[@LeslieDugger]

Burp Robrox totally! I have a Jupiter 8 I’d hate see crash on the floor or on my foot!

[@bentdmusic]

You have such a gentle, kind way of relaying your knowledge. Such a refreshing video after seeing so many people shouting at me and not really making any sense while they're doing it. Showing your flaws and mistakes just makes it all the more relatable. Legend.

[@hdslave]

Best explanation of normal half normal patch bay on the whole internet

[@kennynyc15153]

Finally a plug in play tutorial .. I dont know wh ypeople do tutorials with literature explanations instead of just physically showing ! TY

[@KozmykJ]

Everyone's heard of 'Plugins' these days right ? Well that's where the recording term was hatched. Plugging hardware rack effects into patchbays.

[@FetzAV]

You just blew my mind! WOAH! Thanks for sharing!

[@KozmykJ]

@Cucker Tarlson Patch-bays predate the use of computers in recording. No one is denying that 'Plugin' as a noun refers to software. The idea of Plugging in however comes from Patchbays and before those, telephone switchboards.

[@KozmykJ]

@Cucker Tarlson Talk about 'walking back'. First person to use the term in connection with software, I think you'll find if you were better informed yourself. Babbage ? A fine example of the use of plugins to be sure. You seem to have taken a position based on presumptions or may be assumptions. It's an trap those of limited experience often fall into. As an old campaigner of the tape based recording days I have my memories rather than Wikipedia to aide me. A fine resource though it is.

[@KozmykJ]

I love this historical stuff, I grew up with my father's WW2 stories. Back in the 70s, College tried to steer me toward computing but I was drawn to recording and electronics. A life well squandered ... 😊 Later on I had the privilege to work at with a gentleman who had worked at Bletchley Park during WW2. Not directly on the Colossus itself but related engineering. 🎆 Got to keep learning though. These days my interest has returned to Geology, Silver Surfer style. It's good to have something that's not all music related.

[@KozmykJ]

@Cucker Tarlson Regular little ray of sunshine aren't we ? Not sure what audio tape recording has to do with a discussion on recording studio patch-bays ? I have tried to avoid making a 'claim to authority' here and will continue so to do, despite being confronted by such a supercilious attitude. Btw, Last time I looked, a 'Phrase' required there to be more than one word. Do try and learn to conduct a debate with out lowering the tone eh? Point scoring isn't a good look and is not at all helpful.

[@KozmykJ]

We used to call that "Sniff & Break" Top row are Un-normalised outputs and Botom row are Normalised inputs as you have shown. So you can take a 'Sniff' of the signal IN/OUT from the Top or 'Break' the Path when you plug something into the Input on the bottom. That's fine for In/Out or Insert Points BUT then if you just want to present individual jacks from the back of equipment you 'Usually' just Flip the card around and the permanently plugged in rear side always breaks the connection between Top and Bottom , giving you a simple output. I know YOU knew that Ricky but the vid only hinted at the last bit. 😉

[@J1M0TEE]

I saw a badass routing trick in a video by the guy who made the Minibay. Let’s say you have a sound maker with a stereo output, for example a Volca Sample. Then you plug just the right channel on the patch bay into an fx input, eg a reverb. Now you can pan dry tracks on the Sample to the left and wet tracks to the right! So you can treat tracks differently in one box with one fx input. (The Minibay has a summed feature where you can sum up to three signals, so that you can separate wet from dry, but they’re still going into one input on a mixer, for example).

[@mynam3isnathan]

Perfect Saturday content.

[@Kkidzz]

I’ve got two of the Samson’s.... really solid unit.

[@Fluxwithit]

Agreed just added a Samson patch bay in addition to my other patch bay and the Samson one is far nicer imho. Though doesn’t give much room for labels.

[@VolkorX]

You've just won the "Most Useful Video On KZbin" Award. Just bought one of these and was trying to figure out how to route everything. Thank you!

[@diglet553]

Funny coincidence, I was planning out my patchbay layout, then this video gets recommended 😅

[@khairulhazwanmusa7843]

Hey Ricky Tinez! Great vid! One question, which one would be the best cable to use on patch bay? TRS or TS cable?

[@axemanarbor]

Anybodyyyyyyyy!!!!

[@kellymerrill8024]

This just took me back to 2003 when I took an audio engineering class. Using the patchbay to route the school's buchla 200 through a gold plate reverb and record to digital performer, wish I saw this video then I hardly knew what I was doing.

[@someoneanonymous1]

I don't know many KZbin channels that get 27% of their subscriber base to watch videos 5 days since they are released. Just a testament to how being real, saying what you think, having a voice and sharing the love can create a strong community. Thanks Ricky.

[@RyansCustomShopandGearOutlet]

Like and subscribed! Lately, I’ve been buying up old vintage rack gear, and I need a patch bay to organize everything. You’ve helped me tremendously. What do you think of the Behringer Ultrapatch Pro PX3000 48-point 1/4" TRS Balanced Patchbay?

[@chris.dillon]

I did a half normaled split to the Zen Delay and basically created a send level with the input knob on it. Play something, still hear wet, turn up input knob, it feeds it in to the delay. It's like a "capture me" knob. The Zen Delay doesn't even do this. Patchbays 💯!

[@normandyflash]

I just bought one one week ago (in France); and I have to admit as a beginner it was very difficult to me to understand how u have to plug it... I looked on the Internet and I found nothing... Anyway, thank to a previous video of Ricky, I finally understood how does it work... My point is I am sure that this brand new video about patchbay will be useful to a lots of people.

[@RickyTinez]

Hopefully you found it helpful! Thanks for the support and I’m happy to help

[@chris.dillon]

I also had a hard time figuring it out. I looked for youtube videos. It's been a studio standard for so long that maybe people don't want or need to revisit it. I had to do some tests with one in hand to get my head around it. There are some conventions out there to keep you sane and organized. It can be just a mind bender sometimes. I have mine labeled and understood but I still talk to myself when changing routing. I think I have a very cool and unique setup with the octatrack and samson mixers with the sends but it's not at all perfect or a massive real studio console. I should make a video about it ... :\

[@normandyflash]

@@chris.dillon I would be glad to this video; u should make it.

[@normandyflash]

@@RickyTinez Hello, Ricky. Your videos are a great help to me : especially the last videos where u described your process/workflow with your MPC, etc. I have been owning studio gears for many years but my studio was not very organized and it was boring to use all my gears... Therefore I just did not want to make music anymore... Then I found your channel, and watch several times your videos where you described your workflow, how u use the mpc then record the whole thing in Ableton, etc. And it made me reorganize my studio, buying a Behringer patchbay and changing the way I made music before... Now, I feel very happy when I enter my studio (which is in my bedroom, by the way ;o) ) So, as the Frenchs say: " Merci beaucoup à vous, Ricky ! " Seriously, I mean it: thank you very much, u save my studio and my love to make music, Ricky.

[@stickyfox]

Once you have more gear than you can fit on your desk, patch bays are both amazing and necessary.

[@RyansCustomShopandGearOutlet]

What patch cables do you recommend for the front and for the back? I’ve seen like 8 channel snakes, but are individual cables better?

[@K1llerTunes]

I had no idea that a patch bay could be used as a plug-and-play effects send! Looks like I’m going to have to buy one now.

[@bahutu802]

Truly a game changer! I find myself quite often depressed about the limited and inflexible routing capabilities of hardware mixers, like limited amount of channels, sends, receives etc., especially with regards to using FX or quickly sampling something into (or from) a device or DAW. I always thought I had to step up the game and go for a bigger mixer with more channels, with the 'perfect' routing etc... Just to browse gear websites and to find out that you can spend hundreds or thousands on mixers, and would _still_ be stuck with a relatively inflexible routing. And after all, for the typical (home) production use cases there is no need at all to mix together 16 signals or so at the _same_ time. Well, good to learn from that video that I just need a patch bay instead, and probably all routing dreams will be leveraged forever ❤

[@elusivemite]

Wouldn't be without my patchbays. All my synths pass through on the way to my mixer All my Fx pedals are wired into the back And all my sampler inputs too. Adds so much versatility.

[@DaraM73]

I’m both half normal & unbalanced. Allegedly.

[@dougtaylor7724]

I get the feeling he would skip buying food and use the money for more gear. My man!!!

[@lundsweden]

No need for food... or anything... just live for music!

[@palmsout]

I'm still wrapping my head around the best way to use a patchbay for a really simple purpose: I have 16 ins on my mixer/interface, and I have 32 channels of outs from my gear. I want to be able to have 8 synth channels hardwired into the mixer, and then use the remaining 8 channels as rotating spots for the other 16 channels of outs. How would I best achieve this? The first half is easy, obviously, just plug the 8 synth channels directly into the mixer, but what is the best way to wire the other 24 outputs through my 24x2 channel patchbay? Before I realized what the waterfall effect was, I was just going to connect the 24 remaining outs from my gear to the back top row on my patch bay, and then only use 8 of the bottom row, connected at the back to the remaining 8 mixer ins. Then I'd use short patch cables to connect the "extra" gear I wanted to use that session to the 8 remaining ins through the bottom row of the patchbay. But taking into account the waterfall effect, this doesn't seem like the best way anymore. I guess I could still do this, and just break the normalization each time I needed to use something other than the first 8 channels in the patchbay. Sorry for the rant, does this make any sense? I'd love to suggestions from anyone. Love your videos!

[@DocBolus]

The bigger your setup gets the more essential a patchbay becomes. With only a couple of bits of kit it is a bit redundant but start to get a few more synths and a couple of outboard FX and all of a sudden it gets very confusing. Patchbays keep it simple.

[@ickebins6948]

As an electrical engineer its quite easy to understand the concept but I see how it is pretty difficult for people with no background in electronics. Keep up the good work. Those "simple" videos are what makes your channel great. Not just gear reviews (which are awesome btw.) but everyday things that make live or gear easy to use and understand.

[@RandomAnthem541]

This seems like a cool thing to have in the studio. If I typically incorporate pedals into my work flow using a mixer with aux/return, could I do that somehow? I’m trying to picture it in my head how that would shake out. For example I have a bunch of synths, going into a mixer with direct outs, some pedals routed around the mixer, and the mixers outs going to a interface - how would I work that out? I think I need to try and draw a picture..

[@GuidoGautsch]

Did you ever work this out? 😁

[@RandomAnthem541]

@@GuidoGautsch I did. I had two patch bays and a ton of gear and I got nothing done because with spent all my time routing signals and not making music lol. I sold some stuff off and I’m much happier with less. A patchbay is awesome though if you’re into sound design.

[@kbirridia]

My misconception has always been that the patch bays are literally just straight pass-throughs to allow front-routing. The "normaled" part didn't occur to me. So the way he was "being dumb" about it makes perfect sense if you don't realize it's not just a pass-through, or if it really is just 40 male-to-female 1/4" converters on a rack-mounted plate. ;) Especially if you've ever set up other types of patch panels for networking, etc.

[@HammyHavoc]

This was very good, Ricky! I used this to educate somebody about how to wire their patchbay a thousand miles away. With that said, it would have really benefitted from editing out mistakes in terminology, and getting rid of the self-deprecation as it casts doubt on the content being correct, it's fine in other videos, but when it comes to tutorial/educational content, I think it's important to be not just correct first time, but also concise. Otherwise, great stuff. Stay well!

[@RickyTinez]

Thanks for the views and input Hammy!

[@zach5539]

Hey Ricky! Im looking at starting my first "rack" - I am completely at a loss as to how they route with have external compressors/preamps etc. Any chance you can make a video on explaining how your setup works and what a beginner needs to consider? Thanks!

[@sandyturner1911]

O M G...I need one of these, but I would never be able to figure this out..Well, not Never, but it would take me longer, without this. Thanks, Ricky!

[@MusicFed]

What’s the ideal length for the front patch cables? 0.6m? Which ones are you using? Thanks

[@Sharon-music]

im sitting here shopping for a patchbay thinking about how im going to route everything and so on. And then PLING a notification showing me that you want to tell me all about patchbays :) Lovley

[@orphic-trench]

Hey Ricky! Have you encountered any problems by sending your synth's unbalanced TS outputs to balanced TRS cables plugged into your interface? I'm planning my patchbay right now and this really has me puzzled.

[@axemanarbor]

Finally I found the question I was about to ask . But no answers from anyone ?? Helloooooooo somebodyyyyyyy!! With a reverb and echo patched in

[@axemanarbor]

How dod you end up going with it ?

[@orphic-trench]

@@axemanarbor I made a GS thread about this, and it seems that as long as your synths are plugged into the TRS cables using TS cables, it should be fine. You can go from TS to TRS through the patchbay, but you can't go from TRS back to TS. Or at least that's what I understood. Haven't finished patching everything up, but will let you know if I run into any problems.

[@isaac.anthony]

Samson unit is great, no regrets purchasing. If you're real clever, you can get 1/4 to 1/8 inch cables, and you can integrate your eurorack with some of your older gear that has CV/gate. The older gear usually has 1/4 inputs/outputs for their cv/gate.

[@RickyTinez]

Oh damn didn’t even think about that! Thanks Isaac

[@isaac.anthony]

@@RickyTinez I have an Elextrix filter factory and a DP4+ that both have 1/4 inputs for CV control, my patchbay is part of my eurorack setup.

[@jessejarrar]

Thanks as always for the quality content! Did have a couple questions for you or the other viewers here. 1. If I have a ton of guitar pedals I'd like to use with all of my synths / drum machines as well, is it possible to route a guitar into a patch bay? I was thinking maybe having an "in front of amp" as well as spots for the fx loop built into my amp. 2. How do you wire a stereo pedal, for example a meris mercury 7 which only has one trs input and 2 outputs? I'd guess just a y cable? 3. Lastly, if I have outboard stereo pedals in my patch bay, can I also use them as mono fx without rewiring the back of the patch bay? Thanks to anyone and everyone for their 2 cents and for reading

[@tcos332]

Just skip some bills and mortgages and go with a Flock 😂 they actually are nice just ridiculously priced

[@calleenmusicchannel]

‘We are gonna go in to input #1 of our audio interface.’ Plugs in to the interface. Then ‘Input on the patchbay’ this is confusing.

[@thomasdalgas8252]

Maan, i had this patchbay for years, and i have totally misunderstood this.. Feels like an idiot, re-arranging everything now.. Thanks Ricky 🤣

[@BaileyHeredge]

I needed this vid. Routings always confused me. Cheers bro

[@GrahndDorkus]

Bo beats made a really good one too! Got me up to speed when I got my patchbay

[@miss.wright3035]

Lossless 24bit / 192kHz over gigabit wireless patch bay. 1024 assignable wireless ports, device based URL managed. Simply plug a rechargeable 1/4" wireless transmitter dongle into your synth. This will be reality in 2025 - spread the word !

[@anhellehna6858]

Liked the video BUT stop calling input of a gear "output". It's already confusing enough how patchbay passes the signal, so don't make it more complicated. For example you take your synth's output BUT connect it to patchbay's INPUT so it receives the signal. And then take the patchbay's output, connect it to the input of your audio interface, recorder or whatever. Don't take it personally though. I say it to people who make demonstration videos about patchbay in general and mix up what's input and what's output. Anyways, so far the best explaining video about the use cases of patchbay and different routing methods.

[@anhellehna6858]

Liked the video BUT stop calling input of a gear "output". It's already confusing enough how patchbay passes the signal, so don't make it more complicated. For example you take your synth's output BUT connect it to patchbay's INPUT so it receives the signal. And then take the patchbay's output, connect it to the input of your audio interface, recorder or whatever. Don't take it personally though. I say it to people who make demonstration videos about patchbay in general and mix up what's input and what's output. Anyways, so far the best explaining video about the use cases of patchbay and different routing methods.

[@ohheyitskevinc]

Nice video! I have 5 rack synths - MKS-80, MKS-70, JD-990, EMU 9090 and a TX-802 and at first my assumption was - get a mixer and throw everything in and have L/R out to an audio interface and into the mac and use the mixer to control levels - or get an audio interface with 10 or more inputs. I then realized - I don’t need to listen to or record all the synths at the same time, so I don’t need the mixer, and as for the audio interface - a Scarlett 18i20 is powerful but ridiculously expensive, so I got a 4i4 (a 2i2 would do it too) and got the Samson 48 point balanced patch bay, plugged the 5 synths into the 10 “ins” on the back with my most used synth on the first 2, have the first 2 outs on the back of the patchbay always going to the Scarlett, and then just use patch cables on the front to choose which synth I want to go to the Scarlett. For example - 1 and 2 on the back is my MKS-80. 25 and 26 directly below that on the back go out to the Scarlett. 3 and 4 on the back is the JD-990. If I want to record or listen to the MKS - I don’t need to do anything. If I want to listen to the JD-990, just plug patch cables from 3 to 25 and from 4 and 26 on the front. As for effects - I just add it between the patch bay out to the Scarlett in.

[@BrentODell]

I'm here watching this again, because I couldn't remember how it worked. As a guitar player, this is an effects loop. That's how effects loops on guitar amps work. Hopefully, I won't have trouble remember this stuff now. :)

[@Martbass64]

Watched this several times now - takes a while to sink in, but cool and fun. Thanks Ricky ✌

[@sketchdashaman]

i've been ignoring Patch Bays for over 30yrs now & watched this video for who knows how many times. so from "my" understanding its A "Buffered Mult/Router"? Really Wish I knew this years ago. So Much Spaghetti made in those years.

[@LeslieDugger]

My standard is to go with TRS (balanced) half normal patch bays. There aren’t any real downsides to half normaling and having balanced connections.

[@axemanarbor]

Thankyou ! I been looking for your post and found it .

[@LeslieDugger]

@@axemanarbor nice! You are welcome! It’s really easy to over think this! Btw… check out monoprice for high quality TRS cables that are affordable.

[@axemanarbor]

@@LeslieDugger Thankyou!

[@tr9092]

Great video. How does your 16-channel mixer factor in to your patch bay setup? Or does it? Back in the day, I just used my 40-point bay in totally non-normalled fashion as just a way to connect things w/o moving cables, etc. I'm just getting back to setting up my studio again and after watching a bunch of your videos I'm wondering if you use your 16-channel mixer with your patch bay at all. I'm guessing that will depend on whether you do most of your mixing in the DAW or on the hardware mixer (?)

[@seravenerdi]

Ricky, the WIZ....I'd like your expert opinion: I got a Fostex x26 recorder. Only left channel has a low hum across all outs (line out L, headphone L, monitor L). I disconnected capstan motor, VU meters, still exists. Tried a different pwr adapter, no luck. No jacks plugged into it either.

[@verifiedpersonae7332]

Using left/right top/bottom is perfectly reasonable strategy with unnormalled style patch bays. There are lots of flexible ways of using that as well. There's a reason patch bays come in different configurations and switchable configurations

[@MathieuAlepin]

Thanks for the videos! Very insightful! Do you have any patchbay 1/4 inch cables recommendations for a patchbay?

[@AcydDrop]

I use a 64 point Switchcraft Studio Patch patchbay - pretty much all the same except mine has DB-25's on the back instead of 6.35mm jacks. The DB25's just makes re-wiring if necessary so much easier and I can just DB-25 from my audio interface (a Focusrite RedNet A16R) to the DB-25 on the back of the patchbay. They make DB-25 breakout cables with 6.35mm or other jacks for whatever you need. It's a lot cleaner I think.

[@willmcelroy6376]

I didn’t understand any of that...but for some reason, after mentally trying to follow what your doing, plugging, routing and unplugging...I now have telekinetic abilities😳

[@TheRobGuard]

Thanks for the video! 👍As a home user with a small studio with very few hardware gear except the audio interface and some other stuff I dont think I need this just yet anyway... With time buying more and more outboard gear like preamps, compressors, etc I guess it would become a good thing though. Seems very useful!

[@510th]

The waterfall.. thnx, thats how i learn the best.. clears it up and makes it stick in my brain :D I am curious, if top back are say 5 dif synths, and you want them all to be captured by one device, does that one device input go to position 5 on the bottom (assuming first 5 are the unique synths). Cheers!@

[@NatureMovies]

Bit off topic but I couldn't help but notice the Focusrite Pro 40 there. I had the same converters for several years. I always felt they were solid and had no qualms about the output. They reeally are solid, that box has good mic-pres, lots of I/o for the time, recorded hundreds of pieces through them. I added, not traded, an Apogee Duet firewire on a separete Mac Pro machine and the sound difference was incredible. I'm not going to say better, but the Apogee converters definitely sounded more musical and rich. Hang on for the next move. After six years I finally got my Burl B80 mothership with 4 in and 8 out starting configuration(can go up to 80 with cards). These are the best converters I've ever heard by a universe or 2. Most of the big studios are adopting them. Not cheap, but the difference between my output no and the good ole Focusrite was almost impossible to describe. Highly recommended.

[@killakicks]

I love you thanks for doing this. I’ve been unplugging to plug back in that it gets exhausting lol

[@ChaceBonanno]

With tons of mics that have propriety >3-pin XLRs, multiple monitors, a headphone amp, and outboard gear, a patch bay is essential. Such a bitch to constantly rewire things.

[@truckwillis9375]

With respect, ur titles consistently got me straight mad... also for anyone reading I’m using a dbx trs and a neutrik trs patch bay, cannot tell a difference, but the neutrik feels better and has individual housing per in/out. Anything from a decent company that’s in the $100 range is fine for trs bays, can’t speak on tt/db25 stuff. If you’ve got more gear than inputs on your interface or more than a couple external effects it’s very worth it, pedals included...

[@althewicked]

Nice one! Thanks man. Did you tried how many times you can split the signal till the quality of the sound is noticeably worser than before? ...sorry for my Englsich :)

[@freddiesamples]

I have been dealing with should I do this or what for a while now! And after watching your video you have convinced me to get a patch bay. Adding more gear I out grew my Mackie 1202 and bought another 1202 and then using a Boss BR1600 for more inputs with all of this going into a 2 channel interface to record, something had to give. I had to move cables to sample, effects, vocoders and experiment. More cables were the issue with everything currently midi hub, USB hub and audio almost had me looking at in the box. However as a keyboard player it ain't the same. So I am ordering the Samson S after watching OnceUponASynth. I am convinced that I need a patch bay.

[@olinewman]

As someone who just wasted 5 months staring at a patchbay, Thank you. xx

[@chimonlam7537]

I'm not a religious man - but god bless you Ricky! Love your attitude and your content :)

[@RickyTinez]

Haha thanks for the support ChiMon!

[@chimonlam7537]

@@RickyTinez Your very welcome! btw the Samson patchbay is really great - I have two and will almost certainly get more as the studio expands. Having the switch on the front is perfect. The only downside with the unit is that there is almost no room to label the ins/outs which is quite important. My solution was to get some 1/3U or 1/2U blank panels that are installed above and below each patchbay. Then I printed the labels out using an Excel spreadsheet and finally got some adhesive clear plastic label displays - sort of like those used on shelves in supermarkets but much smaller - added the labels and stuck them onto the panels. www.amazon.com/Durable-801019-200X10Mm-Labelfix-Self-Adhesive/dp/B000KT6RJO.

[@nusendian1075]

Thank you for the great information, I will have to buy a patch bay to organize my cables.

[@groovizm]

Thanks, I always find your videos informative and entertaining. I like the uses for it you mention: a) taking any output to your sampler to sample, b) inserting an effect and, c) splitting the signal to add an effect and route it back to another channel. I think I need to get myself a patchbay now... oh, and the samsung patchbay you mentioned is also explained here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIXWkISNYr11acU

[@Coolasfonzie]

ricky! love your videos, but I keep hearing some alias frequencies. Especially in your voice, the upper upper frequencies kinda square off.

[@miguelfranco9655]

I've been digging around for a pachbay that I can use to connect XLR condenser mics as well as a drum machine and turn table. Do they have Pachbays were you can connect XLR cables for mics that new phantom power with the same normal/half normal setup?

[@vanizell7937]

90-$100? Expensive? That’s like too cheap. Don’t buy any gear that cheap unless it’s used

[@walrtbstudios5430]

Watching this makes me really glad I work with a) an iPad and b) a four-in/two-out Steinberg interface. When something just drops out I know it’s the synth, not the way it’s connected.

[@DanielS10291]

trying to set up a patch bay with some better pres than my interface has, and an eq and a compressor. I kindof get it after watching this...but im also sort of MORE confused. i dont think it will make sense until i go and buy one. What cables do we have to use?

[@3phaseBerlin]

absloutly necessary for Studio work and msny hardware fx.. also helps a lot when your desk just has 28 channels, that can be occupied by fx returns alone. Or an audio interface with just 8 inputs.. do you want to climb behind every hour? And dont tell me that people dont have such big setups, they all own half doesnt of synths and 4 drum machines, tendencie growing. And hardware fx came back into fashion aswell, the second hand prices have often doubled within the last 2 years..

[@mapache_al_ataque]

Just got a Hosa PBH -185. This was super helpful. Thanks!

[@melihkaleciklioglu]

Guitardude here. So the back io is basically in/out while the front panel is the fx-loop to that in/out? I want to get into patching things in and out, would love to get a zoia but well. So i am looking into how i can physically interchange pedals as if my pedalboard was a modular system. Sure my Boss ES-8 can route pedals in whatever order, but as soon as i want to add something that is not patched into it or has no permanent place on may board things get messy. Thinking about getting a patchbay to basically mimic that modular theme. Thanks for the insight Ricky!

[@michaelrivas4076]

Nice ! Loved your demo and explanation would like to know what audio interface you’re using as well

[@ERMAC4482]

Is there a way to group all of the outputs so you would only need one channel on your interface ? I'm wondering if I should just get a mixer? It seems like a patch bay is more for intuitive reasons but I want to combine all my drum machines into channel, or how many inputs does your interface have ?

[@noahsiekmann4275]

Great video! I've been so confused by patchbays! This video was exactly what I needed to know.

[@dlvnmedia]

Ricky, I got a free patch bay but it’s missing like three internal patch points. Is this going to effect things much or can I still use it for my small studio? I can always order more to finish it up but I don’t have that much gear or outboard right now.

[@naturligfunktion4232]

What I haven't got though, is if you have a bunch of preamps, and a bunch of microphones. When all the preamps are connected to the patch bay, where do I connect the microphone? Do I need to have all my microphones connected at all times?

[@lorenzschmidt6484]

Man ur awesome! I been seeing so much videos bout patchbays which suck so hard. U opened my eyes and I finally got it.

[@grantm7864]

Have been on the fence and this pushed me over. I need a few more cables but love the new setup, especially with the Thru option on the Samson. Thanks for all the videos and for changing my desktop world with this one!

[@astropolia]

I have a lot of effects I want to permanently install to my patchbay. Can I just plug the output of my reverb to the top row and the input to the bottom row? Isnt that the same as plugging your outputs to your inputs and that would cause feedback and damage the equipment? How would you set it up?

[@dylanhaugen7875]

I'm still a bit confused. Can I have multiple instruments chained into one audio interface through the patch bay?

[@clipz1]

i aint even watched the whole vid yet but thanks im coming from always being inside the box only usings daw's but recently i copped a bunch of synths and some oldschools effects spring reverbs delays ect but i got overwhelmed and had no clue how to ''hook it all up'' what you showed was simple but made a ton of sense so far so thanksss man !! deffo about to sub ! peeacee

[@Non-dw5lu]

Any tips on how to run my stereo pedals along with mono pedals? Stereo Sampler or Drum Machine through mono pedals etc?

[@beesechurger1466]

Great vid! I’d love to see you make a vid about some of the korg volcas if you have some lying around. Being small analog synths, it seems like it’s be right up your alley!

[@mattkaz9604]

This is great. I bought a patchbay about 3 months ago, when it arrived I read the manual, realized I was confused, and it's been sitting on my desk taunting me ever since. I think I know how to set it up now in a permanent-ish way.

[@JaysonAngove]

Awesome video super helpful! Thank you for taking time to make this video!

[@Gstation9]

Thank you for your simplified approach. No one could ever break it down to me like you do ! Your Awesome Dude !

[@smokedoggbaby953]

Patchbays 😂......the essential tool u didn't kno u needed until u get one

[@frankvazquez5974]

I don't get how mono/stereo would work on this properly. Patch bays be confusin.

[@theFloxie]

What a bro! when i've been trying to find info about patchbays otherwise they've always been the pure technical explanation of them (as i study audio production @uni this is no surprise) but i don't think i've ever found an explanation as concise as this. Straight 10/10.

[@RiczWest]

Great Vid! Says he... running out the door to buy the patch bay I didn't know I needed.. ;)

[@scamlikely1442]

Haha just bought a behringer px3000 on ebay and wondered why the hell there were so many bidders, then I see this video. Wtf bro haha!

[@redonk87]

I always thought they were used to plug in fx without daisychaining them..like they all play side by side instead of through each other

[@fairgrowfreestyles]

Bro I appreciate this upload - but had it playing in 2x speed and was still thinking it is so slow - so much fluff, just wanted to learn simple basics of patching mics

[@Mr_A_Mia]

Trace Audio Patchbay Labels…hope this helps someone.✌🏾

[@fkngroove]

Thanks Ricky! Nice video and info!! very helpfully