Patchbays: How They Work and How to Use Them in Your Studio

APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE for my terrible handwriting. At long last, this video has finally been made. I've had requests for this video for years and I finally made it! This video is all about patchbays. How they work, why they work, and how to use them in your studio. Also we talk a lot about routing and signal flow, so hopefully that will help clarify some things for you. I'm using the Samson S-Patch plus, but I have used the Neutrik patchbays, and I have wired many of my own patchbays. They're all a little different but they have the same basic functionality: to allow you to easily route signals from one point to another.
Clarification again for those that may be confused: my preamp patchbay is PURPOSELY wired upside down, different than the “standard” way one might do it. I explain this in the video, but I just want to clarify. The standard practice is output over input. But ultimately there are no “rules” per se; just guidelines. Do it however it makes the most sense in your setup. Ultimately it’s more important to understand the signal flow of how patchbays work than it is to just copy what I do here.
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[@spencermedman]

This was the best tutorial on patchbays that I have found on youtube . Thank you very much for the excellent explanation on this confusing subject!

[@MrEnagee]

Yep

[@davidg7136]

Ikr🤝🏾

[@juliantlchan]

Can’t agree more

[@jaredwhispell4793]

This is the best patchbay explanation/education I’ve ever seen

[@elbiso2004]

This has been one of the best tutorials on patchbays I’ve found. I know it would be a pain, but a follow up video showing the actual hookup of your gear would be awesome.

[@belaneirmiller2637]

Best tutorial in patch bays I've seen so far🎉 great work!

[@alanmclean2713]

Best explanation of different patchbay configurations I have come across and I've watched plenty. What makes the tutorial a cut above the rest is the demonstration of the different applications for different modes of patchbay configurations whereas most tutorials explain how the connection work front and back with and without patch cables being inserted but without demonstrating what studio equipment is most suitable for which patchbay configuration.

[@humbuckercafe]

Thanks! That definitely shines a light on patchbays. Cheers from Poland!

[@justinkraus158]

Best video tutorial on patch bays (Jack Fields) on KZbin!

[@hossamfouda1510]

Totally agreed with other people's comments, was really best tutorial I ever watched.

[@theintentionalist]

You must be an IRL teacher of something because this was the best I could find on this subject in years of searching on youtube. The VISUALS are everything for me anyways. Thanks!

[@phobophob]

been going through a lot of patchbay tutorials now and this is by far the best. thank you!

[@ZipSnipe]

I watched 5 different vids on patchbays and this is the only one that got a like

[@ZipSnipe]

I also wanna say that for each device you hook up your average cost in cable will be $28 unless you build your own. Or more if you wanna go hi end

[@tomlewis2477]

You're handwriting is excellent! Nothing to be sorry about. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. Out of the many, many videos I've seen, yours is the first one where I finally get it. The diagrams you drew really help seal the understanding. In other vids, you can't SEE where things are connected. Even the manual to my Behringer PX3000 is confusing as hell, because it was written in a different country (I'm fairly certain), and they don't put themselves in the user's shoes, but it's a nice unit. Thanks again very much!

[@MadACeTeeMack]

Best tutorial I've seen about patchbays; 😊

[@francescoasaro8867]

Man I was desperate...You just made my day! Thank you so much!

[@JuanRamone23]

You just gained a subscriber out of me . The way you break down and explain through visual drawn examples and then actual physical examples on the hardware itself is awesome bro ! A lot of people have the knowledge but are horrible at TEACHING IT AND MAKING IT UNDERSTANDABLE! I look forward to gaining more knowledge through your channel fam ‼️💪🏽

[@hoangsapham4390]

The clearest explanation and extra tips for using patchbay. Many thanks to you.

[@djsolid978]

Best explanation of a patchbay. Watched about 10 videos before and it was still cloudy. Cheers!

[@albertrosa9954]

Best Patchbay Video Ive seen . Thanks!

[@luklagrande]

Best explanation on the topic!! Thanks so much!! ❤

[@composerken]

Explanation par excellence.

[@entityidentity1773]

Have recently discovered your content. Just wanted to tell you, thanks a lot for what you’ve done on youtube and especially on your podcast, I’ve learned so much from you already, even though there’s still a lot of content I’ve yet to check out. Just thank you for your work, man.

[@BenjaminFranceMusic]

Thank you SOOOO much! I've been searching for what seems like FOREVER on how to wire up/integrate my patchbay into my studio, and this just solved it!

[@maxperson590]

this is exactly how explanations should be, great work, thx

[@MariusDanielsen]

Very good and easy to understand! (Finally, haha). So many videos out there that are so hard to understand.

[@XIIMonkeysMusicGroup]

Finally! A video that shows signal routing from the back!

[@juliantlchan]

Absolutely the most clear explanation that I’ve seen! Many thanks!

[@thomasshugar5636]

Out of the BA-ZILLION patchbays videos on YT- Your video is NUMBER ONE....'Liked and SUBSCRIBED' Also, Can you do a video on reducing noise floor, noise in monitors, emf noise, buzzing, ground loops, how to get rid of noise, etc?

[@hummarstraful]

Ok this is the 10th patchbay video I have watched and the best! Gonna download and save. Thanks!

[@jb-enjoyment]

What an great explanation, you gotta keep making videos these are gems for home artists.

[@elyot4010]

Not meaning to sharpshoot, but in the normalled configuration, wouldn't you want to have the input of the interface on the bottom rear & the output of the pre at the top rear for the "waterfall" default? I watched the last part & see why you would do that based on how you configured your components. You can do it any way you want I guess lol. My interface is on the bottom of the rack so I would do it different. To repeat what other have said here. This is, by far, the best explanation of a patchbay I've seen. My synths now out-number my inputs so I'm going to have to invest in one. However, I AM going to use a normalled path for my main synth to the interface & patch in those I use as an auxiliary. Great vid!

[@RecordingLounge]

Yeah by default I probably WOULD do it that way: I just do it the way I do it because it’s convenient. Haha

[@elyot4010]

@@RecordingLounge Makes sense! I'm glad you did. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it & just learning. BECAUSE you do it they way you do, instead of blowing my mind, you made me understand it better

[@ProducersVault]

Dude you rock, great tutorials, and absolutely no thumbs down as of OCT 29 2020

[@120brg]

Super helpful 🫡🔥

[@jimittenbach]

Awesome explanation. Most of the manuals that come with patch bays are a bit sparse. Providing the examples on real world use really helps clarify things. Not only what thru, normal and half normal are but how to sue them. It all makes much more sense now. I figured it out by trial and error. I probably would have made some different configuration choices had I seen this first :-)

[@rustyAF]

INSANELY helpful, man.

[@gw9818]

Thanks, this is a great explanation. Keep on doing tutoriels. :-))

[@grahamhughes2025]

great teaching on a what can seem complicated stuff to understand....much appreciated

[@Theyrewrong827]

Best explination by far!

[@traitortotheliving]

Great video super helpful an informative as I set up a couple patch bays in my home studio. I was a little confused when you switched from top to bottom for the last two lessons but figured it out. Thanks I really appreciate it! Subscribed

[@billyhughes9776]

Fantastic tutorial -- the best I've found. You're a really good teacher. Thanks.

[@johnpaulpatton9786]

I will definitely be referring back to this excellent video again and again!

[@jacobphilip1942]

This was the best tutorial on patchbays thank you

[@dennisrochat7747]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to make this video and explain this. Huge help!

[@patrizio7]

Thanks this is a really useful explanation. Just one noob question regarding cables. I have balanced I/O on my interface but some of my synths and fx have unbalanced I/O. If my patchbay is balanced, does it matter if I just use unbalanced cables for patching? Is there any benefit to using just balanced cables?

[@bnjmnwst]

I think using balanced cables can potentially give a benefit. If you have unbalanced cables, try them. If no problem, you're good. If you do have a problem with noise, try a balanced cable. If someone else who is just starting out is reading this, I'd go ahead and start with balanced cables, as they should head off any noise issues from the jump.

[@Kharrari]

This is the best patchbay explanation. Thank you.

[@kevinstafford3583]

That was EXTREMELY well done sir! I still have NOOOO idea what any of it means, but I figure if I watch it a few more times it'll make sense, cuz u talked to me like I'm a 5 year old, and that's EXACTLY how I need this kinda stuff explained to me lol. Seriously, I've watched MANY vids on patchbays (I don't even OWN one yet but I'm fixin to in the next week or so) and this is by FAR the best....you LITERALLY DREW ME PICTURES!!! (I also appreciate ya using sharpies instead of crayons for my ego) Ya gotta sub outta me, I wish ya the best!

[@composerdorianbell]

Without a doubt the best explanation, thank you.

[@user-or3ce4gt2r]

Thanks . I just received the exact same patchbay Samson . I would need to watch a few more times :)

[@Mr_A_Mia]

Great explanation on this topic. Bravo man!

[@MarnixMohrmannPiano]

After watching many videos on patchbays, this is the best one! But, I am still wondering if it's for me. I am about to upgrade my studio with some hardware gear and already have about 5 synths. I'm wondering if I just simply need more I/O rather than a patchbay and that's proven to be difficult to conceptualize. Though it is a joy to be able to venture into the hardware realm!

[@king-kore-studio]

Excellent video!!!

[@davidg7136]

Great job 👏🏾 patch bays explained!

[@Adamfront]

Thanks for this excellent clarification.

[@milosmilosmilos]

Thank you for this!

[@ynginferno]

great explanation!

[@GeoZero]

Great job explaining and showing.

[@GregPotratz]

Great teacher.

[@theta9051]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

[@RenzoG9-Topic]

Definitely the best explanation! 👍🏾

[@bucklaker3980]

What a great video. Very clear explanation.

[@luisharo9204]

Great video here bud! Had to agree with everyone on here.

[@TECH3_]

Great one dude great one

[@TrentFlips]

very helpful thank you!

[@nicoladadamo3355]

Thank you so much!

[@DanYannay]

best explanation ever, thank you

[@gabrielheiser]

Really helped me out a lot. Thanks!

[@bobstaurovsky3506]

What no one shows is the I/O from the mixing board, then you use a “Y” cable, now the whole game changes.

[@CoreZeroStudios]

Very helpful video--thanks!

[@rustyAF]

I genuinely feel like I understand basic patchbay setup now.

[@CamiloVelandia]

Thank you!!!!

[@kevinlentz7604]

Done well thank you

[@hughesdrive]

On the "normalled" example I notivced that you had the output of the pre in the lower part of the jack field and the input to the interface on the top which contradicts the general rule you stated in the "thur" example. Otherwise, nice vid!

[@RecordingLounge]

I explain why I do this in the video.

[@jeffharmon2827]

Amazing!

[@kylefisher4895]

Could you explain how phantom power works in your setup? I've heard there could be potential damage to equipment or microphones if used incorrectly.

[@peterellman9672]

thank you so much

[@ernestdaniels1671]

Hello Spencer, may I ask what tape did you use on your Samson S Patch Plus patchbay? I tried premade patch labels, but the writing space was too small, however your added tape looks like the right size. Thanks you.

[@flaviob829]

Hi! Thanks for this great video. It's quite easy to understand how patch bays work - it's the best video on this topic I've seen until now ;-) I got a question: you mention that "outs over ins" is the most usual way to use patch bays. I've just got 2x NYS-SPP-L1 and the standard configuration is "half-normalled bottom row". This way the upper row is always connected (normalled) front-rear and inserting a plug in the front bottom row would break the connection (and thus having a "thru" situation). Now with this "half-normalled bottom row" setup, I have my instruments connected on the rear bottom row and my interface on the rear top row. If I now want to connect a "guest instrument" from the front, I cannot do this because: - if I plug it in the top row, its audio signal gets merged to the one from the instrument already patched on the rear; - if I plug it in the bottom row, no audio will reach my interface. So how would you suggest configuring my NYS-SPP-L1 to achieve my goal?

[@RecordingLounge]

Hey Flavio - If I understand your situation correctly: if you plug a cable into the front bottom back (just a loose patch cable) and then plug your guest instrument into the top it should work. Just leave the patch cable unconnected.

[@flaviob829]

@@RecordingLounge Hi and thanks for getting back to me. Your suggestion will work, yes. Now I could also just invert the "outs over ins" paradigm and go for "ins over outs". Would that be "bad", in terms of not really using a non-written standard ("outs over ins")? :-)

[@ForSynthsSake]

I have one question. I am using a Focusrite Claret 8 pre usb but the first two inputs are located at the front of the unit. In my case it is a Rode NT1 that needs the 48v supply. I have two 3 way patchbays one samson like yours and the other the Behringer px3000. The Behringer currently has effects units all in thru mode. My Samson 1 and 2 are in normal mode connected to the speakers from Clarett 1 and 2 out. At first all the Clarett ins and outs were connected in thru mode using Samson 3 to 8 my Octopre dynamic is currently connected as thru on 11 to 18 on the Samson. But it is like spaghetti junction. How could I coonect up those two inputs at the front of the Clarett?

[@DaisyHollowBooks]

Your handwriting is *way* better than mine.

[@mrfeenix1]

Hi Thanks for the explanation. How would i set up a Sidechain ? I have two types of Compressor one has an Insert type (dbx 266xs) Sidechain input and a (Furman LC-6 ) which has an IN & OUT Jack for each Sidechain. From your Video would the Insert one use Normal? Not got a clue about the other one. It states that the dbx one if a jack is inserted it breaks the connection from the INPUT jack to the 266xs detection circuit. So if it was Normal it would complete the circuit until i send a signal through the patchbay input? Does that sound about right? Any help would be appreciated :)

[@danielsanders4791]

great - thanks

[@fatfabeswilly]

thank you so much man

[@bobeschism9426]

Nobody on the internet seems to be able to answer: how do you set it up if you don't have seperate pre-amps, and use the pre-amps of your interface?

[@paddyburke4148]

Great vid thanks for sharing

[@synapsexcracked501]

For compressed vocals why u put quarter inch in interface in ? Not in mic output ?

[@HiredGoonage]

this is opposite of the waterfall description of where the outputs are on the top and the inputs are on the bottom, but I guess it can work the same in either case.

[@RecordingLounge]

I explain why I do this on patchbay 1 in the video.

[@shelterarea4]

nice ... can you perhaps explain how phantom power would or would not work thru a patchbay ?

[@user-gl4sd1cc6b]

Thanks

[@G_handle]

Maybe I missed it, but why are you breaking the convention of Outs over Ins for your Mic Pres and Converters?

[@RecordingLounge]

Because my interface is directly above that patchbay, and it’s shorter cabling that doesn’t have to cross over itself

[@jaymartin294]

Thanks for mentioning this. I thought I was going out of my mind as he proceeded to describe the use cases. All of my patchbays are configured as "Outs over Ins" whereby in half-normalled mode, plugging something into the *top* serves to "tap" into the output source, all the while the bottom (in) continues to receive everything from the top (out).

[@RadekPilich]

Does it matter whether balanced or unbalanced patch cables are used?

[@RecordingLounge]

In an ideal situation, you’d have balanced patchbays and balanced cabling for EVERYTHING.

[@mtae5]

What if I just want enough inputs for a lot of synths, but just want it all coming out of a single L/R output? Does a patchbay help, or is a mixer what I need?

[@electricreligious]

This was great, but what happens with the phantom power from the mic pre or the interface?

[@RecordingLounge]

This is a great question, and one of the reasons I don’t have active phantom power on my bay. A lot of studios I’ve worked in have the live room lines on the bay as well as the preamp inputs on the bay, and the idea is that you can patch any channel to any preamp. But to me this puts you at risk for arcing +48V across the patch cable, which is something that can damage some ribbons or transformer-less mics. Instead, I connect my live room snake directly to preamps and only put their OUTPUTS on the bay. It saves cabling, saves a patching step, and means there’s zero risk for arcing phantom!

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

What does it look like in a DAW like Cubase or Studio One?

[@12389herbie]

Dude... you absolutely killed it in this explanation. I would love to pick your brain just a little bit if you have time!

[@simonetolomelli]

Thanks, now I get it.

[@NoCoverCharge]

Ok I understand patchbay a bit how do you make it work with your interface ???and what interface is that

[@agesonjohanesburg2915]

What about patch bays for xlrs? same concept? Do you need balanced TRS on this? Thanks!

[@elissitdesign]

I have the Samson-S patchbay and I can hear audio faintly bleeding through when I have the switch set to Thru. Am I doing something wrong?

[@RecordingLounge]

I have noticed that on certain channels before, but not every single one. Partly depends how loud the signal is, and how bad the crosstalk is on the particular unit. I’ve replaced one SPatch before because I was noticing it on a lot of channels. It seemed to be better on the new one. If you really want the purest signal with no crosstalk, you’ll have to get a fixed thru board that’s just Jack to jack, no switching.

[@elissitdesign]

The Recording Lounge-Ace reply thanks. It’s a drum machine going into my UA Apollo rack which has lots of compression. After compression it comes through, good to know. Maybe I won’t send the drum machine so hot.

[@RecordingLounge]

I’ve experienced the same thing even on a headphone snake before, all independently wired channels. I was running a DI signal on the same snake as a headphone mix that was super hot. I ended up getting click track into my bass DI! I eventually made a second snake just for headphone mixes. It’s A real problem that not many people notice. Best way to handle it is to manage gain staging and make sure stuff is wired intelligently.... don’t patch super hot signals next to super weak signals, etc.

[@RecordingLounge]

Really good cabling with really good shielding Is also super important. Canare for example is braided shield, versus Mogami which is stranded. Canare will block out a little bit more noise and crosstalk. Foil shield works even better, but it’s really only suitable for installs behind the rack - too fragile for live room snakes or mic cables or even patch cables. But going from the gear to the patchbay.... foil shield can work really well for that because it doesn’t move.

[@cw4285]

any chance you'd be willing to come by and set this up for me ? my head is spinning !!! haha thank you for the excellent video !

[@Cowboy-Ben-Alman]

The input and output are reversed in your normalled and half normalled examples. What you have right now at 10:10 makes no sense, because once you've plugged a cable into the top to split the Mic Pre output, if you then plug a cable into the bottom, the new cable is now the Mic Pre output and the previously patched top output cable is now patched to the Interface INPUT. It's dangerous to have the nature of a patch cable change by plugging in another cable! Remember what you said: "out over in." Because the Mic Pre is really the out (audio is being output from it) and the Interface is the in (audio needs to be input to it). Then, with the Mic Pre on the top, you can plug a cable into the top to split the audio from the Mic Pre so that it goes through the cable you just connected as well as to the Interface. And if you plug a cable into the bottom, it will override the "split" to the Interface and allow you to patch directly to it.

[@RecordingLounge]

There’s nothing dangerous about it. It’s a passive connection in either signal flow direction.

[@RecordingLounge]

My preamp patchbay is wired upside down (in over out) on purpose

[@Cowboy-Ben-Alman]

Using a patchbay that's been deliberately wired backwards to teach people how to wire a patchbay is confusing and irresponsible. Not just that, it makes no sense for a half normalled patchbay, since there's no way to patch an input to the Interface without first inserting a dummy patch cable into the Mic Pre output.

[@RecordingLounge]

I say this in the video. Irresponsible? Man, cool off. I use this patch bay every day and it works perfectly, with no dummy plugs needed. I think you are confused.

[@Cowboy-Ben-Alman]

Why not just always follow "out over in" and always patch from top to bottom? What's the benefit of sometimes patching from top to top or bottom to bottom? It seems like a recipe for disaster.

[@SFLRECORDSCOMPANY]

Hi, very good tuto, but i need more help, can i send you an email to help me about my configuration? I have a signex pst96 db25. thx