Members moody Posted November 6, 2007 Members Share Posted November 6, 2007 I have written in a previous thread that I am streamlining my PA as best I can. The two biggest points that came out of that was that I needed a trolley and I needed to improve the ease of setting it up. On the second point, the most time is spent plugging parts of the PA together (aside from mics etc. which you can't avoid). Currently I have 5 seperate component cases that make up my PA. A case for my mixer which includes a half rack effects unit and a full rack compressorA 5 unit rack case with 3 31 band eq's (monitors) and a 2 unit power amp.3 other cases each with a 4 unit power amp - generally I only need two of these. I am trying to figure out the best, yet cost effective, way of connecting them all together. One thought is to make TRS patch panels on each item which are lined up so that I only have to plug in several cables in a row between each item without thinking to much about it. Another option would be XLR but that will get expensive fast. Both these seem very cubersome to me but they would be an option. Definately better than climbing all around the amps and mixer to get everything plugged in correctly. Are there any multi-pin options that could be possible at decent value. How do other people do this if they have to (I don't have the luxury of the mixer and all eq's etc. in a single case). Essentially help me out, I've got a vague idea but I think I must be missing something obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted November 6, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 It doesn't appear that you have much to worry about. The comp and effects unit I'm assuming are on channel inserts...these can easily be left plugged into their respective channels. You didn't mention whether you use a snake, or whether the monitor EQ/amp rack lives on stage or at FOH (assuming FOH isn't on stage with you as well). Either way, a small patch snake from mixer to rack, with each end clearly labeled (I simply use marker on masking tape to label because I never got 'round to using a P-touch label machine) will make connections easy. Multipin cable arrangements are great, but require much planning (you're stuck with the arrangement you make) and are typically somewhat costly. If you don't build in expansion, you're screwed, so think ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moody Posted November 6, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 6, 2007 At the moment FOH is on stage, I am not yet running this PA for anyone but myself, and even then I could probably run from side of stage until I do have a snake. Mixer case is still being built (only got the mixer a couple of weeks ago) but I intend to have the compressor inserted on lead vocals and probably one of the backing. Effects will be plugged into an aux send and channel. My big problem is that I have several different amp racks that I stack together rather than a single one that can use a single patch bay and a single snake. I'm currently at the stage of plugging into individual units in the racks (reaching behind, figuring out correct cables) and anything would be an improvement. I have been considering getting a behringher patch bay (horrors but I can't find any other options on the local market) and then hacking it into sections to put on the individual components. (rewiring as necessary). My ideal idea was to have a row of TRS jacks at the bottom of the mixer case and the top of the first case down which I could plug a row of patch leads into in order and not have to think about. then a lesser number from the bottom of that case into the next all the way down. Quite a lot of cables but not much thought required once it was wired up correctly. After that all I would need would be speaker outs on appropriate boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted November 6, 2007 Members Share Posted November 6, 2007 Moody, you seem to be adding more and more to your pile. This is money you will never recover. At some point, you might reconsider your approach on all fronts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moody Posted November 6, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 6, 2007 Moody, you seem to be adding more and more to your pile. This is money you will never recover. At some point, you might reconsider your approach on all fronts? I don't know that I could reconsider the approach. In time I will replace dinosaur sized amps with smaller amps but the patch panels (rewired) will still be useful. I'm not doubting the suggestion, but at this point I don't know what I could re-consider in the short term and still be able to keep playing. Any re-consideration would be a 'major' investment which I can not afford, do you have a direction that I could consider? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted November 7, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 If you're mixing from stage and don't have a lot of stairs to encounter, you could consolidate to one larger wheeled case for everything. Then you only need to plug in power, inputs and speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moody Posted November 7, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 7, 2007 If you're mixing from stage and don't have a lot of stairs to encounter, you could consolidate to one larger wheeled case for everything. Then you only need to plug in power, inputs and speakers. Without lighter power amps this is not an option, and there are always stairs I don't have the $2000 odd dollars needed to get a couple of power amps + a crossover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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