Members jdboyl72 Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 Does anybody on this forum know of a good place to purchase a custom amp rack panel. I am looking for something with 4 conducter speakon connections and xlr inputs and outputs. It would be great if I could purchase the panel with all the connections terminated. thanks,Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 There's many. I believe www.whirlwindusa.com does this. Also: Motion Labs Radial engineering Conquest and many others. Be sitting down when they give you the price quote. I used to do this, but it's very difficult and time consuming... not particurally the construction process, but rather the customer education process. I'm somewhat of the opinion that custom patchbays and soundcompanies are somewhat like Light Sabers and Jedi Knights... being that you really ought to have the chops to build your own to enter that realm. That's just a personal opinion... based on years of attempting to accomodate folks who were still pretty sketchy on the whole thing. "A cord cut to length, especially if you don't know for-sure what that length ought to be, is at a minimum an inch or two too short." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashivraj Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 If you own a rivet gun and some basic soldering skills, it's not hard at all, and works out MUCH cheaper. In an earlier lifetime, I had a forum member build me one - I had the different bits shipped to him, and he just had to rivet the connectors in and solder the tails (i.e. wires out the back) onto them. AS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanc Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 Mark at www.audiopile.net has made affordable custom panels for me. I recommend him highly. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=864636&highlight=patch+panel http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=779436&highlight=custom+panel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayak Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 Conquest Sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BillESC Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 It is one of the things we do. Here are a few examples: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ear Abuser Posted July 19, 2006 Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 being that you really ought to have the chops to build your own to enter that realm. I like that idea- And you should build your first snake, so you appreciate the work involved and learn how to treat it right. The 15/16" Greenlee chassis punch is one of the keys to Realm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 19, 2006 Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 Paying attention to detail and taking your time with precision pays off in a professional looking product that will last. That includes having access to the tooling too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashivraj Posted July 19, 2006 Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 You can also get pre-punched panels that have holes in the 'universal' size (the Neutrik D series). Then you can buy the connectors - Neutrik makes one for that panel cutout in pretty much every conceivable connector, including RJ45, RCA and BNC (but obviously not anything bigger like NL-8 or 32A or such) - and rivet them in, or even use little nuts and bolts. Then you can add blanking plates (also the same size, also made by Neutrik) to the unused panel holes. AS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted July 19, 2006 Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 If you're building your own, also pay close attention to the type of fasteners you use. The foam tape sticky cable tiedowns don't last (use screws or rivets). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Originally posted by Ear Abuser I like that idea- And you should build your first snake, so you appreciate the work involved and learn how to treat it right.The 15/16" Greenlee chassis punch is one of the keys to Realm. Snakes are a bit tough to build, but over-all, really not much more sophisticated than patch bays... just more of the same basic idea. However, snakes you can buy... custom rack panels are a different story. Admittedly, you can buy custom rack panels, but it's easier to figure out what you need if you're building the panels right there with your rack within plain view. Figuring out what you need and communicating that to someone esle can turn into dozens of e-mails back and forth... and if you figured your cables a little too short or grossly too long... well, you'll figure that out with the first cable you build and load into your do-it-yourself custom panel. Unfortunately, if you figure out there's a cable length problem with a job-shop built custom panel, admittedly, you'll figure it out with the first cable you try to plug into your rack equipment... but you'll be changing the length of many more than one cable. And... re-working a rack panel once it's built can be more work than just building it from scratch. The job shop is gonna build what you tell them to build, and if you don't know forsure what you want... well... it can get messy. I'm all for building it yourself if what you want is otherwise unavailable, difficult to design and communicate what you want, or otherwise not over-all cost effective to have someone else build it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted July 19, 2006 Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 So, just because I'm kind of in the dark and learning still, would this be the sort of thing that you use to connect all the power amps to, for the signal in from the mixer and to arrange the power for bi-amping on a 4-pin speakon cable and whatnot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rxnet Posted July 19, 2006 Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 I call it....build it with green cash...that works best for me...IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pro1-54 Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by Ear Abuser The 15/16" Greenlee chassis punch is one of the keys to Realm. Yup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BillESC Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by Ear Abuser The 15/16" Greenlee chassis punch is one of the keys to Realm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Such old technology. Our digital router table really makes life better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dkok Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by Audiopile Snakes are a bit tough to build, but over-all, really not much more sophisticated than patch bays... Mr. Audiopile, Maybe you'll know this... In something like this: What's that wire they're using? It looks nice and thin as compared to mic cable. If you're doing a split like they're doing, is there a special Neutrik connector that gives you bigger terminals to solder on to or do you just twist the pairs together? It seems like with ground lifts and splits it gets pretty busy in there. Thanks for any info, -- Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 That's regular foil shield snake cable with the outer jacket removed. I'm guessing Whirlwind put that together. Whoever did it, did a nice job of lacing the pairs in there. Nice, nice, nice. Those look like standard Neutrik NC3FDL-1 jacks. No, I'm not aware of "bigger solder wells" available for special application parallelling situations. And, yea... it can get "pretty busy in there". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ctardi Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 That is a VERY nice snake. You guys should have seen the inside of my Peavey snake before I got at it with some zip ties. Or how about the peavey monitor, who's HF driver's joints didn't get soldered...just twisted on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ear Abuser Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Such old technology. Our digital router table really makes life better But see, by using the Greenlee, you gain an appreciation for how nice the digital router table is. It's like making your kids mow the lawn with the push mower before they get to use the riding mower. And what's more fun than trying to get the slug out of the greenlee? For those apprentices who have now been inspired to purchase their own greenlee punch on their journey into the realm, I will offer these two bits of wisdom: 1) Oil the threads of the drive bolt. A lot. 2) There are four alignment lines etched into the body of the punch that you can't see unless you wipe white paint into them. Use these to align the punch with your layout lines (You did make layout lines, right?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BillESC Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by Ear Abuser But see, by using the Greenlee, you gain an appreciation for how nice the digital router table is. It's like making your kids mow the lawn with the push mower before they get to use the riding mower. And what's more fun than trying to get the slug out of the greenlee? For those apprentices who have now been inspired to purchase their own greenlee punch on their journey into the realm, I will offer these two bits of wisdom: 1) Oil the threads of the drive bolt. A lot. 2) There are four alignment lines etched into the body of the punch that you can't see unless you wipe white paint into them. Use these to align the punch with your layout lines (You did make layout lines, right?) So true... My first mower was an unpowered reel mower with a 22" cut. Good thing we only had an acre and a half of lawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by BillESC quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by Ear Abuser The 15/16" Greenlee chassis punch is one of the keys to Realm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Such old technology. Our digital router table really makes life better Ah... but I think the learning curve, and up-front $ investment, is a little less for the Greenlee punches. Admittedly, the CNC stuff is the bee's knees. So... what are you running? Hardware and software wise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Last summer I built five custom rack panels using Greenlee punches. I wore out a 3/8 drill bit in the process (for 1/4 jacks and pilot holes for the Greenlee drive screws), and those punches get hot in a hurry. You have to let them cool down or you'll distort the panel when it cuts. Oh one other thing - use aluminum panels, *NOT* steel. Punching steel by hand is a bastard job, this is where CNC rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by Ear Abuser 1) Oil the threads of the drive bolt. A lot. Yes, yes, yes... and use a ball bearing thrust race as well. Huge improvement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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