Digiflex Snake

[Peter Batah]

Hello all,

I have an opportunity to purchase a used Digiflex snake model: DPR16-4X-150. I realize that 150' is quite long.
It is being sold for around $150.00 ($115.00 USD). I was wondering what other DM users were doing in order to not have to go around to the back of the mixer every time something needs to be plugged or unplugged.

Is this a wise purchase or is there a better alternative. I really appreciate your input!

Thank you. Peter

 

[Arjan P]

Hi Peter, I think it really depends on your situation whether this is a wise purchase. Are you really spending a lot of time and agony constantly getting to the mixer's connections or not.. And, 150' is indeed very long for studio use.

Personally, I have all mic connections hard wired to fixed locations in my recording room and vocal booth. All line and insert connections go to various patch bays. I do all my own wiring with the exception of the multi-snakes to and from the patchbays. For the money you can't make such a stage block yourself.

I attached a pdf with my studio wiring for anyone interested.

 

[Peter Batah]

@Arjan P Thank you for the response Arjan. That is quite the elaborate wiring scheme that you have in place. I picked up an Argosy Series 70 desk and a DM-4800. Once they are in place, it won't be that practical for me to keep going to the back of the desk if and when connections need to be made or modified.

I cannot make any hard wired connections to any permanent spot in the small bedroom that I am in. The only thought behind the snake was the eventual mic'd kit or vocal tracking that would take place in another room in the basement that I am in. Basically I have two other rooms and a cedar closet to work with. I guess there is always a workaround. I agree 150' of snake is a lot to work with. To be honest the price is really what caught my attention. It retails new for approx. 950.00 CDN. By the way, are you familiar with any 19" rack mountable XLR patch panels that I might be able to mount right into the desk. They would be connected to the back of the DM so I could then simply plug one or mics into the panel at the front of the desk.

 

[Arjan P]

Well, my wiring is quite elaborate so I made the schematic to keep track of what goes where

AFAIK, there are no real XLR patch bays, though some extension panels are called that (and I guess you could use them for patching too). Like the Art P16, which is a 16-channel 1U 19" panel for remote rack conection. But you'd need 16 mic cables to connect the panel's back to the mixer - you'd be better off with the Digiflex IMO. If you're not too shabby with the soldering iron you could also shorten the length of the cables..

BTW, nice one - DM4800 plus the DM3200! Or are you letting the 3200 go?

 

[Peter Batah]

@Arjan P I recently came across a really sweet deal ( irresistible) to be honest with you. Argosy 70 Series desk - DM4800 with meter bridge. All in mint condition except for the display on the DM. So, I took the plunge and bought the 2Seemy card. If I have time I will be installing the card this weekend. Wish me luck!

I haven't decided what I am going to do with my 3200 though. It is in mint condition as well. I think that I might ask my son-in-law if he is interested in it. This way if either of us had questions we could work them out together. We'll see. I really haven't given it much thought.

Worse case scenario: I put it up for sale. Shipping it will be fun. At least I have a sturdy road case for it.

I checked out the ART P16 Patchbay (XLR) Looks interesting. But, as you said I would still have to buy 16 cables of maybe 1 metre. That is sure to run me a few dollars. That could still be a viable option. As far as shortening the cables on the Digiflex. I don't have the heart to chop it up. It's been a very very long time since I have done any soldering. Something to consider though. Decisions...Decisions!

https://www.long-mcquade.com/14607/...o_Audio/16-Channel_XLR_Balanced_Patch_Bay.htm

 

[Marvel]

Nice combination, @Peter Batah. Is the Argosy modified in any way, or does the DM4800 fit in there as is?

 

[Peter Batah]

@Marvel Fits right in like a glove.

 

[Marvel]

really envy you!

 

[Peter Batah]

@Marvel. Thank you. I have attached a few pics if you are interested in seeing in what it looks like when loaded into the desk. Actually, this is exactly what it looked like when the previous owner had it. Note: the pics really don't do the Argosy justice. It looks massive in person. Even I was a little shaken when it came off the truck. Wasn't expecting it to be as imposing as it is. Quite impressive frankly. The DM is out of the desk at the moment as I am putting in the 2Seemy card that I ordered a short while ago.

 

[Marvel]

Oh thank you for the pics. This looks awesome. To be honest I got quite a shock when I had bought the DM4800 and saw it for the first time at the seller's. Haha. It was much bigger than I had anticipated! I can imagine how big the desk is, as it almost dwarves the DM.
Unfortunately these Argosy desks are very hard to find second hand. New is too expensive for me. And I wonder if it would fit into my home studio anyway.
Nice catch!

 

[Arjan P]

Very nice indeed!

 

[Peter Batah]

@Arjan P Thank you sir. That was the original owner's setup however, Those are not my Genelecs. Unfortunately !

 

[Peter Batah]

Hello all. Question regarding the above-mentioned Digiflex snake. If I wanted to use for example 4 of the 16 XLR inputs as line vs mic would I need an adapter like the pic that I have attached. Thanks so much

 

[Arjan P]

I would say the XLR part depends on how you connect it to other devices or the Digiflex, but the DM's line inputs are indeed TRS jacks.

 

[Peter Batah]

@Arjan. As always, thanks for the response. Perhaps, I should have provided a real world example. So, let's say I wanted to DI a bass or guitar into the snake. I assume that a DI box would be used between instrument and Snake (XLR). And, that the XLR end of the snake at the back of the DM would then have to be connected to a channels line input via a short XLR to TRS cable. Am I on the right track?

 

[Arjan P]

Mmh I think you're on the wrong track. Usually, DIs are used to allow non-mic signals to be connected to mic inputs. So you connect line outputs (i.e. keyboards) or instrument outputs (i.e. guitar) to a DI and then connect to a mic input on a mixer, sometimes using phantom power from the mixer to power the DI.

But maybe there is a type of DI that matches instrument outputs to line level inputs.

 

[Peter Batah]

@Arjan P My apologies for making this so confusing and taking the very long way around to the question that I am trying to ask.

What if I sitting 50 feet away from my DM and I want to connect a bass, guitar, or keyboard to channel 1 of my DM. How do I accomplish that exactly?

Thank you. Peter

 

[Arjan P]

Ah, in that case, from what I see on your photos of the snake, you plug the guitar into a DI, then plug the DI XLR output into the 'stage box' of the Digiflex, of which I assume you connect all 16 mic snakes into the DM's 1-16 mic inputs.

The way I see it, the Digiflex is simply an extension of your mixer's back panel - and this is how you'd DI a guitar into mic ch 1 of the mixer directly too (or how I would anyway).

 

[Peter Batah]

@Arjan. Obviously, I wasn't explaining myself very well. You are correct! Often times you see a microphone on the bass or guitar amp and the instrument is also being recorded via DI. I wasn't sure that I could use the DM's microphone input to accomplish that. And, finally all 16 snake XLR's will be connected to channels 1-16 on the DM. I could have chosen a 24-8-150' snake but I really think that it would have been "Overkill" at that point. Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend. Peter