Use for Inserts with Patchbay (DM3200)

[snafu]

Hello everyone,

I am planning a home studio with my DM3200. I have got two rooms I can use. Since I want a balance of steady-to-use-Setup and some flexibility, I thought, a patchbay would ease some of the work (plugging and pulling cables that is), and enhance my workflow.

I understand every I/O I intend to use must be wired to the patchbay. Recently I was wondering what I should do with the 16 Inserts of each channel the DM3200 provides. I must admit, I had no use for them up to date. Though this might indicate I will hence further have no use for them, but it greatly stresses me to have something "behind the desk" I might (!) want to use, having it not wired! I see these inserts are for outboard equipment I want to feed with some signal to insert it back into the DM? Is that correct? If so - due to the fact the DM3200 does not support too much options to get signals out into the analog domain (analog outs that is) I was always wondering on how to make use of them with a "naked" Dm3200 (without any expansion cards...?)? Does this make sense anyway?

Since these inserts send into the mixer they would have to be wired to the "out" of the patchbay?

Thank you for any hints that might give me some insight!

regards
Thorsten

 

[Arjan P]

I use several patch bays with the DM; two balanced Neutrik NYS-SPP-Ls for line and aux inputs and outputs. These are half-normalled to my preferred signal I/O; synths, radio, CD, headphone amp, external effectors etc. One reason I use these for Line In is that my MIC Inputs are hardwired to recording room positions - I don't want mic signals to be patched. So I may for instance be using Mic In 3 and 4, when my preferred synth to record simultaneously is at Line In 3 and 4. With the patch bays I can simply patch the synth to 2 other inputs.

Then I also have an unbalanced Fostex 3013 that I use for channel inserts. This one is single-normalled to each of the 16 channels - doing nothing to the signal with nothing connected. These I use exclusively for analog compression during recording. All my analog compressors I/O are at a connection board above the 3013, making the use of any compressor on any channel very flexible. They are connected with stereo to mono multicable, since the channel inserts are stereo jacks with send at Ring and return at Tip. See the attached picture for the DM input stage.

Check out this SOS article about patchbays: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec99/articles/patchbay.htm

 

[snafu]

Hi Arjan, thanks for the reply.

I don't want mic signals to be patched. So I may for instance be using Mic In 3 and 4, when my preferred synth to record simultaneously is at Line In 3 and 4. With the patch bays I can simply patch the synth to 2 other inputs.

That's exactly why I want to go for the patchbay. Oh, and thanks for your link to SOS, though I already knew that article!

From what I get from your replay there really is no other purpose to the 16 channel inserts than feeding processed audio into the DM3200? So you need some sort of device to have more outputs to the DM (like the analog card, but I already asked this in another thread) to get signals out of the mixer, right?

Oh, and a big thank you for that hint with the stereo to mono multicable! I might have stumbled over this in a few months, kicking in another thread to the forum. So this path seems clear now, thank you!

 

[Arjan P]

From what I get from your replay there really is no other purpose to the 16 channel inserts than feeding processed audio into the DM3200? So you need some sort of device to have more outputs to the DM (like the analog card, but I already asked this in another thread) to get signals out of the mixer, right?

Well, it's not really feeding audio - you're really taking the signal already there, send it through outboard and back in again.

But there is one other purpose I didn't mention, which is the use of the inserts to take out mic/line signals AFTER input trim - for recording without IFFW in a live situation for instance. This can be done by half-inserting a mono jack, so the tip will take the signal, while the connection between the socket's ring and tip stays intact (and the flow into the DM's ADC!). This could also be done (better, IMO) by using a patch bay like the 3013 connected half-normalled. That way you can simply take off that same signal by inserting a jack in the top line of sockets and be sure the signal flow is not interrupted.

 

[snafu]

Well, it's not really feeding audio - you're really taking the signal already there, send it through outboard and back in again.

Ah - I see, got that now Thank you Arjan - also for the hint on using inserts taking out signals after the input trim as a live recording setup. The more I know, the more I can't come by to state, the DM3200 is a great mixer you can use to the fullest with only having 10% of it's capability fully understood It's an endless shame they seem to discontinue it. Well, at least I don't see any competitor worth mentioning for that price and that tremendous amount of possibilities..

Cheers,
Thorsten