Racking, convenience, neatness

[bruce]

So, today's job....

 

I've got a flight case that I take out for "small gigs" - acoustic gigs in smaller venues, where all that is needed is perhaps 2 or 3 mics and maybe a couple of stereo line sources - CD, keyboards, midi, whatever. For the vast majority of gigs that my band is involved with, that's adequate, and the "bigger mixer" stays in the cupboard under the stairs...

 

That flight case is 6U high - it contains a 2U power amp, speaker controller (1U), reverb (1U) and a 1U mixer. The mixer has 4x XLR mic inputs, and 2x stereo line.

 

So for many small events, all I take out is that case, a pair of Celestion SR1s, powered monitor, a box of mics/cables, and a bag with speaker and mic stands. All very compact and quick to set up. Maybe add subs or an additional pair of active cabs if the venue needs it.

 

 

The only minor problem is that the flight case is reasonably deep, to accomodate the amp. The 1U mixer is shallow, perhaps only 4" deep, so plugging the XLRs and jacks into it means peering in the back of the case, stretching in etc etc.

 

So I thought I'd sort it out properly. There's 1U left in the rack (you were counting when I listed the kit, weren't you). I bought a 1U panel with 12 XLR-size unified cutouts. In these I fitted 4x XLR sockets, 4x Jack sockets, 2x Speakon connectors and 2 blanking plates. Each is wired to a short tail and plug, which connects to the appropriate socket at the back of the mixer or power amp.

 

So now, rather than faff around at the back of the rack plugging cables in to the mixer and amp, I just plug them all into the patch panel. Saves time, and looks much neater and professional.

 

But now I'm starting to have doubts. Add up the cost. There's the rack panel, the sockets, the plugs. All Neutrik of course. Probably about 30-40 quids worth of hardware at least. And mounting it all in the panel, soldering up the connectors , and installing it, took several hours.

 

All that work and expense, and what have I gained? All I've really gained is about 45 seconds less setup time per gig <_<.

 

I guess this is what they mean by the point of diminishing returns. Just as well I'm not doing this for a living :)

 

 

Bruce.

[Pete]

You've put it on the front of the rack havent you?

Pet hate that is I/O on the back for me please.

[bruce]

You've put it on the front of the rack havent you?

Pet hate that is I/O on the back for me please.

 

Actually, I haven't decided whether to put it on the front or back yet. Each has pros and cons. Might stick something else (maybe an EQ) in the front.

[Pete]

Stick it in the back!

 

Sounds cool thou.

[Bobbsy]

I prefer connections on the back and controls on the front, if only for a tidy appearance.

 

To me this doesn't sound like a "diminishing returns" project...it sounds useful. I hate scrabblying around inside the back of a rack plugging things in, especially as lighting on stages and in clubs is not always the best. Every time you reach inside the back of the rack, you're risking bumping out a mains lead or something.

 

To me, both the rig and the project sound good!

 

Bob

[dbuckley]

In my opinion, having presentations on the rack is the core difference between "amateur" setups and "pro" setups. You're right, it is in principle only a few seconds work, but one day those will be a few really important seconds.

 

The other thing you can gain is flexibility. I've got a SR3/SR4 system, and the strip on the back has six speakons, wired:

 

A) L sub / R sub

B) L top / R sub

C) L top / R top

D) R top / L top

E) R top / R top

F) R sub / L sub

 

This arrangement allows me to plug in speaker cables in any combination, so if I've got conventional speaker on sticks (no subs) I can use a pair of two core cables into C and D. Speaker on subs: four core cables into C + D. Flown tops would be four core cable into C. Wired it wrong up top and L/R swapped? Unplug from C put in E. Split subs can have two core cables from A + F, or if amps are hidden away use a four core from A or F, depending on matching L/R.

 

All options covered <_<

[bruce]

To me this doesn't sound like a "diminishing returns" project...it sounds useful.

 

You're probably right. I was a bit fed up when I wrote the original thing, after slaving over a hot soldering iron in a freezing

cold garage for a couple of hours. However, now that I've thawed out a bit, I'm a bit more enthusiastic again! I guess I was just looking for a little bit of encouragement!

 

On an unrelated theme, daughter #2 (9 years old) came out to "help" me. At one point, I nipped in the house to answer the phone. When I came back out, she said "Dad, I've worked out how to use your melter...". Yes, she had been playing with the soldering iron, and had tried to solder a connection! And what was once a reel of solder is now lots of little bits.

 

But she's got potential <_<

[Tomo]

Well, you'll just have to teach her how to do it properly.

 

Then there will be no stopping her!

[bruce]

You can, of course, take things too far....

 

We recently had an installation done at work, outsourced to a reasonably well-known A/V company.

 

It was a small, but very "busy" rack - as well as a couple of power amps, there were a couple of audio mixers and switches, a VGA and a composite matrix switcher, and various other bits and pieces. So lots of cables in a very small space.

 

Our immediate reaction was how "neat" the audio cabling was. The installers had used long black cable ties, joined together, to form parallel cable management "crossbars" across the back rails of the rack, every 2U or so. All of the audio cables had been custom-made, to exactly the right length. It had been deliberately done using thin, but high quality, cables, and they were dessed with cable-ties every couple of inches to the "crossrails". It was an incredibly neat and professional-looking installation. Everyone who saw it was impressed. I've got a photo somewhere... if I can find it, I'll post it.

 

 

And then, we got a fault. And then we realised that the block diagram was slightly different from the installation. And then we realised that it was virtually impossible to track the route of any cable without un-doing the whole lot....

[johnb]

And then, we got a fault. And then we realised that the block diagram was slightly different from the installation. And then we realised that it was virtually impossible to track the route of any cable without un-doing the whole lot....

 

This is where the wonders of cable numbers come into their own. Again, another thing in a small installation which looks excessive when you do it, but can save you time/hasstle when you need to repair or rework the system

[Bobbsy]

Indeed. I'm all for neatly-loomed cables but only if every single cable in the loom is numbered at both ends. Oh, and don't forget that gear on rack sliders needs a long enough loop for you to pull the equipment to the forward position--I've seen some awfully neat installs that were impossible to service because this wasn't done.

 

On a related issue, earlier on somebody mentioned the issue of whether connectors should be on the front or rear of the rack. This is a major annoyance for me...I hate it when rack mounting gear is designed with inputs or outputs on the front panel. This is brought home to me when I use my Behringer ADA8000s. The mic and line inputs for these are on the front panel and there's just no way (at least that I've found) to make them look tidy in a FOH theatre setting.

 

This isn't a slam of just Behringer BTW...in the TV world there are a number of high-end components by respected manufacturers which have front panel connectors. Curse.

 

Bob

[soundguymark]

I too hate having I/O's on the front.

 

I've got 2 of the ADA800's in a rack and I struggled to keep the looking even vaugley neat so now I've put 2 1U 8xXLR panels on the back of the rack for all the inputs and being in a shallow rack I can easily get to the outputs on the back of the ADA8000's so I didnt see any need for another panel for that.

 

The only thing I dont mind is if there is a patch panel on the front, so you can patch in gaes, comps etc, for analogue desks

[Pete]

The only thing I dont mind is if there is a patch panel on the front, so you can patch in gaes, comps etc, for analogue desks

 

As long as the patch leads arent too long

[Rich newby]

Yep, I'm another hater of connectors on the front of a rack panel, another reason for me is that if it is in a crowded place or a place with people moving past,the connectors can get damaged if people knock them and can snap them off

 

HTH

From Rich in sunny cyprus!

[tbjhilton]

Just one more point regarding the benefit of rack mounted connector panels versus using the equipment connectors; in an environment involving frequent and heavy use of equipment (this may or may not be you, but...) when a connector fails through constant plugging in/out, or through someone leaning on a plug, for example, it is a lot easier to remove the rack panel and replace the connector (and re-attach or replace the tail) than to remove and dismantle the piece of rack gear itself to fit a new XLR into it. You are only plugging into your expensive gear once each time you re-arrange the rack, rather than every single gig.

 

It is for the same reason as this that I have short extensions on some ports on my computer which regularly get swapped around - VGA, RS232, USB etc.