Rockmodules & Patchbays

[DDMAESTRO7]

Anyone ever use a patchbay to transfer all the rear panel options on the Rockmodules to the front of a rack to simplify routing & experimentation? Would the extra connections & cables add noise or degrade sound? Thanks!

[rbc]

I haven't tried it, but my suggestion would be to keep the cable lengths short and use good quality signal cable and connectors. The Rockmodule signal path is unbalanced. When it comes to the foot pedal controls you might want to consider the MIDI octopus. That will greatly simplify the physical cabling for foot pedals.

[Guitarvamp]

Yes, I used patch bays for a while. They do open up a lot of options, but I found they gave almost too many options. This was for a pretty sizable rack, however.

In a studio situation... no I take that back. In a studio, you want the least amount of cable and patch points. You would not use a patch bay while recording.

If you have a large rack (giggity), and you want to try many signal routing combinations without going behind the rack and rewiring everything.... then maybe.

In any other situation, just figure out a signal chain and use it. Less cable, less jacks, less noise.

[GuitarBuilder]

+1 on what GuitarVamp said.

[RockmanCentralBob]

Patch bays are good if you have a lot of different gear and you switch them around frequently. Particularly during mixdown sessions or ping ponging tracks. Think of a professional studio that is tracking for a heavy metal band one day and a raggae band the next. So it makes changing setups much easier.