Behringer ULTRAPATCH PRO PX3000 Manual - Page 5

5 ULTRAPATCH PRO PX3000 User Manual ULTR APATCH PRO CONCEIVED AND DESIGNED BY BEHRINGER GERM A N Y. MADE IN CHINA MULTI - FUNCTIONAL 48 - POINT 3 - MODE BAL ANCED PATCHBAY MODEL PX3000 NORMAL THRU HALF NORMAL PX 3 0 0 0 ᇅᄯഅBEHRINGER Holdings (Pte) Ltd NORMAL A A A A REAR FRONT REAR FRONT REAR FRONT REAR FRONT B B B B REAR THRU A B FRONT HALF NORMAL A A A A REAR FRONT REAR FRONT REAR FRONT REAR FRONT B B B B NORMAL HALF NORMAL THRU 1. Introduction What are patchbays for? A patchbay allows you to patch (or interconnect) the audio signals of most components in your system from a central point and send them to other units, making your entire cabling more organized and better suited for professional work. If you want to use your studio as effectively as possible, it is recommended that you use a complete patchbay wiring scheme-even smaller studios will benefit from a less complex patchbay configuration. 2. Patchbay Organization The ULTRAPATCH PRO PX3000 has two rows (A and B) of 24 balanced 1/4" jacks on the 1 HU 19" front rack panel. The same number and configuration of balanced 1/4" jacks are on the rear panel. These jacks are grouped in fours (A and B from the front with the corresponding A and B on the rear) to form the 24 channels. Each channel has a switch on the top of the unit that allows you to select the operating mode for each channel: NORMAL (normalized), HALF NORMAL (half normalized) and THRU (through-connected). Connect your audio equipment to the rear jacks, then you can easily interconnect your equipment or reconfigure your setup using short patch cables plugged into the jacks on the front panel. Of course, you can also use unbalanced cables. ◊ Basic rule: on a patchbay the upper jacks are always outputs, the lower jacks inputs. When using several patchbays, plan the layout of your standard configuration to avoid a tangle of cables. Arrange the channels one below the other in such a way that you could connect several patchbays without having to cross connect or span great distances. 2.1 NORMAL mode A A A A REAR FRONT REAR FRONT REAR FRONT REAR FRONT B B B B (1) (2) (3) (4) In NORMAL mode the rear A & B jacks of the channel are connected together (pos (1) ). The connection between the rear jacks is disabled when you insert a cable into jack A or B on the front panel (pos. (2)) and (3) ). In the example above, top-row channels 1 to 4 are from the outputs of a keyboard and a MIDI sound module. They are connected, in this example configuration, to input channels 1 to 4 on the mixer. Channels 5 and 6 are from the subgroup outputs of a mixer and are connected, in this example configuration, to the inputs of a computer audio card. Audio sequencer software records the music signals directly onto the hard disk of the computer. Channels 7 and 8 connect the soundcard outputs to the 2-track inputs of the mixer. Since the rear-panel jacks are connected together in the NORMAL mode (pos. (1) ), the subgroup signals can be recorded directly onto the PC and played back via the 2-track input of the mixer (playback/monitoring), without a single patch cable having to be plugged in! In this way, you can build up a basic configuration for your studio, which can be easily modified by simply patching signals via the front-panel jacks (pos. (2) ) or by feeding in external signals via patch cables (pos. (3) ). You could, for example, connect the keyboard signal to channels 3 and 4 by patching 1A to 3B, and 2A to 4B. So, before wiring your studio, it is advisable to identify the connections that will be used most frequently and set them up, as your basic configuration, one above the other on the patchbay. Then you will have a clear overview of all connections and still be flexible. 2.2 HALF NORMAL mode A A A A REAR FRONT REAR FRONT REAR FRONT REAR FRONT B B B B (1) (2) (3) (4) In HALF NORMAL mode, the rear A & B jacks of the channel are connected together (pos. (1) ). Unlike NORMAL mode, the connection between the rear-panel jacks is not disabled when a 1/4" plug is inserted into jack A on the front panel (pos. (2) ). This allows you to take the signal from a mixers channel strip in parallel-without interrupting the signal path on the channel strip. Like NORMAL mode, the connection between the rear-panel jacks is disabled when a 1/4" plug is inserted into jack B on the front panel (pos. (3) ). When 1/4" plugs are inserted into both jacks A & B on the front panel, the front jacks will be connected separately to the corresponding rear jacks (pos. (4) ). This is called an "input break" and is used mainly to insert an effect or processor into the signal path. In the example above, top-row channels 9 to 14 are the sends (tip contact of insert points) from mixer channels 1 to 4 plus the main left & right sends. They are connected, in this example configuration, to their respective returns (ring contacts of insert points) of the mixer. Outputs from the mixer sends can be taken from jack A without disabling the connection to the returns (pos. (2) ). The mixer returns can be used as external line inputs, by patching cables to jack B (pos. (3) ). External effects or processors can be inserted into the send-return loop by connecting their inputs & outputs to jacks A & B (pos. (4) ).