Rear inputs for ADA8000

[mattaudio]

Stumbled across this website which details a touring IEM rig (01v-based) for a band. They use an ADA8000 for additional I/O, but modded for rear inputs...

http://thinkfast.net/Articles/In_Ear_Rig_101/inear4.html

Anybody know how to do this ADA8000 mod?

Side note: Has anyone used ART S8 mic splitters for a SAC monitor rig? I keep thinking these venues are going to want a split for their house stagebox, but at some point I think I'll just hand the house stage box two lines... L+R... and then have band engineer pull out a laptop in the back of the room.

[Leadfoot]

Stumbled across this website which details a touring IEM rig (01v-based) for a band. They use an ADA8000 for additional I/O, but modded for rear inputs...

http://thinkfast.net/Articles/In_Ear_Rig_101/inear4.html

Anybody know how to do this ADA8000 mod?




Not to be rude but it's pretty obvious what he did there. I personally wouldn't waste my time. Too bad he don't know about SAC ! :)

[Guitarkeys.com]

Now that looks like a mess. Seems to me the way to go would be a couple of xlr male jack plates and a hole saw. Those cables dangling off the back looks too much like a snake (and us SAC people don't do snakes).

Jamie

[mattaudio]

I think the point would be that they'd go to something else in the rack via the back... for example an ART S8, or another type of rackmount split, or a multipin disconnect, or something.

[gdougherty]

What I'd like is an ADA8000 with DB25 connectors on the back for in and out so you could do simple DB25 to a custom panel. No front panel inputs with XLR/ 1/4" jacks on the custom panel. Or multipin connects on the panel to subsnakes or whatever you want.

[IraSeigel]

...
Side note: Has anyone used ART S8 mic splitters for a SAC monitor rig? I keep thinking these venues are going to want a split for their house stagebox, but at some point I think I'll just hand the house stage box two lines... L+R... and then have band engineer pull out a laptop in the back of the room.

I was about to get the ART splitters before the tour I'm on now, but at the last minute decided not to. But I think you're right - venues will want a split, or you will from their FOH console into your rig (depending on where your preamps are located).

[Bob L]

Pretty easy to loop small tails or 8 cable snakes through from the back in between each ADA8000 if you leave a small gap between units... take a look at the system in the Fremont St video... works great that way... and easily interfaces into any pro snake setup...

I built a smaller rig using separate 8 cable snakes... these lay on the ground behind the racks and connect to tails or individual mic cables.

Bob L

[Phil]

What I'd like is an ADA8000 with DB25 connectors on the back for in and out...

i've been pondering that for my personal system. i've seen the db25 standard, but have concerns about reliably soldering up that system. i also thought about how i only use the xlr inputs and have to pad some di boxes. if i used the trs i'd not use part of the mic-pre.detail, detailsi will say the bob l technique does look pretty nice and the muggles think we're amazing :)

[Trackzilla]

I usually have 2 'Maintenance&Modification' parties every spring where we litter my driveway with equipment, engineers, test equipment, and local microbrews for an afternoon & tweak everything that has broken or annoyed us over the winter, first one includes parts list generation for the second. Afterwards we retire to the backyard & sit around a bonfire trading war stories. Upland Brewery is this years brewery sponsor as we did a series of shows for them so the beer will be both very good & free :) the date has yet to be set.

Last year at M&M included the mod of a series of SMAudio pres for db25 on the back to go with my dm1000 & also terminated 2 snakes to accompany it (24 & 16 CH)...Might add the ADAs to this years list, it's meticulous work, but really not that big of a deal otherwise, 2-3 techs can easily do a buttload of them in an hour.

Things pronounced BER (Beyond Economical Repair) at the M&M party are graduated to 'Hard Liquor & Handgun Night', which usually occurs late summer, as satisfying targets...it is actually a far safer party than it sounds unless you an offending piece of gear :)

[IraSeigel]

...
Things pronounced BER (Beyond Economical Repair) at the M&M party are graduated to 'Hard Liquor & Handgun Night', which usually occurs late summer, as satisfying targets...it is actually a far safer party than it sounds unless you an offending piece of gear :)

Sounds like an aftershow party at a Ted Nugent concert!

Ira

[gdougherty]

i've been pondering that for my personal system. i've seen the db25 standard, but have concerns about reliably soldering up that system. i also thought about how i only use the xlr inputs and have to pad some di boxes. if i used the trs i'd not use part of the mic-pre.detail, detailsi will say the bob l technique does look pretty nice and the muggles think we're amazing :)

It's more of my wish-list for a piece of gear to purchase commercially. Seems the DB connectors might be less expensive. Might still have room to pack on 16 trs jacks for line-in (preamp bypass) and line out so you get some of everything. Individual phantom and a pad for each input would round it out. For a custom job it could be built from an ADA8000 for cheap parts. Mostly just reconfiguring input and outputs.

[dbarrow]

It's more of my wish-list for a piece of gear to purchase commercially. Seems the DB connectors might be less expensive. Might still have room to pack on 16 trs jacks for line-in (preamp bypass) and line out so you get some of everything. Individual phantom and a pad for each input would round it out. For a custom job it could be built from an ADA8000 for cheap parts. Mostly just reconfiguring input and outputs.DB connectors with rear patch panels would be cool.

[IraSeigel]

I was considering the DB25s, as well, but with so many users here recommending AGAINST the use of those connectors, I'm wondering why they are so desirable?

Ira

[Trackzilla]

it's not that they are really desirable,it's that they are really cheap, small enough to stuff onto almost any device as a retrofit, and convenient in that they allow you to connect 8 channels at once.

The downside is they are almost as rugged as a kleenex when compared to an XLR

So if you use them, plan for them to be cared for in packing or they will fail. They are great for patching to a semi permanent patch panel in the back of your rack, less great living on the end of a 200' 24ch snake. It is faster to patch together 8 XLRs than it is to sit with a pair of needlenose pliers & try to straighten the housing & pins on a DB25 that got smooshed in your cable trunk so you can establish connectivity :eek: So buy some spare of each sex to use as protective caps when they're not in use.

[gdougherty]

it's not that they are really desirable,it's that they are really cheap, small enough to stuff onto almost any device as a retrofit, and convenient in that they allow you to connect 8 channels at once.

The downside is they are almost as rugged as a kleenex when compared to an XLR

So if you use them, plan for them to be cared for in packing or they will fail. They are great for patching to a semi permanent patch panel in the back of your rack, less great living on the end of a 200' 24ch snake. It is faster to patch together 8 XLRs than it is to sit with a pair of needlenose pliers & try to straighten the housing & pins on a DB25 that got smooshed in your cable trunk so you can establish connectivity :eek: So buy some spare of each sex to use as protective caps when they're not in use.

+1, I was thinking of only using them as internal to the rack. Makes it easier to swap out a unit and be sure that all the channels are arranged properly. I'd not consider using them on a snake. All my snakes are minimum 12 channel anyway. The custom rack panel would make things easy enough without going to multi-pin. Seems the bigger time waste is threading things through the rack and hooking things up in low-light conditions in the rack. Having all the IO clearly labeled and ordered with easy access would be enough. It's still sufficiently more expensive and inflexible if dealing with an unfoirseen snake to justify sticking with just XLR on the rear panel.

[IraSeigel]

Yes, a bunch of XLR connectors add a lot of weight and bulk to a setup, but they do provide the most flexibiltiy.

I could see where manufacturers - to save space, weight, and perhaps costs - could choose the small T3 (?) connectors common on Shure wireless beltpacks, or miniature TT patchbay-type connectors in their equipment.

[gdougherty]

Yes, a bunch of XLR connectors add a lot of weight and bulk to a setup, but they do provide the most flexibiltiy.

I could see where manufacturers - to save space, weight, and perhaps costs - could choose the small T3 (?) connectors common on Shure wireless beltpacks, or miniature TT patchbay-type connectors in their equipment.

Sounds nice until you think about durability in cases and boxes.
I've got a drive snake with a slightly bent xlr male connector from having an Audix drum mic case tossed in on top of it. XLR is far more durable than the mini connectors. Mini connectors also typically need small fragile cabling. Small connectors allow closer spacing, but also less labeling space on a panel. Plenty of cons to go along with small conveniences. Not to mention tiny connectors are a major PITA to DIY connections.

[IraSeigel]

Sounds nice until you think about durability in cases and boxes.
I've got a drive snake with a slightly bent xlr male connector from having an Audix drum mic case tossed in on top of it. XLR is far more durable than the mini connectors. Mini connectors also typically need small fragile cabling. Small connectors allow closer spacing, but also less labeling space on a panel. Plenty of cons to go along with small conveniences. Not to mention tiny connectors are a major PITA to DIY connections.

Yes, but that's not the point. Why would manufacturers care about any of that?

[gdougherty]

Yes, but that's not the point. Why would manufacturers care about any of that?

Well, that's where despite the message of movies like "Capitalism: A Love Story", the free market actually serves us well. Manufacturer A might switch over but Manufacturer B doesn't. Manufacturer A's new products gain a reputation for not holding up on the road with this new plug standard and Manufacturer B's products start selling better. Manufacturer A will wise up and switch back leaving a few dead products in its wake, or Manufacturer A will eventually go out of business, or Manufacturer A will piddle along with some loyal customers who don't care about the durability and continue to lose new market share to Manufacturer B while barely staying afloat and probably ending up going out of business eventually anyway.

Modern retail history is littered with the remains of plenty of Manufacturer As, and plenty of storage closets are littered with their failed products.

[IraSeigel]

....

Modern retail history is littered with the remains of plenty of Manufacturer As, and plenty of storage closets are littered with their failed products.

And then there's Behringer....

Many of the companies failed due to their owners getting into drugs (MXR) or bad marketing (Symetrix) or being taken over (EAW, Midas, Tapco, etc ad nauseum) - not necessarily inferior products.

But if companies really cared about customers' demands, do you think we'd still be inundated with wall warts?

But I don't want to start an argument. I understand your point.

Ira

[RBIngraham]

Well, that's where despite the message of movies like "Capitalism: A Love Story", the free market actually serves us well. Manufacturer A might switch over but Manufacturer B doesn't. Manufacturer A's new products gain a reputation for not holding up on the road with this new plug standard and Manufacturer B's products start selling better. Manufacturer A will wise up and switch back leaving a few dead products in its wake, or Manufacturer A will eventually go out of business, or Manufacturer A will piddle along with some loyal customers who don't care about the durability and continue to lose new market share to Manufacturer B while barely staying afloat and probably ending up going out of business eventually anyway.

Modern retail history is littered with the remains of plenty of Manufacturer As, and plenty of storage closets are littered with their failed products.

If that was really the way it worked Behringer would have been out of business long ago!!!!!!! :p

More like Manufacturer A sells the products cheaper and floods the market with them and high gloss ad campaigns and Manufacturer B (in this case B doesn't stand for Behringer) goes out of business, or moves to China as well and cheapens up their product line. (Mackie/EAW anyone?)

Some times the high quality product does win out, or at least sells enough volume to those that want better quality, that they can be profitable. But if it's consumer gear, forget about it. Cheaper (as long as it's not complete garbage in comparison to the better stuff) almost always wins out. :)

Apple is an example that bucks the trend, but they do it with cool looking products and flashy ads rather than a lot more bang for the buck, at least in most of their products, not all. :)

[Leadfoot]

Many of the companies failed due to their owners getting into drugs (MXR)

Wow man.. is that what happened to MXR? As I get older I'm learning way more than I wanted to know about so many of my childhood influences.
Does anyone remember Phase Linear amplifiers? Or Bullfrog speaker cabinets?
Hohner? Farfisa?

[tatkin]

Wow man.. is that what happened to MXR? As I get older I'm learning way more than I wanted to know about so many of my childhood influences.
Does anyone remember Phase Linear amplifiers? Or Bullfrog speaker cabinets?
Hohner? Farfisa?

Actually owned a couple of Phase Linear amps... Liked them quite a bit.

[IraSeigel]

Actually owned a couple of Phase Linear amps... Liked them quite a bit.

Phase Linear was another company, like Symetrix and Tapco, out of a northern suburb of Seattle called Lynnwood. Bob Carver had something to do with that company - he either started it or bought it. I think a lot of those people probably wound up at Mackie, also a Seattle-area company. Another is Lucid.

[DaveS]

I had a Phase Linear Series 400 MOdel D that I used for a very long time. Even had the matching pre-amp. The amp eventually blew out and I just never bothered to get it repaired. Sold the whole package several years ago.

I also used to have a Bullfrog Equipment rack....built like a tank - for a wood rack.

[gdougherty]

If that was really the way it worked Behringer would have been out of business long ago!!!!!!! :p

More like Manufacturer A sells the products cheaper and floods the market with them and high gloss ad campaigns and Manufacturer B (in this case B doesn't stand for Behringer) goes out of business, or moves to China as well and cheapens up their product line. (Mackie/EAW anyone?)

Some times the high quality product does win out, or at least sells enough volume to those that want better quality, that they can be profitable. But if it's consumer gear, forget about it. Cheaper (as long as it's not complete garbage in comparison to the better stuff) almost always wins out. :)

Apple is an example that bucks the trend, but they do it with cool looking products and flashy ads rather than a lot more bang for the buck, at least in most of their products, not all. :)

Well, in general, yes. In the connector standard example I gave, not really. Behringer survives because their devices are largely copy-cat and they stick to industry standards for connections. I'd hazzard a guess that if they struck out on their own with a new connection standard that was particularly crappy, the other manufacturers would not follow suit and Behringer would likely drop it just to keep costs low. Of course, their business model probably wouldn't go there in the first place since proprietary gear tends to have higher manufacturing costs than off-the-shelf parts.

[Butch Bos]

Hay
I still have a Phase L 200 and 400
and even a couple Bullfrog speakers some where in the back of the warehouse.
I just cant throw out anything.

Butch

[RBIngraham]

Well, in general, yes. In the connector standard example I gave, not really. Behringer survives because their devices are largely copy-cat and they stick to industry standards for connections. I'd hazard a guess that if they struck out on their own with a new connection standard that was particularly crappy, the other manufacturers would not follow suit and Behringer would likely drop it just to keep costs low. Of course, their business model probably wouldn't go there in the first place since proprietary gear tends to have higher manufacturing costs than off-the-shelf parts.

I guess we sort of agree and disagree at the same time. :D

Mostly Behringer is around not only because they are copy cats. But because their crap is half the price of the stuff they have copied.

There are a few pieces that they seemed to have actually designed themselves and those actually seem to be their best gear at least in my experience. The ADA8K for one example, their digital console for another, while I personally wouldn't use one because its feature set didn't' really match my needs all that well, was actually an OK desk. A few other things I'm sure.

I think Behringer just made the jump to making everything in China early on and beat all the other audio manufacturers to the punch. So then they got to reap the benefits of being there first, or at least before most of them anyway. Once it became the norm to do business that way. In fact I would say that Behringer is kind of the WalMart of audio manufacturers. Just like Walmart has driven almost all big box retailers to get all their crap from China, Behringer has done almost the same with audio gear.

So to me Behringer is just like WalMart. You don't shop there because they have the nicest stuff, or because the sales clerks are so helpful and friendly. People shop there because they have a lot of cheap crap or at least people think they have the lowest prices on stuff and you can shop there 24 hours a day.

Just like shopping at Walmart, with Behringer, a wise shopper will pick and choose when it's really the best option to shop at WalMart (or Behringer) rather than someone else. The wise shopper will do so only when the price is just several times lower than any comparable piece from someone else or just because you can go pick up just about anything at 3 AM on a Friday night/Saturday morning because you must have it for the next day. Granted shopping 24 hours doesn't really fit Behringer, but they are plentiful and you can get them all over the place, so it's easier to pick up a cheap Behringer piece many times rather than wait for a nicer made piece of gear to be shipped in that the big box music store (aka Guitar Center or Sam Ash) may well not stock. So the analogy kind of works in a way.

Yea I still think Behringer is largely in existence because their stuff is just so damn cheap. You can not use the ADA8K as the best example for their typical gear. That's actually one of their nicer pieces of gear. :p A lot of the other stuff is even crappier than that. :)

But for those with very small pocket books, or folks that just need a cheap mixer to mess around with because they are not going to use it for a living, etc... Behrigner fills a need. They offer a lot of bang for the buck. I don't think people should be necessarily ashamed of owning B gear, unlike many gear snobs who will look down on you for even admitting you own any of their gear. But I am also not going to fool myself into thinking that it's just as good as any other piece of gear either. To bring in any piece of equipment at such low price points some corner has been cut somewhere, or everyone would be selling the same thing (in some cases the stuff that B has made a knock off of) at about the same price.

But I don't shop at WalMart unless I really have no other choice. :)

Frankly I bet it's pure luck that the ADA8K just happens to have the XLR outputs that just happen to work so well for us when using them with SAC. I doubt much of any real thought was put into which connectors to use. It was probably an easy or cheaper solution for some reason at the time. Actually when it comes to A-D-A converters they didn't follow the norm. I know of no one prior to the release of the ADA8K that had XLR outputs on A-D-A conversion and I know of no one still that has made such a unit except Creamware makes (or used to make) a set of A-D-A units that had all XLR I/O. So actually in the example of the ADA8K, Behringer marched the the beat of their own drummer for the most part. ;)

[IraSeigel]

Frankly I bet it's pure luck that the ADA8K just happens to have the XLR outputs that just happen to work so well for us when using them with SAC. .... ;)

OK, I really don't understand this, so please help me.

Why is it SO preferable that a piece of gear have XLR outputs?!?! Richard, I'm not challenging your statement; I simply want to know - why is it that an ADA8K, because it has XLR outputs, is preferred over a piece of gear that has TRS outputs? Surely the "format" of the balanced output isn't a dealbreaker for anyone, is it?

I've just gotten my second RME ADI-8 Pro, with TRS outputs, to use as my monitor outputs. I have absolutely no problem making a TRS to XLR cable (or buying the $5 adapter), and I can be assured that my gear will not overheat and will power up and work every time. Unfortunately, I don't have that same confidence in my ADA8K.

Ira

[Brent Evans]

OK, I really don't understand this, so please help me.

Why is it SO preferable that a piece of gear have XLR outputs?!?! Richard, I'm not challenging your statement; I simply want to know - why is it that an ADA8K, because it has XLR outputs, is preferred over a piece of gear that has TRS outputs? Surely the "format" of the balanced output isn't a dealbreaker for anyone, is it?

I've just gotten my second RME ADI-8 Pro, with TRS outputs, to use as my monitor outputs. I have absolutely no problem making a TRS to XLR cable (or buying the $5 adapter), and I can be assured that my gear will not overheat and will power up and work every time. Unfortunately, I don't have that same confidence in my ADA8K.

Ira

XLR connectors lock. This is of some value, especially in a portable rig, where you're patching and repatching quite frequently. This can, of course, be solved with something as simple as a patch panel. Further, kepeing everything either one way or the other is handy also. If I buy a piece of gear that isn't XLR (now, anyway) I also buy or make the appropriate adapter and leave it with that piece of gear. It's just less to fuss with if I have to do something in a hurry. I have 2 DIs that stay with my keyboard, for instance. That way if I take it somewhere, I'm ready to plug in.

[RBIngraham]

OK, I really don't understand this, so please help me.

Why is it SO preferable that a piece of gear have XLR outputs?!?! Richard, I'm not challenging your statement; I simply want to know - why is it that an ADA8K, because it has XLR outputs, is preferred over a piece of gear that has TRS outputs? Surely the "format" of the balanced output isn't a dealbreaker for anyone, is it?

I've just gotten my second RME ADI-8 Pro, with TRS outputs, to use as my monitor outputs. I have absolutely no problem making a TRS to XLR cable (or buying the $5 adapter), and I can be assured that my gear will not overheat and will power up and work every time. Unfortunately, I don't have that same confidence in my ADA8K.

Ira

Ira,

Sorry if I confused you here. :)

I'm actually the wrong person to ask. Because I don't really care if my D to A is on 1/4" TRS or XLR. I can make or buy a 1/4" TRS to Male XLR adaptor or 8 channel patch snake, just fine thank you. :)

Now, I wouldn't use unbalanced outputs in live sound very often, if I could help it. But 1/4" outputs do not mean that the output is unbalanced, most days. Most of them use 1/4" TRS outputs and they are balanced outputs. They are just not on an XLR connector.

But in discussions on this forum in the past the fact that units like the Presonus or others use 1/4" TRS rather than XLR for outputs have been brought up as "minus" in the feature set in comparison to the Behringer, by a fair number of users on the forum.

I have a fair number of ADA8Ks myself. But I make no bones about it. The only reason I don't sell them all tomorrow and buy some Presonus or RME or other units is because they are what I can afford to use based on the budgets of the theatres I am working for. It's what I can afford to provide them. I have 5 of them, so I can use 3 to 4 of them on shows and have at least 1 spare. I don't really trust them all that much myself to not melt themselves down. But again for me it's about $$$. The next closest unit in price is the cheap Presonus and for Digimax FS which has inputs and outputs (unlike the D8 which is inputs only) it's 2 to 3 times as much as an ADA8K depending on how well you shop around and how many you buy at one time.

1/4" TRS outs is no big deal to me. Yes, XLR outs can be more convenient, especially if you already have a bunch of snakes or other cable harnesses made up with XLR. (which is what is often found on decent analog and some digital consoles, especially those designed for live sound) I can to a slight extent understand why some folks avoid them because they see them as less reliable than XLR. There can be contact issues with 1/4" since there is so little surface area used to make the actual connections. But if they are well maintained (and frankly the more often you plug and unplug a 1/4" connector, I think it's better than ones that are patched and sit there and oxidize for the next 15 years...LOL) a 1/4" will last a long time and provide plenty of years of good service. At least in my experience.

I mean if I had a choice, I would prefer gear with all XLR I/O as well. If I was designing my own A-D-A conversion, I would just make the darn thing 2 rack spaces, put in built in power supplies, not line lumps or wall warts, build it with a power supply that won't cook itself and other components around it and have all XLR I/O and put it all on the back panel. So I could have nice big knobs on the front and maybe some meters and stuff as well. Of course I probably couldn't afford to buy the piece I just described and my point is that while that might be my ideal Preamp/A-D-A unit for SAC, it won't be everyones. :)

[IraSeigel]

XLR connectors lock. This is of some value, especially in a portable rig, where you're patching and repatching quite frequently. This can, of course, be solved with something as simple as a patch panel. Further, kepeing everything either one way or the other is handy also. If I buy a piece of gear that isn't XLR (now, anyway) I also buy or make the appropriate adapter and leave it with that piece of gear. It's just less to fuss with if I have to do something in a hurry. I have 2 DIs that stay with my keyboard, for instance. That way if I take it somewhere, I'm ready to plug in.


So Brent, what you're saying is - you adapt. If something doesn't have an XLR, you make it work. You don't avoid using the piece of gear JUST because it doesn't have an XLR connector. Correct?

Yes, XLRs firmly connect. Better than TRS. But so do TT (patchbay) connectors and so do the T3 connectors. And XLR's take up a LOT of room (and weight) in a piece of gear.

XLRs are great - I'm not saying there's anything better. But they're not a dealbreaker, as far as I'm concerned.

Ira

[IraSeigel]

...
I mean if I had a choice, I would prefer gear with all XLR I/O as well. If I was designing my own A-D-A conversion, I would just make the darn thing 2 rack spaces, put in built in power supplies, not line lumps or wall warts, build it with a power supply that won't cook itself and other components around it and have all XLR I/O and put it all on the back panel. So I could have nice big knobs on the front and maybe some meters and stuff as well. Of course I probably couldn't afford to buy the piece I just described and my point is that while that might be my ideal Preamp/A-D-A unit for SAC, it won't be everyones. :)

If you build it, they will come...:)

[RBIngraham]

If you build it, they will come...:)

Yea... I'll get on that right after I teach myself Visual Studio so I can write some of the small software apps I've wanted to write for years now. :)

[IraSeigel]

Yea... I'll get on that right after I teach myself Visual Studio so I can write some of the small software apps I've wanted to write for years now. :)

I have an unopened box of Visual Studio 6, or 4 or something - it's yours if you want it:) Yeah, I had the same stupid thought, way back when...

[Brent Evans]

So Brent, what you're saying is - you adapt. If something doesn't have an XLR, you make it work. You don't avoid using the piece of gear JUST because it doesn't have an XLR connector. Correct?


If the two units are fairly comparable, and one has the XLR connectors I like, and there's nothing major to draw me to the other one, I'm going with the unit that has XLR. OTOH, if the unit with TRS is better or significantly cheaper, I'm adaptable. Or rather, the unit is.

That's just me, though. I know a guy that just flat out dislikes adapters, as he feels they make for more failure points. It's really more philosophical than anything else. I also know a guy that isn't opposed to daisy-chaning about 3 or 4 adapters together to get the desired result. I remember hooking up a wireless reciever that had TRS out with the following gadget:

TRS Out > TRS M/M Coupler > TRS F to RCA M > RCA Stereo Coupler > RCA M to F XLR (Custom made for some other application I cannot remember) > XLR M/M Coupler > Mic Cable > Snake

It... worked....

[gdougherty]

I'm typically one of those who avoids adaptors and largely for the locking abilities, I settled on XLR. I've also had plenty of volunteer helpers who only manage to insert a random TRS connector halfway in and make no connection. For some reason that doesn't happen with XLR.

[Guitarkeys.com]

Guys, hate to be the one to say it, but there is no right answer. All my outs will end up at snakes using xlr so that is what I use. Also, having to hot patch in something and having a standard cord type is invaluable. I have tons of adapters, but hanging 8 3" adapters off the back of gear suspended in a rolling rack is problematic. Also, all those adapters quickly add to the tangle and space. I have a 4' tall (25" deep) rack with everything mounted in it and space is running out quick, so I have to eliminate anything out of the chain I can. Now note that I am talking about a live rig, not a studio or permanent installation.

Application and ease of use is everything. Right now I have everything permantly hooked in, however, I plan on running sound for other bands in the near future so I need better access to outputs on the ADA. I wouldn't want them in the front for normal use, and having the inputs on the front for this type of application is ideal. I never want to reach through the back of a rack to plug in an extra input, seems easy, but the teeth marks on the end of my flashlight as I try to get to the back of a rig on a packed stage will tell you its not.

My solution is to add 2 more ADAs and mount the outs (making a custom plate with x length xlr cords to hook into the outs) and placing them in an easy to use area. So if I need my outs, then I have a template set up that routes to those.

You can't win, you can only make it a little less painful.

Jamie

[Leadfoot]

but the teeth marks on the end of my flashlight as I try to get to the back of a rig on a packed stage will tell you its not.



Wrap a couple layers of electrical tape around the end of your maglite, lot easier on the teeth.

[Guitarkeys.com]

Will do. And my dentist thanks you too!

[RBIngraham]

Or just put a work light in the back of your 4' tall rack. :D

[Brent Evans]

I like the ball caps with a couple of LEDs or a LED flashlight on an elastic headband. Kinda dorky to wear around but works a treat for getting your head in spaces.

[RBIngraham]

I like the ball caps with a couple of LEDs or a LED flashlight on an elastic headband. Kinda dorky to wear around but works a treat for getting your head in spaces.


Nerd Alert! :p

Yea... it takes one to know one!

[Trackzilla]

Back when I did a lot of residential install work I got tired of my tools being uncomfortable and disappearing in crawlspaces & attics.

Solution: bought 2 cans of clear 'dip-it' tool rubberizing goo, and an oz of glow-in-the-dark powder in 'green glow' and 'red glow'...stirred each powder into a can of goo & dipped the handles on almost everything, including my flashlights.

now tools have a comfy insulated grip that is color coded & before leaving any area I can kill my flashlight & glance around...any tool left behind yells out "hey, I'm over here!'

Shrink wrap also works wonderfully on a mini mag & won't leave tape goo on your teeth when it gets some age ;)

Edit: OK, I may have strayed OT a bit :D

[Brent Evans]

Nerd Alert! :p

Yea... it takes one to know one!

Nah. I also have a led flashlight that clips under my collar and has a 3" gooseneck. When I break that bad boy out the nerd alert goes up.