Burning Grooves: Technical | Music, Technology and stuff.

Polar Patterns Explained

15 March 06

What are those strange and cryptic pictures on my microphone? One of them looks like a mushroom…. This article is all about microphone polar patterns – what are they? Why have different patterns? Which one should I use? All will be revealed…

Where do microphones pick up from?

Patchbays explained - Part 3

1 March 06

In part 1 and part 2 we explored what patchbays are and the different ways in which they can be configured. In this final instalment we are going to look at the ways various items of equipment can be integrated into a patchbay.

As discussed in part 2, patchbays can be configured to automatically send the signal from the top row to the bottom row. This is so the patchbay can be set up to route commonly linked equipment to each other so you don’t need to manually patch them in together. This means that you have to plan your patchbay so that the outputs are on the top row and the inputs are on the bottom.

Introduction to Dynamic and Condenser Microphones

24 February 06

This article is a basic introduction to the workings and uses of two of the most popular types of microphone – the dynamic and the condenser.

What are microphones?

Microphones are basically transducers – that is an object that changes one form of energy into another. Just as a light bulb changes electrical energy into heat and light, a microphone changes differences in air pressure (acoustic energy) into electrical energy (Alternating Current) that can be recorded.

Patchbays explained - Part 2

In part 1 We went through what a patchbay was and what types there are. Now we are going to concentrate on how they work and how to configure them for certain tasks.

Configuring your patchbay

There are 4 ways most patchbays can be configured to work; open, normalled, half-normalled and parallel. The option you choose for your patchbay will depend on the equipment you have and how you like to work, but there are certain rules you will need to follow – more on that later.

Different patchbays are configured in different ways – some will have switches to flip between the different modes, some require you to take out each module and reverse it and some need to have jumpers soldered in place.

Open

This is the default setting and basically means no signal will flow through the patchbay without inserting a patch cord. This is essential if you have outputs of a unit placed above the inputs of the same unit e.g. a multitrack.
open

Normalled

This is where patchbays start getting clever. A normalled section automatically routes whatever is plugged into the top output of the patchbay to the input directly beneath. This is ideal for connecting equipment that you use together regulary (e.g. an aux output to an FX unit’s input.) as you don’t need to insert a patch cable every time you want to use it. You can still break the connection by inserting a patch cord enabling you to re-route the signal.

There can be problems with normalling though. Imagine you have connected a compressor. The usual way of laying it out on a patchbay would be to have the outputs above the inputs. If these were normalled this would create a feedback loop as the output feeds the input, which feeds the output, which feeds the input….... You can cause damage to your equipment if you leave it like this for too long!

Half-normalled

This is essentially the same as normalled but means you can insert a patch cord into the output without breaking the signal flow to the input. This is sometimes called “sniff” as it allows you to try out other routing without changing the original signal.
Half normalled

Parallel

A patchbay set up in parallel allows you to split the signal. Whatever goes into the back input will be routed out of the front top and bottom and rear bottom.

Part 3:

Continue to part 3 >>>.

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