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Hey, I'm trying to organize my studio a bit, and need some help from someone who has done this already.

I have about 10 XLR mic cables that are miking acoustic piano, clarinet, drums, guitar amp, and hammond organ amp. The 2 acoustic piano mics need phantom power, while the others do not.

I'd like to route all those cables through conduits over to my desk, where I have two Focusrite Scarlett converters (2 channels each).

In my ideal world, I'd like some sort of switch box that would let me toggle which inputs go to those Focusrite inputs to be digitized. I would say "I'm recording piano today, so I'll flip this switch" and the piano mics would get their phantom power. Then tomorrow, I'll flip a different switch to record guitar (no phantom power).

Will a 16 channel splitter do this? Or do I need a combination of gear? Or am I better off getting a converter with 10 XLR inputs and selling my Focusrites?

Any advice appreciated,

Vince

I've trusted a patchbay to do what you need, a bit less convenient than a "switch box", but easier to acquire and maintain. Plus, you can see from across the room what is patched into the A/D converter at a particular moment. Keeping all the cabling XLR with proper shielding can't hurt, either. JM2C

Good luck with what you come up with!

Alan,

Thanks! You're right, I need a patch bay. That will pass the phantom power through. I'm going to get that, and two small snakes to run the cables.
Then I just need to figure out how to listen to the mix in headphones from across the room from my computer while I am playing, and how to hit the "record" button.

The whole point is to stop having to move my stuff around all the time, tripping over wires. And it makes me crazy when I have to hit record and then run to get in the right playing position. I need to be able to start recording from anywhere in the room.

I think could use bluetooth headphones. But I still don't know how to solve the "start recording: problem.

Vince

nicotina wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 11, 2022 4:57 am

I think could use bluetooth headphones. But I still don't know how to solve the "start recording: problem.

You might be able to use a footswitch - I've seen an option for one in my DAW's Mackie Controller setup, so I assume others will have similar options. It's also possible to use a mobile app on your phone like Touchdaw for this type of thing too.

I think you will find bluetooth headphones are a no - go due to the additional latency they introduce, so you probably just want a long cable although I think I recall there is a company that just launched some proper bluetooth studio headphones without the latency issue. Can't recall the name, it was on SanjayC Youtube channel a week or two back iirc

Mark