This week was all about connectivity. We started off with a quick chapter 4 review, and I had the chance to ask about a few things I needed clarification on. One question I had was what the difference between a balanced and unbalanced cable was, and why balanced was a better option. I'm not sure why I didn't grasp the concept at first, but after talking about it with Luis and watching a quick video on it, the whole concept just made perfect sense. It really comes down to the fact that a balanced cable will increase the signal while eliminating noise when it is plugged into a balanced input and an unbalanced cable will just pass that signal straight through, including the interference it picked up on the way. Another question about connectivity I had was related to the differences between normalling of the patch bay. I learned that there are many variations in how a patch bay can be set up, and it actually makes a lot of sense when you have the patch bay in front of you. The terms may take me a while to memorize, but I feel like I understand the concept behind it enough to create a basic or simple audio path.
Once we were finished talking about the chapter and going over those questions I had, we went to the storage room where cables and equipment are kept. I had been back there before and had seen all of the different types of cables, but I had no Idea what a lot of these cables were called or used for until this week. The first item we focused on was the Private Q Multichannel cue system box. We briefly talked about the function of this box and how it could be used to power up to 10 different headphones in the vocals booth, but we mostly focused on the back of the unit and the types of connectors it had. On the back of this box, there were 1/4'' jacks, XLR, and DL multipin connectors. The next item we looked at was the Digidesign Sync box and the MIDI box, both made by Digi Design. Again we mostly focused on the tyes of connections that could be made on the back of these units, but did talk a little about how the sync box sends out a digital clocking signal called the word clock using a BNC cable. Some of the other connections on the back of the sync box were D-subs and XLR. On the back of the MIDI box, there were just multiple MIDI inputs and outputs, with one USB slot. Next we took a look at the area where cables were repaired or made. They had everything needed to repair or build a custom cable, from spools of wire to TS connectors, TRS connectors, XLR connectors, DL connectors, and banana plugs. After this, we walked over to the wall were they kept the functional cables. They pretty much had every type of cable and connector you would need in a studio. Everything from Firewire, USB, BNC, TRS, TS, XLR, TT, CAT5, DL, RCA, D-SUB, and snakes with different terminals (picture of DL to XLR below). I had seen many of these cables and connectors before, but it was cool to learn some specifications on each and how they could be used. I feel a little more confident in the studio setting and like I'm one step closer to becoming a great audio engineer.
Front of Private Q Multichannel Cue System
Back of Private Q Multichannel Cue System
Sync and MIDI boxes made by Digidesign
Back of Digidesign MIDI box
Back of Digidesign Sync I/O
TS connector without the protective sleeve
Wire Spools
DL Connector
BNC connectors hanging on the wal
TT connectors, XLR connectors, TS connectors, TRS connectors, BNC connectors
USB and Firewire connectors
Snake cable. DL to female XLR