Patch bay with send/return

[giovanni]

I’ve been eyeing this for a bit and realized I can probably just build one like it. The appealing thing for me is being able to insert pedals at various points in the chain for an existing board without having to take it apart. But I think it could also be used to change the order of the effects just by patching them.

I'm thinking about using three regular jacks and one switched one (for the return) per loop. See the schematic below.

 

[Feral Feline]

I've got one of those half-normed patchbays on my to-do list, as well as the octagonal Patchulator — I've got the enclosures, got the jacks, measured out the drilling for the octagon — time, need more time... and an accurate drill press.

 

[giovanni]

Ah yeah that’s a really good one! I love the use of the mini jacks for routing. I think I need both things...

 

[Feral Feline]

I'm planning on using full 1/4" throughout — super-tight fit to do so, hence the need for acute attention to drilling.

With 1/4", you can use any regular lead/patch cable to swap in an effect or chain of effects. I'm thinking of connecting my BYOC Super8 to it.

 

[giovanni]

I have been trying to find a 1/8" connector with both switching tip and ring but they are like unicorns! I thought maybe I can avoid switching the ring but I am concerned that may introduce ground loops. Am I overthinking it?

 

[giovanni]

Actually on second thought, I can just use a stereo jack like this and use the ring as ground.