rvickers,
couple of follow-up questions as I am now thinking about putting the SwitchBlade back in service based on your workflow description.
I assume you are talking about the ADAT Toskink cable in a “self” loop so that for example, FXChain1 output could be routed to say the input of ADAT1-2, then FXChain2 could pickup the output of FXChain1 in series by using ADAT1-2 output (itself looped to its on 1-2 input)?
Are you then using the 8 DB25 Analog In/Out to go in and out of the SwitchBlade GL?
Assuming that is your workflow, my problem is that I don’t have a Dante, and in fact, was using ADAT to connect to my TASCAM DM4800 digital mixer in the control room, so that woud no longer be usable, and as I understand it, I would not be able to simultaneously use another digital output like say XLR AES as the H9K can currently only use one set of digital I/O.
So without a Dante, it seems like I would not be able to use both the SwitchBlade and connection to my DM4800?
Would you concur with my analysis?
Lastly, how do you take signal from the H9K, which is line level and low Z, and inject it in front of a guitar preamp (which is high Z) without a reamp box?
Happy to share. I thought about trying to get the SB out of the equation too, but it just really makes working with tons of random stuff easy and I am a bit of a control freak. I still love a lot of my anaolg stuff to the point that the writing rig has switching units in different places of the signal chain and buffers strategically placed to allow everything to react as best as possible in this complex scenario. Also, you have to be ok with the headroom issues of SBGL that some folks tend to feel robs the line level stuff of some of its mojo. However, I am fine getting around it. Some might not be. This works for me, but I understand everyone has different issues to get around. I’ll share thoughts below:
– Yes, I am using a optical cable connecting the in and out of the ADAT I/O. That sounds like a no go for you. I have not tried to use the AES and ADAT at the same time, but it looks like you could as long as the routing fits in the current FXChain model. Again, I have not tried that. If it is a lift you can do, I very much recommend embracing DANTE. It has covered a lot of ugly routing etc for me. It is unfortunately an investment to get it integrated right. I don’t need DANTE for my guitar rig, but being able to switch imediately using the H9K as EFX at mix is pretty priceless. I typically print effects as I play off the effects anyway. If I want really hiFi stuff I will have the H9K in DAW or after mics, or Fryette PS2, Two-Notes Live, Suhr RL.
– I keep analog I/O 1/2 with physical XLRs on the H9K open in case I ever need to integrate another peice. The rest of the 8 I/Os (via DB25) are then connected to SBGL loops. I can now matrix 6 I/O pairs any way I want. I use the ADAT I/O to put FX chains in series if I want to avoid the AD/DA trip. This allows me to do a lot of cool stuff. I can run two amps with both amps having a FXChain in front and behind the amp. In general I run one amp with 2 FXChains in front and 2 behind so I can use IA style midi switching to turn on and off effects. My RJM mastermind is then in total controll and I can avoid switching latency.
– The line level issues are not as big of a problem with the SBGL as it fully balanced buffers every loop. Not all SBs are balanced. Also why Fuzzes sound like poop in it. Now, having said that, I am simply ignoring any rules here and just do it. There is a slight noise floor and I certainly loose a bit of dynamic and feel going into the amp compared to plugging my guitar straight in. Again, I make it work for me. I use lots of variying degrees of gain too with no problem. I work around the issues, it’s not perfect. I do have a lot of experience building a guitar rack system so there are no noise issues caused by ground loops etc. A strong ground loop would certainly be a mess here. I’m guessing you have this experience too so you should be good.
– I do have the ADAC levels for analog 3/4 set to -10 for routing to and from the preamp sections. Again, not following any rules, I just beat everything to death untill it does what I want. I’m very pleased with this and it works great with all my amps. The only caveat is if you are using without a buffered effects loop you will want one. IE:, I use a ELI tube loop unit with my Two-Rocks.
– Should also note, I currently load down about 16 different amps into 2 PS2s and use the loop of the PS2 via the SBGL to have the whole rack used with any amp instantly. This is done with 2 Kahayan midi amp switchers. Most of my time is studio work. Live, I scale down a lot but the SBGL is still involved. in fact, I have SB8Fs to shrink things even smaller but have the analog matrix ability. I have not used the H9K with the SB8F yet so the fact it isnt balanced might be an issue.
Hope this helps with some ideas. I’ll try to answer any specific questions if any.
