any thoughts about that box???

maybe wrong section...

That picture you made of the box would never work.. the box would have to have twice the RCA jacks... for the connections to be possible..

You're essentially describing a patch bay. In a permanent club installation, it would be easy to add a standard 19" rack unit with 1/4" connections. This would do everything you described above.

You'd set it up so that turntable outputs and mixer inputs are aligned on the back of the patch bay. With nothing plugged into the front, the default signal path would route turntables to mixer as usual.

But as soon as you plugged something into the front jacks, the direct connection would be broken. All you'd need to do would be to get some 1/4" to RCA adapters and it would be trivial to hook in the SSL box.

If you wanted to get really tricky and have a four (or more) channel mixer, you could even split/mult the turntable outputs so that TT1 would go to Mixer channels 1 and 2, and TT2 would go to Mixer channels 3 and 4 (or whatever you prefer). When inserting the SSL box, only channels 1 and 3 would be broken, allowing you to easily play vinyl when desired, even with the SSL box still attached. This would also make it easy to hook up SSL while another DJ is finishing his/her set... just have them switch mixing over to channels 2/4.

Only thing I'm not positive about is how turntable outputs are going to behave in a pro patch-bay that normally deals with either -10dB or +4dB signals. It might not be a problem at all, but I suppose you could always run a phono-to-line amp prior to hitting the patch bay.

I'm too tired to come up with a schematic, but it's not hard to figure out if you understand patch bay normalling behavior. If anyone's serious about wanting to install this in your club, let me know and I'll figure out an exact wiring scheme for you. If you have a regular audio person, they can probably do it for you as well.

Average cost for decent quality patch bay is around US$85-115.

it's already working (for about 8 months now) at my fridaynight
resident club with two other SSL-DJs on other days without any
problem in the way I described above.

@ LOUISMARCOS: to make it simple I only showed on line for each
stereo connection... yeah there are box has twice all the connection: left AND right!

@ relaux: theres no possibility of a broken connection cause all
signals are only PUT THRU!!!
I did it for 50 $ and it works pretty fine...

there are = the

where the f*** is the edit button when I need it ;O)

Yeah, I saw that you mentioned you had already installed it and the cost... I applaud you for coming up with a solution to the problem you were having, actually building it, and then sharing it here. It was a good tip.

I was just saying that for people wanting to do this, you can buy a patch bay and install it in the rack. There isn't really a need for Serato to develop a custom box when there's already a solution available.

A standard 1/4" patch bay has 48 channels allowing a lot more flexibility for clubs that see a lot of traffic, especially DJs wanting to use their own equipment or when you want to hook in a sampler, drum machine, effects loop, etc.

Also, "broken connection" in a patch bay is a good thing. You set it up so that when nothing is plugged into the front, the signal flows in your default configuration.

This page explains it far better than I could here:

www.musiciansfriend.com

By the way, gold connectors are only good for eliminating corrosion, they don't do anything for the sound. You probably already knew that, but a lot of people don't. I suppose a club would constitute a "hostile environment" for connections, so gold connectors might be worth the cost. I probably wouldn't bother, though, depending on how much extra cost was involved.

Again, I'm glad you figured out a solution, and thanks for sharing it here!

It would be nice if Serato could come up with a 2.0 USB interface that would require only 1 pair of cables, where the t-tables would go in, and come back out into the mixer...hard to explain but check out this pic from a new product by Native-Instruments:

www.native-instruments.com

I like the neatness of the setup, but I'd be worried about any solution that requires a cable I couldn't grab at Radio Shack on my way to a gig.

Having seen that, though, I'm now inspired to imitate it with some wire ties and flexible tubing. (Example: www.nelcoproducts.com)

I've actually made about half a dozen SSL patch panels. I mounted them in all the clubs I play at, as well as my mobile systems. Just buy blank rack panels ( www.pssl.com ), piggyback cables ( www.mcminone.com ) and panel mount RCAs ( www.mcminone.com )

I have NEVER had a problem with turntables or CD players using piggyback cables.

Hint: try to measure your alignment before you drill the holes and use a punch before you drill them, they will look much better.

releaux - try techflex...www.techflex.com

i like the cleancut and the ... they sent a little sample kit with the catalog if you ask... great to judge in person the widtch you need

i like the half inch f6 they send out with the sample... its cut down the length so you dont have to feed it through, but has a third of a circle overlap so it doesnt get loose - its also flame retardant

^^^ Sweet... thanks for the link. That's nice looking stuff.

can someone explain how you;d hook up the piggyback cable to decks/mixer/SSL. Having difficulty picturing it...