Anyone who’s worked in recording studios from the 1970s onwards will be familiar with the traditional analogue patchbay. Often built into the side of large-format consoles, these systems were essential for routing signals between gear, but they came with serious drawbacks. Setting one up meant days or even weeks of custom cable work to wire every piece of hardware into the system. Using one meant reaching for a mess of patch cables to manually connect gear, often in near-dark conditions, with tiny, hard-to-read labels on each jack that made the process anything but smooth.
A few years ago, Canadian company Flock Audio introduced the PATCH Series, a modern solution designed to replace traditional patchbays while maintaining a completely analogue signal path. At the time of writing, the lineup includes four studio models: the original PATCH with 32 inputs and 32 outputs, the smaller PATCH LT with 16 in and out, the mid-sized PATCH VT offering 64 ins and outs, and the top-tier PATCH XT with a massive 96 inputs and 96 outputs. None of the models are inexpensive, and the larger units in particular come with a significant price tag, but for many professional studios, the leap in flexibility, precision and speed makes them a worthwhile investment.
The Flock Audio PATCH VT
Setup and Configuration
I’ve spent a fair amount of time with both the PATCH and PATCH VT recently at Ordio Productions Studios, where both units are in full operation, handling the routing of an extensive range of outboard effects during mixing sessions. I began with the PATCH, a 32 in/32 out system, in their main studio while working on mixes for my album. Not long into the process, the PATCH was swapped out for the larger PATCH VT, as it quickly became clear that the extra inputs and outputs were essential for the studio’s setup. (The Patch was moved into Studio 4) Having worked with both units first-hand, I can say with confidence that, despite their technical sophistication, they are remarkably straightforward to configure and get up and running.
Simply plug the USB cable into your Mac or PC, power up the system, and install the PATCH APP to begin labelling your patch points. The interface uses a clean grid layout, with your hardware index displayed on the left and the routing grid to the right. Once all of your hardware connections are labelled, setting up a signal path is as easy as dragging one device after another within the grid to establish a connection. At Ordio Productions Studio, two Prism Sound Atlas audio interfaces are used, each providing 8 inputs and 8 outputs, giving a total of 16 inputs and 16 outputs, all patched into the PATCH VT.
Using Luna as my DAW, I was able to send a stereo drum buss out of outputs 1 and 2 of the first Prism, route it through an Empirical Labs FATSO, and from there into channels 1 and 2 of a Rupert Neve summing mixer, which was then returned directly to the SPL DMC for monitoring. Stereo guitars were sent straight to inputs 3 and 4 on the summing mixer, while the bass guitar was patched through an Empirical Labs Distressor before being fed into input 5 of the summing mixer. All of this routing was achieved quickly and easily through the simple drag and drop functionality of the PATCH APP.
Connecting the PATCH to your outboard gear isn’t exactly plug-and-play, but to be fair, that’s more a reality of studio wiring than a fault of the system itself. With the large number of inputs and outputs available on these units, panel space becomes a premium, so all models rely on DB25 connectors following the standard Tascam pinout. Some models do offer a couple of XLR inputs and outputs on the front panel for convenience (complte with phantom power), but for full integration, you’ll need DB25-to-XLR or DB25-to-TRS breakout cables for every device you want to connect. Whether you make them yourself or buy them ready-made, the cost of all these cables is something you’ll need to factor in when considering a move to the PATCH system.
Sound Quality
This is where the review really gets interesting, for one very simple reason: I have never encountered any device that can insert one piece of gear into the path of another without producing even the slightest click or pop. The PATCH system does exactly that. It is completely silent when routing an effects unit into the signal path coming from the Prism converters, and the switch happens instantly. It genuinely blew my mind, and I’ve since spent a lot of time trying to figure out how Flock Audio is achieving this. I still have no idea, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that it works, and it works flawlessly.
When it comes to sound quality, I couldn’t detect any discernible change when using the PATCH system. None. If there is any degradation at all, it’s below the threshold of what I can hear, and it is absolutely outweighed by the sheer convenience the system brings to the studio. Being able to swap out the FATSO for a pair of Empirical Labs Distressors in the blink of an eye is something you really have to experience to believe. The routing change is instant, and most impressively, completely silent.
The PATCH APP lets you save and instantly recall any patch configuration, making it easy to maintain full routing recall from song to song during a mix session. While it doesn’t store the settings of each piece of outboard gear, that kind of miracle will have to wait for another day, it does allow you to recall complex routing setups with total precision. You can also stack effects chains within the system effortlessly. For example, you might send your stereo backing vocals through a pair of LA-2As, then into an SPL PQ equaliser, and finally through an AMS Reverb. Whatever your signal path requires, it’s all possible with simple drag and drop control.
Conclusion
To wrap up this review, I think it’s pretty clear how highly I regard the PATCH system. It represents a long-overdue leap forward in studio patching, delivering a level of control, flexibility and simplicity that traditional patchbays never could. The intuitive APP and pristine sound quality make it a joy to use, and while the technology behind it may be hard to fully grasp, it takes less than three minutes of hands-on use to appreciate just how extraordinarily well it does what it was designed to do.
We’d like to thank Ordio Productions for providing the opportunity to spend hands-on time with both Flock Audio PATCH systems in their outstanding studios here in Sydney. If you’re considering adding a PATCH system to your setup, we highly recommend getting in touch with them, either by phone or through their website, for expert advice and demonstration.
