Having fulfilled preorders, then turned heads and opened musical minds with a show-stopping
showcase at The 2019 NAMM Show in Southern California, January 24-27, pro audio manufacturer Flock Audio is proud to
announce availability of its innovative PATCH System — surely the world’s most advanced digitally-controlled, 100%-analog
patch bay routing system, thanks to a killer combination of (PATCH APP) software and 64-point connection-providing
(PATCH) hardware working together in perfect harmony, allowing anyone to easily control analog audio routings without
having to resort to the use of manual patch cables.
Who
better to formally introduce the world’s most advanced
digitally-controlled, 100%-analog patch bay routing system to the wider
world than Flock Audio CEO/Director
Darren Nakonechny? He helpfully begins by picking up the backstory, before fast-forwarding through to the resultant revolutionary PATCH System solution: “I started working
on a conceptual design known as PATCH in
early 2016 when I decided to leave my stable career and chose to pursue
the path less travelled of designing and developing a
better and more efficient process for professional audio recording
engineers from the depths of my basement home recording studio. In need
of a better solution other than
the available 1870s technology known as a traditional patch bay, the
concept was born to create a fully-digitally-controlled — but
100%-analog — circuit routing system
that wouldn’t color or alter the audio signals passing through it. After
two years of strenuous work and constant focus, Flock Audio,
the company I started, created the
world’s first and most advanced digitally-controlled analog audio
routing system with features never before possible in conventional
analog audio routing.”
Revolutionary as it is, the PATCH System design duly makes sense. Simple and sleek as the beautifully-built PATCH hardware may first appear — and well worthy of the
PROUDLY DESIGNED & MANUFACTURED IN CANADA wording boldly blazoned across its single rack space-occupying rear panel, packing in a whole lot of user-friendly
functionality clearly comes naturally to all at Flock Audio.
Watch Flock Audio CEO/Director Darren Nakonechny’s illuminating introductory PATCH System video here:
Advantageously, the PATCH hardware features four connectors — two INPUTS (on Neutrik XLR/TRS Combo jacks) and two OUTPUTS (on
Neutrik XLR male jacks) —
perfectly positioned on its front panel, meaning users can conveniently
and easily integrate any analog audio equipment or instruments into
their recording setup that
they might need to audition. As such, they can quickly redirect INPUTS 31-32 and/or OUTPUTS 31-32 from the rear side of the PATCH hardware by clicking the FRONT
INPUTS or FRONT OUTPUTS toggle buttons located in the lower section of the equally easy to use, easy on the eye PATCH APP software GUI (Graphical User Interface),
instantly receiving notification that those rear side outputs are no longer actively functioning. Front panel-redirected INPUTS 31-32 are able to have 48V phantom power
supplied to their connectors using the PATCH APP software, which will be visually confirmed by the front panel-positioned 48V PHANTOM POWER LED
(Light Emitting Diode)
illuminating as a slow-fading blue indicator to notify the user to not
plug or unplug any audio equipment until the 48V phantom power is
disabled. Three further coloured
LEDs complete the simple- and sleek-looking PATCH hardware’s front panel, also assisting the user with welcomed visual notifications — namely, HOST SIGNAL (illuminates
solid blue when the PATCH hardware is connected to — and communicating with — the associated CPU); EXTERNAL 48V WARNING (illuminates
as a flashing red indicator
when any connected preamp has its 48V phantom power activated as it’s
not necessary to activate 48V phantom power on any connected preamp
since the PATCH
System supplies its own onboard 48V phantom power); plus POWER rocker switch (with an associated blue LED indicator).
Returning rear side, all remains relatively straightforward, starting with a 6-pin POWER SUPPLY connection for the included 24VDC power supply (with threaded locking
sleeve). Next to that sits the USB connector; clearly, the PATCH System uses
very little CPU (Central Processing Unit) power to send and receive
commands from the
hardware, so works off USB 2.0 and onwards compatibility — chosen for
its inherent low CPU usage. Ultimately, users benefit from the PATCH System’s
hardware
processing working harder for their audio interface and DAW (Digital
Audio Workstation), as opposed to devoting a large amount of that
processing to routing analog
audio equipment. Each PATCH System, of course, comes complete with a USB-A to USB-B cable. Connectivity is what it’s all about, after all, and the PATCH hardware
doesn’t disappoint in that regard, readily equipped to become the hub of
any studio setup with 64-point connection via eight DB-25 connectors — INPUTS (1-8),
INPUTS (9-16), INPUTS (17-24), INPUTS (25-32), OUTPUTS (1-8), OUTPUTS (9-16), OUTPUTS (17-24), OUTPUTS (25-32) — for those all-important analog routings.
Watch Flock Audio CEO/Director Darren Nakonechny’s in-depth PATCH System walkthrough video here:
Reality dictates, however, that it’s the killer combination of PATCH APP software and 64-point connection-providing PATCH hardware working together in perfect
harmony that makes the PATCH System what
it is — the world’s most advanced digitally-controlled, 100%-analog
patch bay routing system, allowing anyone to easily
control analog audio routings without having to resort to the use of
manual patch cables. Cable replacement comes courtesy of the MacOS- and
Windows-
compatible PATCH APP software.
Skilfully accomplished, finely tuned, and intuitively powerful, it
brings the simplicity of drag and drop functionality to the world of
analog audio routing. PATCH APP is really the driving force behind creating complex or basic analog audio routings in seconds!
Intentionally implementing a familiar look and feel, yet oozing originality, PATCH APP harnesses the PATCH System’s power and flexibility via four user-friendly sections,
starting with an index of HARDWARE; here users can customise and store all their DB-25-connected outboard audio equipment and instruments in an easy-to-use,
searchable index. The ROUTINGS menu
allows them to quickly store active routings and recall them at a later
date. Arranged as a grid, the active routings section is
where users can set up and visualise their routings. There they can
click and drag any analog hardware from the HARDWARE index into a PATH to
create their desired
signal flow combination; by being based on the visual concept of most
DAW layouts, the active routings section should feel familiar to today’s
DAW-driven production
populace. Put simply, a PATH represents the PATCH System’s signal flow; all are arranged from top to bottom in the PATCH APP. Adding advanced Multing — turning
one PATH into
two or more for parallel processing — capability is simply a case of
clicking the directional arrow so it illuminates in yellow to the right
side of any active
PATH on
the specific ‘digital rack piece’ that the user wishes to Mult from.
And all without the impedance issues that come with traditional Multing,
meaning that
there is no chance of any split signal quality loss!
Last but by no means least, the PATCH System has 32 channels of 48V phantom power built right in so users can activate 48V phantom power to any of its input channels
for powering condenser microphones the way they were intended to be powered. It’s possible to toggle the 48V MASTER — ON or OFF — and ALLOW or DENY the ability
to connect 48V phantom power on any input connected to the PATCH System using the 48V SAFEGUARD feature via the PATCH APP;
as such, it’s safe to say that it’s
impossible to accidentally enable and/or damage any phantom-powered
prized microphones — much to the relief of any serious studio owner,
obviously!
And as if that wasn’t enough to be getting on with, why not route and identify multiple PATCH Systems for
expanded I/O capabilities? Why not, indeed. It’s equally
easy, after all. Almost anything is possible when working with the
world’s most advanced digitally-controlled, 100%-analog patch bay
routing system from Flock Audio!
PATCH System is now available for purchase — priced at an RRP of $2,199.00 USD — through Flock Audio’s growing global network of
authorised dealers (https://www.flockaudio.com/
For more in-depth information, please visit the Flock Audio homepage here: https://www.flockaudio.com
Founded by CEO/Director Darren Nakonechny, Flock Audio Inc. is a Canadian pro audio manufacturer renowned for its PATCH System, the world’s most advanced digitally-controlled, 100%-analog patch bay routing system.
© 2019 Flock Audio Inc.
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