I gotta say, I have two of these in my studio, everything hooked up into them. I don't have a rack-mount setup, but even if I did, just the small form factor has made experimentation SO smooth and fun, even at that fully-loaded scale. My _only_ nits to pick are that tip/ring aren't marked, and I wish the chassis had a little more room for additional rows of masking tape on the bottom and middle so that each pair of ports can be clearly labeled without too much shorthand. This is a truly minor thing and obviously didn't cause me to even hesitate buying a second one. :)
I just got one, and it's revolutionised my medium sized home studio setup. It enables an easy way to rout different instruments and effects units to each other really easily. I used insert snakes to keep things tidy. The layout is great too. I used a label maker to help me identify my connections. The summing mixer is a great idea and I'm using it as I need to. Although, ideally, I want one of those summing mixers to be a multiplier/splitter - 1 in / 3 out. That would make it perfect for me!
Thanks for the comment - glad to hear! If you have basic soldering skills, it's easy to change the mixer circuit into a straight passive splitter. Drop me an email if you want the details. Cheers, Dudley
I've been looking for something like this for so long. Ordered. P.S. Wish you took paypal. It almost put me off having to give you my actual CC deets. Also for a future revision, you should consider making those dip switches accessible without opening the device.
Great stuff! Received mine today. You really should clarify the tip/ring situation of the the insert cables. As in, which one is input and which is output. Cheers!
Glad you're happy with it! Yeah, the upper sockets are tip and the lower sockets are ring - you can configure your inputs/outputs how you wish. Cheers :)
Excellent ! I wounder why there was no RU-vid notification. Looks like you nailed a blinder here. I said that with an Ausi twang , lol. Well done Duds. Very useful indeed 👍 I sound like a west country pig farmer f.y.i 😀
Just ordered one. A few questions though: It isn’t a re-amper so what issues, if any, should I expect with regard to impedance issues going between low-Z synth outs and high-Z guitar pedal ins (and ultimately back out to mixer/interface)? Do some pedals react more poorly to this than others noise-wise? How clean are the output signals, e.g., does this generate any crosstalk?
Hey Warren, hope all is well. Just answering your question here for the benefit of others.. It's just a router, so doesn't alter the impedance or colour the sound in any way. No crosstalk when everything is plugged in.
I love the concept. In my case, given I have orther patchbay infrastructure and some more advanced outboard I would love to integrate… I would need balanced audio paths. Is a balanced version (would need a rethink on the TRS use I assume) on your roadmap?
Glad you like it! You can patch balanced signals - you just need to use separate patch cables on the top panel for each polarity. Then, when the signal goes back out of the unit, you'll have your balanced signal on a TRS cable. No plans to do a version with stereo sockets on the top panel. Cheers
Glad you dig it! Yes you could run a mic through it with the right cable/adapter. If balanced, you would need to patch each polarity separately on the top panel.
There should be a 'only small jacks' version of it, since big trs to two small ts jacks cable simply dont exist and i dont want to use adapters. Would be much more friendly for eurorack gear.
Mine just arrived. Fantastic product. One question since I’m dense: how do I connect FX pedals like the Gen Loss II that uses TRS for stereo in and out?
Glad you dig it! To connect to a device that uses TRS inputs, you can just use a 1/4" TRS to TRS cable. Doing this on the FX row means you'd have the inputs on the upper and lower patch points of one FX slot and the outputs on another. If you wanted to have the inputs on the upper sockets and the outputs on the lower sockets, you could just use the A/B row instead.
Hoping to get the new version of the minibay soon. I ordered it from Perfect Circuit. Have they shipped yet? Also, your music videos are really good! Great ideas! Is your music for sale anywhere? 👍
Thanks so much! Actual music-making is just a hobby for me and getting something to a finished state that I'd be happy to release is just too much of a headache, haha. I'm not sure how long the pre-order list is for Perfect Circuit, but I did send them another lot of units very recently, so hopefully yours will be getting to you soon.
@@dudfaz thanks for the reply Dud. Can't wait to run everything thru the minibay. Really like the Rev2 which I see you use also. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to more Dud Faz music videos.
@Dud Faz: I use the KMI K-Mix as mixer and audio interface. The inputs and outputs have balanced 1/4” jacks. Would you recommend sending the output signal of the DF Audio MINIBAY (e. g. of a mono synth) through a DI box for converting it to a balanced signal before going into the K-Mix?
There's not much point in converting the signal to balanced so late in the path. I think it should be fine to put an unbalanced signal into your mixer inputs (certainly won't cause any harm to try).
Any chance you may make a model without the passive summing mixer section, and, instead, add four more effects I/O, or four more audio source I/O, or some combination of those. Also, perhaps an “extended” or “stretch” version, aka Minibay Stretch, with half again more I/O (A/B 13-18, FX 9-12), again replacing the passive mixer section, so adding some combination of A/B/FX beyond that? Maybe move the summing section above the FX rows, side by side, instead of top and bottom in the upper right. I’d love two of these theoretical Minibay Stretch/Minibay Max, if they existed. Also curious what others think of these ideas, as well.
Thanks for your interest and suggestion! Unfortunately there are space limitations on the back panel (need to leave room for the ribbon cables that connect the two PCBs), so 40 patch points is the maximum achievable with this form factor. The passive mixers were actually a bit of an afterthought, to make use of the spare space on the top panel. If you need more patch points, you might want to check out the Patchwork, which will be shipping very soon (just search RU-vid for DF Audio Patchwork). Cheers :)
Great idea, but a cursory glance at the PCB has me wondering why the option to position the DIP switches perpendicular to their (current) position, which would allow external access via the side of the unit, wasn’t chosen/solved? External RAID enclosures employ this method. It’s an easier solution than un/screwing six chassis bolts. If I buy one of these, it would be for live performances that would require on-the-fly creative decisions, more so than studio composition. Having said all that, I haven’t seen anyone else doing what you have accomplished, it’s a great idea and I truly want it to be performance oriented as well as studio… …please, sir, succeed!
Hey, thanks for taking the time to comment! We've addressed this issue in the MINIBAY V2 (and also in the NANOPATCH M) You can check them out on the DF Audio website - cheers :)
Yep, can certainly do that. Just need to patch each polarity off a balanced signal separately in the top panel. It will then come out the back as it should.
Oh yes! This would be a godsend in my home space, maybe even a mobile rig. Sounds silly now that I’m saying it…. But that thing doesn’t require power, does it? 😂
Great idea but would be perfect if the patchpoints of mini Jack was stereo too! My Fx pedals are all stereo so i need 4 cables instead of 2. Any suggestions if there is a way to patch all to all with a single cable? Thank you
Yeah, only mono on the top panel unfortunately. I have thought about making a stereo version, but that would require double the number of sockets on the back, which might be a bit of a headache.
@@Metaxasofc all the stereo sockets on the back panel break out to mono sockets on the top. There is a image on the website that shows how the A/B rows and FX rows are configured.
Hey Dub, sorry to bother you with a newbie question. I'm thinking about my bass guitar pedalboard. Can I set it up so that I split the signal into two separate paths with different effects and then merge them back together? I hope that makes sense. Many thanks, Paul
Hey Paul, yes you sure can! Signals can be split using stackable cables (or even headphone splitters work). Then, you can use the built in passive mixers to combine them again. If you're on Instagram, check out readyplayerbass ~ he's a pro bass player and a big fan of the Minibay. Cheers, Dud
@@dudfaz Haha, that's awesome! Nipa really got me thinking along these lines too! with is DarkGlass series he did. Just placed my order for a minibay from Juno in the UK today. Thanks for your reply!
I have a bunch of stereo effects and synths and I want to retain that stereo information for recording in the studio. Would I be able to do that with this unit?
Hey @dud Faz Hope you are fine. Is there any progress on this project. I registered for update on your website but did not receive any. Now website shows that next batch in April 2022 . Did March batch already sold out ? Did I miss it ? Thanks
Hey! Thanks for the message and sorry that you haven't received any news yet. For the first batch of 50, I just contacted the earliest people to register (they've all been sent out now). I will start taking pre-orders for the next batch in the coming weeks - I'll send out an email when that happens. (It might be an idea to keep an eye on your spam folder). Cheers!
@@dudfaz Thanks for the reply and information. Do I suppose to get a confirmation email when I add myself the list on your website because I did not receive any. Tnx
I'm sorry, I'm pretty new to all this. I am very interested in the FX patchbay. I am just wondering how this DF unit is going to help me. I have a 16 channel TASCAM mixer. Yes, I do have wires running around. I tend to use 4 pieces of hardware at any one time. I have a bunch of others that I swap in and out. I am still not getting how this will solve problems that I may have that I'm not seeing. Life seems to be very simple with little knowledge......
@@dudfaz I have a conductive lab midi router, which has helped me not needing to swap stuff out. I have 4 pedals and I'd like to use that with various gear without having to individually wiring it up everytime I have a stupid idea. So I'm keen on the one you have, which is in my cart in Juno. I am honestly wondering how a desktop patchbay can make my life easier. I've watched your video a couple of times, and I really don't see how it makes things easier. I have 16 channels on my mixer. I'm sorry, I'm just a hobbyist. I'm learning as I go along.
@@TheBrainvision Does your mixer have insert sockets? Do you need to tend to use more than one pedal in a signal chain? Are your pedals mono or stereo?
@@TheBrainvision Cool - you don't need a patch bay. For MONO pedals: Just get insert cables for all your pedals and label the TRS ends. When you want to put an instrument through a pedal, just grab the TRS end of the respective insert cable and plug it into the relevant insert socket on the mixer. For STEREO pedals: It depends on your setup and what you want to do.. Just remember that you can use the insert socket to take the signal out of a track, and you don't necessarily have to put it back in.
@@NyakzOTSD Yeah, any stereo signal is fine. It's different from a regular patch bay in that each 1/4" TRS jack on the back breaks out into two separate 1/8" TS jacks on the top panel. The only difference between the FX and A/B patch points is that the FX sockets on the back break out into vertical pairs on the top, whereas the A/B sockets break out into horizontal pairs. More detailed info on this here: www.dfaudio.com.au/minibay
Bought the DF Audio nanopatch - first it was recalled and I had to send it back. When the "patched" version arrived, I lost one side of the stereo signal after 10 minutes or so. I then searched for the error for over an hour as I was working with vintage gear and suspected some 30-year old synth to be the culprit ... then it turned out to be the brand new nanopatch. So I trashed it and won't buy anything from DF Audio again. Just saying 😢
