I am making 2x 300' (in 100' increments) audio snakes (16-channels and 32-channels) for a Recording Rig. 16ch snake will go from FOH audio position to Recording Rig, 32ch snake will go from Split box by band on stage to Recording Rig. I can't just split from Direct Outs of Audio Console FOH for the band, as I'm a video guy and have had bad experiences with FOH Audio Engineers (sorry haha). I have settled on Elco connectors, pretty much due to cost, with breakouts at the end. I would be up for other connector options in a similar price range. MASS seems waaaay excessive cost-wise to me at $400-500 a connector.
I need to know the best configuration connector wise...If I put 120-pin elco's on both 16ch and 32ch snakes, I will be able to use them interchangeably for smaller shows. Or should I share grounds on a few of the channels to use the 90-pin Elco? Should I leave the extra pins out of the connector if I use 120-pin Elcos, or put them in un-wired?
My other option was to build rack-panel breakouts where I have both a 120-pin Elco and 56-pin Elco wired in series before the xlr breakout connectors. Is this feasible and smart? Obviously, I want to have the most flexibility as possible interchangeably using 16ch's and 32ch's as necessary. Thanks!
I need to know the best configuration connector wise...If I put 120-pin elco's on both 16ch and 32ch snakes, I will be able to use them interchangeably for smaller shows. Or should I share grounds on a few of the channels to use the 90-pin Elco? Should I leave the extra pins out of the connector if I use 120-pin Elcos, or put them in un-wired?
My other option was to build rack-panel breakouts where I have both a 120-pin Elco and 56-pin Elco wired in series before the xlr breakout connectors. Is this feasible and smart? Obviously, I want to have the most flexibility as possible interchangeably using 16ch's and 32ch's as necessary. Thanks!