At 6:52 AM -0800 12/11/02, Tentochi wrote:
>
>Well, this is true for many studios, but not all. If
>you are always installing new modules or moving
>modules around, you will need to be connecting and
>disconnecting external cables.
In that case, you would also need to get to the back to reconnect the power
cables.
>But more importantly, this ONLY applies to
>studio-based systems. People who play out HAVE TO
>continuously plug and unplug equipment. Having things
>mounted on the front is a great benfit! I am sure all
>of the other performers on the list will concur.
I would certainly hope that any live setup would still allow the user to
get to the back. This is why road cases usually have two lids :) Even if
the MIDI interface is mounted in the same rack, you would still have to get
to the back to plug in the computer, keyboard, or whatever. Most MIDI
equipment only has jacks in the back, and people use them live all the time.
At 4:03 PM +0000 12/11/02, paulhaneberg <
phaneber@...> wrote:
>
>I really don't care how it mounts as long as it's on the front panel.
>BTW, although most studio equipment does have the jacks on the back,
>those jacks are almost always terminated in some type of patchbay
>with the jacks on the front. The whole idea of a modular is based
>on the ability to patch together any configuration. This requires
>front panel jacks. What if all the connections had to be patched on
>the back? Why should the MIDI jack be any different?
MIDI is quite different. It is a multi-channel interface, and simple
"patching" is easily accomplished through channel assignments. More
complex routing is usually not possible simply by replugging cables, and is
done via computer or a MIDI "patch bay" (which rarely uses patch cables).
Having the jacks in the front won't change that. Like most people, I never
have to physically repatch MIDI cables unless I change equipment.
Paul asked for opinions, so there you go :)