Black Lion Audio Patchbays at KBOO Radio

KBOO live on the air - with help from BLA

KBOO Community Radio has been on the air in Portland, Oregon, since June of 1968. It is one of the oldest lister-powered radio stations in the USA. With a small paid staff, KBOO is mostly run by its 200 volunteers.

Recently, the station upgraded its live performance capability, thanks to a generous donation of a mint condition 32 channel Crest X-8 mixing board. To further integrate the desk into the studio, Board President (and Electronic/Audio Engineer) Mike Frost suggested getting some patch bays. The Engineering Committee, being cost conscious, evaluated several options before settling on the Black Lion Audio PBR TRS3.

All the ins and outs

"We're a little old-school at KBOO, so we use a lot of outboard hardware processors in our live broadcasts," says Phil Garfinkel, on-air host and long-time KBOO volunteer. "We've got 14 channels of compressors as well as some stereo ambient effects. We typically run the compressors via the Channel Inserts; reverbs and delays are typically routed via stereo Aux Outs and brought back into the mix via the stereo channels. The Matrix outs are most commonly used for independent monitor mixes that we can customize for each performer."

Quick and easy.

"With a stack of five PBR-TRS3s, we're able to quickly reconfigure our live rig to suit the needs of any artist or band that comes in here, without ever needing to climb under the desk and behind the board to re-route stuff. We've got ready access to every Channel and Group Insert the board has to offer. Setting up a live session is quick and easy, which is fantastic, because musicians are generally late to things."

Frost says, “One of the key points were the rear mounted 3-way mode switches, which helped secure the settings so curious hands don’t start playing with switches. Also, knowing the gold plated jacks will resist corrosion and require less maintenance was a nice feature. Plus they just look great.

“Like everything, there is a learning curve," Frost continues, "especially with volunteers, so it will take a little bit to fully integrate this system into the live performances at the station, but the patchbays make cable management and layout a lot easier.”

KBOO is a listener sponsored community radio station in the Pacific northwest. More information can be found at www.kboo.fm