Composer/sound designer Neil Parfitt has deployed a Flock Audio PATCH XT digitally controlled analog patchbay at the hub of his studio, which contains a wide assortment of analog gear including EQs, compressors, and effects as well as a back wall covered with modular synthesis gear.
“I compose music for animation and synthesizer sound design services for film and television soundtracks, and that led me down the path of deploying a Hybrid workflow as efficiently as possible.” Parfitt explains. After an early-career stint with Nelvana animation as a music editor, he’s found freelancing a good fit for his diverse talents. “Being a freelancer involves having your hands in a lot of different pots, sometimes all at once,” he says. “I never would have had the opportunity to work on all these different productions any other way.”
The release of the PATCH XT, the largest unit in the series to date, coincided with a reimagining of his work space, including relocated from an attached garage to a larger location. “I’m a bit of a gear junky, and at some point the walls started closing in on each other in my little studio,” Parfitt says. “Because I was starting from scratch with the space, I was able to tune and organize everything the way I wanted. I’ve had a 64 point PATCH flagship since 2018, but when they announced the PATCH XT I knew it would be the silver bullet my setup needed because it finally had enough connectivity to wrangle all my gear without compromise.”
For Parfitt, the combination of the PATCH XT and flagship PATCH, integrated into a multiunit configuration within PATCH APP, has fostered added flexibility in routing between the hardware residing in different parts of his studio. “Everything analog in the room is connected to the PATCH units,” he says. “That includes the synths, the producer desk, the summing station, all of it. Everything works together, so the room is like a sonic sandbox for me now.
“Before PATCH I had a lot of gear hardwired a certain way for convenience. But that meant I couldn’t randomly run my drums through the modular and then out through an outboard reverb in a different rack and back into the DAW without climbing behind the racks and reconfiguring the spaghetti. Now everything is available right on the routing matrix in PATCH APP. It’s never been this easy.”
