PatchSmith

Every show starts twice: once on paper, and again at the desk, typing channel names into a scribble strip. PatchSmith is built to end the second one. You enter the patch once — a long source name for the sheet, a 12-character strip name for the console, mic, stand, 48 V, colour, stereo pairing and DCA groups — and print a clean sheet the whole crew reads.

Who it is for

• Freelance FOH and monitor engineers who want the sheet and the desk to agree.
• Bands with their own engineer who carry the same patch to every venue.
• Venues and festivals on X32, M32 or an Allen & Heath SQ preparing per-act patches in advance.

What makes it different

• Two names per row. A readable source name for people, a strip name of at most 12 characters for the console, derived automatically and editable.
• Instrument recognition. Type "Kick In" or "Lead Vox" and the row gets its colour and 80 Hz low cut by convention — drums cyan, bass red, guitars green, keys yellow, vocals magenta. Your override always wins.
• Stereo pairs that can be linked. An X32/M32 links only odd→even pairs (1-2, 3-4 …). PatchSmith enforces that as you type, not at soundcheck.
• Keyboard first. Tab across the grid, Enter to the next row — it feels like a spreadsheet.
• Paste your existing patch from Excel, Sheets or Numbers; columns are detected for you.

Pages in this guide

• Getting started — a printed patch in five minutes.
• Get your patch in — paste it, open a CSV, or pull it out of your stage plot.
• Stereo pairs — placing pairs where the console can link them.
• Print the sheet — what is on the sheet and how to print it.
• FAQ · Troubleshooting