Outboard gear with a DAW.

[roo the whirl]

now, i know there are plug ins with cubase, and i can't say that i have had enough time to mess with all of them or get the most out of them, but i do have some outboard gear that i would like to use also. my setup is an aardvark q10 direct pro plugged right into my computer with no serperate mixer, just the software mixer that comes with the q10 and cubase sx.

so, the question is - and sorry if this has been covered in another topic, can i send the dry tracks that have already been recorded in cubase, into an outboard piece of gear for processing and re send the processed track back into cubase. i'm kind of in experienced, so sorry if this doesn't make a lot of sense, but i was just wondering if the inserts on the q10 can only allow you to record wet signals. thanks for any help.

-ryan

[ctmsound]

sure, you could, but I imagine you run the risk of getting artifacts, or clips and such by sampling twice. Unless of course, the outboard gear you have has AES I/O.

I've always had the rule that once in digital, stay in digital, but that seems to be changing these days. I'm sure someone else with experience on this can offer some advice.

[Randall]

there are several ways to do this one would be to asign the track you want to process to an out channel of the Q 10 route it through your hardware unit to an input and record it as another track

The prefered method would be to get a decent mixing console and plug the outs from the Q 10 into the inserts on the channels on the mixer, this will open a world of Bussing and routing possibilitys as well as allow you to mix outside the box, Walla!!!, all you outboard stuff becomes useable and you can mixdown out of the console to whatever you prefered medium might be

[roo the whirl]

thanks. that's awesome, i didn't think something like this would work. i will look into getting a seperate mixer. the mackie vlz 16 pro looks promising. any reccomendations?

[chetatkinsdiet]

The Mackie's are ok, but if you don't mind used, look for something like a Soundcraft 200 series board. It's got decent mic pres and the eq is very useful. I've been seeing 16 channel boards go for around $500-600.
later,
m

[antilog]

when my pc daw is repaired, i am looking forward to sending tracks to my allen +heath, just to get my hands on some faders and work with real-time mixing, gain riding etc....

[jajjguy]

I've done this in DP3, with no mixing board. Just set the tracks you want processed to output from certain outs of your interface (or just mute the tracks you don't want to send and use the normal outputs), plug those outs into your analog processing box, and the outs of the processor into a pair of ins on the interface and record to new tracks in the DAW. Then you gotta nudge the new tracks back to compensate for latency (make the peaks line up in the dry and wet tracks) and blend to taste with the dry tracks. I do that all the time with my RNC.

As for staying digital being better, I hear where you're coming from, but if there are effects that you can only get in analog, and you've got decent sounding converters, the plusses can outweigh the minuses.

[antilog]

I've done this in DP3, with no mixing board. Just set the tracks you want processed to output from certain outs of your interface (or just mute the tracks you don't want to send and use the normal outputs), plug those outs into your analog processing box, and the outs of the processor into a pair of ins on the interface and record to new tracks in the DAW. Then you gotta nudge the new tracks back to compensate for latency (make the peaks line up in the dry and wet tracks) and blend to taste with the dry tracks. I do that all the time with my RNC.

As for staying digital being better, I hear where you're coming from, but if there are effects that you can only get in analog, and you've got decent sounding converters, the plusses can outweigh the minuses.

is there a way for the program to compensate for the latency?

[jajjguy]

Nope, not in DP, as far as I know. But it's real easy to line them up manually, visually. It just means you HAVE to record to new tracks so you can adjust, you cannot just use it as an insert and mix in real time.

[I'm Painting Again]

you should rock a mixer and a tape 2-trk or realtime CD burner..less of a headache and better sounds!!

[jajjguy]

Sky, you might (or might not) be right about it sounding better your way, but I don't agree with the less headache part. I think the flexibility and peace of mind of working with all the dry&wet tracks in the DAW is a big plus, and a big burden lifted. The burden of getting the mix right in one realtime shot.

[joel hamilton]

I have put a nice stereo compressor across a drum subgroup, so the latency doesnt matter as much. If you do this across groups it can work. Of course it can work on individual tracks, if you slip them forward a bit to compensate for your systems latency.

IMO, the trip out of the box and back in, if run through a good piece of gear, is worth it.

It is true that a console and outboard gear is preferable, but if your budget doesnt allow for that....