***The Official Home Recording Studio Thread***

A sound card only has control over its IO levels, and like I said is geared towards working primarily in the box. Yes it has a mixer in the general sense, but I'm talking about you adding a hardware mixer that's designed specifically to work with other pieces of processing kit. You'll notice that you don't have any insert points on your sound card.

The only way you could fudge it is by the method I suggested in my previous post. However, it's really not an ideal way of working.
 
easyrider said:
Could I just assign output 1 and 2 to output 3 and 4 then take 3 and 4 into the compressor then back into input 5 and 6

assign 5 and 6 in my daw then hit record

cheers
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If you want to compress your entire mix then yes. You can use the Ocatmix patchbay to route software and hardware inputs signals around as you see fit so its pretty flexible.

I think you could use the patchbay to use the compressor as an insert effect on an input signal (or a software output for that matter) with a little fiddling I think. Basically route a hardware input directly to outputs 3 and 4 and select the return channel as the track input for record in reaper. If that makes any sense.

Most software will allow you to organise your inputs and outputs to use any outboard hardware as insert or in some cases even send effects. In Reason its just a case of plugging the cables at the back of the rack into the right hardware interface ports. I'm not sure how to do it in Reaper but I'll be surprised if you can't.
 
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OK so I have done a bit of reading Reaper has a device called ReaInsert which I think you use a bit like any normal VST effect plugin. You can pop it into a track as an insert or pop it into the send bin and it basically allows you to route audio out of the your interface and straight back in at the point in the signal chain where it is placed.

This means you can use your compressor as a direct track insert effect or, lets say an external reverb effect as a send and send different degrees of levels across all tracks to it using the send control appropriate to each channel.

Note the effect wont be captured when you bounce the mix down to an audio file using normal bounce down, so you'll need to follow Lowe's advice above and capture it to a separate track before bouncing down. In which case you may as well just bounce down the whole song in real time to a seperate track. You can easily do this within the Octamix patchbay.

Sorted.
 
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Lowe said:
A sound card only has control over its IO levels, and like I said is geared towards working primarily in the box. Yes it has a mixer in the general sense, but I'm talking about you adding a hardware mixer that's designed specifically to work with other pieces of processing kit. You'll notice that you don't have any insert points on your sound card.

The only way you could fudge it is by the method I suggested in my previous post. However, it's really not an ideal way of working.
Click to expand...

Ok ,

I'll get a mixer...

I'll borrow one for testing purposes...

What do I do?
 
Lt_Red said:
If you want to compress your entire mix then yes. You can use the Ocatmix patchbay to route software and hardware inputs signals around as you see fit so its pretty flexible.

I think you could use the patchbay to use the compressor as an insert effect on an input signal (or a software output for that matter) with a little fiddling I think. Basically route a hardware input directly to outputs 3 and 4 and select the return channel as the track input for record in reaper. If that makes any sense.

Most software will allow you to organise your inputs and outputs to use any outboard hardware as insert or in some cases even send effects. In Reason its just a case of plugging the cables at the back of the rack into the right hardware interface ports. I'm not sure how to do it in Reaper but I'll be surprised if you can't.
Click to expand...

Lt_Red said:
OK so I have done a bit of reading Reaper has a device called ReaInsert which I think you use a bit like any normal VST effect plugin. You can pop it into a track as an insert or pop it into the send bin and it basically allows you to route audio out of the your interface and straight back in at the point in the signal chain where it is placed.

This means you can use your compressor as a direct track insert effect or, lets say an external reverb effect as a send and send different degrees of levels across all tracks to it using the send control appropriate to each channel.

Note the effect wont be captured when you bounce the mix down to an audio file using normal bounce down, so you'll need to follow Lowe's advice above and capture it to a separate track before bouncing down. In which case you may as well just bounce down the whole song in real time to a seperate track. You can easily do this within the Octamix patchbay.

Sorted.
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Lt_Red said:
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I'll have a play with it...Cheers for the research...I've been looking at this myself and I'm thinking a mixer might be a better way and give me more options...I might want to add hardware compression to individual tracks after I have recorded them...I'm guessing this can only be done with a mixer?
 
easyrider said:
I might want to add hardware compression to individual tracks after I have recorded them...I'm guessing this can only be done with a mixer?
Click to expand...

Erm... no. You can do that using your interface now, you just need to work out how to route individual tracks to your compressor and then back in again, and by the looks of things, your interface (and for that matter Reaper) makes it pretty easy - at least once you have got over the learning curve...

Its pretty much as Lowe said:

1. Have a track you wish to compress using an external compressor.
2. Insert ReInsert into the insert effect of the track you wish to compress in Reaper.
3. Set the correct in and out channels corresponding to your hardware configuration.
4. Thats it. Listen. Compress.
5. When you are ready, record the output of the track onto a new track.
6. Profit.

Will a hardware mixer really help you with this? Maybe, maybe not. You'll still have the learning curve. It really depends on how you prefer to work (and your budget). But lets face it a hardware mixer is a darned pretty thing ;)

To be honest you must have a pretty special hardware compressor to even be worrying about this. For two reasons, one - its a pretty basic function and really nothing a modest software compressor cannot do (unless yours is tube based and has a certain tone/warmth maybe, and even then there's options in software form) and two - you already have a compressor built into your Roland Interface (although to be fair, its probably rubbish).

I live in the software world and really only consider external hardware processing for Reverb, and Mastering (mostly). This is because any decent software reverb or mastering algorithm takes a bunch of CPU cycles and stymes system performance on large projects and frankly, its a massive pain in the backside to set up and more importantly, reconfigure when you want to come back to the track 6 month later. That's just me though.
 
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Thanks

Been looking at this

But not sure how I would benefit?

Just looked at the manual

8dTaFrdl.jpg

Will I just be adding more noise to the chain?

As far as I can see I can add outboard FX easier put I still have no option to apply these without re-recording them?

Would I have the octa capture before or after the mixer?

I don't need more than 8 IO
 
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I've got one for stage use -

pa.jpg
 
Potentially going to be selling up my Saffire Pro 40 as I've not used more than two of the channels in a fair while now. Any suggestions for a smaller two channel interface? Be debating between the Focusrite 2i2 and Presonus iTwo. Any other input?
 
Finally getting round to sorting out my broadcast rig.. (online)..




Just waiting on a patch lead so I can get the mic going..


Ready and waiting for some facebook live streaming amongst other places..


Just debating if the compressor is worth it as it will affect the sound..
 
Recorded some guitars at the weekend and once again forgot to take bloody pictures!

I didn't record the guitars very well, with the blackstar amp I have I had success micing the middle of the speaker cone, I thought I'd try it towards the edge but it ended up sounding really muddy. Luckily I di'd the guitars as well so all is not lost. Live and learn. :)

Working on a screamy/hardcore song.
 
easyrider said:
What are you recording on the inputs ?
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Mainly micing my 2x12. Do some vocal recording and bass DI too. Sometimes sample from my turntable too again needing two ins.

ShortWarning said:
Recorded some guitars at the weekend and once again forgot to take bloody pictures!

I didn't record the guitars very well, with the blackstar amp I have I had success micing the middle of the speaker cone, I thought I'd try it towards the edge but it ended up sounding really muddy. Luckily I di'd the guitars as well so all is not lost. Live and learn. :)

Working on a screamy/hardcore song.
Click to expand...

Which Blackstar were you using? Heard good things about their HT5 head, been trying to get to a shop to try one out.
 
Anyone know of a good place that can make a custom pickup for my 1972 fender music master bass ?

I've been experimenting with bass recording and I'm getting good results using the DI input on my focusrite ISA one.

I'm even starting to think I don't need my AMPEG micro VR mini stack
 
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