Mixing with Outboard Gear in Logic

M

mpaitgt

New member
Hey guys long time reader, first time poster here!

I've been recording for a long time, but it has always been 'in the box' and I've recently begun buying more outboard gear. It's nothing special, I've got an Alesis PQX 571 Parametric EQ and an Alesis 3630 Compressor. I also picked up a used Art Pro MPA dual channel preamp. I've got a Presonus Firestudio Project running into Logic Pro X.

Anyway, I've searched around and couldn't find an answer to my question. I'm currently mixing and want to apply my EQ to a track. I've got the EQ running through in/out 7 on my interface and am successfully reprinting the track with the applied EQ. The problem arises before recording: I can't seem to mute the original (dry signal) track so that I can hear the EQ'd track on its own. It's either I can hear both combined or neither of them. Once recorded, I can mute the original just fine

Of course I can record it a ton of times trying to see what settings work in the mix, but that would be very time consuming and I'm trying to judge the EQ'd track alone with the mix (with none of the original track).

If someone could give me a tip that'd be great!
 
I don't really know Logic so I might not have the right answer, but my first question would be: How are you routing the channel in Logic to the hardware output? I'm thinking you'll want to route the channel as a whole to the hardware output (right-click Stereo Out) rather than using a send. I think that will keep the original track out of the main mix and get it to your eq.

But I don't see the use of using such hardware when what you've got in the box is better, even better than the Ashly eq.
 
I don't know about Logic anymore, but in Reaper you can set up a pre-fade send. This means you can send the signal out to your effects but slide the fader right down so that you don't hear the original. With luck, Logic might have that capacity.
 
In Logic X, I believe there is a dedicated plugin that allows simple routing to outboard gear:

In the inserts menu (audio FX), open the plugin named I/O and make sure it is the plugin that has a function called "Ping" located at the bottom of the interface.

You then need to set your inputs and outputs inside the plugin before clicking "ping", which detects any latency and compensates for it.

Hope this helps!
 
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Monkey Mixes said:
which detects any latency and compensates for it.
Click to expand...

Routing to an external device doesn't cause latency so if the hardware effect is analog (which doesn't add any delay) there will be no latency. If the round trip had inherent latency then all your overdubs would be off by the same amount.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Routing to an external device doesn't cause latency so if the hardware effect is analog (which doesn't add any delay) there will be no latency. If the round trip had inherent latency then all your overdubs would be off by the same amount.
Click to expand...

The "ping" function is definitely used for delay compensation. There is actually a step by step guide on the Apple website so I would check that out and see if it gets you anywhere.

Edit: would the latency not be introduced during the a/d conversion stage? - from outboard unit to the input of the interface and back into Logic?
 
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Monkey Mixes said:
The "ping" function is definitely used for delay compensation. There is actually a step by step guide on the Apple website so I would check that out and see if it gets you anywhere.

Edit: would the latency not be introduced during the a/d conversion stage? - from outboard unit to the input of the interface and back into Logic?
Click to expand...

Latency is compensated for in the DAW so you can overdub without everything getting off. If your overdubs line up then the loop out/in will line up.

The only time there would be delay when looping through outboard gear is if the outboard gear itself is the source of that delay, which can happen if it converts the signal to digital and back. In the OP's case he's just running analog compression and eq so it's a non-issue.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Latency is compensated for in the DAW so you can overdub without everything getting off. If your overdubs line up then the loop out/in will line up.

The only time there would be delay when looping through outboard gear is if the outboard gear itself is the source of that delay, which can happen if it converts the signal to digital and back. In the OP's case he's just running analog compression and eq so it's a non-issue.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree that the latency is compensated for in the DAW - in the form of the i/o plugin in this case. When you click "ping", the plugin works out the latency caused by the analogue to digital conversion stage (outboard to the input of the interface), and then I assume the plugin sends the signal to the outboard device several samples (in logics case) quicker based on its calculation. This would mean that everything is still aligned.

Check out the step-by-step guide on the I/O plugin.
 
I'm not questioning that the plugin does those things, I'm just saying that it generally isn't needed except in special cases, like using different I/O hardware than what you track with, or if the outboard hardware effect itself adds delay. Or maybe that plugin can't use the correction value generated by the DAW for normal use and so it has to duplicate the function. In that guide the latency compensation function is presented as an optional setting to be used if needed, not as something that is always needed.
 
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