Please recommend a DAW set up

E

enemyofthesun

New member
I want to put together a DAW. I want it to be used primarily to take advantage of uncompressed audio and the editing capabilities. I dont want to have to buy two DATS and I like the idea of being able to do editing on the computer before final mixdown. I want to be able to mixdown through a mackie recording board and at that time apply all effects & compression using my existing outboard gear.


What cost effective hardware solution could you recommend? I want at least 16 channels and need to be able to record at least 8 channels simutanously.

Also how would I route the incoming lines into the audio card? Is there a way to have the lines in go into a patchbay and somehow route those lines into the audio card. I need to keep this as close as possible to $1000 but would consider spending more.
 
hmmm... once you get comfortable with the software (cakewalk, Cubase, Vegas) you will probably ditch the idea of mixing through the board. Plus the extra D/A conversion is just not worth it.
Do you have a computer worth it's salt for audio, or does the computer figure into your budget, if so, your budget is already gone! Upgrading something you already have isn't too costly however.

You would use you Mackie to route you inputs to the audio card by means of it's busses and or even it inserts- no bigge there (which board by the way?)

For eight channels simutaneously, check out the Delta 1010 for about $600, or the Gadgetlabs 824 for about $550. Or actually I'd reccomend linking two Gadgetlabs 496's for about $600... check them out at http://www.Gadgetlabs.com. and http://www.midiman.com (? is that right?)

This will leave you with some $$$ left for software (Vegas is a breeze) and goodies and upgading your computer (if you need to)

-jhe
 
James thanks you for your help it is greatly appreciated.

Question and concern I have is...

If I run the 'line ins' directly into the mixer the the 'line outs' would be dedicated to routing the signal back out to the cards via a breakout device. Proble I see with this is having to unplug every thing and plug back in again to route the recorder signal back out through the board for mix down.

I had considered routing the signal into a standard patchbay that would in turn link over to the 'line ins' of the breakout box/audio card. Like this I could take the signal coming from the hardrive/audio card/breakout box into the 'line ins ' of the mixer and then the boards stereo 'outs' over to the cdr.

I wonder if this is the best way to do this or if there is a way to have multiple ins and out available using a couple of patch bays... this is what I have to figure out now I guess

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BTW I was going to use a 2u PIII 500 w/ 256mb ram that I built for this purpose. It wasnt in the budget of $1000. I will take your recommendation on the audio card/patchbay manufacturer...
 
my that certainly is plenty of power

Seems like you are well on your way... :D
be sure to check out the Mark of the Unicorn cards too. I think they have a model that has 12 analog outs, but I'm not sure...

-jhe
 
If you want to use any microphones during your recording sessions your patchbay idea wont work. In this case you would need mic pres cause there are none in your audiocard.
Better way would be to connect your mics with your console.
You then will patch your "direct outs" to a patchbay and normalize them to your soundcards inputs.
To get your recorded material back to the mackie you should first check if there are any tape returns on your mixer.
If there are none you will have to use the line ins or the ISR.
 
Logic Audio Gold, http://www.echoaudio.com for a soundcard 8ins and 10 outs 24/96. I like to mix some projects on the board as well and just send the signal through the board and mixdown to whatever DAT, ADAT, MiniDisc, Tape whatever or in a lot of cases the above post is right you will find it nice to mixdown in the program and that the effects and plugins you can get will rival even the high priced outboard gear.I have the board outputs going into the inputs in Layla and the outputs in Layla going into the inputs in the board so I can either mix in the program or on the board. By the way Logic audio comes with a ton of great plugins, and the editing power is unmatched. Cubase, Cooledit, Cakewalk, ETC BAh they blow compared to Logic.. Well there is my quarters worth instead of two cents.
Here are a few songs done with Layla and Logic
http://www.mp3.com/codyyoung
http;//www.codyyoung.com
 
Hey Shakes,
Visited your mp3 site - love the whole scene. Are you doin 96k recordings with layla ? If so please expound.
 
ShakesTheClown said:
Logic Audio Gold, http://www.echoaudio.com for a soundcard 8ins and 10 outs 24/96. I like to mix some projects on the board as well and just send the signal through the board and mixdown to whatever DAT, ADAT, MiniDisc, Tape whatever or in a lot of cases the above post is right you will find it nice to mixdown in the program and that the effects and plugins you can get will rival even the high priced outboard gear.I have the board outputs going into the inputs in Layla and the outputs in Layla going into the inputs in the board so I can either mix in the program or on the board. By the way Logic audio comes with a ton of great plugins, and the editing power is unmatched. Cubase, Cooledit, Cakewalk, ETC BAh they blow compared to Logic.. Well there is my quarters worth instead of two cents.
Here are a few songs done with Layla and Logic
http://www.mp3.com/codyyoung
http;//www.codyyoung.com
Click to expand...

Thanks this info helps alot. So to get the original tracks onto or into your computer you unplug the line ins going into the layla unit that normally are coming from your board, then plug it all back in later for mixing from the board.. I am thinking though that if I used a patchbay in front of the layla breakout unit and another in front of the board I could have two sets of inputs on each and wouldnt have to do all the plugging and unplugging.


whaddaya think?

One last question could I use two of these Logic Audio Gold units for a total of 16 ports or even three for 24 ports? This is for a semi pro studio so I will need at least 16 ports..I will look into this part but maybe you've tried this.

Thanks again for the help to those who have been responding


[Edited by enemyofthesun on 08-14-2000 at 09:53]
 
You can sync up up to 4 Laylas and run 32 Tracks if you like. As far as flying stuff into the computer for editing like from ADAT I just go from the outputs of the ADATs to the 1/4 line ins on the board and keep everything hooked up the way I stated in my above post. But I find using the computer for Recording and editing very nice so I dont use the ADATS much. I think we are on the same page here as far as what you are talking about, let me know if I am understanding what you are asking.
 
I dont have dats and want this to take their place. I guess they wouldnt be absolutely neccesary besides for back up etc. I want this computer to handle the recording as well as editing..
 
Well if you are using it for recording AND editing then you just need to hook it up like in my first post and dont need to do any unpluggin and pluging at all. Record into the computer and in the program send track 1 to 1 and2 and channel 2 to 1 and2 and then pan them left and right IN THE PROGRAM and then they will be on the board channel 1 will be track 1 and 2 will be 2 and so on all the way down the board.. do the same with 3 and 4, 5 and 6, and on and on. Now you can mix everything on your board and outboard gear. Ok digest that a little and then now for mixing down onto something.. You can either go from your board to another thing like dat, adat, minidisc, ETC or the coolest thing is go from the tape outs on your board to the the two inputs on the front of Layla and then record the mix in Logic. So you are mixing on the board and then putting it right back on the puter so you dont need DATs or ADAT or anything else. Its a nice way to mix on the board and not have to put your finished project on something else.. Well I have typed this whole thing in a huge hurry but hopefully I have explained a little in my rush.. If you have any questions you can email me from my website and I will do my best to answer.

http://www.codyyoung.com
 
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