Recording effects

[Terry]

I have a bit of a newbie question. I am trying to record effects for a midi track in my Cakewalk Gold software as an separate audio track. I have an Alesis Quadraverb routed through my Mackie 1604. I solo the particular midi track and record the effects audio tracks alone. The problem is that I get a wicked delay because either the midi track and the audio track is out of sync or I am somehow re-recording the original signal again in the audio track (although there is no signal grom it going to the computer). Please tell me what is the best way to record effects like this so that I only have the effect on the audio track that plays in sync with the original midi track. Thanks.

[Dragon]

Hmm. Let's get back to basics. Are you aware that most MIDI sound cards or synths have built-in effects such as chorus that can be used on your MIDI sound? If that's not helpful, then let's keep going. How are you syncing the MIDI with the audio, anyway? Because it doesn't sound like it's really syncing. So perhaps what you want to do is record the MIDI and effects onto an audio track and go on from there, period.

[Terry]

Well, I guess that is an option, but I would rather record the original track as a midi track so that it may be edited in various ways and then add effects later. What I have determined that I can do is simply use the sequencer as a multitrack source and add effects upon mixdown to a DAT or possibly to a WAVE file. Does that sound feasible? I have tried using my soundcard's built in effects but A) they only apply to the built in sounds (which I don't prefer to use) or B) audio tracks (which I like to record with their own effects already in place). The only problem I can see with manually adding effects in mixdown and not as a separate track is that I only have the one unit (Quadraverb). My Mackie 1604 will allow me to use several effects at once if I have the gear. That is why I was hoping to record each effect separately in case I wanted to use more than one at a time. Also, I do not have a sync unit, but my software does sync midi and audio tracks for everything else. It just doesn't seem to work when I record an effect. Any other suggestions? Thanks!