TelePaul said:
You need to decide whether your mixer pres are better than the Firestudio pres. If the Firestudio pres are better - and I hear they're very nice - there's no point in going through the mixer if you're gonna mix and process after recording anyway. I'm pretty sure you can use external processors wth Firestudo too, I'll have to check. Plus, like you said, with the Firestudio, you have more pres available. I dont have one, and that should be stressed, but I do love the look of them.
You mix after you record regardless anyways. You can use externals on any device, but how you hook them up is the key. Either you go from firestudio out, to the processor, than to a channel insert, which gives you an inline patch, or you send the signal back to the mixer, and use the mixer's routing capabilities to be able to route both inline & side chain patch. Reverb: side chain, delay: side chain, gate: inline, compressors: inline, EQ: inline. You can't or you shouldn't go inline with every processor. Doing no mixer, and mixing inside the box, you'll going to need to sit there, and record the effects etc... that's too time consuming to be used in a regular studio.
Pre => Firestudio => DAW => processor => record in firestudio, isn't a correct signal flow, though it can work.
pre => mackie => Firestudio => DAW is correct... the processors would be inline/side chained by the mackie's Aux sends, aux returns. This allows the signal to keep going from pre to the DAW, but while that's happening, the signal is basically "copied" and sent to processor, and meets back up with the original signal and continues to DAW, with no delay or latency. Or you can route that copied signal to it's own seperate channel and pan it or edit it... in a studio, it would go from mackie to CDRW, which you would mix everything on the mackie, and when your happy with the mixdown, you hit record & record the whole deal onto a CD.
Here's the signal flow of ....
Pro Tools Side Chain Outboard
Edit Window Shows, Sends view, sends view shows A-E or all, click on send, interface out, go from pro tools out to processor and back, create aux track, change to matching interface, raise fader.
Pro Tools Side Chain Internal
Edit Window Shows, Sends View, Send View shows, A-E or all, click on send, interface out, go to interface, buss it, create aux input track, go to aux input and match buss, go to insert of aux track, find plug-in, raise the fader.
The digital audio chain:
SPL – Line amp – Dither – Anti-Alias Filter – Sample & Hold – A/D Converter (multi-track) – Multi-Plextor- Error Correction – Record Modulation – Digital Out To Storage Medium
The digital Audio Chain B, from storage medium
Storage medium – recording de-modulation – error correction – De Multi-plexor – D/A converter – Sample & Hold – AA filter or Lo Pass filter – Line Amp – Speakers – Ear
Signal Flow In Recording Mode
SPL – Mic – Mic Cable – Floor Channel – Patch Bay (mic Lines) to channel line inputs (preamps) – Record/send – buss or direct – multitrack – record returns – stereo buss – power amp – speakers – ear
Signal Flow Of Studio G
SPL - Mic – mic cable – Floor Channel – Channel Mic Input – Preamp – Buss Or Direct – A/D Converter – Record Send – Multi Track – R
Side Chaining – out of Aux send of mixer – into processor – out of processor into Aux return (connected to stereo buss) , or to channel line input.
Inline Patch – insert send – processor – insert return
