cakewalk & aardvark(or any other DSP)

[guhlenn]

i don't get it. if the sound card has got DSP can i still run direct X plug-ins with cakewalk?
And does having DSP onboard mean that it is upgradable or that it has got some kind of DSP effect?
This is very fuzzy to me.
to be more specific:
the aardvark direct pro 24/96 has got a DSP chip:
does this mean it's got a compressor? or do i have to buy that to? or should i buy a direct x plug in for cakewalk?
Man am i getting confused...
greetz guhlenn

 

[AlChuck]

if the sound card has got DSP can i still run direct X plug-ins with cakewalk?

Sure, as long as you have a capable computer.

And does having DSP onboard mean that it is upgradable or that it has got some kind of DSP effect?

Upgradeable -- I guess that depends on how the DSP is implemented. It might be on a chip that can be reprogrammed, kind of like flashing a BIOS. You'd have to check with Aardvark for specifics on their cards.

to be more specific:
the aardvark direct pro 24/96 has got a DSP chip:
does this mean it's got a compressor?

Yes, it does.

or do i have to buy that to? or should i buy a direct x plug in for cakewalk?

Well, the whole attraction of this feature is that you can get compression (and reverb and whatever other effects the card offers) without having an external box or loading down your CPU with the job of effects processing. So if you like the compressor in the Aardvark, that's a good reason to buy it. It certainly doesn't mean that you can't patch in an external compressor to your signal or run a DirectX compressor, but why buy the DirectPro unless its compressor does the job for you?

Man am i getting confused...

Join the club I for one am often extremely confused.

-AlChuck

 

[guhlenn]

thanks you really unhazed (if there is such a word) this for me. I've tried midi and that didn't work out mainly because i kept expanding and the match between devices was close but not exact which kept giving me headaches because always SOMEthing would refuse to work. Now here's my filosofy tell me what you think: I fi buy the aardvark with pre comp eq and that kinda stuff on board there'll be no compatibility problems and easier recording.
Is this Utopia? or could it work like i planned?

ah well, i'm still confused, just a little less...
greetz guhlenn

 

[AlChuck]

If i buy the aardvark with pre comp eq and that kinda stuff on board there'll be no compatibility problems and easier recording.

If you have compression on the way in, all it saves you is patching in DirectX effects for this purpose. That has nothing to do with whether or not you have hardware compatabilty problems, IRQ conflicts that have to be resolved, configuration issues that might be confusing, etc. Easier recording? Well, sure, there's fewer elements to deal with, no mixer to puxzzle over and connections to make, just the software mixer that comes with the card. Maybe the recording process will be slightly easier, though using DirectX effects is not very hard and offers remendous flexibility that you won't want to do without for long.

 

[guhlenn]

hey alchuck

i think i'm obsessed with this aardvark thing.
need to look somewhere else...

So just to get this straight:

a alesis studio 24 (or32) into motu will have the same (well not exact but the same range)sound quality than an aardvark direct pro?

and are software effects just as good as hardware effects?
just checkin' ;-)

thanks alchuck
guhlenn