Computer as multi-fx unit?

  • Thread starter Thread starter archer
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archer

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Hi. I'm doing some recording on a Tascam 424 Mk3 cassette 4-track. I have been looking at inexpensive outboard multi-fx units, particularly for reverb (e.g., TC M300 or Lexicon MX200). But then I thought that perhaps it would be just as cost-effective (and possibly more flexible) to buy a USB ADC/DAC and use my computer in the effects loop, thereby supplanting the multi-fx unit. Has anybody had experience with doing this sort of thing, and if so, any comments or suggestions? I have an Apple PowerBook G4 667 MHz. Thanks.
 
i've tried it. the problem with it is the sound card's latency. for stability purposes, i keep the latency of my 1010lt at 8ms. when trying to use my pc as an effects box for my mixer, the latency is very noticeable. i think you would have to be able to achieve a 1-2 ms latency for it to be usable. my sound card adds alot of artifacts like distortion, clicks, and pops when trying to run that low.

if you want to try it any way, get your sound card set for the lowest latency that's stable on your machine. create a track in your recording software and add an effect to it. assign one or two (for stereo) of your sound card's inputs and outputs to the track. enable monitoring for the track. connect the inputs/outputs assigned to the track to your mixer aux bus, guitar amp effects loop, etc.

i ended up buying a used effects processor from ebay for $50, which works fine for monitoring purposes.
 
Thanks, TravisinFlorida. You've given me some good ideas.

Rather than going into the soundcard, I was thinking about using a USB ADC/DAC, most likely something from the Edirol series. The spec sheets mention zero latency for monitoring purposes.
 
archer said:
Thanks, TravisinFlorida. You've given me some good ideas.

Rather than going into the soundcard, I was thinking about using a USB ADC/DAC, most likely something from the Edirol series. The spec sheets mention zero latency for monitoring purposes.
Click to expand...

Usually "0 latency monitoring" means that you can monitor the inputs directly before the sound goes to the converters. If that's the case, then the USB ADC/DAC won't do you any good in this situation. Find out before you buy. I did'nt know that Edirol made a stand alone adc/dac.

One more thing, even if you can achieve "0 latency monitoring", the effect plugins have their own latency and in some cases it's pretty high. I don't think the current technology is up to snuff for doing this yet. There may be some way to pull it off though.
 
Yeah, i would look toward hardware. for basic send effects like delays and reverbs, a computer would probably work ok, but for dynamics stuff you will have problems with phasing and stuff going out of sync
 
When true zero latency arrives, pc recording will be that much better. It can't be too far off now. Near true zero latency will open up alot of possibilities for pc audio.
 
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