Connecting It All Together

  • Thread starter Thread starter goxmedia
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goxmedia

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Howdy,

I need a little help in the best way to connect the following for optimal results:

1. Nuemann BCM104
2. Presonus ADL 600
3. UA 1176 Limiter
4. Ensemble

... running into a MAC Pro with Pro Tools Suite recording Voice Overs.

I've got all the cables, etc., but am unsure as to the optimal order/arrangement.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Gregory
 
goxmedia said:
1. Nuemann BCM104
2. Presonus ADL 600
3. UA 1176 Limiter
4. Ensemble

... running into a MAC Pro with Pro Tools Suite recording Voice Overs.

I've got all the cables, etc., but am unsure as to the optimal order/arrangement.
Click to expand...

34.gif
 
1.21 gigawatts? Don't worry... as long as you hit that wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88 miles an hour, the instant the lightning strikes the tower, everything will be fine.






[Insert facepalm image here]





Now, to try and be helpful. You have already listed them in the 'correct' order, though it might be an idea to leave the 1176 out of the signal chain on the way in and then loop back through it once you have the clean raw tracks down - unless you're really confident with setting it up, its very possible to ruin a good recording with destructive and irreversible processing on the way in. Anything else I can think of? Err. Keep all your connections balanced where possible.

Oh, and I'm no Pro Tools expert, but how exactly do you plan to run the Ensemble with it? :p

As far as I understand/remember, the only way to do this is to run the ADAT outputs of the Ensemble into a Digidesign interface like the 003, which if you plan to do means that the Ensemble itself is a bit of a waste of time and you may as well buy standalone converters to use with the Digidesign hardware.

Can you clarify how you plan to do this?
 
... forgot to list my flux capacitor!

Thanks for your reply.

What I plan to do is record voice overs and capture the audio using Pro Tools (which integrates tightly with Ensemble and Mac's core audio).

Ensemble has built in mic-pre's, but I wanted to use the line level inputs reserved for external pre's instead (the ADL sounds really sweet).

Anyway, from what I understand, if I run the mic signal into, say, mic 1, on the back of the Ensemble, then run my ADL into one of the reserved line inputs (1-4), the mic-pre on the Ensemble get's bypassed and instead routes that processing through the ADL?

Gregory
 
Tight integration with Logic Pro, yes, but as far as I know, you won't be able to run the Ensemble directly with Pro Tools without some extra Digidesign hardware. Can you enlighten me on this? :)

As for the connections...


Mic into the ADL.

The two line outputs from the ADL into analog input 5 and 6 on the Apogee using balanced XLR->TRS jack cables.

You'll then record from either input channel 5 and 6, depending on whichever channel of the ADL you're using.

ensemblerpdoneb623a6af0.jpg


Then when you want to use the 1176, put it in a loop from one of the analog outputs, through the 1176, then back into one of the analog inputs (number 7 maybe? :)).

Once you've set up the routing within your DAW, you'll then be able to play a track through the 1176 (that you can tweak and set up with the perfect settings without having to worry that you could ruin the initial recording) and record the resulting compressed signal to another separate track once you're happy with the settings.
 
Dude... I've got a bunch of stuff that's already connected... I'll trade ya?
 
Seven thousand dollars worth of gear and you don't know how to put a signal chain together? Doesn't make sense.:confused:
 
A lot of times you just need to accept that you can't connect things together.
 
dintymoore said:
A lot of times you just need to accept that you can't connect things together.
Click to expand...

and other times you need to accept that there WILL BE noobs with $7k worth of a few pieces of equipment that they don't know what to do with, while you've squeezed very decent results out of shit gear that you couldn't even afford 7 years ago when i bought it.
 
mattr said:
Tight integration with Logic Pro, yes, but as far as I know, you won't be able to run the Ensemble directly with Pro Tools without some extra Digidesign hardware. Can you enlighten me on this? :)

As for the connections...

Mic into the ADL.

The two line outputs from the ADL into analog input 5 and 6 on the Apogee using balanced XLR->TRS jack cables.

You'll then record from either input channel 5 and 6, depending on whichever channel of the ADL you're using.

ensemblerpdoneb623a6af0.jpg


Then when you want to use the 1176, put it in a loop from one of the analog outputs, through the 1176, then back into one of the analog inputs (number 7 maybe? :)).

Once you've set up the routing within your DAW, you'll then be able to play a track through the 1176 (that you can tweak and set up with the perfect settings without having to worry that you could ruin the initial recording) and record the resulting compressed signal to another separate track once you're happy with the settings.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mattr for your reply. Yes, we're using Logic (ditched Pro Tools last year). The main reason for our chain request is to verify what we're currently doing and ensure it meets with best practice/recommendations.

At any rate, we'll run your suggestions through and start laying some stuff down.

Thanks again for your help (particularly related to the 1176).

Best,

Gregory
 
mattr said:
Once you've set up the routing within your DAW, you'll then be able to play a track through the 1176 (that you can tweak and set up with the perfect settings without having to worry that you could ruin the initial recording) and record the resulting compressed signal to another separate track once you're happy with the settings.
Click to expand...

Mattr,

As I'm learning more about routing, would this technique be the same as what's called "parallel compression" within Logic?

Gregory
 
Nah, parallel compression is something different.

What I recommended was first recording the track without any compression so you end up with a raw, unprocessed track in Logic. You can then play that recorded track through the compressor (by connecting one of the Ensemble's outputs to the 1176 and configuring the routing in Logic) and record the output of the compressor to a second track.

You can then mute the unprocessed track (but keep it as a backup) and use the compressed track. This method means that you don't have to worry about messing up the recording with the wrong compression settings on the way in, and have the flexibility to play around and try different processing/compression once its recorded.

Parallel compression is where you have two (or more) copies of the same signal being compressed differently (well, usually one not compressed at all), i.e. a blend of an uncompressed track and a heavily compressed track. You can easily set up this kind of routing within any DAW using a number of different configurations (using busses, sends, etc). I suppose in a way the method I suggested above could be used for parallel compression, as you could mix the uncompressed and compressed tracks together to achieve a desired sound.
 
Hey Mattr,

Thanks for your quick reply.

I guess I'm getting a little lost with the routing within Logic Pro (sorry for being such a nub). Here's how I've got the hardware connections setup:

1. Mic into Channel One, Mic One, of ADL.
2. Mic out of Chanel One, Line Out of ADL.
3. Channel One, Line out of ADL into Analog Input 5 of Ensemble.
4. Analog Out 1 of Ensemble into UA 1176 Input.
5. UA 1176 Output into Analog Input 7 of Ensemble.

I'm not stuck with getting Logic/Maestro to properly route the signals to achieve your recommended setup.

If you can spare a little more assistance with this step, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again for your help.

Gregory
 
Those hardware connections look fine :)

Unfortunately I have very little experience with Logic and so I can't really advise you exactly how to set up the routing within Logic.

Obviously you'll want to set the first track to record from input 5. This should be easy to get going.


Then you want to be able to play that track out of output 1 possibly by setting up a send to that hardware output from the channel itself, or by sending it to a bus and having that bus routed to output 1. The second track needs to record from input seven... play it through a few times and get the compressor set up how you want, then rewind it, hit record, and sit back until it finishes :)
 
One of the real beauties of Logic is the incredible routing flexibility for all types of signals into and out of the DAW... Unfortunately this also add another level of complexity to it... but work your way through a couple of stumpers, and you'll really appreciate the configuration possibilities.
 
MOFO Pro said:
One of the real beauties of Logic is the incredible routing flexibility for all types of signals into and out of the DAW... Unfortunately this also add another level of complexity to it... but work your way through a couple of stumpers, and you'll really appreciate the configuration possibilities.
Click to expand...

Hey MOFO,

Yea, that's my stumbling block right now is the routing. I'll get it!

Thanks for your comment.

Gregory
 
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