Mixer help please

  • Thread starter Thread starter omo
  • Start date Start date
Not sure where you're going with this still....If there is a latency issue you need to check your hardware/software settings. Has nothing to do with your mixer.

What type of monitoring devies are you using after the mixer?
 
I accept that it's nothing to do with the mixer (that I'm using) and I'm going to get rid of the tapco.

I'm just reeeeeealy curious now about the above statment from the Pro Tools manual.
What exactly do they mean?
 
That means you're listening to it as it's on it's way into the PC, therefore there is nothing to slow it down. You are listening to it in real time before any thing is able to effect it.
 
I get that now. You get the impression from what people say is that a mixer "fixes" latency, but not when you overdub.

I'm changing the Tapco to my first choice the Soundcraft Compact 4

Sound on sound had this to say about it:

"For zero-latency monitoring, the channel Monitor button can be used to audition the signal being recorded at source, and by disengaging the Record buttons on channels not being recorded, the recording can be kept as clean as possible with no risk of accidentally adding contributions from other channels, though of course you can opt to press Record on several channels at once if you're recording a mix of signals."

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul04/articles/soundcraftcompact.htm

Kind of like the mbox where you can blend the signals together.

I should have went with my gut. I guess this is what they mean about learning the hard way!

OK so I'll compromise with the pre's but I have an Art tube that sounds sweet.

Thanks for helping me trash this out
 
i use similar to you but without the mixer, just a bank of preamps into amaudio fw1814 and find I can almost eliminate the latency by setting the buffer to 128 under buffer size in the playback engine menu under setup (i think). what's your buffer set to?
 
As low as I can get it when recording. I lash it up when mixing though.

I might just bounce an instrumental and overdub vocals with that so I'm not running the 2 or 3 virtual instruments and 1 or 2 plug ins that are in my projects.

Thats what McGyver would do.

Still it's a short term solution to a long term problem.

I'd probably be better off with a couple of good preamps and a headphone amp by the looks of things.

Whats the weather like down south aidan?
 
I personally haven't had latency problems, even when my computer wasn't as fancy, but I have to agree that that's where the problem would be. The way my setup works is I run all my mics into my mixer and all my Pro Tools tracks are set to go out of two outputs, which go to the main stereo input on my board. That way, no matter what is going into the board, the main stereo input can always be heard. I plug my headphones into the mixer. Then I can hear the mic as it goes into the board (so before it goes to the computer, thus no latency) and I hear the outputs of my computer as they hit the board, too. I think with that setup, you should at least be hearing everything at the same time. I hope that wasn't too confusing...
 
Actually, now that I look at your setup, that's better than what a lot of the computers I use at school are running, so I don't know why you'd be having latency issues there unless one of your settings got out of whack.
 
Just scanning through this thread and here is my $0.02.

What you are looking for is a mixer that has enough suitable bussing that you can here playback from you computer while recording to it at the same time. The compact 4 has that (note the record out and playback in). Being able to route any channel to the record outs is really what you want.

The idea is for 0 latency monitoring is being able to monitor the recording signal before it hits the computer. Any time you monitor via software, you will have some latency
 
The 410 stereo outs go to one of the stereo inputs on the 120. This is your DAW playback channel.

Plug the Aux Send output into into one of the inputs of your mixer. Use the send volume controls to control the send volume to the DAW. You only have 1 input this way but its a way to get the no-latency setup you're looking for.

Arm the track you are recording to in the DAW then pull the fader down. Thus you are recording the track but it doesn't get fed into the playback you are listening to.

Monitor the whole deal from the main outputs of the mixing board. Voila. No latency monitoring since you are listening to the instrument through the board and not the software.

With a recording mixer each channel has a direct output that is fed to each input on the recorder. Unfortunately the only way to simulate this with the Tapco is to use the aux out- at least as far as I can tell by glancing at the specs.

Take care,
Chris
 
Thanks for all your help/advice guys
as of this morning I am returning the Tapco mix 120 back to thomann and ordering the Soundcraft Compact 4 as a replacment.

This is all beginning to make sence to me.

I'll miss the Tapco. The preamps and EQ sound really really good, and if I was'nt such a moron I'd hang on to it for that reason alone.

Chris your suggestion looks the best for using the Tapco, but reading more on the Compact 4, it looks like it suits my needs better.

How do the Soundcraft pre's and EQ's stand up to Mackie? Am I going to compromise on sound quality for ease of use?
 
Hi

Just wanted to update this in case anyone encountered a similar problem to the one I was having. (I cant be the only one!)

The compact 4 is the way forward, using the "artist mix" headphone out I can "blend" the two signals together. I simply mute the track I'm recording to in protools to avoid any "echo". Perfect.

The great thing about this is that (for instruments anyway) I can use a really high buffer setting, enabling me to use a lot of plug ins while overdubbing.

Great forum you got here.
Thanks again for the help.
 
Hi

Just wanted to update this in case anyone encountered a similar problem to the one I was having. (I cant be the only one!)

The compact 4 is the way forward, using the "artist mix" headphone out I can "blend" the two signals together. I simply mute the track I'm recording to in protools to avoid any "echo". Perfect.

The great thing about this is that (for instruments anyway) I can use a really high buffer setting, enabling me to use a lot of plug ins while overdubbing.

Great forum you got here.
Thanks again for the help.
 
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