possibly silly question: how many tracks at the same time (garageband)

J

Jack of Alderaan

New member
As i mentionned in another thread i'm looking to upgrade my audio interface from 2 inputs to 4 inputs. I own a SSL2 right now and i'm probably gonna buy a SSL12 sometime soon....here's the silly question : i own a macbook air m1 and use garageband, the SSL2 is "plug and play", never had any problem with it....i was talking with this friend of mine who told me to be careful because my laptop would need a specific driver/sofware to be able to handle more than 2 tracks at once. He also said that there's a big risk that newer macOS system upgrades in the coming years might stopped being compatible with the interface. I'm not really convinced -and the SSL12 is being advertized as "plug and play" on mac too- but i thought i might as well ask here.

Some poster told me about aggretating several audio interfaces. I didin't know about that and it sounds like a great idea. So if i get another SSL2 i could get the 4 inputs i need for a lesser price. In that case, do i need something specific so garageband can record the 4 tracks at the same time? Or will be able to record 4 tracks at once right away?
 
Garageband will handle up to 256 tracks. The number you can record at one time just depends on the number of inputs you have and how much your M1 can handle without a hiccup. It should easily handle 16 at a time.

Now, my question would be why get another SSL2? The SSL12 isn't that much more money for something that you should be using for years, gives you more inputs, and the option of expanding further in the future via the ADAT digital input. You're already looking at moving from 2 to 4 channels. Can you say you'll never record more? An SSL2 is going to be a "stopgap" at best.

I've got a 4 track Zoom recorder, and it only took one time of not having enough tracks to jump to one with 8 channels.

As for using the Mac's aggregate device option, others will need to answer that.
 
TalismanRich said:
Garageband will handle up to 256 tracks. The number you can record at one time just depends on the number of inputs you have and how much your M1 can handle without a hiccup. It should easily handle 16 at a time.

Now, my question would be why get another SSL2? The SSL12 isn't that much more money for something that you should be using for years, gives you more inputs, and the option of expanding further in the future via the ADAT digital input. You're already looking at moving from 2 to 4 channels. Can you say you'll never record more? An SSL2 is going to be a "stopgap" at best.

I've got a 4 track Zoom recorder, and it only took one time of not having enough tracks to jump to one with 8 channels.

As for using the Mac's aggregate device option, others will need to answer that.
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thanks for your reply! ok so everything should work fine haha. As for the 2nd SSL2 it's just that i could get it real real cheap (around 100/140euros). But yes i'm still hesitating and I understand your point of view! But this aggregate stuff is intriguing, i'd really like to know how it works and if it'd be as easy as plugging one interface. I'd like to know what all my options are :-D but yes i'm still considering the SSL12 of course! I could even plug both the SSL2 AND 12 and i'd have 6 inputs :D
 
Aggregating has some overhead, and, honestly, I found it a bit "fiddly" in the times I experimented with it, basically to prove the concept.
 
No - he means processor overheads - looked at simply - the computer needs to talk to two devices at the same time - which is hard work. I never found it that stable on this MacBook trying to run qlab through one interface and play music through a second one. Most times it worked, but occasionally - I'd lose one driver or the other. I don't do it anymore.
 
ah ok thanks, i see...too much strain on the CPU. so it might not be a good idea after all...
Did anyone else try it and have the same problems?
 
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