question for anyone daisy chaining firepods

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bluelonestar

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so i bought a firepod maybe a month ago...everything has been going well.
my bass player bought a second firepod a few days ago so that we could mic the drums with all 8 inputs and still be able to track guitar, bass, vocals, etc. with the 2nd firepod.

so we synced them together ok, and set up recording so we can record from both firepods simultaneously..up to 16 tracks...and it works...HOWEVER...

the firepods can only monitor their own 8 inputs...which causes a problem.
the presonus firepod faq says its a software setting(kinda vague) or to buy a mixer and monitor from there. well...we dont want to buy a mixer! We are using cubase sx3 and tried creating a new bus...but it didnt work.

we want to use the first firepod to record just drums...all 8 inputs...and use the second one to track guitar. and we'd like to send the signal of the guitar, along with the drums, through the headphones to the drummer and guitar player...but with the way it is now you can send only drums to the drummer and guitar to the guitarist...we can't figure it out. anyone have a clue? a headphone amp wouldnt help i dont think, bc it would only split the signal up from one firepod, right?
 
I think a headphone amp could work actually. I've got the Behringer HA4700 amp http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-HA4700-Powerplay-Pro-Headphone-Amp?sku=240107
It can accept a stereo in, or you can split it for two mono in's. So if you send the first firepod mono into the left side, and the second mono into the right side, you could then individually select on the four channels whether it would receive one or both of the inputs. Each of the four channels actually has 3 outputs...one on front, two on the back, so you could run 12 sets of headphones off of it. Each channel also has its own mono Aux in which you can mix into the main mix. I think this setup could work for you...the only downside being that the mix would be in mono. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this.
 
Ahh.. yeah, that's why I ditched my firepods. The HA4700 is definitely a good way to go. Gives you a little more control. The other option is that you could send the outputs (mains or control room) of the 1st firepod into the second one, and just use the second for monitoring. It'll be a little tough to control, but it's the cheapest route.
 
interesting...we were looking at the ha4700 today. i understand what youre saying about splitting the stereo inputs into two mono inputs...but that sounds crappy to me to have a mono signal for each firepod. the 4700 looks like you can plug one firepod into the rear and one into the direct in on the front panel. is this correct, or does the main input on the rear become muted once you plug into the direct in?

im looking at the carvin h400 right now-it looks like it would work for what we want...in theory we could plug firepod 1 into input A on the rear and firepod 2 into input B and mix them for each seperate stereo headphone mix.

why doesnt presonus have a product that is a solution to this problem?

thanks for your help.
 
Uhh it is just a software thing. Just create a master bus and send it out your main 1/2 on your firepod.
 
Keep in mind that the monitor signal from the inputs on each firepod is already mono - the only stereo monitoring you get from the firepod is what's being played back from your DAW, so if you're tracking everything live, it won't really make much of a difference.

How the 4700 works: if you plug into the direct in on the front left of the unit, the main signal from the rear inputs is muted. However, you CAN plug into the Aux In on each channel and mix that with the main inputs. You really have a few options here, given that, but remember - if you're not playing to already recorded tracks, all of your signals are already mono, so the best stereo you'll get is drums in one ear and guitar in the other. So you might as well just plug the mono output from each firepod into each input of the firepod.

The carvin looks good, too - does have some advantages over the 4700, although you don't get bass/treble controls, if that matters. I agree that it's nice that it has two stereo ins for the whole system, and it would probably be better for your application as long as the cost is ok.

And Presonus DOES have a solution... it's called the firestudio - it's like a firepod on steroids. This is exactly why I switched to RME 9652DSP- the ability to mix more than 8 channels to more than one cue mix. The new Firestudio is a great product, at least if their drivers are good. If it had been out when I bought my Firepod, I would've bought it instead. Heck, I might've bought it instead of my RME. Maybe. :)
 
wx3 said:
Uhh it is just a software thing. Just create a master bus and send it out your main 1/2 on your firepod.
Click to expand...

wx3 is right, if you're ok with the latency. I hate it, so I do all my monitoring zero-latency. Or at least try to.
 
johnny5dm, i guess the firestudio would have been a better option-although i bought the firepod before i even noticed the firestudio existed. and we need a headphone amp regardless-thanks for answering my question about the direct in on the ha4700. i suspected that it would mute the main inputs. the combo owners manual of the 4700 and 8000 made it unclear...as it would say (ha4700 ONLY) in certain sections.

wx3 - i tried creating a second bus-but i couldnt get it to work. any signal-both the individual tracks and the entire stereo mix can only be routed to one location...cubase sx3 won't allow anything else.
and as for monitoring...there isnt a way to route incoming signals from the second firepod into the main firepod through the software-that i can tell. i wish there was-unless you have more detailed instructions.

yesterday we tracked some drums by plugging one of the eight drum mics into the second firepod-freeing up an input on the main firepod for a guitar. then we used a stereo splitter from the headphone jack on the main firepod and sent the same signal to the drummer and guitarist...and it worked ok. but it was pretty ghetto to me. the carvin h400 is looking like a good solution to me right now.
 
bluelonestar - yeah, the firestudio JUST came out, so you didn't miss it... it wasn't there yet.

I've used Cubase LE, which has a lot of the same basic functionality as SX3... although I don't have it in front of me right now. The basics of what you do to get monitoring through both firepods is to use the main output signal for one monitor mix, and an aux send for the other. (I'm doing all this from memory, since I don't have the program in front of me, so these may not be exactly accurate)

First, you need to make sure that your outputs are all activated. Go into the Devices menu, and find your Firepod's settings. Make sure all of the outputs are activated.
Then, create an aux send for each input that you want to monitor (you probably need to create the stereo bus first). These aux sends (which should all be pre-fader) should all go to the same stereo bus - call it "guitar mix" or something. If your main outputs are assigned to Firepod 1 outs 1 and 2, then assign this stereo bux to Firepod 2 outs 1 and 2. To customize the mix, you'll use the main faders to control the monitor mix from Firepod 1, and use the aux send levels to control the monitor mix from Firepod 2.

On the firepod, you'll want to turn your headphone mix knobs all the way to "playback".

Like I mentioned, though, all of this will be latency-affected. Depending on the performance of your computer, and what latency setting you have the firepods on, this may really throw you off. The carvin is really the simplest way for you to get what you want. If you have the money, just get it. You'll get zero-latency monitoring, and a simpler way to connect/mix your headphones than the HA4700.

If you're planning on doing a lot of this stuff (9+ input recording, monitoring to more than one person simultaneously) in the future, I'd strongly suggest getting rid of your firepods and getting something else. Firepods are (or perhaps were) an excellent value for anyone wanting up to 8 inputs for single-person recording. Beyond that, though, they just don't have the features needed to record a group of any sort. You could probably ditch your firepods on ebay for $350-$400, and then use that money to buy something like the Firestudio ($700 - probably less at Full Compass), an ADA8000 for another 8 inputs ($186, I believe, through Full Compass), and a headphone amp like the HA8000 (should be around $100). You'll spend a little bit more, but you'll have an expandable rig that has the capability of going up to 24 channels of inputs and 9 independent stereo headphone mixes, which you can get through the HA8000. Not trying to give you gearlust or anything... just telling you what your options are, because I was in your exact situation about a year ago. Hope this helps!
 
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