Record Clean while Monitoring Mixed?

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Codeseven

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I'm new to recording in general and especially Cubase LE.

I want to record my drums. I have MacBook Pro, Presonus Firepod, HP4 Headphone Amp, mics & cables and now, Cubase LE. What I would like to do is record my drums flat, no EQ (for mixing/EQ'ing later) while monitoring a mixed/EQ'd signal through my IEM's at the same time. Is that possible in Cubase LE? Thanks
 
Yes, but it requires a pretty stout computer.

How it's done in LE (it's A LOT easier in the full version but here is how it's done in LE):

Place your buffer setting for the firepod to the lowest possible your computer will record at (for drums I can't imagine being able to do this on any less than 256 samples, I would go lower if your computer will allow it). If you don't know what I'm saying here, see my tutorial for setting up hardware in cubase LE version 4 sticky in this forum. It's the same in version 4 as it is in 5 so it should be identical.

Dial the mix knob on the firepod all the way to playback.

Enable all of the monitor buttons on each channel in cubase (the speaker icon that lights up orange when you press it)

Put your inserts plugins on, your computer will shit out if you use to many/ use ones that eat up CPU. You can change them later, it won't effect the recording.


If you do all this and notice clicks, pops, crackling in your recording then your computer isn't beefy enough to do it. I would strongly recommend doing this at 44.1k 24 bit and nothing more as this is demanding quite a bit from your computer.
 
Thank you! I appreciate the help. let me give it a try and I'll post back.
 
Hi, I must be doing something wrong. I did all the above, including your Setup Guide, I could hear the Eq, and Effects from the Plug In (Reverb B) while playing. I hit Record, but on playing back the recording it's the same, with Eq and Effects, as what I was hearing while playing.

Is there somewhere in Cubase that I'm supposed to be ticking to bypass the Eq and Effects from being recorded? Thanks
 
Taking a long shot here but stands to reason the mix and fx you've put on the tracks would then be there on play back- or have they actually been printed with the track?
 
Hi Mixsit. Not sure what you mean by 'printed with the track'?
 
Something interesting. I recorded a track with Effects and EQ. On playback I heard that the Effects and EQ were indeed recorded. However, when I double click on that track and play it back there are NO Effects or EQ! Whats that about? :)
 
'Printed as in fx recorded with the track.
If they wern't then just bypassing or turning the fx off would leave just the dry track again.
 
Reading over the manual (all 576 pages of it!), I see that Cubase, and maybe other DAW's also, make two sound files when recording a track. One mixed and the other clean.....


'Audio processing in Cubase LE can be called “non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo changes or revert to the original versions. This is possible because processing affects audio clips rather than the actual audio files, and because audio clips can refer to more than one audio file. This is how it works:
1. If you process an event or a selection range, a new audio file is created in the Edits folder, within your project folder. This new file contains the processed audio, while the original file is unaffected.
2. The processed section of the audio clip (the section corresponding to the event or selection range) is then made to refer to the new, pro- cessed audio file. The other sections of the clip will still refer to the original file.

Furthermore, the original, unprocessed audio file can still be used by other clips in the project, by other projects or by other applications.'


So I think perhaps I should be able to find that unprocessed file and then be able to add Eq, Reverb, Compression ect to it, I assume?.
 
Your tracks are recorded dry. In fact, LE does not have input channels where FX could even be added when recording.
 
jimmys69 said:
Your tracks are recorded dry. In fact, LE does not have input channels where FX could even be added when recording.
Click to expand...

Hi Jimmy. So is that the 'dry' recording that I can hear when double clicking on a recorded track? Do I then have access to that dry track somewhere to then add Effects, Reverb ect? How or where do I find that track? Thanks

...I guess i would be referring to the Sample Editor...

'You open the Sample Editor by double clicking an audio event in the Project window or the Audio Part Editor, or by double clicking an au- dio clip in the Pool. You can have more than one Sample Editor open at the same time.'
 
The event itself, in your main project window, is unaffected. The actual file itself is clean(dry). Just turn off any sends or inserts you placed on the track for recording. :)
 
jimmys69 said:
The event itself, in your main project window, is unaffected. The actual file itself is clean(dry). Just turn off any sends or inserts you placed on the track for recording. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you Jimmy. I have the feeling I'm making this more complicated than it needs to be, true:) So, after recording a track with, say, Reverb, though that track in the Project Window will have Reverb in it when I play it back it's actually a 'clean' track that if Reverb is turned off before that same track is played now no Reverb will be heard, correct?
 
Codeseven said:
Thank you Jimmy. I have the feeling I'm making this more complicated than it needs to be, true:) So, after recording a track with, say, Reverb, though that track in the Project Window will have Reverb in it when I play it back it's actually a 'clean' track that if Reverb is turned off before that same track is played now no Reverb will be heard, correct?
Click to expand...

I think so. :)

Well, you aren't actually recording a track with reverb. You are merely monitoring the already recorded track from the output of the mixer with reverb placed on it, after the recording. That is why this wont work so well with a crappy computer. The buffer would have to be set high, and the delay/latency would be unusable. As long as you are getting good tracks with no pops and clicks, you are good to go. Just remove or change your reverb or whatever you have on the channel.
 
jimmys69 said:
I think so. :)

Well, you aren't actually recording a track with reverb. You are merely monitoring the already recorded track from the output of the mixer with reverb placed on it, after the recording. That is why this wont work so well with a crappy computer. The buffer would have to be set high, and the delay/latency would be unusable. As long as you are getting good tracks with no pops and clicks, you are good to go. Just remove or change your reverb or whatever you have on the channel.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
Remember, the more plugins you add while recording, can start to take a toll on your CPU. Use as few as possible, or you will start having issues with recording dropouts, pops, and clicks. Make sure your VST meter isn't going into the red.
 
jimmys69 said:
Remember, the more plugins you add while recording, can start to take a toll on your CPU. Use as few as possible, or you will start having issues with recording dropouts, pops, and clicks. Make sure your VST meter isn't going into the red.
Click to expand...

Good points to remember, thanks.
 
Codeseven said:
Hi, I must be doing something wrong. I did all the above, including your Setup Guide, I could hear the Eq, and Effects from the Plug In (Reverb B) while playing. I hit Record, but on playing back the recording it's the same, with Eq and Effects, as what I was hearing while playing.

Is there somewhere in Cubase that I'm supposed to be ticking to bypass the Eq and Effects from being recorded? Thanks
Click to expand...

It's because those effects are still active on the track inserts. To hear how it sounded without effects, either turn them off or bypass them.
 
Let me explain this more in simpler terms:

When you record like I told you to, what you are hearing is the audio being passed through your computer and sent back out to you (hence why I said you needed to lower your buffer settings so you wouldn't incur audible latency).

Insert effects like your EQ and compression are not recorded on the audio your recording, they are merely just applied to it. Turn them off and you will hear the dry sound you recorded.

BTW for terminology:

Latency: The audible delay that is caused by the trip audio takes going through your interface, into your computer, processed, then put back out for you to hear. Measured in ms (milliseconds). When you record using the firepods mix knob instead of monitoring through cubase (like the method I posted) latency isn't an issue because the audio is going through the firepod and directly back out through the audio outputs, there is no trip to the computer.

Wet/Dry: Simply put, wet means there were effect recorded to the track, and dry means it has no effects processing.
 
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