Outboard Units in Computer Based-Recording.

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Wannabe Producer/Tech Student
Member Since: Aug 11, 2005

Hey.
At the moment i am using a very simple system:
Mics/DIs into mixer, mixer direct outs into soundcard, record in cubase - effect, dynamic process, EQ using cubase built in plug ins, finished.

this is my current set up but i am looking to upgrade my studio as i have come into some money recently, and want to just generally improve the sound - the first move i am making is some tubed preamps to give my mic recordings (particualy my vocals) a warmer, much more professional tone. - simple to use, just put in between my vocals and the recorder.

but i am also wanting to get my hands on some better effects (reverb, chorus, delay etc.) and am not totally sure how to rig up an outboard unit with a copmuter, for the reason tht i prefer to apply effects post recording (to avoid re-takes if the effect is set wrong). pre-recording should be easy, again just put the unit between the sound source and recorder, but i would like to rig it so i can apply post-recording.

the only way i have seen to do this so far would be to record the signal un effected, send the signal out of my sound card, into the outboard unit, then send it back in thru an input and record it with the effect on, then if its rong i just repeat the process. however, this may take a long time if i have to effect, for exmaple, a drum kit (all mics seperate seperate) and guitars, bass etc. all seperatly. would take forever, alot of sitting around.

ne one have ne ideas on how i can get better effects than the standard cubase ones, but get it to apply to the tracks after they are recorded, rather than just add the effect when the wave is played in real time as outboard units usually do.

i have seen that models such as the lexicon mx200 can work with a computer as an extra plug in, but is there any other way that i could get a similar effect (excuse the pun) with an outboard unit that doesnt have this facility?

appreciate any help, or point outs to my hidious errors in termonlogy or understanding of anything (lol, student in traning so not fully preficient),
thanks guys

chris

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Conjurer of Emotion
Member
Since: Jan 14, 2006


May 09, 2006 08:18 pm

Well to rig outboard post effects you would need a "mixerless" soundcard with enough 1/4 jacks to use send/returns or send a signal back out to a mixer channel and route it through the send/returns on the console. Essentially you would be using an FX loop.

You know, you can get software plug-ins for less money that have some great capabilities and are faster to use. If you insist on outboard effects, then it shouldnt be that much more difficult to manage because you can make adjustments in real time as the audio passes through until you reach the desired effect. But it would be somewhat more time consuming to keep passing everything through it.

I am not sure from reading your post whether you knew all of this or not. It seems maybe you did but you are looking for more seemless conectivity between outboard gear and your pc. Well other than some basic MIDI USB and perhaps the lexicon thing you mentioned, I really am not aware of any. I would say go with plug-ins though.

Wannabe Producer/Tech Student
Member
Since: Aug 11, 2005


May 10, 2006 04:57 am

ok cheers, so can you give me a link or 2 to some places where i can find out about software plug ins and see what ones are about, see if there are ones that are compatible for with my current set up and do what i want?

apprectiate it mate

chris

Conjurer of Emotion
Member
Since: Jan 14, 2006


May 10, 2006 07:36 pm

Well simply find out what your software is compatable with. See if it can use VST Plug-ins or DirectX plug-ins (or both). Then simply do a google search for these and you can do some looking around. There are so many of them and I really don't know of a great link to show you so give that a try and good luck.

Member
Since: Nov 15, 2005


May 11, 2006 01:16 am

Another option is a DSP card like the UAD or TC Powercore. These cards act as outboard gear, but connect to your computer. For instance, I have the UAD which comes with some great sounding plugins. I record direct, and then process the audio using these plugins, but the effects are run off of the card rather than draining the computer resources. Just an idea, but it's the same principle without the outboard hassle.

Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


May 11, 2006 08:22 am

The way to do it is as you stated, you do have to run the signal back out of your computer and thru the effects box...therefore, in many cases, you will be leaving the digital domain again and therefore the possiblity of generation loss and noise introduction are present.

I have grown to only use outboard stuff on the way in, plugins have become too good and too reasonably priced...and even free.

Search for "free audio plugins" or look thru out directory for links. Also, check out the many plugin makers, www.waves.com makes great (but expensive) plugs, as do MANY other companies.

Wannabe Producer/Tech Student
Member
Since: Aug 11, 2005


May 11, 2006 11:38 am

thanks for the info guys, youve been a great help

:)

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