John Vere

Ok so someone buys a basic interface that has 2 inputs and 2 outputs and 1 headphone jack. Great if that's all they will ever use because they play guitar and sing. Then one day a friend comes over and , oh oh, Now I need 4 inputs and another headphone jack. Oh and he wants his headphones louder or he wants his mix different in the phones, And how about some reverb? Or you find yourself wanting to use an outboard synth but,, jeeze, now I'm swapping cables and having to re adjust my input gains all the time and wait a minute! I don't have any midi ports. How about a cool device that has SPDIF outputs ( CD, Mini disk or synth) and how do I get that into my DAW? You get the drift. So as I say in my blurb. Before you buy an interface it is wise to sit and think about how you might use it and what your future plans might be. All the above situations are solved for me because I bought a Scarlett 6i6. So a small mixer - $100 , a midi interface, $100 a SPDIF interface $100 and a headphone pre amp $100. I'm putting a $100 price tag on each just as example. But that is easily $400 to get what I got for only $150 more than the cost of a 2i2 . Now they make the 8i6 which gives you even more than I got. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlet8i6G3--focusrite-scarlett-8i6-3rd-gen-usb-audio-interface So if where you bought it will exchange it for something like the 8i6 go for it. For you I see needing at least 4 inputs and the midi ports. so the 4i4 is only $70 more. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlet4i4G3--focusrite-scarlett-4i4-3rd-gen-usb-recording-interface

Here's a question- All of my laptops and desktops only show " High Definition Audio Device" in any place that I investigate. Is this a W10 generic driver issue? In other words I have no clue who actually made the on board sound chip. I could have a realtech and not even know this unless I go and look up what my mobo is and so forth. The reason I ask is possibly the very pour performance experience with on board audio is due to not having the proper driver installed.

Absolutely. I disable all other audio devices on my main DAW. I didn't even install the drivers for the on board audio when I re did the OS. You have to be pretty careful about what you install to a serious DAW machine. I always try and test new plug ins and stuff on my office computer or laptop first. I used to keep my DAW unplugged from the internet but that has seemed to changed as there too many things that now depend on that connection to work including Cakewalk.

Once again depends on system My main DAW has 3 ASIO drivers for my 3 different interface. A Tascam, Scarlett and a Soundcraft Mixer. The minute I hook up an interface Cakewalk will ask me if I want to use it. I just swap the USB cable with Cakewalk open. The other 2 are greyed out in the lists. But there's no conflict as far as I know with proper ASIO drivers. Yes I had that pesky Steinberg asio driver that comes with Wave Lab and Cubase ( which I use) I had to get it totally out of my system, because it took over the Recording Latency Adjustment. When I was using Asio4all on my laptop I could hook up my Scarlett or the Soundcraft and it always worked fine using their proper drivers. Asio4all would be greyed out on the lists. It never took over as was reported in the past. But that was W7 and at least 2 years ago. I uninstalled asio4all just because I didn't think I'd ever use it again and I like things tidy.

Well I do the same thing with a 2008 Sony Laptop that has I think 2 GB RAM and a Duo core 2.5 processor. I does have a SSD drive however. Recording audio doesn't use a lot of CPU or memory. From another thread were on board audio is in discussion people are reporting that Real Tech audio on board seems better than most. So might be a feature to watch for if you plan on using the laptop without an interface sometimes.

Well that's actually good to know as it would then be advisable for DAW users to make sure that is the on board sound chip and not other chips when shopping for a new Mobo or laptop. .

I think the bottom line is every system is different. What works perfectly for one person might not for the other. So no harm in trying your options and sometimes Asio4all is a solid solution to the on board sound blues. I haven't had to use it for a long time as I now only use my interface because that's best practices with Cakewalk. Also it's worth mentioning that my laptop is still on W7. Asio4all might not work as well on W10. We have WASAPI mode which works for most folks.

Well I just tried this, And I opened Span and it moves around fine. I tried a few times too. SO nope haven't noticed this. Possibly a video card issue?

Most modern keyboard controllers only have a USB port. It's nice to have the old school 5 pin Din jacks if you also own some older gear that use it. But otherwise USB works just as well and in most ways is much easier to deal with. My Roland A 49 only needs the USB connection for power and midi. If I used the MIDI ports I would need a power adaptor hooked up as well. You won't see MIDI ports on many new keyboard much anymore.

I see the Wavestation is from 1991 so obviously will not have USB midi connectivity. Once again if you had bought the 4i4 it comes with Midi ports. All these little things add up. So next thing you're having to purchase 2 or 3 more devices just to connect what is in your studio when the correct interface might have included this. . That's why it's the highest item on my list of what to look for when purchasing an interface. No big deal. Not sure where you bought it but a lot of places will allow your to exchange it. Johns Audio Interface blurb.rtf

They always are!

I am referring to your sampling clock rate, You can use 44.1, 48 etc but not 88.2 . Not that many would bother with that one. Most just jump right to 96.

As Steve has said you don't use replace synth on a midi track, only on a VST instrument track. Best to first insert your new VST instruments as he has pointed out. I find the fastest way is open the browser on the right, go to your list of instruments and drag and drop the one you want to the track inspector or pane. You might want to go to the "insert soft synth options" first and choose how you want it set up. Myself I mostly only ever check use first synth audio output. No other boxes are checked. I might use the All Synth Audio on a VST drum kit.

Possibly the OP has a Wave or MP3 version of a song that was originally recorded on a 4 track Tape deck. I have lots of those. But he could also be talking about a 44.1 ADAT 8 track which you are correct should not need much. Especially if they still have an ADAT machine and a way to transfer into Cakewalk all 8 track, I guess we need more info.

Of note above is the better performance from the Scarlett 6i6 over the Tascam in using none ASIO drivers. The Tascam is much older than the 6i6 so this might be expected. I'd be interested to know what the Scarlett 3rd Generations WASAPI performance would be. Also of note is that for my 2 interfaces WASAPI exclusive mode was worse than WDM mode. And both interfaces refused to use WASAPI shared. The 6i6 refused to use MME mode. One thing that I think makes the timing off is when you switch to none ASIO modes the Timing offset changes to something very weird and cannot be changed back even though the Focusrite shows as an option,, just like that pesky Generic Steinberg driver. Also these other crappy audio drivers try to take over your Playback and Recording Timing Masters but at least those can be changed back. But how many people think to check this stuff. When I change back to ASIO mode the crappy drivers are no longer on either of those lists.

Not at all. More people need to be aware of the latency and timing offset. Testing found that Cakewalks reported latency is generally very accurate and you can confirm this by testing with https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon The other way to check on your sync is do a loopback test. Same hook up as the Latency monitor but then you loop back a Kick or snare track made by bouncing a midi part. Record a new audio track from this. You then zoom in until your down at the sample level and see if they are lining up. ASIO drivers if written properly should report accurately to Cakewalk so it can adjust for latency. All of the ASIO interfaces I tested came out right on or within an amount that is not going to matter. After all, real music like a symphony orchestra has a lot of latency. Walk 6' from your guitar amp, you have latency. But it's important to have control over what is happening if your a fussy person about timing like me

Yes he covers every thing and it's great he points you at some good free software. I guess the only thing I disagreed with is using those saturation and console emulators plug ins. He does stress that these are optional so forgiven. Span is OK but I'm really liking the free iK Multimedia Meter you recommended earlier in this thread, thanks for pointing that out. It's seems just a hair more user friendly than the free Youlearn one I was using, I ran both side by side and the results were both identical. I then tried the iK Brickwall limiter and was also impressed how easy it was to set my loudness, in his video he uses the free Loud Max plug in. I just downloaded that and will try it. I was using the BT Brickwall but the Meter plug ins showed I was hitting above the threshold I set of -.4db. If I set the iK Brickwall at -.4 that's what the meter will show.

You want to solve this issue then you need a good brick wall limiter on the master buss. I just am trying the ik multimedia brick wall available via the T-racks bundle The meter is free the brick wall is a nine day trial. This is the best I’ve used so far and will purchase the limiter but waiting for a sale. I was using the BT brick wall but it was letting overs past.

Last time this happened was the day I finally bought a new controller. Problem solved

The old forum had a dedicated sub forum for computers. But back then there was more to know. Now computers are sort of beyond talking about. Glad those days are over. I did notice the price of Laptops has certainly not gone down! Yicks. I was going to buy a new one and quickly changed my mind.

Well it would have cost exactly $100 more but to bad you didn't get the 4i4. That way you could hook up all your gear and not have to swap cables. No big deal and I actually prefer using a small mixer for this anyhow.

The out of sync issue goes way back to when I first started using Cakewalk in 2004. Coming from an Atari system which has rock solid midi timing I was disappointed with my change over to a PC. I had it built for me by a tech and they recommended a spiffy Soundblaster/ Creative Labs Audigy II PCI card. It had proper 1/4" jacks and Midi ports. I fought that thing for over 3 years and all my recordings sounded out of sync, both midi and audio. It was later on the old Sonar forum that it was recommended to ditch the badly written Creative ASIO driver and purchase a proper interface. I bought an M Audio fast track pro which we still have and it still works. After that I never had syncing issues. Everything sounded way better. Some poeple might not even be aware they have timing issues but I'm ultra sensitive to this. At that time I didn't understand the "why" all I knew was problem solved. A few years ago because of questions like this one we had a thread going where we had everyone testing different interfaces and different driver modes including on board sound and generic codex. We used a simple loop back test where you take a midi kick drum, bounce it to an audio track and now using a short cable run your interfaces output back to a input and record this to a new audio channel. It's easy to then zoom in on the transients to see if they line up. Fact- Cakewalk uses the latency reported to it by the audio driver to adjust the timing offset so that the new tracks you are recording will be played in sync with the originals. If the driver reports inaccurately it is not Cakewalks fault, it is just doing what it was told by the driver. The findings were always the same across dozens of random systems. 1- ASIO ( properly written for a device not generic) was always near to perfect. No sync issues. 2- WDM - same interface generally alway late. Usable but not if your picky. 3- MME - Real late, unusable 4-WASAPI about the same as WDM On some systems the offset was early? And most annoying was sync would drift over time.

I was sceptical when I bought a Sony USB turntable and it came with Sound Forge claiming automatic clean up of vinyl and Tape. It works. I have no clue how but it seems to do a better job than I can do with a million fussy VST's

So that cable I have plugged in now is only giving me either the right or left channel depending on which one I have it plugged into? Yes this is correct. If I want to record with a mic I can just plug it into 1 or 2 on the front correct with the two cables plugged into the back giving me a right or left mono channel correct? Correct. The way it works is the back outputs are going to receive the stereo output of your DAW and this is mixed with the input using the front control options. The DAW output is controlled by how you have your Master buss set. In other words, if you pan your master bus left you'll only hear the left speaker playing the DAW material. When you plug a mike into channel 1( or 2 )and engage input direct monitoring that signal will be mono and heard in both left and right sides of headphones and speakers. Every interface is a little different and it is best to read this section of your owners manual to make sure your using the option correctly. As example without reading your manual for you I'm not sure what the 2 symbols mean on your direct monitor swicth. All of my interfaces have a balance control that allows you to blend the DAW output with the inputs in variable amounts.

Awsome! And so true! Mix sounds perfect on my system. Hey are you in Vancouver? Your picture looks like the Science world.