Two speak outputs

[Chris Golden]

I use cakewalk for my EDrums, so presently I have the output of my drums going through my laptop and the this goes back through my drum module to my speak monitor.  Is there a way to keep this existing setup but to also connect different speakers to my laptop for the audio track music and continue to play the drums only through the monitor speaker?

[tecknot]

Hi Chris and welcome to the Cakewalk forums.

How are you connecting your output of your drums to your laptop?  Do you use an audio interface?

Kind regards,

tecknot

[Chris Golden]

13 minutes ago, tecknot said:

Hi Chris and welcome to the Cakewalk forums.

How are you connecting your output of your drums to your laptop?  Do you use an audio interface?

Kind regards,

tecknot

From the drum module to the laptop I use a USB cable and from the laptop back to the drum module an audio cable.  The speaker is connected direct to the drum module.

[tecknot]

So you are using MIDI from the drum module to your laptop or is it audio over USB?  Does your drum module have a headphone output?

To be honest, to have multiple audio outputs you would benefit from using an appropriate audio interface (one with at least two audio pair outputs).

Kind regards,

tecknot

[John Vere]

Exactly. For complicated set ups you need better audio gear and an audio interface can easily handle that. On Board laptop sound is very limited in connectivity and by the time you hobble together a bunch of cheap adaptors that money is better spent on the correct device. 

Below is the script for the video I made about interfaces. It only got a few views on You Tube so I removed it.  

Shopping for an Audio Interface?

There is a lot of choices.

But before you start looking   Make a list of your requirements first.   Example you might determine you need a 4x4 interface. That just narrowed down the search by a lot!  You might only find 12 models and a few of those might be way out of your budget. Now compare those to get the most features needed. Don’t cheap out. Get what you need now because it’s false economy to short change yourself on features. You’ll end up spending more money down the line to make up for it.

 Example,  only 1 headphone output and you all of a sudden need 2. Now it will cost you another $100 or more to buy a multi channel headphone amp.

What kind of connectivity do you require? and how many of each. This is the most important determining factor. Most of us only need a few in/outs. It’s nice to not have to unplug and plug stuff in.

 If you already own a mixing board you can most certainly get by with less.  

These are some of the connectivity options:

XLR for mikes & 1/4" for instruments or better yet Combi jacks which are both. 

Then other options are  RCA, ¼” line level, ¼” Instrument level ,MIDI, SPDIF, ADAT, MADI

Especially MIDI jacks if you use vintage synths, drum machines or pianos.

How many ins and outs do you think you'll need now and in the future?

Are they accessible or are some on the rear panel?

Are the ¼” jacks Balanced?   

RCA jacks are handy if you have a DJ mixer or any consumer audio gear. 

And sometimes there are RCA  in Parallel with main outputs. 

Just make sure the outputs have connectivity that matches your studio monitors.

Is there a true stereo input pair? Some don’t have matching inputs which sucks for recording stereo devices like guitar pedal boards,  Hardware piano’s, synth and drum machines.

Are there channel Insert jacks for using hardware compressors. 

What type of connection to your commuter does it use. USB 2 is all you need for up to 32 channels of audio streaming. But USB 3 is now the most common.

Here is some of the other front and rear panel features to look for

Are there peak level meters or just a little LEDs for each input? Do all inputs have a peak indicator?

Are there separate controls for Monitor level and headphone level? This is a pain when they combine these two.

Is there a blend control for mixing Input Source with Computer or DAW playback.  A lot of cheaper interfaces are missing this important feature and only have an on/off toggle. This makes it difficult to adjust what you’re hearing in your headphones and you have to muck about in your DAW to fix this. I think this control is a overlooked important feature.  

How many Headphone jacks? A level for each? This is also important if you work with other musicians.

And as I said it is cheaper to have it built in that having to go buy the additional hardware.

Are the input pads or line / Instrument toggle switches on the front, back or software controlled? Having them hidden is a bit of a pain because you might even forget they exist.

Is it a metal box or cheap plastic? Is it light and portable or large and bulky, Rack mountable? If you’re going to take it with you make sure it is road worthy.

Does it have an on / off switch? Many don’t. I use this a lot because I might change from on board audio to my interface. Much easier to turn off a switch than unplug it.  

Does it use Buss power or a power supply?  Look for at least an optional power supply. 

Buss power can have issues with noise and Phantom power and some need a dedicated USB 3 buss.

I had to purchase a special PCIe card just to power my Motu m4 and that cost me 40 bucks.

Does it have DSP effects built in? This is great for adding reverb to you headphone mix without actually recording it. And there might be a compressor and special guitar effects you do want to record. Once again it’s saves you money if you will need these things.

Does it use a Software  GUI mixer? Having a software mixer adds more monitoring options. My Focusrite 6i6 has a mixer and I can use it to create 6 different headphone Que mixes.  

Does it have a Loop back function. This is a newer feature that is real important if you do live streaming,  screen captures, Zoom or stand alone VST recording. It will also record off the internet say from you tube or sites that won’t let you download. Ahrr Captain there’s Pirates a float.  

Do you need low  Round Trip Latency for real time processing like Guitar Sims?  

Most average priced interfaces like Tascam, Steinberg, Pro Sonis,  Scarlett’s and my Motu have around 10 ms of RTL at a working Buffer of 256. You might get this lower if you have a very fast computer but most of us will have around this amount of delay. This delay is very annoying to most of us so be warned.

Low RTL is going to be at a higher price point. Probably over $500  like RME stuff. There is almost no information or specs supplied buy most manufacturers. They will tell you up to 5ms of RTL but they are not getting that at a buffer setting that is actually usable on most systems. You’ll suffer drop out and stuttering.

Zero Latency monitoring is not the same as round trip latency All interfaces have latency. The A/D converter adds almost 1ms of latency for starters, your USB system, computer processing the D/A converter and so on. But this doesn’t matter when you use direct monitoring. You’ll hear everything in perfect sync.

This is what Latency sounds like DEMO--  

Zero latency is only referring to monitoring directly from the interface.

And most important of all, Does it have top notch ASIO drivers for your OS.  Don’t buy any interface that say’s “class compliant driver”  That will work for a Mac, but not very well with a PC.

What is the word on support from the company? Visit the web site and try creating an Account before you purchase. Pretend you just bought the device.  

See if the drivers and manuals are easy to get at and kept up to date. Are they a  PC or Mac oriented company.

And this one I think is also overlooked--

Does it come with free software, Example Focusrite interfaces seem to come with a lot of good actually usable stuff.  There could be over $200 in value here so make sure you check this out. Most companies only give you some lame version of a DAW that you are probably not interested in because you already have a great free DAW with Cakewalk.  

Everyone will recommend the interface they have chosen, that doesn't mean it is the right one for you. But recommendations are also part of the research needed to make the right decisions.

Make your list starting with the input /output specs. Check for pricing on sites like Sweetwater or Musicians Friend. The reviews are a very good resource but take the negatives with a grain of salt. There’s a lot of idiots who have no clue as what they are doing and they vent by writing a negative review.  

The audio interface is the heart of a digital studio. It is the centerpiece and spending money on this is more important than your actual computer. So have fun shopping.