1 Topic by Hemansu (edited by Hemansu 2011-10-04 13:31:55)

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Topic: Basic set up !

Hello !

Ok this is a really basic question, but not that easy for a beginner...

I am currently using Cubase 4 as a DAW running on windows xp 32 bit...But i have never tried any professional audio interface.

I recently purchased Fireface UFX as i am upgrading my studio...Now i want to set it up...So i installed the driver...Then load Cubase...Then go to the "VST Audio System" and select "RME FIREFACE ASIO" as prefered driver...Then i go to "VST Connections" & under "Output" tab i select the "phone 11" as left output channel & "phone 12" as a right output channel....Now i can hear what is playing on cubase through the earphones. But i dont know what to select under "Input" tab? I dont know because i dont have any extra hardware recording device.

I currently run only VST instruments (softwares synthesizers)on Cubase so basically i want the sound from cubase, go into the UFX & then return after processing to my pc (Just like i export wave file from cubase after a project is done)

On the front of the UFX there is a USB port...can i record anything to a USB drive using that port ?

From November, i'm shifting to a Cubase 6 and Windows 7 64 bit.

Thanks for guidence)

Thanks RME for such a great product smile

  • Knut
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Re: Basic set up !

Now i can hear what is playing on cubase through the earphones.

With the UFX and Cubase you have two different mixers. You can route every channel in Cubase to a bus - master or headphones. But you can do the routing also in TotalMix. It's a hardware mixer behind the Cubase mixer.

But i dont know what to select under "Input" tab? I dont know because i dont have any extra hardware recording device.

Enable all inputs of the UFX in the ASIO VST connections (checkbox). Now you can choose every input of the UFX in every channel of Cubase as source for the audio recording. E. g. connect a mic or a synth to the inputs and choose this inputs as source input in a Cubase channel.

I currently run only VST instruments (softwares synthesizers)on Cubase so basically i want the sound from cubase, go into the UFX & then return after processing to my pc

When you record the output of the UFX after processing with the UFX effects check out the Loopback feature in the manual. Here is a video tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6PTnFo0 … mp;lf=plcp

On the front of the UFX there is a USB port...can i record anything to a USB drive using that port ?

Yes. You can record every input and output channel of the UFX on USB stick or HD drive. Up to 60 channels with effects. The number of tracks depends on the quality USB stick. Only a few can handle a lot tracks. Most suffer from a write timeout, resulting in dropouts and recording failures with mayn tracks. A USB HD don't have this problem and can record all tracks.

best regrds
Knut

3 Reply by Hemansu (edited by Hemansu 2011-10-05 22:24:26)

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

First sorry for the late reply Admin Knut...Actually i was waiting for other peoples review. But no one else has post any solution (

Anyways thanks a lot Admin Knut smile Most of my confusions has solved now) The youtube link has helped me a lot...But by that loopback function i only can record. Cant export the whole project !

I mean in Cubase, i opened the "VST Connections" & under "Output" tab, there is only one bus, i dont add any extra bus. I select the "phone 11" as left output channel & "phone 12" as a right output channel. So whatever i am playing in cubase that is routed to Total Mix FX's  Phone 11/12 (i can see that by the audio signals, aswell as i can hear it through the earphones by connecting earphone jack to UFX's phone 11/12 Output). Then route Total Mix FX's Phone 11/12 to Analogue Out 1/2 (with loopback enable). Then in Cubase, i open the VST Connections again & under "Input" tab i select the "Analogue 1" as left Input channel & "Analogue 2" as the right input channel. Now if i enable the EQ & adjust some high & low on Total Mix FX's Analogue Out 1/2 & record what ever i want i can record it in cubase as an audio track.... BUT IF I EXPORT THE WHOLE PROJECT THERE IS NO EQING DONE !!! Why is that ?

Thanks for point to point explanation )

  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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Re: Basic set up !

If you export in Cubase then the UFX and Totalmix FX are not involved at all....

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

  • Knut
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Re: Basic set up !

BUT IF I EXPORT THE WHOLE PROJECT THERE IS NO EQING DONE !!! Why is that ?

Jeff is right. Or you are using the Cubase I/O plugin in the mix?

best regards
Knut

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

I usually work with 60 to 100 audio tracks on a single remix project. So whenever i need to put some EQ after the whole project is done, "Do i need to record every track all the time using "loopback" function ?"
If i do so then i will surely get recording error cause CPU cant handle that much audio tracks being record at the sametime !!!

So there must be a way to export the whole project using TOTAL MIX's EQ & FX.

  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2007-04-10
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Re: Basic set up !

Exporting (as in internal bounce in Cubase) does not use the effects in Totalmix, it can not access them.


Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

RME Support's Website

  • Knut
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Re: Basic set up !

I'am not sure I understand your workflow. TotalMix is a hardware mixer behind your Cubase project. How would you do it with an external mixing desk and intergrated effects?

best regards
Knut

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

@ Daniel - Ok so i can not use Total Mix's EQs while exporting the whole project sad

@ Knut - Actually i really like UFX's EQs. Its Better than any other software EQ plugins that i use. And thats why i wanted to use it when the whole project (track) is completed. BTW whats that hardware Mixer thing???...Cubase has a Mixer & i monitor every audio/vst/fx/midi track through it. Total Mix FX is also a software mixer, i dont understand why you are keep calling a hardware mixer instead?

  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2007-04-10
  • Posts: 9,779

Re: Basic set up !

The Totalmix FX "software" you see is just a control panel for the DSP hardware inside the UFX. Effects and mixing take place in hardware, not in software... Your computer's CPU does not render these effects, unlike those in Cubase etc.

So obviously these effects can also not be integrated into Cubase when using an internal bounce/export. This is a very plain fact - the audio software and the UFX' effects section do not interact.



Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

RME Support's Website

  • Knut
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Re: Basic set up !

Total Mix FX is also a software mixer, i dont understand why you are keep calling a hardware mixer instead?

No. TotalMix is a hardware mixer built into the UFX. What you see on the screen is the user interface. It works indepent from the host computer. You can use TotalMix without a computer in stand alone mode. This is the great thing about the RME interfaces - they integrate a complete high-end mixing desk which was previously not available in this powerful, flexible and compact form.

But even if TotalMix were a software mixer it's a complete different thing from Cubase and has nothing to do with the internal signal flow in this audio program. It works just like an external mixer or a hardware effect processor outside your computer. To use an external TotalMix or other EQ into your project you have to route the signal (voice, bass, guiter ... or a summed bus) to TotalMix and back into Cubase. Just like with a plain old hardware mixer. To send and receive a signal Cubase provides an I/O plugin.

best regards
Knut

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

One more thing i would like to share...i spent 2000 $$$ on UFX...but without using any EQ on Total Mix FX, everything sounds as normal as my PC's inbuilt cheap audio card !!!...There is no better sound processing than the built in realtek audio card ! It only provide more gears to connect ability... What it does is just provide some gain without loosing sound quality. Or else i'm wrong. My Cubase project set up is 24 bit/44 KHz.

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

Thanks very much Daniel & Knut for taking your attention & nice explanation smile

  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2007-04-10
  • Posts: 9,779

Re: Basic set up !

If you expected the UFX to actively change, "process", or "improve" the sound quality of existing audio signal, I'm afraid you were mistaken, that is not the purpose of this unit (or any other professional audio interface, for that matter). Faithful reproduction is the goal, first and foremost. Adding effects is something else, and a matter of choice.

The quality of the converters is definitely a lot better than those of your internal card. Whether or not you hear an obvious difference is another question. "Sound quality" differences between DA converters are not as dramatic today as some "high end" audio gear marketing will want to have you believe. Even a cheap CD player or audio card can produce an undistorted and linear audio signal in principle, without sounding totally different from better gear. And these differences will not be anywhere as apparent as those between different loudspeakers or headphones - both in terms of technical specifications (e.g. frequency response) as well as audible characteristics...

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

RME Support's Website

15 Reply by Hemansu (edited by Hemansu 2011-10-07 21:58:01)

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

"The quality of the converters is definitely a lot better than those of your internal card" - Exactly ! Thats what i hoping for...

Is there anything wrong that i am doing? Here is the procedure that i do everytime i start a new project in Cubase...i turn on the pc. Then UFX (so the Total Mix FX control panel pops up) Now i load the Cubase... then open the new project..then go to "VST Audio System" & select the "ASIO Fireface USB" as the default driver. Then go to the "VST Connections" & under "Output" tab, i select the "Phones 11/12" as a stereo output channel....Then under "Input" tab, i select the "AN 1/2" as the input channel.........then start my work........is that procedure wrong ?

The main difference to notice is when i export the project from Cubase to desktop as a WAVE/MP3 that is not the exact sound when i was working on that project....Just hope you guys understand what exactly i want to say here !

  • From: Connecticut, USA
  • Registered: 2011-08-01
  • Posts: 376

Re: Basic set up !

Hi Hemansu,

The main difference to notice is when i export the project from Cubase to desktop as a WAVE/MP3 that is not the exact sound when i was working on that project....Just hope you guys understand what exactly i want to say here?

This means there is something set wrong in Cubase not the RME. The RME card has no effect at all during Cubase's Audio Export process.The audio processing is happening completely inside of Cubase. You are only hearing a playback of your final mix. If  this mix sounds different after you do the export then the issue is coming from your Cubase MIX. You need to check you gain staging in the mix .The Master fader in Cubase should never be lower unless your clipping Cubase's output.

If you want to use any of the RME hardware effects in your mix then you need to read up in the Cubase manual about using External Effects.

Thanks Chris

Chris Ludwig
North East USA Sales | Synthax/RME
www.facebook.com/RMEAmericas
Twitter @RMEAmericas

ChrisLudwig's Website

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

Hey Chris ! Thanks for your help )

What could be wrong in cubase?  I told the procedure that i do everytime i start a new project above. Is that currect ??...May be i should try a new daw (Cubase 6 instead cubase 4)... How i connect the UFX with my PC is simply through the USB cable... theres no other hardware connected to it. I currently use soft synths & FX plugins...No other hardware gear. My project set-up is 24 bit, 44 KHz..is that ok ? Or should i try for 96 KHz ?

  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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Re: Basic set up !

I would suspect the problem is your export, do you dither when changing 24 bit to 16 bit? Do you use VBR for your MP3?

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

  • From: Connecticut, USA
  • Registered: 2011-08-01
  • Posts: 376

Re: Basic set up !

Hi Hemansu,
If you are not using RME's TotalMix FX effects in your mix then the RME has no impact on the final outcome of the Cubase export.
If you are bouncing down a 24 bit projects to 16 44.1  for MP# or for CD production then you should insert the Apogee UV22 plugin on Master/Main Output in Cubase on insert 7 or 8.
The The Cubase Mix Output's level determines the final output level of you export.
If it is too low then the final export will sound lower or different. Also if one of the audio effect plugins you are using has a bugg with Cubase's export option then it can also cause a alteration in sound quality at the final export.
You should try checking the option for real-time Export in Cubase to see if this makes any difference.
Make sure you are NOT using any effects in Total Mix on the Main Out put that Cubase is assigned to or in your headphones.
Cubase has now idea that these effect are being used so it does not include them in the export.

If you want to use  the effects on the RME correctly inside of Cubase then read the section of your Cubase manual about using external effects plugins.
Thanks Chris

Chris Ludwig
North East USA Sales | Synthax/RME
www.facebook.com/RMEAmericas
Twitter @RMEAmericas

ChrisLudwig's Website

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

@Jeff..... Actually even if i export the project as a wave file without bouncing it from 24 bit to 16 bit i couldnt get the same audio quality ! I always export as 320 kbps mp3 file....but what i was mistaking this time is, i set the export option 32 bit/44 KHz while my project setup is 24 bit/44 KHz...May be this can be the reason...???

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

@ Chris...
I am not using any FX or EQ of Total Mix for the final export.
I do insert UV22 plugin on master output while bouncing down from 24bit to 16 bit.
Its not the matter of low volume level...Cubase mixer's master output channel fader is at ideal level. (-3 db approximate...UFX is out is at 0 db)
There no plugins on any channel while final export coz i rendered each track that were causing cpu load.

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

Anyways ...Im upgrading my studio in November...new workstation (dell m6600/Win 7 64 bit), Cubase 6, RME UFX (which i already got), then i will see if this quality problem continuies then i will come back for your help...

Thanks so much for your help and support )

Regards,
Hemansu.

23 Reply by Hemansu (edited by Hemansu 2011-10-08 19:43:18)

  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Basic set up !

I find that the low frequency is not remain that deep & clear & the high sounds bit crashing (its also not that sharp as in the project...So something is causing the extra high freq gain & it also cuts the law freq...thats the main difference...Its great if anyone help me out )