• From: Dirty Jersey
  • Registered: 2013-04-17
  • Posts: 16

Topic: Best way to setup outboard?

Hey everyone.

I'm a new UCX user. Love this interface... best on the market IMO. I'm new to RME in general and could use some help.

I have a small amount of outboard processors i'm implementing into my setup. I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this. my DAW is Studio One.

S1 has a vst plugin to incorporate outboard processing. It's pretty simple to setup. However... I notice that when I use it, TotalMix is recording the metronome as well, since it's a "software playback". Is there any way to stop this?

I did some test by not using the vst plugin for outboard and only going through TotalMix, but it's been very confusing for me to figure out the routing. I dont have the hang of it yet. I'm not sure if it will ultimately be easier for me to use S1 or to use TotalMix to do my hardware routing.

Also...which would deliver better quality? This may be a silly question but I am asking for a reason. I did a test where I printed the processing once through the S1 VST hardware device and another by routing through Totalmix. I then tried to null them thinking they would theoretically be the same.. but they completely were not. The VST print seemed to come back too early and had a different sound. The Totalmix print was a little closer to the correct timing.




I'm so confused here. Could use some guidance. It would be really easy for me to use the VST plugin, but i'm worried about quality and also accidently recording the metronome or other system noises into my prints. On the second hand.. its been tough for me getting a handle on how to route in TotalMix. It's a big learning curve. Is it worth it?

CPhoenix's Website

  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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  • From: USA
  • Registered: 2007-05-21
  • Posts: 4,667

Re: Best way to setup outboard?

TotalMix is quite simple really, it only looks confusing. wink

Spending some time to understand the routing capabilities would not be a waste.

However, if you set the external FX plugin to use different output channels (say 3/4) than the main output of your DAW, the metronome should not be present in the signal.

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

  • From: Dirty Jersey
  • Registered: 2013-04-17
  • Posts: 16

Re: Best way to setup outboard?

Thanks!... i've done some soul searching and i'm going to use TotalMix. I finally got it working as its intended. The more I use it.. the more it makes sense.

The only potential issue (in general) is with my DAW.. Studio One. It looks like it sends the metronome to every damn available channel.. by default. I'm working on figuring out how to turn that off. I'll just have to remember to leave it off when i print audio.

However... man, i'm getting the hang of it pretty nicely.


Question for you. I noticed a severe feedback loop going on when I did my routing. All I did was route Analog 5-6 Out to my FMR RNLA (output maxed out), back in to Analog 5-6 In. When I set the Out, Software Out, and In in TotalMix to unity... it's horrible feedback. I had to change the channel settings all to Lo Gain to get it under control.

Is this normal behaviour? This is my first time doing advanced routing like this through an interface.

CPhoenix's Website