external mixing via usb board...

pjrey wrote on 11/17/2004, 4:31 PM
hi, sorry, im sure this has been asked a million time (i did search the forum.. just bear with me)
i have vegas 5. i have the new dell XPS with winXP sp2. 128mb ATI graphic card.. 80 GB hard drive.. 1GB ram

i want to have full control via a mixing board. start recording, stop recording, rewind, level, gain pods, peak meters (optional) eq, solo, mute, all on one board that would connect either USB or firewire.
something with 8 faders or so would be fine (four would be fine, but 8-10 would be ideal)
i want 1/4 inputs, i would like to be able to assign fader one to track one (or track 4 or 5 or whatever i wanted)

is there a piece of hardware existing that i just discribed above?
where can i find it
because i will buy it
today.

thanks so much
again im sorry if this has been answered already...

pj

Comments

pwppch wrote on 11/18/2004, 12:54 PM
You might want to look at the Yamaha 01x or the Tascam FW-1884.

The limitation is that the control surface aspects with Vegas are limited to their emulation modes for the Mackie Universal Control. We are working with both Yamaha and Tascam to develope native drivers for more complete integration with Vegas in the future.

Peter
pjrey wrote on 11/19/2004, 11:12 AM
thanks for responding peter...
im very new to computer recording...

what i was confused about was the soundcard. i didnt know that you must get a soundcard with XX ins and XX outs...

what i was looking for i guess, was a SOUNDCARD, with ins and outs, but one that acted like a mixing board as well.
so, instead of having to run things in the SOUNDCARD, and then controlled on the MACKIE..
it would be all in one... soundcard, and mixer/DWA
something that would control the VEGAS interface, and work with mixing, EQing etc...

and the TASCAM fw-1884 looks like the ticket huh....
would this work with vegas? i would just have to map it out myself? or would there be more problems..

thanks again!
pj
pwppch wrote on 11/19/2004, 12:33 PM
Not really sure what you want here, but I will make a guess....

A device like the MOTU 896 or one in this family is basically a mixer in a box. It has no physical mixer interface, but provides routing and mixing to some extent. The Tascam unit does even more routing and single path control.

A simple "sound card" typically doesn't provide single path flow except at a very rudimentary level.

How Vegas uses any audio card:

Vegas just uses the "ports" or channels of any audio device to stream data to/from. It does not provide any control of the hardware's ability to 'mix' or control a signal path.

Most of the higher end "mixer in a box" devices provide software tools to control the internal routing/mixing/dsp aspects of the hardware.

The driver model ASIO permits this type of control to some extent. Vegas does not support this aspect of the ASIO driver interface.

The MOTU HD896 provide a tool called "cuemix". CueMix permits an external surface like the Mackie Control or HUI (or any device that can emulate these) to control the "mixing" aspect of the hardware.

The FW-1884 has a "control surface" built in, so you can use it to control the "mixer" or the software (Vegas) directly. It is a complete solution. Tascam has just released a rack mount version of the 'engine' with out the surface. It also supports the notion of control of its mixer functions via software, whether it be a host application or a standalone utility.

There a lots of options here, these are just a few.

Peter



snicholshms wrote on 11/19/2004, 9:33 PM
I think the system works like this:
You do not use a mixer as an input device.
You have 5 mics plugged into a soundcard with 5 mic inputs.. Vegas "sees" each individual mic as a separate track.
You have a Mackie Control Universal connected to your PC via midi in/out ports.
Your band records a song in Vegas and The Mackie Control Universal allows you manipulate each individual track like a mixer.

You could also use the Mackie to manipulate eight tracks of audio for a video project. Let's say you have eight interviews and each interview is recorded in different locations with different acoustical qualities & sound levels. You put each interview into a separate track inVegas. The Mackie will allow you to more quickly bring all eight audio tracks to the same decibel level and to add F/X than if you had to use a mouse and "fiddle" around with the Vegas track buttons.
I just sold myself on getting a Mackie!
pjrey wrote on 11/20/2004, 10:43 AM
i thnk you guys are missing the point, somewhat.. and iit doesnt help that i fully dont understand myself.. although im learning more and more.. yaa...

see, the thing is, i DONT have an 8 channel sound card.. so why would i buy a soundcard, and then a mackie, when i could just get the FW-1884? its a soundcard/mixer...
im running a laptop here... and i would like to cut down on the clutter. if i dontn have a soundcard arleady, the firewire 1884 works as a mixer.. a HUI, a soundcard, and vegas will mirror what the board does....

why is the mackie better? everyone says because audio doesnt run thoough it.. but i WANT audio running thu it.. its my sound card too! get me?
is the only reason people keep suggesting that (besides the quality of the product) just because its the only one vegas supports?

the FW-1884 looks like just the ticket...
(the price is the only stinky thing about it)

let me know if im missing seomthing...
soundcards are a whole new thing to be (as you can tell im sure)
pj
drbam wrote on 11/20/2004, 1:05 PM
The only advantage for choosing the Mackie right now is that Vegas seems to work well with it but of course, it doesn't meet all of your needs. As Peter indicated however, they are working with Tascam to develop proper drivers and so I would explore this option more carefully. In terms of the price, IMO, for a unit that includes mic pres, mixer and control surface, its quite reasonable, particularly if it proves to be a good reliable product (too soon to tell at this point).

drbam