John,

I'm running the Gadgetlabs Wave 8 - which I love the sound of - nice
converters - but it does not let me route inputs to outputs.

Thus, my question still stands... Can Vegas send multiple inputs /
tracks to the same output for real time monitoring purposes while
recording. I've been told Cubase 3.7 can do this and the answer I get
to this question concerning Vegas will play heavily in how I vote
with my wallet.

Thanks to John and all.

Paul

John Hand wrote:
>>I don't know what kind of soundcard you have, but mine,(Event Gina)
has
>>as part of its driver a mixing and monitoring applet that lets me
>>route any input to any output for exactly this purpose.(monitoring)
>>Check out all the features of your cards driver and you may find
>>something similar.
>>
>>
>>F. Paul Lembo III wrote:
>>>>Greetings,
>>>>
>>>>Imagine this scenario -
>>>>
>>>>I'm running a soundcard with 8 inputs and 8 outputs -
>>>>I want to record 3 tracks at once but only have 2 outputs
>>>>(a stereo pair) running to my monitors. Is it possible with
>>>>Vegas to route all of my input tracks to the same set of
>>>>outputs - thus enabling me to 'live' monitor all 3 tracks
>>>>while recording them?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>SF Gurus and Vegas fans and or critics - please help!
>>>>
>>>>Thanks!
>>>>
>>>>Paul

Nope, Vegas wont do that. The latency involved would make the end
result useless.

The only way to monitor what you are recording is to let the audio
hardware or an external mixer do this.

The Gadget Labs card (Wave 8/24) does allow the input to be
monitored, _but_ if you have it set up this way, you can't play out
that port that is being use to monitor. (Wierd design choice.)

From the GL help file:

Monitor

Unlike a tape recorder, the Wave/8•24 is a full duplex audio device
which means that you can record and play on all channels
simultaneously. But we have also included an input monitoring
feature that allows the audio signal that is being input to the
Wave/8•24 to be "echoed" to the corresponding channel number output.

Important note

When Monitoring is enabled (ON) you will hear only the signal that is
being input to the Wave/8•24. In other words, for example, playback
of audio on channel 1 is disabled if you choose to monitor the input
channel 1. All channels operate in this fashion.

The only way to solve this problem with the Gadget lab is to use and
external mixer.

While Cubase can do this, guess what, it does it through hardware
support and ASIO drivers for that hardware.

From the Cubase Manual, page 49-50:

Monitoring via Cubase VST has only one disadvantage: There is an
unavoidable delay in the Monitor Signal (the monitored sound will
appear to be a little late). This is due to the way audio is handled
on PC computer/audio cards.

Bottom line: Your hardware has to help you out here.

Thanks
Peter


F. Paul Lembo III wrote:
>>John,
>>
>>I'm running the Gadgetlabs Wave 8 - which I love the sound of -
nice
>>converters - but it does not let me route inputs to outputs.
>>
>>Thus, my question still stands... Can Vegas send multiple inputs /
>>tracks to the same output for real time monitoring purposes while
>>recording. I've been told Cubase 3.7 can do this and the answer I
get
>>to this question concerning Vegas will play heavily in how I vote
>>with my wallet.
>>
>>Thanks to John and all.
>>
>>Paul
>>
>>John Hand wrote:
>>>>I don't know what kind of soundcard you have, but mine,(Event
Gina)
>>has
>>>>as part of its driver a mixing and monitoring applet that lets me
>>>>route any input to any output for exactly this
purpose.(monitoring)
>>>>Check out all the features of your cards driver and you may find
>>>>something similar.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>F. Paul Lembo III wrote:
>>>>>>Greetings,
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Imagine this scenario -
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I'm running a soundcard with 8 inputs and 8 outputs -
>>>>>>I want to record 3 tracks at once but only have 2 outputs
>>>>>>(a stereo pair) running to my monitors. Is it possible with
>>>>>>Vegas to route all of my input tracks to the same set of
>>>>>>outputs - thus enabling me to 'live' monitor all 3 tracks
>>>>>>while recording them?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>SF Gurus and Vegas fans and or critics - please help!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Thanks!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Paul

Peter,

Thank you for the definitive reply.

regards,

Paul

Paul,

If the ability to get a monitor feed from the audio app to compensate
for the hardware's inability to do so, please please please find at
least two people who actually use that feature and are completely
happy with it before purchasing Cubase or any other software that
makes claims about doing it. I haven't heard any positive buzz on
this, personally. Once the audio leaves the hardware realm, it has
to go through software and back into the hardware. The resulting
latency could produce adverse effects ranging from phase problems to
delays severe enough to end up with new tracks that just don't groove
with the existing ones, no matter how much you drag the tracks around
afterward. Hearing a delayed monitor can destroy the performance
vibes too.

The best way to monitor if the hardware won't do it is to split the
audio at the source. The signals can easily be split with a Y
adapter--send one to the recording input, the other to the monitor.
(Despite the fact that it might seem to work without catching fire,
you can't mix audio together with a Y adapter.)

Studio monitoring (or onstage for that matter) is usually done by
running all the audio into a mixer and using the aux sends for the
monitor. If your mixer has recording outputs for each channel strip
or enough subgroup outputs as you have inputs on your DAW, you're in
heaven! Lacking that, if there are channel inserts, you can tap the
signal from there by plugging regular 1/4" cables *partially* into
the insert jacks (to the first click). Most channel inserts work
this way--plugging it all the way in interrupts the signal to the
channel, half-way provides a split without interrupting the channel.
The downside to using the inserts is that you won't get to use your
mixer's faders and EQ. In most cases is a blessing--plugins are
usually better than budget mixer EQs whose design is done mostly by
cost accountants. (I'll avoid the philosophical argument for
recording everything flat and EQing later--I've seen great engineers
who get into instant gratification as much as the next guy.)

Lacking a mixer with the recording outs or channel inserts, I'd take
a trip to Radio Shack for some Y adapters. In digital audio, CPU
power is a terrible thing to waste--I wouldn't waste it on
monitoring, IMHO.

--Bob

F. Paul Lembo III wrote:
>>Peter,
>>
>>Thank you for the definitive reply.
>>
>>regards,
>>
>>Paul