So here are the deets. I have my MixWizard 4 (with USB installation) hooked up to my laptop, my laptop has enough space to run Ableton 9 just fine. I am sort of a noob to this setup having had Pro Tools for so long and wanted to try a new program to do live sampling. My latency is just horrid, I can adjust it but can get max 9ms from board to laptop. Not happy. Is there latency magic I must perform to get my mixer to send it quickly or am I doomed to the USB 2.0 side effects? :eek:
Secondly, Ableton's I/O is a lot different than the I/O configuration I am used to in studios with LogicPro and Pro Tools. Allen and Heath claims to allow me 16 channels out to my DAW but configuring my I/O is like pulling teeth. It seems I must have as many tracks as I have inputs into my mixer. Is this correct? In other DAW's it was easy to, in the input section, assign whatever was in one channel of the mixer into my DAW. Am I missing something? Help with Ableton I/O config would be sweet.
If this is at all answerable, I'd like to know. If not, where might I go, that isn't A&H website, to find out more information from others with a similar setup.
thanks
-D
Comments
I think you may be a little confused. The Mixwiz USB is used to
I think you may be a little confused. The Mixwiz USB is used to connect to a sound card to get the individual channel inputs for computer recording. It cannot be used to connect to the USB on a computer to input the channels to a DAW. If you can't install the appropriate sound card in your computer, you would need some sort of analog to digital converter to convert the direct outputs of the mixer to get discrete digital inputs to your DAW. It sounds to me like you need a MOTU or a unit like a USB/FireWire audio interface.
Quote from A&H : New features for this 4th generation MixWizard
Quote from A&H : New features for this 4th generation MixWizard console include two newly designed digital FX engines with 20 studio quality FX presets, EQ in/out switching and the option to fit a multichannel USB interface with high quality 16 channel soundcard for easy multitrack recording and 2-track playback.
As I read it, It's an optionnal soundcard that install itself inside the mixer... The user should be able to track 16 channel at the time. Altought DAW software may have limits on how many tracks you can create in a project (specially lite versions)
Ok. That's very possibly true. Shrinktoobe, to answer your ques
Ok. That's very possibly true. Shrinktoobe, to answer your question, you don't need as many tracks as you do inputs. You will need to configure the input buses if you haven't already done that, assign each bus a physical input, change your ISO driver to the USB port whatever A&H's it. As pcbuffer said, the latency can be dropped by lowering the buffer rate. Higher rates will result in higher latency. As for USB 2.0, it should be fast enough. They would have put FireWire in the mixer if it wouldn't be. It depends on your computer too.
So what you're saying is that I may not be able to recording 16
So what you're saying is that I may not be able to recording 16 simultaneous because Ableton won't let me? I have gone through the I/O section trying to figure how to get the individual tracks into the DAW. I might have to do more forum digging for that one. Sjmckean might be onto something about me needing an interface to get individual tracks into the DAW. The cool thing about this mixer is that it's a hybrid so if these USB functions don't work, I can still use it as an analog console.
pcrecord, post: 409697 wrote: Quote from A&H : New features for
pcrecord, post: 409697 wrote: Quote from A&H : New features for this 4th generation MixWizard console include two newly designed digital FX engines with 20 studio quality FX presets, EQ in/out switching and the option to fit a multichannel USB interface with high quality 16 channel soundcard for easy multitrack recording and 2-track playback.
As I read it, It's an optionnal soundcard that install itself inside the mixer... The user should be able to track 16 channel at the time. Altought DAW software may have limits on how many tracks you can create in a project (specially lite versions)
Any experience with I/O setting in Ableton?
For the latency problem, 9ms is very short and I doubt you could
For the latency problem, 9ms is very short and I doubt you could hear it. It becomes noticable around 20-30ms. You want to use a free software like latency monitor to identify what is causing your problem. I'm not sure what you meen as Live sampling. With the mixer, you can setup to hear what you record from it instead of listening to the loop back from the computer. If you are using a VST instrument the delay between the midi controler and the virtual instrument is certainly affected by latencies.
Make sure you have the latest drivers from A&H, go in the driver to ajuste the buffer (usually around 256 -512 with a performant enough computer). Make the same ajustment in pro-tool and/or Ableton. Deactivate antivirus, shutdown network connection, be sure to have the latest motherboard drivers, specially chipsets, and latest video card drivers (yes even videocard drivers can cause latencies.) Defrag you hardrive. (enough space is not a proof that the drive is optimum, that's why most pro have external drives in ESata, not usb drive which is too slow) (note that most laptop drives are slow (5400rpm) compared to stardard 7200rpm)
Hopefully Protools and Ableton users will join in and help you with that part..