Page 1 of 1

Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 6:03 am
by jddrock
Hey there,
So, I'm trying to use three different outputs in a project using output bus tracks. My outputs are a ZOOM R24 Interface/controller, Behringer UCA200 interface, and the laptops regular headphone out running of off the onboard sound card. The ZOOM R24 is also serving as my input, recording 2 or 3 tracks simultaneously. I am using ASIO4ALL to get all these to run at the same time. I can get all the devices to run properly for a few moments at a time but it seems the ZOOM R24 is having trouble. Randomly when I'm in prefernces or setting the output tracks to the devices I want them set to or sometimes arming a track to record, the R24 will freeze up and I have to restart it and try to put all the settings back the way I want, only to watch the R24 freeze up again at some point. One thing I noticed is that the R24 when I turn it on is set to 44.1kHz and it sometimes jumps really quickly to 96.0kHZ and the back to 44.1 on the screen. Once it went back and forth between the two every second or so on the R24 screen making the sound chop up for about a minute. Sometimes when it freezes the screen has switched to 96.0kHz and is stuck there. No faders, buttons, and or anything will work on the R24 at that point. So, it seems the R24 may be having problems running smoothly with my other interfaces, or it doesn't like how many things I have going on in a project at once, or maybe ASIO is the problem??? Any help to get all this running smoothly would be greatly appreciated! I'm recording a group tomorrow and it would be nice for this setup to work correctly.

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 6:27 am
by fredfish
I have big trouble if I let the Zoom run at 96 - I always have to change it to 44. which is done in Mixcraft when you select the ASIO driver (I use the Zoom one and not ASIO4ALL). If I don't change the setting my machine Blue Screens within a couple of minutes.

Let me have a think about your other issues (IE the outs).

Cheers

John

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 6:41 am
by fredfish
I read your other post and to be honest you might have trouble achieving what you want with the Zoom. If I have this right you want to output to 3 different devices at the same time? Trouble is to get more than 2 inputs on the Zoom you have to use ASIO and the nature of ASIO is that only one device can be active at a time. The Zoom when used as a USB interface can only output to 2 separate tracks at once.

There might be a slight (but not perfect) workaround. You mentioned that you want one of the outputs to essentially be a click track. If that is the case you can use the Zooms built in drum machine to create a click track which can be sent to the headphones and still leave the option to output to the 2 output tracks. It really isn't perfect as you will probably find it difficult to synchronize the Zoom drum track with what you are doing. I must also say all of this is theoretical based on what I have just read in the manual as I haven't tried it myself.

I am curious why you are using ASIO4ALL and not the Zoom ASIO driver?

Really interested in how this one works out.

Good luck

John

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 6:44 am
by Mark Bliss
Crossed posts with John, (again!) :D but in addition:

I don't have a Zoom, or personal experience, but I think you will find the normal ASIO driver won't let you use multiple soundcard or audio interface devices. It seems the latest versions of ASIO4all are a possible exception.
Depending on your computer OS, you might have better luck using WaveRT.

What you are describing sounds a lot like the results I got in previous attempts to use ASIO4all, IE: Glitchy and unreliable.
I have heard that the newer versions are improved in that regard, but I haven't used it.

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 6:46 am
by fredfish
Mark Bliss wrote:Crossed posts with John, (again!) :D but in addition:

I don't have a Zoom, or personal experience, but I think you will find the normal ASIO driver won't let you use multiple soundcard or audio interface devices. It seems the latest versions of ASIO4all are a possible exception.
That I didn't know - it explains the use of ASIO4ALL, thanks for the info Mark.

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 7:03 am
by Mark Bliss
Well, reiterating my disclaimer on a lack of any personal experience, I can't endorse even attempting it.
I would add to that some serious skepticism about how this generic driver might functionally handle multiple devices and at the same time manage latency issues. Not just for monitoring but potential compensation in between.

I cant claim to know a lot about this kind of programming, but I have very serious doubts. Add to that my reasoning that if it were reasonably and functionally feasible and advisable, wouldn't Zoom provide a hybrid driver and take advantage of these functions to grab a niche position in the marketplace?
I would enjoy being proven wrong on this, but I suspect this kind of routing work around is by its nature going to be glitchy and unreliable if it works at all, and suspect its just asking too much of the device. Just a case of the wrong tool for the job. If on the other hand it does work...... I'll be shopping for one! 8)

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 8:18 am
by fredfish
Mark Bliss wrote:Add to that my reasoning that if it were reasonably and functionally feasible and advisable, wouldn't Zoom provide a hybrid driver and take advantage of these functions to grab a niche position in the marketplace?
I get where you are coming from but I wouldn't bank on it with Zoom. Even the existing driver for the ZoomR24 is just the driver for the R16 - Don't get me wrong it is a great bit of kit with 8 separate audio inputs (I have only had 5 going at once - but it worked flawlessly) - the mackie support for using it as an 8 channel mixer is brilliant (though not motorized as suggested in another post) and the ability to use it as a standalone recording device out in the field (and on one occasion that was exactly where I used it - in the middle of a field :) ). BUT Zoom aren't great on the customer support or development side of things.

Cheers

John

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 11:31 am
by jddrock
Ok, so from the way things look, it must be that ASIO4ALL can't handle running 3 separate outputs. I've gotten all the outputs working a few times but then the R24 freezes up when trying to record. It's probably just too much to ask of the equipment I'm using unless there's some better freeware like ASIO4ALL that can run several outputs and support ZOOM's ability to record more than 1 track at once. Any suggestions? Do you guys know of a better way I can do what I'm trying to achieve? I'm open to new ideas and ways of doing this.

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 2:05 am
by fredfish
This isn't a direct recommendation as I don't have one of these, but a quick google search for interfaces with multiple outs came up with this that doesn't look bad.


http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may12/a ... ie-pro.htm

Good luck

Cheers

John

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 6:34 am
by Mark Bliss
John, I'm gonna guess that first link is unintended..... :shock: and accidental. :)


jddrock, I suspect a multi I/O interface, possibly combined with a mixer (or the Zoom, dont know them well enough to advise on use) is likely the solution you seek. Which I believe was multi output routing for headphone or alternate mixes?

The Akai EIE has good specs and features. It has been updated, but I have read that earlier versions had some people unhappy over its limitations and lack of supplied ASIO driver. Hopefully the newer version has fully addressed this.

I'd recommend researching interfaces from Tascam and Focusrite as well.

Unfortunately, you have to dig into the specs a little to see what each one really offers. Advertised input and output counts include mic, line, headphone, MIDI, digital, and it gets confusing. Sometimes combo plugs are counted twice, which is misleading at best.
One clue I look for is how many mic preamps it has.
This one for example has 8 preamps on 8 combo inputs. More importantly for your specific desires, it has 10 analog balanced line outputs that can be software configured in multiple ways. I believe this accomplishes what you want to do, though it may be an overkill example. (To be honest, exactly what you are doing eludes me. I think I got lost in your multi device description.)

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlett18i20

http://d3se566zfvnmhf.cloudfront.net/si ... e-en_0.pdf

Re: Mixcraft 6 ZOOM R24 issue

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:16 am
by fredfish
Mark Bliss wrote:John, I'm gonna guess that first link is unintended..... :shock: and accidental. :)
Correct and removed - link from a popup!!