Acoustica User Forums

Hi all, would anyone know a better method of switching between two different interfaces, I am using win 7.
I have a UR242 and a new Scarlett Solo, I like both of the units, for different reasons, and it would be good to be able to go between them without having to go into sounds etc and switch them over, as Mixcraft lets me know if the wrong one is selected in sounds etc. lol

Hi,

There's kind of a trade-off: ASIO or Wave RT Exclusive Mode gives you the best audio performance with the lowest latency, but you can only use one interface at a time. If you use WaveRT without exclusive mode, you'll have higher latency, but you could use more than one interface.

Note: latency only matters if you need to do overdubbing (listening to previous tracks while recording new tracks).

Greg

Thanks Greg, as I just want to use either one or the other interface, is it possible to have two applications of Mixcraft8 Pro on the same desktop, then I could have one set to one interface, and the other set to the second device? I dont do a lot of recording at the moment, so no problem having recorded files in two different locations. If this is possible, when I download the second Mixcraft, is there anything I need to do to stop it just going in over the top of the original one, or I could save it to a USB drive maybe? Many thanks. Geoff

Hi,
Does either of your interfaces have optical in / out? Some interfaces allow this to increase the number of inputs. You could connect one interface into the other, then choose an input from either one. Focusrite has 8 channel mic pre's that can be connected with the optical in/out to add more inputs.
Hope this may help.
- Myran

Nah, just the basic outs. Cheers.

Acoustica Greg wrote:...Note: latency only matters if you need to do overdubbing (listening to previous tracks while recording new tracks).

Greg

That is incorrect. Latency does not affect overdubbing, it affects the speed of the return when monitoring back off Mixcraft (whether you are recording or not) - and you only need to do that if you specifially want to hear a VST in real time such as the Shred Amp, or a virtual instrument that you are triggering with a keyboard, for example.

Hi,

Lots of people want to listen to the other tracks with effects when they record a new track, and they don't like it when there is a lag in the audio.

Greg

Acoustica Greg wrote:Hi,

Lots of people want to listen to the other tracks with effects when they record a new track, and they don't like it when there is a lag in the audio.

Greg

Eh? You're saying that having effects on other tracks (i.e., other than the one you are recording on) causes latency?

Eh? You're saying that having effects on other tracks (i.e., other than the one you are recording on) causes latency?
Probably computer lagging could kick in maybe?

The more tracks, processing, etc used the harder the computer has to work.

geobee wrote:Probably computer lagging could kick in maybe?

jlouvar wrote:The more tracks, processing, etc used the harder the computer has to work.

That's a separate issue, not related to latency. Latency is specifically the time it takes for A/D D/A conversion to take place in the interface.

aj113 wrote:

jlouvar wrote:The more tracks, processing, etc used the harder the computer has to work.

That's a separate issue, not related to latency. Latency is specifically the time it takes for A/D D/A conversion to take place in the interface.

So its impossible (no matter what) for one to experience latency within a DAW/computer with a digital input (no conversion)?

jlouvar wrote:So its impossible (no matter what) for a digital input (no conversion) to have latency?

Latency refers to what you are hearing compared to what you are playing. If you play a note but there is a 10ms delay before you actually hear it, then there is too much latency. This happens when you are passing audio through the DAW - usually because you want the DAW to process the sound in some way, for example using a keyboard to drive Pianissimo, or playing a guitar through Mixcraft's Shred amp.

The delay (latency) happens because the interface has to convert to digital and then back to analogue after you have played the note, so that you can hear the note you are playing, and in order to do that, RAM buffers are used, which inevitably affect the time used for the conversion process.

Inputs - digital or otherwise - do not have latency per se. Latency is a result of passing live audio through the DAW.

aj113 wrote:Latency refers to what you are hearing compared to what you are playing. If you play a note but there is a 10ms delay before you actually hear it, then there is too much latency. This happens when you are passing audio through the DAW - usually because you want the DAW to process the sound in some way, for example using a keyboard to drive Pianissimo, or playing a guitar through Mixcraft's Shred amp.

The delay (latency) happens because the interface has to convert to digital and then back to analogue after you have played the note, so that you can hear the note you are playing, and in order to do that, RAM buffers are used, which inevitably affect the time used for the conversion process.

Inputs - digital or otherwise - do not have latency per se. Latency is a result of passing live audio through the DAW.

Tracks, processing, etc are converted during playback too... Yes, no?

jlouvar wrote:...Tracks, processing, etc are converted during playback too... Yes, no?

Yes but that does not cause latency. You will only encounter latency issues if you are passing audio through the DAW and you want to hear it played back simultaneously.

If you're not actually playing anything, then there is nothing that can be heard to be latent, is there?

If you don't understand latency, this article gives a reasonable explanation:
https://ask.audio/articles/how-to-achie ... n-your-daw

"There are several aspects of digital processing that can cause latency, but the most significant one—the one that can cause the latency to become a problem—is a technical part of digital recording and playback called RAM buffering."

"n playback, [latency]’s not an issue. Latency may cause a momentary pause between the moment you hit the Play button and the moment the audio starts playing, but it’s only a matter of milliseconds and will probably be unnoticeable. But during recording, it can be a problem for musicians who are monitoring themselves in headphones, through the DAW."