First of all, everyone needs to realize that
latency in air is not the same psychoacoustically as latency electronically.
Latency in air is something the brain analyzes along with early reflections etc. to place a source at a distance in space. This is not the same as latency in electronics. This is part of the "unreality" of listening to cue mixes in headphones. All the timings are effed up.
So what works and what doesn't is something you have to see for yourself, and some musicians might have greater or lesser tolerances to playing with latency. I try to take a zero-tolerance policy and get everyone in the pocket, and in phase.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drBill  For those suggesting a console, how are you implementing this? Are you using splitters? We are using external preamps patched directly into the converters.
If you ARE using splitters, do you not find them to degrade the signal?
Coming out the D/A's and going into a console isn't going to help with the latency issue - it's already latent. Using a mackie on the front end BEFORE the A/D conversion isn't going to get the sound we're looking for with high end pre's.
So........
thoughts?
It's interesting that some seem to find monitoring thru the AD/DA process perfectly acceptable. My question to you guys - are you doing rhythm sections where groove and "feel" is paramount and where live musicians have the opportunity to blame the machine instead of themselves for the groove not happening???
Still trying to work this out in my mind.
Peeder and Recall - I'm well aware of how to use a console. I've done it everyday for the last 20 years, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't solve the issue with this problem.
Thanks for EVERYONE's thoughts!!!!!! |
There's no need for splitters when the console has direct outs, or if using external preamps, line ins. You take the external preamp into the line in or you use the internal ones. Then you use the direct outs/recording outs (on a 1640, these are pre-EQ and even pre-HPF, which is just flat wrong, and front end audio sells a "prefader mod" for $300 which fixes that) to go to your converters just as you would to go to a tape machine. Virtually every 16 channel+ console has these as a matter of course.
If you feel a need to avoid the console with your signal at all costs, you can just use Y-cables/mults on half-normalled patchbays etc to send the signal from the preamp to both the ADC and the console. Most modern preamps have bridging balanced outputs that can drive two inputs fine. Maybe a spec more distortion, but that's not a problem for a rock band.
For the cue mixes, you just build them with the aux sends on each channel, and go out into external headphone amps such as the ART HeadAmp. That way when the bassist wants more kick and the drummer wants less acoustic you can give everybody what they want with ease.