Audio out of s.card and back in...doing this without export?

Cubase
#1

Howdy :slight_smile:

In order to keep this simple, let’s say I have one instance of a MIDI instr. The instr trk feeds the master bus. I take that audio physically out of my soundcard and back in, running the audio through a preamp. When I play the transport, I see the audio at Cubase’s input trk. If I create an audio trk, arm it, and put the transport in record, the audio goes to that audio trk, and I now have a new track of audio. However, if I do an export audio mixdown (in realtime), the audio does not follow the signal path I have created - ie, it does not go: soundcard out > preamp > soundcard in > Cubase’s input trk. Sure I have a new audio track, but not one created through that signal path. This is evidenced by muting Cubase’s input trk prior to performng the export audio mixdown - I still wind up with audio on my newly created audio trk. If the signal was going through that signal path, and coming in thorugh Cubase’s input trk, the audio file would be blank when muting Cubase’s input trk, but it isn’t. I have tried external instr., but to no avail.

If I have to do it the original way, it’s not the end of the world, but I was hoping that there might be some way to do this while actually performng an export audio mixdown. Is there?

Thanks in advance.

#2

Set up the hardware as an external FX on another set of inputs/outputs & use as an insert wherever you want it.

#3

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry, not getting this.

  1. …“another set of inputs/outputs”… - external instruments dont have outs in the VST connections panel.

  2. “use as an insert” - how to do this?

Thanks.

#4

On the audio track that is receiving input from the preamp, engage the input monitoring button. I think it looks like a little speaker. This will make the input audible during the export. Remember earlier you were able to record, but not hear it? This is why.

#5

Ah, but see what I am trying to do is an export audio mixdown - which does not involve input monitoring, as there is no audio track yet.

"Remember earlier you were able to record, but not hear it? "

No - that’s not what I said, and that is not the problem here. It’s not a monitoring thing. I was trying to be as clear as possible in my initial post. Here goes again, but lets keep it simpler with audio this time, instead of MIDI…

I have my soundcard outputs running to an external preamp and then back in to my soundcard. Now, what I am NOT trying to do is this:

Import audio to audio track
Create new empty audio track
Arm that new audio track
Record
Wind up with a new audio event on that 2nd audio track - audio that has gone through my external instrument

I can do this successfully, but again, this is NOT what I am trying to do. What I am trying to do is this:

Import audio to audio track
Set locators
File > Export Audio Mixdown
Wind up with a new audio event on a newly created audio track - audio that has gone through my external instrument and not internally.

This is what I am unable to do - an Export Audio Mixdown through my external preamp.

I am thinking that there is no way to do this, but am hoping I am wrong.

Cheers.

#6

Alright, here is some more info.

When I change the volume of my preamp, I see a pysical level change on the External Instrument trk (green). But the audio that appears there does not wind up in my Export Audio Mixdown.

Ideas?

#7

bump

#8

In the 2nd post Grim spoke about an external effect (not external instrument).
That might work.

#9

Ah, external effect …my bad.

Nope - that is not working either.

—edit—

Woops! Yes it is working…thanks guys!

#10

To be honest, I don’t understand what you are really trying to do.

First, you seem to be mixing apples and oranges. An audio mixdown, or rendering, is an internal software process that takes control over everything happening in cubase … including recording … and temporarily over rides all other activity. Watch how things grey out when rendering is occuring.

Real time just means that the process requires the same amount of time as it would to play the same section. It’s a more ‘robust’ process that minimizes cpu strain and possible glitches that might occur with faster rendering processing.

If I understood what you were trying to accomplish more clearly, I might be able to help you.

Since you say you have successfully recorded a track through recording back from your external preamp, do you mean that you’d now like to mixdown that track along with others in your project? You can just as easily record everything out of you master bus through your preamp and back in. It would be the same thing as mixdown or rendering.

Or?

Como

#11

The way I read it is Jeff Hayat is wanting to process a sound or Mix through the pre-amps for some colour?

As you point out any external FX processing requires things to happen in Real-Time so the difference in mixdown time between the two methods is not a factor.

The only difference would be in convenience of setup, particularly if wanting to do this on a regular basis. Then using an External FX would be the easy way as his Pre-Amp would appear as an Insert FX and also the resulting file can be placed using the Export Options direct into a Mixdown Folder for example.

#12

Got it! I also saw after I posted that I had missed his ‘edit’ that he had succeeded using the external effects method you point out.

Como

#13

Yeah - color, depth, warmth, . Not sure how much of a difference there will be, but we will find out.

And yes, Como, I figured it out. Little idiotic mistake on my part at first :unamused:

Thanks! :slight_smile: