Steinberg UR824 and silent way?

Steinberg Hardware
1

Hi I’m looking into the possibility of buying some Steinberg UR824s . I need 24 channels for audio.

It would also be really handy to take some of those channels and use them for controlling synths with CV, using silent way.

To do this the interface must have DC-Coupled analogue outputs.

Anyone here know if this interface has DC-Coupled analogue outputs?

If not would it be possible to have 24 channels and add an extra 8 with a 3rd party ADAT audio converter? I could use the ADAT channels to send DC.

And in this case, am I restricted to using 24/44.1 on the UR824s if I have an ADAT device also connected via light-pipe?

2

I don’t know about teh DC coupled analogue outputs I’m afraid. I know the UR824s are designed to work with up to three connected together, one or two units connected via ADAT to a UR824 acting as master, with the master making the one usb connection to your computer. Any one of the 824s can connect via ADAT to any other ADAT-equipped interface. I don’t think you can get 24 channels plus a sneaky extra eight channels, not with Cubase anyway, because the USB driver and physical connections on the units allows a maximum of 24 tracks (3x UR824).

STeve.

3

right.
There’s a sample accurate midi and CV option that interfaces with the adat ports so do you think it would be possible to have 3 of these units for audio, giving 24 channels and have the midi interface connected to the light-pipe of one of them and switch between this and audio. So I would have 16 channels and midi.

I’m guessing I can do this by physically disconnecting the light pipe from one of the UR824s and connecting the midi interface, but would be much more convenient to switch that in software.

I only need 24 channels at mixdown and I only need midi before that so I’m happy to have 16 channels + midi and then go 24 channels and no midi.

4

Interesting. If it would work with the 824s, I don’t think you’d be able to change over with software switching, because you need to set the routing options of your one, two or three units via the included Yamaha-Steinberg DSP software, which works well, but I have no idea if it will reset the routing options on the fly without a restart of the units.

Even if that does work, don’t you still have the hardware requirement of needing to physically re-route the lightpipe cables from the UR824 previously connected to the master 824 to your midi/CV unit and vice versa?

That’s not to say the hardware wouldn’t work as you want it to, just that I don’t think you would manage it solely with software.

Steve.

5

I did a little googling and found this passive light pipe router. so at least I wouldn’t need to go round the back and physically change connectors, just use this switch.

6

That looks neat. I’m sorry that I can’t answer you more definitively; I don’t know if your idea will work. Do you have a friendly music store near you who might be happy to try this out? Or a Steinberg user group nearby with members who might have UR824s and experience of the routing options?

Good luck, hope you get a result.

Steve.

7

bump!
i’m really eager to know if the UR824 can actually can receive/transmit CV now that we have a lot of resurgence in analog gear and ableton cv tools for instance! steinberg, if you read this, please confirm if this is true or not!

8

got in contact with steinberg support. they said the interface is not dc-coupled. so that’s that.