Interface help

[Brownmatthall]

I've been thinking of pulling the trigger on a focusrite 6i6 and I just want to make sure itll allow me to do what I think it will: first and foremost i want to be able to control my monitors independently of the axe fx II, secondly I still want to be able to record DI tracks in tandem with amped tones, thirdly I want to be able to reamp in the mix without my whole project being processed by the axe fx, fourthly I'd like to be able to record my Aguilar tonehammer and process it with the axe fx. Until now I've used my 2 as my interface and ran the bass amp in the loop but lining up my guitar signal and monitor output levels had been a pain in the ass at best and I want to be able to control them independently. I chose the 6i6 bc it has spdif and I'm hoping will allow me to retain what i like about running the axe through USB. Am I good to go with the focusrite?

 

[iaresee]

More or less.

I use a Pro 14 and it's essentially a glorified mixer with a SPDIF and USB input. USB from my iMac. SPDIF from my Axe-Fx/AX8/III/FM3. This lets me balance all the various levels (iMac, SPDIF, etc.) using their software-based mixer stuff which I find works best for me.

The Fractal units stay connected to the iMac via USB so they're available as audio interfaces. I use SPDIF from the Fractal box to the Pro 14 to route its audio to my monitors or headphones which are attached to the Pro 14.

In Logic I set the audio device to the Fractal unit. But if I need to record a microphone I'll flip it over to the Focusrite and then flip back to the Fractal box. All work is done at 48 kHz and the Focusrite supports it so flipping interfaces is not an issue. Because I'm using the Fractal unit as the audio interface, I can record a wet signal and a reamp signal at the same time using the methods you'll find in the manual or on the wiki. I can reamp as well.

I've been toying with replacing the Focusrite with a proper mixer, but I can't find one that really improves over the Pro 14 design. An ideal mixer here would support multiple SPDIF or AES inputs so I could connect my FM3 and AFIII to it at the same time, using the digital option. And a USB in for routing audio from the iMac. And that's all I need. Maybe support for 2 pairs of monitors? But that's pretty minor.

 

[Brownmatthall]

More or less.

I use a Pro 14 and it's essentially a glorified mixer with a SPDIF and USB input. USB from my iMac. SPDIF from my Axe-Fx/AX8/III/FM3. This lets me balance all the various levels (iMac, SPDIF, etc.) using their software-based mixer stuff which I find works best for me.

The Fractal units stay connected to the iMac via USB so they're available as audio interfaces. I use SPDIF from the Fractal box to the Pro 14 to route its audio to my monitors or headphones which are attached to the Pro 14.

In Logic I set the audio device to the Fractal unit. But if I need to record a microphone I'll flip it over to the Focusrite and then flip back to the Fractal box. All work is done at 48 kHz and the Focusrite supports it so flipping interfaces is not an issue. Because I'm using the Fractal unit as the audio interface, I can record a wet signal and a reamp signal at the same time using the methods you'll find in the manual or on the wiki. I can reamp as well.

I've been toying with replacing the Focusrite with a proper mixer, but I can't find one that really improves over the Pro 14 design. An ideal mixer here would support multiple SPDIF or AES inputs so I could connect my FM3 and AFIII to it at the same time, using the digital option. And a USB in for routing audio from the iMac. And that's all I need. Maybe support for 2 pairs of monitors? But that's pretty minor.

Can I still record DI tracks through SPDIF or would I have to switch from using the focusrite to using the axe as my sound card? Ideally I'd like to use the focusrite as my main hub without having to switch things back and forth because it gets wonky for me sometimes (reaper on windows 10)

 

[iaresee]

Can I still record DI tracks through SPDIF or would I have to switch from using the focusrite to using the axe as my sound card? Ideally I'd like to use the focusrite as my main hub without having to switch things back and forth because it gets wonky for me sometimes (reaper on windows 10)

SPDIF is only two channels so you could if your wet channel is mono. You’d have to make an all shunts from IN to OUT block path in your preset and pan wet and dry hard left and right at the OUT block.

 

[GlennO]

I've been thinking of pulling the trigger on a focusrite 6i6 and I just want to make sure itll allow me to do what I think it will: first and foremost i want to be able to control my monitors independently of the axe fx II, secondly I still want to be able to record DI tracks in tandem with amped tones, thirdly I want to be able to reamp in the mix without my whole project being processed by the axe fx, fourthly I'd like to be able to record my Aguilar tonehammer and process it with the axe fx. Until now I've used my 2 as my interface and ran the bass amp in the loop but lining up my guitar signal and monitor output levels had been a pain in the ass at best and I want to be able to control them independently. I chose the 6i6 bc it has spdif and I'm hoping will allow me to retain what i like about running the axe through USB. Am I good to go with the focusrite?

Unless you have a setup like Laresee with 3 AxeFX's, why not just connect your AxeFX to your computer and get a simple mixer to route analog outs from your AxeFX and computer to your monitors? In other words, you already have all the A/D/A interfaces you need. One more is just going to make things unnecessarily complicated, especially when when recording a DI or re-amping .

 

[Brownmatthall]

Unless you have a setup like Laresee with 3 AxeFX's, why not just connect your AxeFX to your computer and get a simple mixer to route analog outs from your AxeFX and computer to your monitors? In other words, you already have all the A/D/A interfaces you need. One more is just going to make things unnecessarily complicated, especially when when recording a DI or re-amping .

I want to be able to reamp in the mix, along with integrating other equipment into my workflow

 

[Brownmatthall]

SPDIF is only two channels so you could if your wet channel is mono. You’d have to make an all shunts from IN to OUT block path in your preset and pan wet and dry hard left and right at the OUT block.

My patches are painfully simple, that'll do!