Is it possible to record both the USB and ASIO outputs from FM3 into Reaper with the following configuration?

[Aram Avagyan]

FM3 Output 2 goes into a Scarlett 4i4 which goes into 2 monitors and a pair of headphones and is USB-connected to the PC. FM3 is also USB connected to the PC. See pic.
As you can tell, Im monitoring the FM3 output only through the headphones/monitor speakers connected to the 4i4 interface, not through the FM3 itself.

So Im wondering If Im able to record the wet and dry signals to separate tracks via USB AND monitor the dry signal with a VST applied to it without having to change any cables/connections?
I know I can record the wet/dry USB output OR connect the guitar directly to the 4i4 and do the DI/VST thing, but is there a way to do both at the same time?
It doesnt seem so since selecting either the ASIO driver or the WINAPI driver inherently disables the other output so Reaper cant receive signals from both, but maybe Im missing something?

TL;DR: Basically I want to play/record with the VST sound but also record the wet USB output without having to change my cabling.

 

[Necr0lancer]

Anyone, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes I think thats possible. Check out page 26 on the FM3 user manual. I think that might answer your question.

I don't have my unit in front of me but I'm pretty sure I've done this before. For the wet signal, it can only be done in mono with your setup. Plug a cable from OUT1 (left or right) to the left input on your focusrite. Plug another cable from OUT2 (left or right) to right input on your focusrite. In the setup menu > I/0 settings, change OUTPUT 2 to "IN 1 BLOCK". That should get your DI signal. After all that, I think you'll need to make sure the amp/effects blocks are in mono so you don't get phasing issues. I believe you'll want to set the OUT1 volume knob all the way up but the OUT2 volume knob would be (?) halfway (12 o clock position).



I'm not familiar with reaper, but you'll want to set the WET and DRY/DI tracks for the left and right inputs of your focusrite, respectively. Hopefully that helps

 

[GlennO]

TL;DR: Basically I want to play/record with the VST sound but also record the wet USB output without having to change my cabling.

Sure. There's no need to use both the 4i4 and the FM3 for audio i/o for this. Just use configuration #1 or #2 and see the "Monitor through DAW" topic in the recording guide.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-for-the-recording-musician.177592/

 

[ConstantM]

Afaik you can't have two asio devices simultaneously in windows. Mac can do this but in windows you need to use other higher latency options like wasapi, wdm, mme etc

 

[DoctorJones]

Yes, what you want is possible with some slight workarounds. You can't have two ASIO devices active in your DAW at a time in Windows. If you want to record your dry signal or use a VST, then you'll have to use the FM3 as your audio interface. Now, if you want to hear your FM3, but through your monitors that are connected to your 2nd interface, you'll have to use the live monitor feature of your 2nd interface. I don't use this to live listen to a VST, but if you wanted to, you might need to mute Output 1 in your patch so you only are monitoring the output of your DAW.

EDIT:
You'll also probably want to check out this thread regarding the USB latency driver issue on the FM3 and how to workaround
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/latency-compensation-measurement.177851/

 

[AlGrenadine]

Afaik you can't have two asio devices simultaneously in windows. Mac can do this but in windows you need to use other higher latency options like wasapi, wdm, mme etc

You can easily : use asio4all

 

[ConstantM]

You can easily : use asio4all

it causes too much latency to be of any use. i have tried this with my axeIII and also tried voicemeeter with a bit better but also poor results with that too

 

[DoctorJones]

it causes too much latency to be of any use. i have tried this with my axeIII and also tried voicemeeter with a bit better but also poor results with that too

I concur. I have head better results using ReaRoute between devices.

 

[AlGrenadine]

it causes too much latency to be of any use. i have tried this with my axeIII and also tried voicemeeter with a bit better but also poor results with that too

I have 0 latency with it. Pebcak...

 

[ConstantM]

I have 0 latency with it. Pebcak...

you cannot have 0 latency. windows is not made to utilize more than one asio set of drivers. the bridging done in these software solutions inherently adds latency to compensate

 

[AlGrenadine]

you cannot have 0 latency. windows is not made to utilize more than one asio set of drivers. the bridging done in these software solutions inherently adds latency to compensate

Thanks Mr Professor, i know that perfectly
I have 3 ms latency with asio4all using an aggregation of axefx3 and my soundcard which is firewire
This is less than needed

 

[GlennO]

You can easily : use asio4all

If you're going to do that, you might as well use VB Matrix, which doesn't require you to change drivers. However, as others have pointed out,
to be done properly, aggregate audio devices needs to be done in the OS, and Windows lacks that ability. So, it's correct to say aggregates can only be done on a mac.

The bigger point though is there's no need for aggregation to do what the OP wants to do. He can simply use configuration #1 or #2 and monitor through his DAW.

 

[AlGrenadine]

If you're going to do that, you might as well use VB Matrix, which doesn't require you to change drivers. However, as others have pointed out,
to be done properly, aggregate audio devices needs to be done in the OS, and Windows lacks that ability. So, it's correct to say aggregates can only be done on a mac.

The bigger point though is there's no need for aggregation to do what the OP wants to do. He can simply use configuration #1 or #2 and monitor through his DAW.

A driver is just an os kernel aggregation, it acts in kernel mode, so there's no problem doing it with something like asio4all.
Now there's the easiest and working solution, if you don't want it... My life is the same

 

[DoctorJones]

Thanks Mr Professor, i know that perfectly
I have 3 ms latency with asio4all using an aggregation of axefx3 and my soundcard which is firewire
This is less than needed

This is an oddly combative response to someone trying to explain that your solution will involve a slight increase in latency. There are a range of solutions, all with varying drawbacks

I remember being told to just buy an Apple!

 

[ConstantM]

Thanks Mr Professor, i know that perfectly
I have 3 ms latency with asio4all using an aggregation of axefx3 and my soundcard which is firewire
This is less than needed

seems instead of answering like a prick you can provide evidence and/or instructions on how to set up this magical non latency solution of yours since everyone else is seeing the same results

 

[AlGrenadine]

seems instead of answering like a prick you can provide evidence and/or instructions on how to set up this magical non latency solution of yours since everyone else is seeing the same results

Yes Lilywood
Same results? Which results? If you expect 0 ms it's impossible... But it gets very low latency if you setup correctly your buffers in asio4all, in the FractalAudio driver and on the axefx itself

 

[ConstantM]

Yes Lilywood
Same results? Which results? If you expect 0 ms it's impossible... But it gets very low latency if you setup correctly your buffers in asio4all, in the FractalAudio driver and on the axefx itself

everyone is getting latency that makes proper use impossible. it cant be mitigated no matter how you set the buffers. only way to not have it is to monitor from the source but that means you have problems in timing in the recording. either you are fine with that (which i am not - maybe you are) or you have some magical settings which cause this to not be an issue in which case i welcome you to share your infinite wisdom with us in the form of data

 

[AlGrenadine]

everyone is getting latency that makes proper use impossible. it cant be mitigated no matter how you set the buffers. only way to not have it is to monitor from the source but that means you have problems in timing in the recording. either you are fine with that (which i am not - maybe you are) or you have some magical settings which cause this to not be an issue in which case i welcome you to share your infinite wisdom with us in the form of data

Every daw corrects the recording by offsetting the data with the inverse of the layency.
Direct monitoring with your soundcard or a linemixer is the solution if you need no latency at all

 

[GlennO]

The OP specifically says he wants to monitor through his DAW, so latency is indeed important and direct monitoring is not appropriate in this situation.

However, unless I misunderstand his question, I don't see where he needs aggregation. He only needs one audio interface (his FM3), to do what he's asking: record wet and DI while monitoring through effects in his DAW. The instructions for doing this are covered in the recording guide.

 

[AlGrenadine]

The OP specifically says he wants to monitor through his DAW, so latency is indeed important.

However, unless I misunderstand his question, I don't see where he needs aggregation. He only needs one audio interface (his FM3), to do what he's asking: record wet and DI while monitoring through effects in his DAW.

Then yes he will get latency, so monitoring will be a bad experience....
Someone mentioned aggregation before me, that's why i talked about asio4all...
Now, as I can understand the op, he wants to monitor using the di going into a vst ampsim?

Btw, asio4all is not only useful for aggregation, it's also a generic asio driver and can lead to lower latency than factory drivers