Setting up external sound card with Amadeus Pro

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Jim Edgar
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Setting up external sound card with Amadeus Pro

Post by Jim Edgar »

Did the audio show up when you were using Protools? And the only thing you've changed is switching to Amadeus?


I know of others (with a variety of DAW choices) who had trouble getting audio in through a Firewire->Thunderbolt adapter, but if it was working before, then I'm not sure why it wouldn't show up in AP.


Jim Edgar

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On Mon, Aug 1, 2016 at 10:17 AM, Bryan <forum2mail@hairersoft.com (forum2mail@hairersoft.com)> wrote:
Hi: Please can you help? I can't get any levels after setting the I/O preferences.

I'm running an XLR mic into a preamp (ISA One), then running that into a soundcard (Focusrite Saffire Pro 24). Then running that from the Firewire Out on the Saffire into a MacBook Pro via Thunderbolt adaptor.

Like an idiot I thought I'd just choose Saffire on the Input and Output. However I get NO AUDIO levels on Amadeus Pro, with a locked padlock.

If it helps, here are my OUTPUT options:
Internal Speakers
Soundflower (tried that, but it didn't help)
Pro Tools Aggregate (PT drove me stark raving mad)
Avid CoreAudio Device
And here are the INPUT options:
Internal microphone
Soundflower
Pro Tools Aggregate
Saffire
Would appreciate someone pointing me in the right preference.




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Jim Edgar
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Setting up external sound card with Amadeus Pro

Post by Jim Edgar »

Bryan - 


Good to hear it was a simple fix!  


For simple voice recording, I think you are not going to find a discernible difference (or even a measurable one) between USB and higher bandwidth options. The Firewire/Thunderbolt options really are designed for extensive multitrack data.  There's just not that much info flowing through the pipe. I've done mutli-tracked music projects and all kinds of other work using that type of system. If you were regularly producing high-data work of 24 tracks or more, I'd probably consider upgrading.


I'm happy to share my setup - I'm a big fan of keeping things simple:  XLR mic into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (original generation) into USB.  I got the Scarlett a few years ago, and my noise floor dropped measurably over a Roland Cakewalk which I had prior to that.  For the money, I really like the clarity and reliability of the Scarlett. It drives my powered room monitors just fine and supplies direct input monitoring via headphones. You don't need too much more for VO work.  As I tell students in my classes, the results are Room + Gear. 


Thanks for the kind words on that Samsung project!  It was a great group to work with.



- Jim

Jim Edgar

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On Wed, Aug 3, 2016 at 4:14 AM, Bryan <forum2mail@hairersoft.com (forum2mail@hairersoft.com)> wrote:
Thanks Jim, you were absolutely right: it was the Thunderbolt adaptor. It's all running fine now that I'm using USB.

Question though: in your experience as a voiceover artist, is it an inferior signal to route from the interface with USB as opposed to Firewire or Thunderbolt? Or am I being perfectionist?

For that matter, could I be cheeky and ask what preamp and interface configuration you use?

Many thanks again, it solved a problem plaguing me for months.

PS Loved your 'Voice of the Body' clip.

------------------------
Best wishes,
Bryan Bounds
UK-based American actor and voice artist

http://www.amerrycanproductions.co.uk




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Martin Hairer
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Setting up external sound card with Amadeus Pro

Post by Martin Hairer »

Question though: in your experience as a voiceover artist, is it an inferior signal to route from the interface with USB as opposed to Firewire or Thunderbolt? Or am I being perfectionist?
USB 2 has roughly the same bandwidth as Firewire (and a bit less than Firewire 800). USB 3 already has more bandwidth than either. In any case, all of these are vastly overkill for a single stereo audio stream, even if you go over the top and record at 32bit / 192kHz. (That would use up about 13 Mbit/s of bandwidth, which would just about max out USB 1. For comparison, USB 2 and Firewire both have a bandwidth of about 400 Mbit/s.) Regards,

Martin

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Jim Edgar
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Setting up external sound card with Amadeus Pro

Post by Jim Edgar »

Thank you Martin - always appreciate the quality of your responses!

- Jim

Jim Edgar

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jimedgarvoices.com -  @jimedgarvoices

justaskjimvo.studio - @justaskjimvo







On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 6:51 AM, Martin Hairer <martin@hairersoft.com (martin@hairersoft.com)> wrote:
> Question though: in your experience as a voiceover artist, is it an inferior signal to route from the interface with USB as opposed to Firewire or Thunderbolt? Or am I being perfectionist?

USB 2 has roughly the same bandwidth as Firewire (and a bit less than Firewire 800). USB 3 already has more bandwidth than either. In any case, all of these are vastly overkill for a single stereo audio stream, even if you go over the top and record at 32bit / 192kHz. (That would use up about 13 Mbit/s of bandwidth, which would just about max out USB 1. For comparison, USB 2 and Firewire both have a bandwidth of about 400 Mbit/s.) Regards,

Martin

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HairerSoft
http://www.hairersoft.com/



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