M-audio firewire solo setup right ?

[Ibanezer_hi]

How do i get the firewire card as my default sound card ??

After i click volume control in the task bar it always has Realtec AC97 as the the designated mixer of choice...when i select the M-audio card to be my choice it still goes back to the AC97 card and i get no sound from WMP or winamp..


Also when using Cubase SX should i have the m-audio card appear as an option in device setup/direct music ? As it only has microsoft [emulated] as an option (m-audio is there for all VST selections)

Other than that i'm using windowsXP home SP2 i've also got the speakers plugged into the headphone jack of the m-audio card (dunno if this is the right thing to do or not)

Any advice appreciated

[Wild_Child]

Firstly, make sure you have the drivers installed. Secondly, your speakers should be connected to the balanced output on the back of the interface with an TRS jack plug.

Once that's all sorted, go to Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices and select the audio tab. Choose M-Audio FW Solo 1/2 (not S/PDIF). You might need to restart your computer afterwards before it changes.

In answer to your Cubase question, no. What you're seeing is correct.

[Ibanezer_hi]

Cool thanks...when i plug into the balanced output tho the sound is tiny and distant like a pair of headphones on at high volume...when i'm plugged into the headphone jack tho it sounds full and proper

When i'm using Cubase SX i've got about 5 or 6 guitar tracks all running thru Guitar Rig 2..they start to crackle and pop the more tracks i enable...i used to think it was because of the sound card (a soundblaster audigy2) and 512MB of RAM but ive upped to 1G of RAM and the same thing still happens even with the m-audio card (the CPU is a 3Ghz pentium 4)
Is there anything i can do to stop this ? or is it gonna happen because i've got to many tracks using Guitar rig ?

[Wild_Child]

What kind of speakers are you using?

From what you've described, it sounds like you're using passive speakers with no power amp. To use the balanced output, you either need powered speakers or a power amp for your passive speakers.

I'm not sure what the difference is of using the headphone out for speakers, but I believe there are differences in eq so your monitoring won't be accurate. Mind you, you could just use headphones.

The 'crackle' you describe just sounds like clipping. If you recorded all the guitar tracks right up to the red on individual tracks, playing them all together will make the master clip. Try turning down the individual tracks and keep an eye on the master level until it doesn't hit the top of the red area.

[Ibanezer_hi]

Thanks, i'm using Logitech X-230 2.1 speakers, probably designed for gaming and such but good enough for me!

I tried turning the individual tracks down but it makes no difference...it really struggles to play it to the point where the track actually started to SLOW down..

I'm just wondering then, with my setup, (1G of RAM, XP SP2, 3ghz pentium 4, m-auido firewire solo) should i be able to play 6 recorded guitar parts and play them all thru Guitar rig2 with Cubase and not have them crackle etc ?

[Wild_Child]

Your system specs are more than adequate. I'm not familliar with Guitar Rig, is that a VST instrument? If so, that could be your problem, running 6 VSTs in real time is going to eat memory, since I'd imagine guitar rig is a pretty heavy going program. Have you tried exporting the tracks to .wav with the VST, then put them back a new track so you can play them dry? That should tell you whether or not it's guitar rig slowing it down.

That was a pretty terrible explanation, but I hope you understand what I mean!

Do you have a sub with those speakers? If so, that should have a power amp in it, try connecting to that.

[Ibanezer_hi]

I understand what your saying !

i think GuitarRig is an insert tho..

Theres an option called 'freeze audio' in cubase which lets you freeze the audio with insert effects to free up the CPU and RAM
only trouble is i dont know how to work it on cubase sx2.0.1 !!

I can see the option at the bottom of the audio drop down menu but its not working ARRRGH !