inserts vs. sends.

[Terry Wetzel]

Good morning guys. I've been stumbling around the DUC for quite awhile and I've learned a lot of useful recording knowledge. I have noticed that I can't remember ever seeing posts that refer to sends. In the old school days implementing sends to hardware equipment like compressors, reverbs, etc. was a simple matter whereby the use of insert cables to and from a mixer channel delivered the goods. I am assuming that the deluge of plugins that are now available is the reason for this,(?). I have several well preserved pieces of hardware that I'd love to put back into action but I'm at a loss as to how I can use them with Pro Tools 9. I'm on Win 7, 32 bit and my I/O is the Focusrite 2i4 which has outputs 1 & 2 as well as 3 & 4 which I have never used the latter. I also have my Mackie 24/8 mixer. Can any of you well educated Pro Toolists guide me in the right direction ? I am searching the PT's 9 users guide but the info there is kind of geek to me. Thanks.

[albee1952]

To really take advantage of hardware inserts, you really need a setup with more IO. This can work nicely with an HD system because of the available IO, AND because of the lower latency(the round trip will incur latency, which must be compensated for, so starting with lower latency, keeps things from getting "out of hand". Much as I love hardware and a real console, given the quality of modern plugins, and the simplicity, I happily stay "in the box".

I assume the 2i4 is 2 IN and 4 OUT? to use it with hardware inserts, you would only have 2 paths at any given time, and you would need to repatch the inputs for recording(your usual input signals) and mixing(with your hardware return). In the spirit of the KISS method(keep it simple....) it seems like a PITA to me Now if you have a really nice compressor, I would track THROUGH it(and I do this all the time), but you might also consider that selling a nice hardware piece(that is a PITA to use) might get you enough cash to buy some great plugins(which are simple to use, and you can use them dozens of times in any given session). Food for thought

[Terry Wetzel]

Thanks albee and you have a good point about keeping things simple. I guess I'm having trouble shaking the old school ways. My hardware stuff is not big dollar so selling it, or trying to is a waste of time. All of it was purchased before I moved up to Pro Tools. A Dbx stereo compressor, a Dbx channel strip with compression and eq and a couple of Wharfdale effects boxes, (delays and reverbs). Coupled with my old Alesis hard disk recorder I produced some pretty good stuff, at least to my ear. That was pre stroke!

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by Terry Wetzel

Thanks albee and you have a good point about keeping things simple. I guess I'm having trouble shaking the old school ways. My hardware stuff is not big dollar so selling it, or trying to is a waste of time. All of it was purchased before I moved up to Pro Tools. A Dbx stereo compressor, a Dbx channel strip with compression and eq and a couple of Wharfdale effects boxes, (delays and reverbs). Coupled with my old Alesis hard disk recorder I produced some pretty good stuff, at least to my ear. That was pre stroke!

Hey Terry, I'm not trying to slag the old hardware. Just suggesting that you can match or beat the results with plugins, without the hassle. I can appreciate "the old ways" as I got started with a Tascam portastudio 4 track cassette and my first studio experience was with an APSI console and a NEW 16 track machine You can certainly make use of the channel strip for tracking The rest will look nice in the rack