A Game Changer!!-Pro Tools AS a Rewire Slave-with RME TotalMix!! &collectively64bit!

[bashville]

Originally Posted by Diccer

bashville
This method is for Pro Tools to play as an Instrument and effects processer.
If you need to play audio on PT tracks use MTC-setup/peripherals/synchronization and select your IAC bus that has the MTC from your other daw.
Beyond that you might? find smpte options and more but you're really shootin the moon at that point and best to stay with your old shoe. I don't think RME is for you bashville.

But TotalMix is deep, it has a lot of non-standard feature that'll allow you to find what you're looking for. Just read the manual, I can't pretend to understand it all, but from the things I've heard there is a lot of new innovative things happening with it.
Just the fact that the RME audio device can serve multiple clients simultaneously, and mixes them automatically to the mains is amazing.

The main reason this piqued my interest was your use of the word "Rewire" in the original post, which you were using conceptually just to refer to the passing of audio, and not literally, as in the protocol that allows you to pass both audio and location sync between two programs.

I have long wished for a third-party "transport" program that could be Rewire slave to two master programs at once, if only for the sake of getting around the limitations of DAW's that only run in master mode, like ProTools and Logic. My main setup for years was Logic sync'ed via SMPTE to ProTools, and transferring audio from one DAW to the other with ADAT cables. I was less interested in the VI's and FX in ProTools than I was getting them from Logic. I found the VI situation in Logic much more elegant, and MIDI sequencing much better. But I thought it could be better if they'd just share the same location info like in Rewire, rather than one chasing the other. My audio connections were never a problem, and I'd rather have the final mixing destination be ProTools anyway.

The other thing I'd like the in-between program to do is to be able to save and open all the associated DAW's and sequence files kind of as macros, so that when I save, everything is being saved at once, instead of keeping track of the saved-states and file locations of 2-3 session files. It's all the inter-application settings and constant dithering with connections that keep me away from these grand layer-cake schemes.

[Diccer]

bashville
The great thing here (as you can see) is that you don't need ANY external cables, No external midi cables. Its all virtual and low latency.
The file thing is a tradeoff. But just save both daw sessions to one folder and keep the aliases next to one another so launching your setup is faster.

I also think of this as a CLEAN way to get all of your favorite audio into your favorite daw that otherwise wouldn't be accessible (at least conveniently)

Then after recording, if your daw is Pro Tools, you can change you audio device back to the core card and Mix down from there with tighter control over everything..

[bashville]

So how many DAW's does it take to screw in a lightbulb (or get the song made?)

[Diccer]

Daws aren't the only type of audio program. In the DJ community Traktor and Serato are the "industry standard" but do not rewire. RME's loopback feature is the closest thing to "The Bridge" as we might get here. Though I'm not a DJ I see the importance of having that sound. And there are many other examples of GOOD programs that don't "comply" with plug in format. So here's a solution, whether you use it a little or a lot.

[Diccer]

Carl Lie and Dnnspv
Also you can't run Traktor or Serato in VE Pro. As nice a program as that is. The TotalMix will allow ANY program to play along side one another as long as there isn't a deeper software conflict.

[Diccer]

And bashville
It takes as many daws as needed to create a song. None should be disregarded as each has their own unique qualities. Pro Tools can't touch the creative tools that Ableton has. And if a guy comes in your front door with session files from Logic or Cubase, instead of just importing the audio tracks, you might want to edit the audio from the source before transferring it all to Pro Tools. Either way these virtual audio buses can have many uses

[MelissaR]

So how can automation data be recorded and sent from the host program then?

[Diccer]

Melissa
Well, anything notes or midi cc will can travel through and control Pro Tools via the iac bus. But anything involving transport, fadars, air effects etc will be Pro Tools specific messages and can't be recorded externally. These are part of the larger non-compatibility problem. But if you need to automate these record them within Pro Tools and use MTC to sync playback- and if you use this for the sake of recording, that's fine.
But for live performances you wouldn't want to use this as you'll probably crash and have a very embarrasing moment. In live performance you'd want to use only the instruments and effects you absolutely need so the Pro Tools sessions are small; this will add stability. Then use external programs for the effects, automation audio tricks etc that other Live type programs can do without crashing.

[MelissaR]

Seems like a "go wide" instead of long approach, a bit jerry rigged but I'm starting to see what you mean. How stable have you found the rme software to be?

[Diccer]

Unfortunately you're actually adding software to an already busy cpu. But the good news is that the footprint is small and the platform is rock solid. If you only open a few tracks in Pro Tools and use just the Instruments/Effects you need then you can use it live and it won't crash.
Also in TotalMix there is a Word Clock option and an ability to sync through adat, spdif, aes? Though I haven't figured it out yet there might be an improvement over MTC


Page 36 for sync
http://www.rme-audio.de/download/hdspeaio_e.pdf