Tracking and Mixing @ 32 sample Buffer

[zion]

I can now track and mix @ 32 sample buffer size with my HD Native card and 16x16 Digital interface with no errors.
I achieved this by turning Intel turbo boost off in the motherboard bios and setting CPU to the highest fixed speed (not over clocked). also I find my RTAS usage is lower. For example in one project the RTAS meter went from 32% down to 8%. Previously a 64 sample buffer was as low as I could achieve. Very stable now with 32 samples. Even with this low sample size I can track and mix some pretty nice size projects. Currently working on a project with 24 tracks (wave files) 8 native-instruments soft synth's about 32 Waves plugins 1 convulsion reverb on aux 1 and a delay plug on aux 2. Wow! I just wanted to share the breakthrough.

[albee1952]

Very nice. Try it at 64 and 128 and see how much)or little) the latency feels. I have heard that recording at 128 on HD/Native is very acceptable for most musicians

[zion]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Very nice. Try it at 64 and 128 and see how much)or little) the latency feels. I have heard that recording at 128 on HD/Native is very acceptable for most musicians

For the most part I use just a little a compression (plugin Waves) when recording in and I can tell the difference with 128. Hard to tell @ 64 and 32.
If not for this method, coming in dry even 128 would be hard to notice. It is nice now to be able to track @ 32.

[Greg M]

Why would you track with a compressor plugin? Outboard comprsessor - yes, for sure.

Greg

[Dism]

Originally Posted by Greg M

Why would you track with a compressor plugin? Outboard comprsessor - yes, for sure.

Greg

a) Singer confidence goes up, and they lean less into the microphone. They can hear themselves better without having to crank up the levels.

b) No need to commit to the sound. You can track through the compressor without having to settle for the level of compression.

[zion]

Originally Posted by Dism

a) Singer confidence goes up, and they lean less into the microphone. They can hear themselves better without having to crank up the levels.

b) No need to commit to the sound. You can track through the compressor without having to settle for the level of compression.

Yes! Exactly

[zion]

Originally Posted by Greg M

Why would you track with a compressor plugin? Outboard comprsessor - yes, for sure.

Greg

Whats wrong with tracking with a plugin compression? At times I use an outboard compression and sometimes I use a plugin with light compression.
It all depends on what I'm trying to accomplish. Both work great.

[Greg M]

Generally, I use a compressor (outboard) after the mic pre, but before the converters only to catch potential overs. Obviously, this is very mild compresssion. Once I have the vocal recorded at the proper level, then I put on a plug-in and compress to taste.

I also set up a heaphone mix so the singer doesn't have any trouble hearing themself. If I have a singer that wanders toward the mic, I pull the pop screen forward and I put a piece of gaffers tape on the floor and tell them to keep their toes on the tape.

To each his own.

Greg

[albee1952]

Nothing wrong with tracking thru a plugin compressor, but check the latency on the Waves comp. If its higher than zero(I bet it is), then try using BF76. It will do the same job, but with 0-1 sample of latency(you can always swap it out later if you just gotta have the Waves comp). Personally, I usually track thru an ART Pro VLA II with NOS Mullard tubes. It sounds great and you really don't hear too much until you really have too much(like 8db of GR). I find at 3-4db of GR, its fine(use it when recording acoustic guitars too). Bass goes thru the ART or a DI from Aphex called the Punch Factory(built-in opto compressor that is surprising). As for singers hearing well, I find that pushing the fader to +6 to +9 makes them all happy

[zion]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Nothing wrong with tracking thru a plugin compressor, but check the latency on the Waves comp. If its higher than zero(I bet it is), then try using BF76. It will do the same job, but with 0-1 sample of latency(you can always swap it out later if you just gotta have the Waves comp). Personally, I usually track thru an ART Pro VLA II with NOS Mullard tubes. It sounds great and you really don't hear too much until you really have too much(like 8db of GR). I find at 3-4db of GR, its fine(use it when recording acoustic guitars too). Bass goes thru the ART or a DI from Aphex called the Punch Factory(built-in opto compressor that is surprising). As for singers hearing well, I find that pushing the fader to +6 to +9 makes them all happy

I use the Waves CLA Bundle and they are 0 latency. The only outboard compressor I have right now is The LA-3A Classic Audio Leveler. It's good for most things.