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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:51 am
by Chisel
This question may be slightly OT, but I know there are people here knowledgable with this type of setup.

I currently have a Behringer ADA8000 connected to my Pulsar II through one of the ADAT inputs. The ADA8000 is set to master because I don't have the output of the Pulsar II going back into the ADA8000. If I hook up a second ADA8000, will I need to synch the two ADA8000s together? Will I run into problems if I set both units to master and Pulsar II to slave?
Thanks,
Chisel

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:55 am
by garyb
there can only be one master. any of the 3 units can be master. there's no reason the behringer can't be slave. the "top of the chain should be master" rule doesn't apply in this situation. the behriger ada8000 is a bidirectional device and can be master or slave.

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:42 am
by Chisel
Thanks for the reply, garyb. Maybe I don't quite understand how they communicate. I don't have anything connected to the wordclock at the moment. I'm not aware of the Pulsar II having a wordclock connection. Since I only have a one-way connection between the ADA8000 and Pulsar II, I figured that I'd have to make the ADA8000 the master. If I buy another ADA8000, do I need to connect the wordclocks of the two units together? I'm still confused.

Thanks,
Chisel

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:22 pm
by garyb
there is a switch on the ada8000. set pulsar to master and then set the switch on the behringer box to "ADAT Slave". done.

pulsar can use wordclock with a syncplate added(optional), but wordclock is NOT a requirement. i have set up MANY systems using ada8000s. it will work fine.

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:39 pm
by Chisel
there is a switch on the ada8000. set pulsar to master and then set the switch on the behringer box to "ADAT Slave". done.
But don't I need a cable going out of the Pulsar II into the ADA8000 to be able to make the Pulsar II the master? I only have a cable going from the ADA8000 into the Pulsar II - not the other way around.

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:26 pm
by garyb
yes, you need 2 cables. why wouldn't you have them? ad8000s work in both directions SIMULTANEOUSLY. there are more reasons to have both cables connected than not. there are no disadvantages to both cables except for the additional $10-20.......

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:31 pm
by Chisel
I'm only using the ADA8000 to track my outboard gear into my DAW. I still have the main outs of all my gear going into an analog mixer for when I don't use the computer. So I didn't see the purpose in going both directions. So, if I connect the Pulsar II ADAT out into the ADA8000 ADAT in, then I can make Pulsar II the master. Now, what if I get another ADA8000? Do I just connect the in/out between the Pulsar II and set both ADA8000s to slave? Is it really that simple? Thanks a million for your help btw.

Peace /
Dan

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:41 pm
by garyb
yes it's really that simple.
if you have the multiple outs, you can take lots of channels out of your daw. also, you can set up headphone mixes for overdubs in another room.

also, scope sums signals just about as well as a very EXPENSIVE analog desk. if you have a mackie or the like the scope mixer is BETTER. having both connections will allow you to use external reverbs and compressors just like you were useing an analog desk with no latency. i am always amazed at how people refuse to use the best features of scope... :wink:

my pleasure to help and sorry for the extra opinions.... :grin:

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 8:00 am
by Chisel
On 2006-03-16 23:41, garyb wrote:
also, scope sums signals just about as well as a very EXPENSIVE analog desk. if you have a mackie or the like the scope mixer is BETTER.
I respect your opinions as much as your advice. :smile: My current Scope setup is probably less than ideal, but it's giving me a good workflow. I'm always open to new ideas though. I know we've discussed this in the past.

Current workflow:
Lately, I've been producing hip-hop beats. I use an MPC and XV-5080 with the main outs connected to my analog mixer which is connected to my studio monitors. At this stage, the computer isn't even on. I come up with a 4-8 bar beat. If I decide to take it further, then I turn on the computer. I track 8 channels at once into Live using the ADA8000. I run Scope through Live in XTC mode. Once I have the 4-8 bar audio clips recorded in Live, I can turn off all my outboard gear and work exclusively in Live. Then I arrange the clips, add effects, and add any other elements such as Creamware synths, VSTs, and/or samples. Then I render to disk and bring it into Soundforge where I make the final tweaks and convert to MP3 to be posted on my website.

I guess with the above workflow, I'm taking more advantage of Live than of Scope. If I were to use the setup that you suggested, I'd have to forfit using Live for arranging and arrange everything in the MPC -- which isn't a bad thing. In fact, I could get really drastic and take Live out of the picture completely. I could just use a Scope mixer to add effects and send the main out straight into Soundforge. Once again, this would mean I'd have to do all the arranging in the MPC because once I track to Live, I'm at the mercy of its "Render to Disk" summing option.

I also remember in the past you've mentioned that you use both native and XTC modes of Scope to accomplish different tasks. Maybe you can elaborate on that.

Thanks,
Chisel

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 12:06 pm
by garyb
live is just like your mpc or a vs880 to scope. no need to eliminate it. for your FINAL mixes, take individual outs from live and combine them in the scope mixer. you can still use all the live effects you want, and use things ing the scope environment as weel as anything extrenal you might want to use, the possibilities to do unique interesting work are limitless.

there's nothing "wrong" with what you're doing, you just aren't taking full advantage of your tools....

also, wouldn't it be nice to use another room for a vocal booth? useing the ada8000 outs and the stm2448 mixer(whaich has a monitor out), you can send a monitor mix to a headphone amp in another room, a couple of cables and you're set, just like a real studio....