Newbie needs help to complete d8b hdr mac logic setup

[dean]

Hi guys, i need you to shine a light on my situation please.

I bought the d8b/hdr setup a little while ago. I bought it to aid our band in the writing stages etc in which it has been a godsend. It has been a great way for us to record our jam sessions, recording bones to new tracks, recalling old ideas etc.

As you have probably gathered, we dont know a tremendous amount about studio gear etc although between us we have a very rough understanding and hungry to learn, so this is where i need some help.

I have just bought a 2009 4gb 24"imac 10.6.8 snow leopard running logic studio pro 8. What is the best way to intergate this with d8b/hdr setup? What additional gear do we need to get etc? It would be great to send what we have on the hdr to the mac and visa versa so we can further edit, burn, send via email etc. I love using the d8b/hdr as it's easy to navigate etc. We just cant get nothing on cd at the mo. We don't use a great deal of tracks but the thought of not using a desk and purely working 'in the box' just doesn't do it for me.

Any help greatly appreciated
(Off to bed now 5:25am i'll catch up with this in a few hours, thanks in advance)

D8b spec:
apogee clock
dio-8 cards in both hdr24/96 + d8b
All works great

[Phil.c]

Hi Dean, Welcome,

I have the same set-up except for duel D8b/HDR's I don't use HUI, I have no need of it with the HDR's.

I use a Motu 2408 so I can record to HDR's or Logic but your limited to eight mono or four stereo track when recorning to Logic. Logic playes back into the D8b the same.

I use Logic for VST instruments, once they are midi edited etc, I record them back to my HDR and mix everything from the D8b.

You will need a MidiSport 2x2, so midi out from your HDR to midi in MidiSport, out from there into your Mac. If you use a keyboard, out of that into the MidiSport.

T off Wordclock from either HDR or D8b to the 2408.

Phil

[dean]

Great stuff cheers phil, thanks for quick reply. Great to know you have the same setup.

We are a rock band who typically want to get out what we put in. We don't plan on having a whole bunch of complicated stuff going on in our tracks. We wanna sound like we do on the record when we're playing live without to much hastle etc

I might be pestering you for a little while if you dont mind phil lol

Ok lets recap. So i need to be looking for:
Motu 2408 - any particular model? Mk1, Mk2 Mk3 etc (cheapest i can get away with) any alternatives?
Midisport 2x2 - m-audio, there's a few different looking models, are they all essentially the same?

Any more recommended gear? Mic preamps, headphone preamps, outboard reverbs,effects etc

When were recording to logic am i right in asuming we can record 8 mono 4 stereo at a time. So in effect i can get 16mono or 8 stereo tracks respectively within 2 takes, back and forth from hdr to logic? Im sure we dont need more than that so thats more than cool if thats the case. I need as much of a fool proof system as we can afford. This sounds great so far. To be able to mix within the d8b is a must in my eyes. Im also very interested in the d8bridge for mac/logic when/if it comes out, if it works a treat then i will gladly pay marc/frank for it, legends!

Im feeling i only need this next phase of information and im free to fly. I have learnt and pieced together a lot in my mind from that one post from phil.

Thanks phil, much appreciated,
Dean.

[Phil.c]

Hi Dean,

The 2408 has eight in and eight out. I record out from my stereo masters, usually just the stereo master mix. I have the Mk III I can't speak about the others but I would imagine they would do the job.

You only need a MidiSport 2x2 if you are going to do what I have suggested below.

As a band wanting to "Put out what you put in" I would just use your D8b and HDR for this, you should have ample amount of tracks, mix these, if you have "Final Mix" use that assigned to Master LT/RT. Once you have your mix done, record that into Logic then burn a CD or convert to Mp3 etc if you need to sent it via the internet.

You don't need to bounce back and fore from Logic.

As for other gear, for what you're doing I would get hold of 3 MFX cards and one UFX if you need final mix to work but you will have to buy the licence.

Phil

[dean]

Thanks for helping me out phil,

That sounds great to me, for now, thats what i will do and take it from there. I believe the only plugin i dont have is the vocal studio.

Would i be able to use logic for VST instruments without the motu 2408 and record them back to the hdr using the midisport 2x2?

When the mix is done on the d8b/hdr can i further edit in logic once recorded to it using just the midisport 2x2, or do i need the motu for both questions?

I cant think straight, as im typing this my daughter is running wild lol

Dean

[Phil.c]

Hi Dean,

The Midisport is for syncing midi timecode from D8b or HDR to Logic so that when you press play on the D8b transport will also run in logic and in sync.

You can also plug a keyboard into it so that you can play VST instruments in Logic.

The 2408 is an interface which allows you to play audio from D8b to Logic and vise versa.

So for example, you have drums, bass, two guitars and two vocals recorded to your HDR and you want to add strings.

Assign your strings in logic, (Your keyboard is plugged into the 2x2) assign the output to 1 to 8 ( I use O/I 17-24 from D8b to Motu) play your keyboard, it will come back on Line-in 17-24.

Arm the VST track in Logic, roll transport and play your strings, they will be recorded in Logic and be heard in Line- in D8b.

I can't see any reason to further edit the D8b's final mix in Logic but yes it can be done.

Phil

[FrankH]

I have just bought a 2009 4gb 24"imac 10.6.8 snow leopard running logic studio pro 8.

I was reading this thread and I should warn you that a 2408mk3 is not really the ideal I/O unit for your situation.

The 2408 is a PCIe based device, requiring a PCI-424 card to interface into a PowerMac desktop for complete 24 channel digital I/O between the D8B and the Mac. There are no PCIe slots in an iMac. You need a FireWire or USB interface to get multichannel audio in and out of your iMac. Multichannel audio to and from the D8B /iMac combo would be accomplished by either analog or ADAT/AES/EBU connections between the two.

If you're going to look at MOTU stuff for your iMac, check out the Firewire/USB line of products on their website. I personally use an UltraLite mk3 with my 24" 2009 iMac. Cubase 6, Logic 9 and StudioOne-2 all reside on it.

I also use a PCI-424/2408mk3 with my PowerMac and the D8B as my main recording setup. ( I used to include an HDR in the rig but gave it away to someone who was doing a lot of live recording and liked the convenience of the HDR on the road.) This Mac also runs either Cubase 6, Logic 9 or Studio One-2. Of the three, Cubase has the better thought out MTC/MIDI device implementation to and from the D8B, in my opinion.

The iMac now takes the place of the HDR as a sort of "mixdown machine" function. I use an AIO8 in the D8B's Alt Card slot to route either 8 stems to the iMac or alternatively a 2mix via S/PDIF from the main PowerMac/2408 machine through the D8B to the iMac.

I have found that when running this rig (and included the HDR at one time) that a master clock made sense. I use an old Lucid GENx 192 as master feeding the D8B, HDR and 2408 and UltraLite. Not click or pop anywhere.

While it works for me, an UltraLite may not be enough for what you want to do. Look at the MOTU 8Pre if more mic inputs are what you need. Or look at something like the Traveler which has 4 mic pre's and a whole slew of useful I/O including 16 channels of ADAT, line or guitar inputs, S/PDIF, WC and MIDI. It's real Swiss Army knife used with an iMac. They have a lot of solutions that may (or may not) fit your budget.

However, all that said, it sounds to me like just the D8B/HDR setup is all you really need to accomplish what you need.

If you want to further edit/EFX your primary tracks in Logic (or add virtual MIDI instruments), you can easily "Render" your HDR tracks and pass them into the iMac via Ethernet then import them into Logic. You could mix from there and cut a CD or do the reverse after editing and/or virtual instrument additions and pass it all back to the HDR via ethernet and mix in the D8B sending a 2mix back to Logic for mastering/CD processing.

It's a lot to consider. You just have to figure out what you really need to accomplish what you want to produce.

[Phil.c]

There's no PCI card in my Mac Pro and my 2408 works perfectly for this situation!!

Phil

[FrankH]

Phil:

How, exactly, are you interfacing the 2408 with your Mac? Two channels of analog I/O going from the 2408 to the Mac?

I addended my first post to be a little clearer about throughput between the 2408 and a PowerMac. The 2408 is a lovely unit (I do own one), but I wouldn't really recommend it these days for an iMac/D8B combo. There are plenty of all-in-one FW/USB/MIDI based interfaces, much better suited for sheer versatility between a D8B and an iMac.

Seriously, wouldn't you agree the Traveler mk3 is better suited in this situation? Not as cheap (around $850) compared to a 2408mk3 expansion (around $670) but look what you get for the dough.

Just sayin'.

[Phil.c]

Frank,

Yes there are probably many units better than a 2408 for doing this, I just commented on mine!

It's connected with a USB and I get eight tracks.

Phil