Very Short Test

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dstole
Posts: 26
Joined: August 31st, 4:22 am
Location: Saitama Japan
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Very Short Test

Post by dstole »

Hello,
I had a chance to try out MT with my new Zed 10fx mixer.
I only did a very short 5 bar recording, as it was all I needed at the moment for testing purposes.

Here is the audio file. I am not completely familiar with sound cloud, so I am sorry if I have embedded the file wrong.

http://soundcloud.com/two-eight/testing-wav

The process was very easy, and went pretty smoothly. There were a couple of small interface issues that I ran into, and a couple little things on the mixer as well, but I think the process was a good start.

I imported a drum loop as per the tutorial in the help area. I used bonjour in Safari to upload the file to a bin. I then imported the 4 bar loop and copied it 5 times. With snap turned on I moved the samples into place. We will call this Drums

I then created a new track and recorded a mono bass track. I used one bar of the drums for a count in. Track name Bass

Next was another mono bass track that would just add some variation. It should have been on guitar, but I was lazy :) let's call it GTR

I then created 3 stereo tracks for effects. I muted the Bass and GTR tracks, and sent the drums back to the mixer via USB. I routed the in from the USB to the "Rec" button rather than the Master buss. This lets me record just the effect, and not the original sounds coming back from MT.

I recorded a plate reverb on track 4.
Using the same method of muting and routing, I added a bass chorus, and a GTR ping-pong delay.
One problem I did run into was that every time you change the effects on the mixer, it resets the TAP information, so the effects fall out of time. Again, the flexibility of the mixer allowed me to remove the effect from the recording buss, and just hear the source coming from the iPad. I could re-Tap in the tempo, rewind the song, and turn up the effect send amount. Problem solved.

Once all 6 tracks were done, I sent a mix down to the cloud.
With the exception of the initial sample, everything you hear in the track was recorded and process with MT Daw, an Ipad, a camera connection kit, and the Zed-10FX.

The Good
+ flexible routing
+ very little latency
+ Very hands on and fun
+ Snap function is handy
+ Moving files in and out of the app is easy.

The Other
- MT DAW has some interface issues that I am sure are being looked at. The pop up menu above the top few tracks gets cut off by the screen. I almost deleted a few tracks trying to rename them.
- The Loop markers kept falling away, and I would have to keep resetting them. It was frustrating on a 5 bar test, I can only imagine what it is like with a 3 minute radio friendly unit shifter.
- The faders and pan were also hard to fine tune. They kept jumping just a bit when I removed my finger.
- Zed 10fx tap tempo keeps changing when selecting a different effect.

I am starting to get excited by the possibilities :)

Let me know if you have any questions.
moogplayer
Posts: 21
Joined: September 13th, 1:40 pm

Re: Very Short Test

Post by moogplayer »

Very impressive and nice full tone. I like where this is going!

What's great about this example is the possibility to reroute tracks via USB to the A&H mixer and record just the effects from the built-in efx on the mixer.

Does the ZED-10fx allow you to add your external efx box using the same method? I.E. record dry and then add effects later using any kind of efx you may have?
dstole
Posts: 26
Joined: August 31st, 4:22 am
Location: Saitama Japan
Contact:

Re: Very Short Test

Post by dstole »

Thanks for the feedback.
I added an external reverb/multi-FX box to the chain yesterday. There is an AUX bus, so I took the out of the AUX to the input of the FX unit. I sent the outs of the FX box back to the INS of channel 4&5. This stereo channel can be used the same way as the FX bus for recording just the wet signal.

So indeed this set up allows you to record your source tracks, continue monitoring, and add effects after the fact with the built in FX and/or external FX units.

Exciting.
Anorton
Posts: 307
Joined: June 20th, 11:13 am

Re: Very Short Test

Post by Anorton »

That really sounds great. You've really created space for the instruments. If you don't mind my asking, what are you using for your drum sounds? I really like the sound of that kick.
jkevinwolfe
Posts: 50
Joined: July 16th, 3:52 am

Re: Very Short Test

Post by jkevinwolfe »

One thing I've noticed in myself. Without having a compander and gate for noise reduction, I'm going for a lot cleaner sound going into MT. I can't cheat in post to EQ and reverb either in order to hide or bury sub-standard recordings. By the nature of my new recording process my final tracks are sounding much cleaner and more real in MT than in Garage Band.
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