Cry for Help and an Apology...

[TheStorm]

Please accept my apologies for asking a question that's been asked before in this forum. I did search the forum and I have to admit that I do not understand the responses.

Does anyone know how to get real-time effects while recording guitar input in Samplitude v7x? I've looked at the manual, the help file, Samplitude's Web site (in fact I scoured the Web), etc., but I've had no luck. I can easily add the effects afterward, but I can't seem to get it set up to do real-time recording with VST effects.

It's easy enough in Cubase. You'd think Samplitude would make it so easy, but they don't.

I'm running an Audigy Soundcard with Creative ASIO drivers. I'm running a little practice amp straight into the "line in" port on the soundcard, if that makes any difference. I have access to the Cakewalk "full-duplex" ASIO drivers on another machine, if that helps. This machine only has Samplitude in it, though.

Just a thought: the last post asking this question received the response: "turn off any direct monitoring" as part of the answer, but I don't see any way to do that.

In English, how do I do this? Any ideas?

[Alan]

the last post asking this question received the response: "turn off any direct monitoring" as part of the answer, but I don't see any way to do that.

They mean turn off direct monitor in your soundcards mixer so you don't hear a dry signl along with the effects in your software simultaneously.I can't help you with Samplitude,it's been ages since I last tried a demo.I'm sure someone will chime in here with help.

[C00kie]

Sorry, I'm also not familiar with Samplitude, but basically you need to insert VST effects between the audio input and the "recorder" input.

To me that sounds not like the normal VST setup. I can understand you want this for guitar applications. Usually a dry signal is recorded to which effects are applied later.

Just a thought, maybe it won't work: If the host itself can't do it, then maybe you need a secondary program: minihost, chainer, v-stack, EnergyXT... Use that to process the guitar signal effects. You will need some audio routing program to record this. Some soundcards allow the output of one program to be routed as input for another program.

[TheStorm]

Got it. It indeed was the Creative Audigy ASIO driver, which does not allow software/softwareEFX monitoring.

How did I find out? I installed the Cubase demo on this machine and switched to the Steinberg "full duplex" driver in Samplitude.

I've still got a couple of niggling problems, but at least I figured this one out. First, latency has reared its ugly head, since I can only get the buffer down to 512 MB (although I think there's a hack somewhere for that). Second, there doesn't seem to be a way to turn off input monitoring and still retain the input signal with the Audigy, so I hear the clean sound slightly before the one with effects, but I can live with that.

This query is a couple of days old, but I'm updating this information in case someone else needs the info and runs across it on these boards (where else would one look for this information, anyway?)

I was cursing the Audigy a couple of days ago; now I'm fairly happy with it, although I'm not giving up my EMU board on my main machine (or Cubase, either, for that matter, although Magix has some tricks it could teach to Steinberg).

Now to search for that latency hack...

[ew]

First, latency has reared its ugly head, since I can only get the buffer down to 512 MB (although I think there's a hack somewhere for that).

512 Mb is 51 minutes of stereo audio .Do you mean 512 samples?If so,that's a bit over 10 ms,which is workable....
ew

[wikter]

There's still a possbility... installing kxdrivers from www.kxproject.com (?) they're really useful and let you hear 44100Hz Material instead of being locked to 48k.
I've tryed to work with an Audigy and original drivers, but it happens (as explained uppr) that you need to monitor the signal through the MME mixer to get that signal inside the ASIO driver. With x you can disconnect the cables from the inputs to the MME mixer and you'll get the signal inside ASIO but not monitored through the mixer... it is a bit complex when explained, but easier to do in the "DSP" section of kxdrivers.

www.mvxsynths.tk

[wikter]

... and what's about Wuschel's ASIO4ALL v2? maybe it won't work with audigy, but i think is something interesting to know about.

[TheStorm]

Actually, I've tried both the kx drivers and the ASIO4All drivers on this machine. the ASIO4All drivers seem to work OK, but I experienced some wierd interference that I couldn't figure out, so I stopped using it. I may give it another shot, though, assuming I can figure out how to control it.

Speaking of "controling it," the kX driver was great, but waaaaaaay too many settings for a neophite like me. I never got it working properly, although I sure did like the interface. Again, maybe I'll look at it now that I know what the problem is in Samplitude.

I know it sounds weird, but here's the problem with the kX driver: there's too much documentation. Really. The great folks who wrote this driver seemed to think of everything and exhaustively documented it, too. But it was way too much; I couldn't figure it out. If I was on the kX team, I'd have specific install/configuration instructions for most popular hardware & software packages, and leave the technical details to the hardware gurus. I'm a musician, not an engineer. (Actually, I AM an engineer, but not a very good one!)

Thanks to everyone for your input! I can always count on you guys. BTW, will you write and record the rest of my album for me?