[ardour-users] Live auditioning? (Pro Tools/Ardour vs. Cubase SX)

[Mark Knecht]

Hi,
   This question is probably directed at other users that do not use
an external mixing console.

   Does anyone know of a way to get Ardour to monitor live playing
while the transport is rolling that does not include using a bus?
Here's the situation:

1) I have a new session. The is no audio recorded so far. I set a
tempo at bar 0.

2) I create a new track to record a first guitar part. I hook it to my
guitar and can hear the guitar.

3) I enable the Ardour click so I get the tempo.

4) I roll the transport. I hear the click but I no longer hear the
guitar. I stop the transport and hear the guitar again. I cannot play
my guitar with the click.

5) I enable record on the track but not on the transport. I start the
transport and no longer hear the guitar. Stop transport and guitar is
back.

6) I enable recording on the transport and the track. I roll the
transport and the guitar is recorded. I hear the guitar. Now I'm
recording, not practicing.

   So far, using a track, the only way I hear a live instrument is
when it's recorded to disk. Really I'm not hearing the live instrument
but the recording. (I think) This is not 'player friendly' in my mind.

   I can get around this by literally 'going around it' and creating a
bus where the bus input is also guitar. However, nominally when I
start recording I hear both the bus and the track so I have to mute
the bus. Also I have to duplicate sends and plugins, etc. which is not
'player friendly' again.

   I believe Cubase SX has a feature where it decides that if a track
is not enabled for recording that it will optionally route audio
through the track like it was a bus so that you can better monitor
practice takes. This allows you to hear plugins on the track which the
Ardour/Pro Tools method doesn't seem to allow.

   Am I missing something obvious? Is there a way to make this work in
a more 'player friendly' way?

   Note that hardware monitoring is not what I'm looking for, or at
least I'm pretty convinced it isn't as I want to hear things in time
and with effects when necessary.

Thanks in advance,
Mark