[ardour-users] delta 44

[Phil Frost]

On Sun, Jan 08, 2006 at 01:33:35AM +1100, nicholas manojlovic wrote:
> hi all,
> 
> just bought a delta 44 but need some help with envy24control.
> 
> getting sound out of the card hasnt been a problem but need to address a 
> few issues:
> 
> whats the deal with the 'analog volume' tab in envy? what is dac, adc, ipga?

Hmm...I don't have an "analog volume" tab.

dac -> digital to analog converter
adc -> analog to digital converter
ipga -> illinois pro golf tour? :)

> the only way I was able to monitor the input (ie, playing the 
> instrument) whilst recording was to connect capture 1 to playback 1 via 
> qjackctl- however I feel as if this wasnt the correct route. how can I 
> monitor the input and control its volume (ie, turn down my instrument to 
> better match the levels of the recorded material?) sliding the volume on 
> input in ardour has no effect.

To monitor your stuff, go to the "Patchbay / Router" tab. For each
output, there you can select what is sent to it. Some of them should
have an option "Digital Mix (L|R)". Select those. Then in the "Monitor
Mixer" tab, unmute and raise the volume of the things you want to hear.

> my signal chain as I have it at the moment (needs work:)
> 
> instrument to mixer
> insert of mixer to delta break out
> delta outs 1 and 2 to stereo in on mixer.
> 
> im trying to get my head around a better way to do it but keep getting 
> stuck in a rut - has anyone got any ideas?

Maybe you want to configure each output to send the coresponding input.
That is, in the Patchbay / Router tab, for "HW / Out X", select "H/W In
X". then send those to your mixer. Mix as you like on the mixer, and
send that output to another input or your ears. This way you can record
all signals before the mix.

> apologies for the confusing nature of this post, if anyone wants to 
> chuck their ow experiences at me (or tips and tricks) I would be very 
> greatful.
> 
> Niko
> 
> ps. whats the principle/difference between hardware and software mixing?

Hardware mixing is done by hardware, and software mixing is done
by...software. Hardware mixing can be done without adding any latency
with pots, or by adding 1 sample of latency if it runs through a DSP.
Software mixing requires the signals to pass through jack or something
like it, so makes the signal subject to the usual jack latency. That
doesn't make it bad, though.

If you are mixing something to monitor, the nearly no latency of HW
mixing can be an advantage. However, with properly configured jack, SW
latency is so low, it adds about the same delay as taking a big step
away from your speakers. Passing the signal through software has other
advantages, like being able to use software effects and such.