Do any of you still use External Insert, or have you forgotten about it?

Hello all,
 
I was working in my Sonar X3 and was deciding on which one of my compressors to select.  I then noticed the External Insert just sitting there and then wondered, when was the last time I even attempted to use this feature of Sonar?  I have to say it was with Sonar 8.5 and I didn't like the way it worked back then.
 
Today, I used the External Insert to plug in an outboard reverb unit. I must say the External Insert worked flawlessly and the instructions on the Cakewalk Knowledge base page were spot on.  I currently use a patch bay with my outboard gear so, I most likely won't continue to use the External Insert with my gear, but it's good to know that this is working right.
 
Are you using the External Insert in Sonar, or is it just sitting there?
 
Peace,
 
Jesse G.
 
 
 
 

Razorwit
I use it all the time. Literally every project. I mean, I have patchbays too, but they don't compensate for latency, and if I can only have my phase one way, I prefer "in" 
 
Generally works pretty well 'round here, but there are certainly some bugs (but no showstoppers) and I keep hoping for an update at some point.
 
Dean

What are you use the External Insert for?

I used to use it a lot but since I invested in my current interface (A & H ZED-R16) there's no need. I can now use that for exactly the same thing but zero latency as I'm monitoring that directly. My main use was outboard compression and a couple of fx units, mainly for the reverbs.
 
Having said that since the X series and the PC I haven't used that method much either. The thing that used to send me crazy was trying to keep track of all the UI's while tweaking. The PC alleviated that and of course the new FX recycling has helped a lot as well.
 
So I guess for me it now just sits there.

Wow...really no one uses outboard? Damn...I never thought owning all my analog gear would make me feel like that guy that still owns a rotary telephone (look it up, kids).
 
Dean

I used it once. For a Vocal harmonizer. I still sounded like  sh!te. Now it just sits there.

As a recent convert from Pro Tools HD(20 plus yr PT user) to a Platinum user this is one area I have been a little apprehensive over.I am sure I will fully integrate my outboard into Splat over time.Once i get over the insert plug in jitters I am sure I will fully enjoy all the Sonar has to offer.

John T
I use it sometimes, though more for oddities, like running things through guitar pedals than any serious outboard gear.

I need to try that.

hmm... I don't really have any outboard gear to use it with but I've been starting to think about experimenting with my Korg AXFX pedal because it has an expression pedal on it and some actually not so bad tones. Of course it is destructive if I used it on the way in but MAAAAYBE due to the nature of the unit it could garner decent results via the external inserts (as opposed to other more traditional stomp boxes that suck when used in effects loop scenarios).
 
Might try it out because the idea of ext inserts always intrigued me and it if successful would give me a non destructive wah/volume pedal to use until I can muy a proper MIDI pedal controller.

Hi SF_Green,
I haven't tried it with tape but it should work. I use the delay compensation with E.I. all the time.
 
When you do it I'd love to hear some comparison files.
 
Dean

If you guys aren't using External Insert to connect your hardware to Sonar, what are you using?

I've recently been venturing in the hardware guitar and bass pedal realm. I use External Insert with the MXR M80 and Darkglass B7K.

I'm having quite a bit of trouble trying to add external inserts. I'm using X3 but I haven't been able to find options to add external inserts anywhere in the software. I've read the documentation on the cakewalk site that says the external insert option can be found in the drop down menu from the FX bin, but every time I try this it's not there. Any suggestions? Are external inserts only available in more advanced versions of X3? Is there something in preferences that needs to be enabled?
Thanks

FastBikerBoy
I still use outboard from time to time but route it directly througn my mixer rather than via th EI plug. 

I know this is 4 weeks old, but this is exactly what I do.
 
I fired up my old Alesis Midiverb IV the other day using a spare set of IO on my interface.
I forgot just how easy it was to dial in any sort of reverb on the MV

I use it once in a while for my lexicon pcm60 reverb. Works great. I can probably get the same reverb sound from plugins, but it takes a lot of time and tweaking. I can plug in my old pcm60, punch two buttons and viola.

FYI, the base version of X3 does not have the External Insert plug-in.

I don't know....   Seems for the most part, especially if you run UAD, Waves or any of the much cheaper than hardware high end plugins , other than a nice preamp (chain), the need for external outboard FX gear is just not worth the expense or effort in general these days, especially for most of us who don't have access to a ton of it   For the cost of even a lower priced 1176 clone, you could get a UAD setup that will blow it away and give you many more instances of whatever effect(s) you are looking for instead of being limited to the one HW unit and as added bonus, you don't need to worry about external stuff and latency etc.  These days, to me, the only time external gear would be worthwhile is if you are running your tracks through some high end desk or even a great analog summing mixer do counteract what some folks dislike about digital but for that even, you won't really need the external insert capability since most likely you would either be just running the mix down to stereo or using the desk like a preamp and for neither do you need to worry about latency beyond what your interface can compensate for.  I know this may be a different take on the thread or original questions but this is what itbrought to mind for me.   All that said however, it IS cool to know that the capability IS there in case someone like me MIGHT need it along the way.