I have a new interface (Orion-32) Need help with hardware inserts

 
Hi Buggaluggs,
I use hardware inserts all the time (and I have an Orion32). To answer your questions:

Buggaluggs
A) Do I even want to do it? Would it be better to output the solo track and record back in to a new track
 

Either is fine, but I generally use the External Insert plugin. Recording back to another track works, but you're "printing" the effect at that point so I don't do it much. Just use E.I. and make sure you keep session sheets for your hardware settings.
 

Buggaluggs 
B) If I insert do can I freeze the track? When I freeze a track with VST inserts in takes 10 seconds, does it handle an external insert differently?

Yep, IIRC you can freeze just fine, it's just a realtime bounce, so it'll take a bit longer.
 

Buggaluggs
C) Is there a how-to video that already exists on this?

Not sure, but you can ask me questions and I'll try to help out.

A few things to remember about using E.I.
First, when you specify an output E.I. will not let you use that same output anywhere else in the project. Also, External Insert will always consume a stereo pair, even if you are only routing to a mono channel. So, for example, if I have a couple of compressors on outputs 17 and 18 and I instantiate E.I. and tell it to use output 17 in mono, I won't be able to use EITHER 17 or 18 anywhere else in the project. It's annoying, but if you have enough outs you can work around it.
 
Second, remember to calculate latency in E.I. when you instantiate it, and re-calculate whenever you change audio latency.
 
Third, there is a known bug in Sonar with soloing a bus with E.I. on it. Hitting solo on a bus when E.I. is present on that bus results in total silence. Just use quick groups and track solo instead.
 
Last (and this one bites me all the time), if you use E.I. on a bus you will not be able to calculate latency until a track is routed to that bus. So if you add a bus, drop E.I. on it, and configure outs and ins, make sure you route something to that bus before doing the latency calculation. I've spent 20 minutes before trying to figure out why I can't calculate latency only to remember that it's becuase I've not routed anything to that bus.
 
Good luck, the Orion is a cool box.
Dean

Thanks for the detailed explanations. Time is my enemy now! I haven't even used Sonar with the Orion yet!

Hi Buggaluggs,
I'm not certain what that means....do you mean you have 11 outboard processors you'd like to use? Also, I'm not sure what you mean by recording greater than one track per track. If you can clarify a bit I can try to help out.
 
Dean

Hm....are your outboard comps not getting signal in, or are you not hearing anything out of them? The Orion looks like it's sending audio out the 7/8 pair, so assuming the cabling is correct, the compressor should be getting signal. Which inputs on the Orion are you using for the return signal? When you switch the metering to the ADC do you see signal coming back in?
 
Dean

How do I calculate latency?
 

Ok. But how do I calculate to what the latency should be set?

Just remember that if the device connected to the E.I. intentionally delays the audio signal when in operation, such as a reverb or delay effect, the effect itself must be temporarily bypassed when Sonar attempts to measure the delay due to the loop through the device in order for that measurement to be accurate. Once the measurement is done, don't forget to engage the effect again!