I am trying to apply hardware effects to a existing track in a Sonar project. I have done this successfully on a different system using a Line6 UX8 interface. It all seemed logical and straighforward. I just routed the relevant track to an unused output of the interface. Then out to the outboard gear and back through one of the interface inputs. Then a new track armed to record from the same input. It worked! I have also done the same thing using another interface that only had one one set of outputs, so that involved disconnecting the speakers. But anyway it worked the same way in principle.

But now I have a new interface, an Audient iD22, and I am struggling trying to achieve the same outcome. I have tried lots of different configurations, some of them involving Sonar's external fx insert facilty. I don't really have a clear understanding of the Id22's software mixer and how it works (even though I've read the manual several times), so I am just trying things almost at random. Nothing seems to work the way I expect it to. It's probably simple really but it seems unintuitive to me because it's not what I'm used to. I succeeded to some extent at one point, but I was not able hear the processed signal until I recorded it and played it back (I can't remember how I did that). I'm lost and confused and don't know what to try next.

I need to output an existing track in a project through a piece of hardware and record the processed signal onto another track. And I need to be able to monitor the processed signal before pressing record, so that I can tweak the hardware settings. Can someone please point me in the right direction?

For the live monitoring/tweaking part, using an External Insert in the track's FX bin is the way to go. The main advantage of using an EI is that it will apply Plugin Delay Compensation to other tracks to keep them in sync with the delayed return from the hardware due to D/A/D conversion going out and back into the DAW (and possibly also A/D/A conversion in the hardware if it's digital rather than analog).
 
I suggest you try to set that up first, and report back any specific problems you encounter.
 
- Insert the EI
- Assign output and input channels.
- Temporarily bypass the FX on the hardware (you don't want to compensate delays that are part of the FX, just the 'raw' send/return path)
- Click the Delay button to set the PDC.
- Unbypass the hardware FX, and give it a listen.
 
Once you have it working on playback, Bounce the processed track to a new track with Fast Bounce disabled (with an EI, it's not necessary to enable Audible bounce or Live Input), and mute the original.

Thanks for responding. OK I stuck with Sonar's External Insert facility. I checked the iD22 manual again and found an example configuration for using hardware effects. It recommends setting the first and second outputs to "DAW THRU". I don't really get it, but it seems to work. I find this setting a bit scary as it bypasses the volume control and will blast out through the speakers at full volume if I forget to turn the level down in Sonar before hitting playback. I will need to remember to set it back to normal when finished before opening another project. Otherwise I could risk blowing the speakers.

I've also discovered that bypassing the External Insert in the FX Bin causes the signal to go directly to the speakers at full volume. I will need to be ultra careful.

Kev999
Thanks for responding. OK I stuck with Sonar's External Insert facility. I checked the iD22 manual again and found an example configuration for using hardware effects. It recommends setting the first and second outputs to "DAW THRU". I don't really get it, but it seems to work. I find this setting a bit scary as it bypasses the volume control and will blast out through the speakers at full volume if I forget to turn the level down in Sonar before hitting playback. I will need to remember to set it back to normal when finished before opening another project. Otherwise I could risk blowing the speakers.
 
I've also discovered that bypassing the External Insert in the FX Bin causes the signal to go directly to the speakers at full volume. I will need to be ultra careful.

that should definitely not be the case. there must be a different solution to that which does not require risk blown speakers or ears. I'd dig into the routing options of the audio interface internal mixer because this should be really simple to achieve actually.

Rob[atSound-Rehab]

Kev999
...setting the first and second outputs to "DAW THRU"...bypasses the volume control and will blast out through the speakers at full volume if I forget to turn the level down in Sonar before hitting playback....I could risk blowing the speakers......bypassing the External Insert in the FX Bin causes the signal to go directly to the speakers at full volume. I will need to be ultra careful.

that should definitely not be the case...

 
When you select the so-called "DAW Thru" option on any of output, the following warning message is displayed:

DAW THRU ROUTES THE OUTPUT FROM YOUR COMPUTER DIRECTLY TO THE ID22 OUTPUTS WITHOUT ANY VOLUME CONTROL. THIS COULD BE LOUD!

This is a quote from the iD22 manual:

Using iD22 with Hardware Process Path (bypassing iD mixer & monitor controller, using with existing analogue monitor control):
• Outputs 1+2: DAW Mix (Direct)
• Outputs 3+4: DAW Mix (To Outboard)
• Outputs 5+6 Headphone Reference
• Outboard sent back to Insert Returns

It seems to imply that the user would have an "existing" monitor controller as an intermediate device between the interface and the speakers. I wasn't sure about this until I saw a similar occurrence of the word "existing" elsewhere in the document, i.e. "patch the outputs of your existing outboard mic pres".
 

I'm still having issues. It seems to work generally but not always as expected. There's one particular thing that bugs me when using External Insert. I'm routing the signal from ana audio track through an External Insert, out to a secondary output of the interface and returning via one of the inputs. This works OK. However the dry signal seems to be present too and I can't get rid of it. If I turn the return level right down, I should hear nothing on playback. But I'm still hearing the dry signal. Why? There are no meters moving in Sonar apart from the one corresponding to the interface's secondary output in Console View's Mains. There must be a way around this but I can't seem to find it.

Kev999
If I turn the return level right down, I should hear nothing on playback. But I'm still hearing the dry signal. Why? There are no meters moving in Sonar apart from the one corresponding to the interface's secondary output in Console View's Mains.

I think the only explanation for this is that the interface's mixer is routing the secondary output signal to the main outs as well.

I've found a workable solution. Using External Insert, if I send to the right side and return to the left, the dry and processed signals will be coming out of different speakers. Switching the right speaker off efectively mutes the dry signal, I can now listen to the processed signal alone on the left speaker.

This is only a workaround though. And it is only applicable to mono signals. Also no good using headphones. Ultimately I need a better solution, but this will do for now.

...quick old thread revival... did you ever get the routing thing ironed out besides the workaround?   I'm thinking about getting a Audient iD22...
Salud!