Hi
Forgive my lack of knowledge but I've got some new kit.......a Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 and I'm very inexperienced with DAWs. The Pro 26 has got a loopback feature so you can record audio from e.g. Media Player
In the Saffire Mix control I have set DAW 1 and 2 to loopback (Virtual inputs 17 and 18). If I play something in Media Player, the meters respond.
In MC6 I have set up an audio track.....but I can't get it to see the loopback audio. Can someone help me please?
I will have lots of questions in the near future!
Cheers
 

MC is limited to 2 inputs.  you can change which inputs it uses by going to the PREFERENCES>DEVICES (I think that's where it is) and selecting the loopback audio inputs as your inputs to be selected on the tracks.
 
then go to the track selections and select it there as well.
 
then you'll have to change it back to the other inputs for recording inputs normally.

Hi Beagle
Thanks for the advice.........yes that works!
At first I thought it didn't....I made the changes as you said and still nothing showed on the track meters (with record armed). However, I saved the file and re-opened it and the loopback audio now shows on the track meters.
 
Can I ask you what the function of the Input Echo is please? It sounded awful when switched on!
 
Thanks again

Input echo allows you to monitor the input you're recording while you're recording it.  however, if your latency buffers are set high then you'll get a very audible echo delay while you're monitoring.
 
I don't ever use it myself, I send my output from my soundcard into a mixer and I send my input to my mixer (and use the direct outs on my Mackie to send to my soundcard) and that way I monitor directly without any delay caused by latency.

I'm afraid you've lost me! Say I'm doing a guitar lead track and listening to the backing track as I play. With the Input echo off......I can hear the backing track and also what I'm playing. With the input echo on...yes there are latency issues....so why have the option?
 
 

you shouldn't be able to hear the guitar track that you're playing through sonar if you have Input Echo OFF.  UNLESS you have direct monitoring on your soundcard, which I believe you likely do.
 
I'm betting the saffire pro has "direct monitor" and you probably have that on.  I have a focusrite scarlett 2i2 which has a switch for direct monitor.  if that switch is on, then it mixes the input back into the output directly at the soundcard.
 
if you use Input Echo, then the input has to go through the soundcard, through the computer, through sonar, then back out to the soundcard again.  the delay between what you're playing and when it plays back is called latency.  it can be as bad as 1/2 or more depending on your soundcard and its drivers.
 
but if you're using direct monitoring, then the soundcard mixes your input with the output directly for you to hear it real time instead of delayed through the computer.
 
NOT ALL soundcards have the direct monitor option, tho, so that's why the option for INPUT ECHO is available.

Well Focusrite describe the Saffire Mix software as an ultra low latency 26 x 8 mixer/router so I guess thats why. (I thought that was the advantage of ALL audio interfaces......thats why I bought one?). I can see now why the option for Input Echo is in the DAW software though.
 
I used to use an external mixer with ins and outs from the PC soundcard, guitar, mic etc probably as you do.
I was told that if I also used soft synths I would probably encounter latency issues so I purchased the Saffire.
 
Thanks again for your help.

The main reason for input echo is to deliberately monitor through the computer and Sonar rather than directly from the soundcard or mixer.
 
Why would you want this?  So you can hear effects live as they're applied. For example, playing your guitar straight into the audio interface and using an amp sim plugin instead of a real amp,  you need to hear the output of the amp sim so you turn on input echo.

Thanks Karyn.
Is it possible to hear a real time effect but record without the effect? e.g. Say I wanted to record a vocal track and add reverb to the sound the vocalist hears.......but record the track dry?
I worked out how to do it with my old hardware mixer and external efx but am struggling with my new audio interface and software mixers.

Music Creator always records dry. Monitoring a track with plug-in effects on it will not record the effects.