[Solved, assuming ADAT I/O available] Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible?

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kevinwhitect
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2016/09/03 12:25:53 (permalink)

[Solved, assuming ADAT I/O available] Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible?

I've got an older Echo Layla ... and a Focusrite 18i20 ... both ASIO drivers. I'm recording my band, and I'd like to have access to all the inputs at one time to record at once. (Drums, for instance take up a bunch of inputs, and I'd like to record everything "live" w/ as many separate tracks as I can muster).

I've got Platinum Ultimate ... and checking the drivers, it looks like I can do either or, but not both.

If I dl'd ASIO 4ALL and used that ... could I combine both in one program?

Anyone have any suggestions? Is it even possible to be able to use both for inputs at once?

Thanks in advance for any pointing in the right direction.

Kev-

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#1

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    pwalpwal
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 12:30:48 (permalink)
    some asio drivers support multiple devices if they are the same model
     
    in theory you can do multiple different devices with asio4all, but i've never had the performance to make it worth while = it works, but only just
     
    have you tried wdm/ks mode? that supports multiple (and different) devices

    just a sec

    #2
    kevinwhitect
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 12:39:25 (permalink)
    The Layla is older ... and the wdm/ks mode was very buggy w/ it ... but it is certainly something I can experiment with. Echo advised using ASIO only w/ Sonar ... but again, that was a while ago, several Sonar versions back. This was fine, because I only had the Layla to use, and the ASIO drivers worked well with it.

    Since then, I started a new band, and my keyboard player bought the Focusrite ... and we're launching into recording original material. 

    I went to the drivers, and the Layla's are showing, but the Focusrite's are grayed out. Consequently, they're not showing up as available inputs for the tracks.

    I'll go switch over to wdm/ks and see if that works.

    Thanks for the thoughts!

    All my music is free for download at:  

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    #3
    kevinwhitect
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 13:30:19 (permalink)
    It took some doing to get the 2 driver sets to play nice together, but the wdm/ks is working finally. I noticed on my older Echo that the drivers only responded "OK" at 48k/24 bit in Sonar's hardware profile.
     
    The trouble was that the Focusrite didn't like the Layla telling it what to do, and so it kept telling Sonar to set the drivers at 44.1/16 bit -- which then upset the Layla, and I kept getting a "non-compatible" hardware issue in Sonar.

    The solution was to kill the Focusrite drivers temporarily, and set Sonar to what the Layla wanted w/o the Focusrite interfering.

    I then restarted Sonar w/ ONLY the Echo unit active. It opened w/o an error message. THEN I activated the Focusrite drivers w/ Sonar already set to the 48/24 mode. It didn't complain at all ... and I didn't get a "non-compatible" hardware message either.

    The two are nicely playing along together now, and all inputs are available at once.

    Fingers crossed ...

    All my music is free for download at:  

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    #4
    kevinwhitect
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 13:39:33 (permalink)
    As a point of note ... none of my older projects work w/ the new audio settings. They open, but the audio engine says, "I don't know what you think you're doing, but this does not compute."

    Fortunately, projects recorded in the new format play back fine, as I just ran some test tracks and played them back.
     

    All my music is free for download at:  

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    #5
    pwalpwal
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 13:41:53 (permalink)
    nice one, looks positive, hope it works out :-)

    just a sec

    #6
    Anderton
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 16:52:07 (permalink)
    Zargg71 just answered a similar question. In this case, if both units support ADAT I/O, you could connect the Layla's ADAT out to the Focusrite's ADAT in, and the Layla audio would show up in the Focusrite's mixer. Because the transfer is digital, you'd lose no fidelity.

    The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
    #7
    kevinwhitect
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 17:55:03 (permalink)
    That's odd, Craig. I did a search on multiple sound cards prior to popping the question, and it came up empty. Both DO have ADAT I/O ... and since I once owned several, I've got lightpipe cable. 

    I'll search again w/ that criteria, but if you could direct me to the thread, that would be much appreciated.
     
    Kev-

    All my music is free for download at:  

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    #8
    kevinwhitect
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 18:02:46 (permalink)
    Another caveat to the wdm/ks ... I can use only one set of audio outputs ... either the Focusrite's or the Layla's, but not both. If I activate both, I get the incompatibility errors pop.

    This is fine for my particular need, but just a extra note of interest.  

    All my music is free for download at:  

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    The Rig:
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    Windows 10 Pro (Anniversary) x64
    Layla 24/96 on ASIO Drivers
    Sonar Platinum 

    #9
    kevinwhitect
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 18:16:39 (permalink)
    Ah ... finally the lightbulb went off on what Zargg71 suggested.

    I don't even need the the drivers for the Layla to talk to Sonar. If I connect the Toslink out of the Layla to the input of the Focusrite, it will show in the FR as eight digital inputs ... so I can simply work on one mixer (The Scarlett) ... and still access the input connections on the Layla ...

    ... and I can use ONLY the more updated drivers on the Focusrite w/ Sonar ... dependent on whether they work better in ASIO or WDM/KS -- and the two devices really don't have to "play nice together" daisy chaining the two that way.

    Brilliant solution!!!

    Yes. I can be a little slow on the uptake. :D
     

    All my music is free for download at:  

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    The Rig:
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    Windows 10 Pro (Anniversary) x64
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    #10
    Anderton
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    Re: Recording w/ 2 ASIO sound cards - possible? 2016/09/03 20:23:26 (permalink)
    I dunno about slow...I posted 3 hours ago, you posted 2 hours ago. An hour ain't bad to solve an annoying problem 
     
    I'll mark it [Solved] so people can find the answer when they search. But there also must be a certain level of synchronicity. Last week I borrowed a Zoom interface so I could write an article on how to use the TASCAM US-20x20 to expand its number of inputs (or vice versa).

    The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
    #11
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