Recording more than 8 channels wtih a USB interface

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:16 am

I have a feeling this is probably a stupid n00b question, but I'm doing it any way.... because I AM a stupid n00b.

I am starting a studio to record primarily metal. I am using Cubase SX3 for the time, til I can afford Cubase 4. I am currently using a Line 6 UX-8 because I am recording guitars, bass, and vocals through gearbox (at least til I can afford the gear to do everything through actual preamps and whatnot) I also replace drums with Drumagog. (I know what you're thinking. I'm not actually recording. I am emulating all of these instruments and cheating) I'm also recording on my laptop (dual 1.8 processors w/ 4GB RAM) I just broke every rule to recording, right?

I have been using the same interface for drums, and using 1 or 2 of the inputs for scratch guitars, but then that cuts my number of inputs down to 6-7 for drums Sad

I would like to have at LEAST 8-10 inputs free for drums, so I can use stereo overhead, and stereo room mics. I have read you can not use more than one interface at a time because windows will only allow you to have one ASIO device selected at a time... so how would I go about doing this?

...start the ridicule... NOW!

for a sample of what I am going for I recorded a Depeche Mode Cover song. I also played all of the instruments and did the vocals as well...

www.myspace.com/forefrontrecordingstudio

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:44 am

Get another interface the same as your existing one. Cubase can use only one ASIO driver at a time, but you can use multiple devices as long as they use the same driver. The real problem you will have is streaming that many tracks via USB, which is not the best solution for multiple audio streams. I'm surprised you can use 8, TBH.

Incidentally, posting covers constitutes copyright infringement, and is frowned upon.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:00 pm

covers are just as important as originals

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 5:37 pm

SeniorFedup wrote:

covers are just as important as originals

thank you SeniorFedup. the rule of thumb is you're safe from lawsuit if you change the material 75% and I'm SURE I did that. different key, different, tempo, different genre, different instruments, , added a breakdown, ditched a verse, and aggressive screaming vocals on verses. only thing that really remains is the lyrics and chorus vocal melody. buuuuuut that's not what this thread is about... how would I go about recording more tracks than 8 on a laptop... or could I? like I said, I am very very new to this...

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 6:02 pm

The rule of thumb doesn't matter. Copyright breach is still what it is.

If the artist or anyone involved with the song heard the song you did and wanted to press the issue, the issue would be pressed.

The DaveDog said once something to the effect of he doesn't monitor a rats ass one way or your brother as long as Recording.org isn't physically hosting the file.

So as it pertains to here...it is a near none issue.
But I personally side with Tony.

It's sort of like being the designated driver, you are responsible for your vehicle and those that are IN your vehicle and those that are AROUND your vehicle.

So don't do anything that could KILL anyone and this means drinking and playing covers!!!!

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:39 am

MAmstutz wrote:

SeniorFedup wrote:

covers are just as important as originals

thank you SeniorFedup. the rule of thumb is you're safe from lawsuit if you change the material 75% and I'm SURE I did that. different key, different, tempo, different genre, different instruments, , added a breakdown, ditched a verse, and aggressive screaming vocals on verses. only thing that really remains is the lyrics and chorus vocal melody. buuuuuut that's not what this thread is about... how would I go about recording more tracks than 8 on a laptop... or could I? like I said, I am very very new to this...

That's a fallacy. You still need permission.

As for your question, I gave you complete answer. What more info do you need?

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:50 am

i don't mean to join in the cover song argument...i'm just asking because i'm curious.
i thought that anybody has the right to cover any song they want, whether they are recording, or playing live....just as long as they were not making a profit from the song they covered.....is this correct? i could be way off. idk.

but if it's a rule that you're not allowed to cover songs...then how do bar bands...hell, even worship teams (bands) legally get away with having mostly every song they play being a cover?
this is interesting to me.

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 7:46 am

Interesting to me Jordy too. Seems it only matters when you start making serious money off of someone else' song.

OP:
When you say "I also played all of the instruments" yet above you say you sample replace the drums. Can you actually play that drum track live on a real kit? Or to you quantise then sample replace or do you just use a sequencer?
I'm interested because those drums were rocking.

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:39 am

Greener wrote:

Interesting to me Jordy too. Seems it only matters when you start making serious money off of someone else' song.

OP:
When you say "I also played all of the instruments" yet above you say you sample replace the drums. Can you actually play that drum track live on a real kit? Or to you quantise then sample replace or do you just use a sequencer?
I'm interested because those drums were rocking.

I'm gonna let the cover topic drop. I'm sure it's been discussed many many times...

Thanks man. I typically record drums, quantize them, and replace them. but in this case, I just programmed them manually. I can play the drums though.... but for this purpose, it would have been stupid to set up a kit and mic everything up when I know exactly what I want...

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 12:58 am

I have never used a UX-8, but a quick look at the specifications does not suggest any way you could add another unit to get you more channels. I would also be wary of pushing USB to more than the 8 concurrent channels that the UX-8 currently supports.

I think that to move to a higher channel count you may need to swap your UX-8 for a FireWire-based system, where the problem-free bandwidth is higher, and interfaces can be expanded either by daisy-chaining at the FireWire level or via ADAT expansion inputs.

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