MOTU interface for other applications than recording?

The forum for petitions, theoretical discussion, gripes, or other off topic discussion.

Moderator: James Steele

Forum rules
The forum for petitions, theoretical discussion, gripes, or other matters outside deemed outside the scope of helping users make optimal use of MOTU hardware and software. Posts in other forums may be moved here at the moderators discretion. No politics or religion!!
Post Reply
User avatar
rolandvg99
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:58 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Notodden, Norway
Contact:

MOTU interface for other applications than recording?

Post by rolandvg99 »

Hi, just wondered how many uses their MOTU-interface for other things than pure recording, as MOTU-interfaces is somewhat swiss-army knives of audio. I thought I'll share some ideas here.

At venues not sporting their own PA: I have a live PA-setup utilizing the 828MKIII as an IEM-mixer hooked up to my Yamaha 01v96 using ADAT.

Connections to the 828:
- 2 omni measurement microphones into Mic 1 & 2 paired in stereo sent to 01v96 via ADAT
- COAX SPDIF to mirror the 01v96 stereo out
- 3 ADAT stereo groups taken from AUX-3/4 and AUX-5/6 and one from mirrored Channels 17-32 run through a stereo BUS
- AUX-7 and 8 are used for wedges.

The 828 is used as a pure routing device as all control is done on the 01v96. Control is done using TouchOSC and OSCulator to give each musician control over his/hers IEM mix. When OSC arrives for CueMix later this year, I'll run 16 raw ADAT tracks straight to the 828 for internal mixing and control.

At venues equipped with PA and technician.
828 alongside a Behringer ADA8000 and an ART S8 splitter connected like this:
- 2 omni measurement microphones into 828 Mic 1 & 2 paired in stereo, positioned behind and high over the drum kit. Heavily compressed and limited.
- Bassdrum and snaredrum splits
- Bass and guitar splits
- 4 vokal splits

Control is done from the 828 front end or through CueMix, no remote capabilities atm, but eagerly awaiting the OSC update for CueMix which will give me full remote galore.
Owns a 828MKIII, 8M AVB and DP7.24 + loads of non-significant stuff.
User avatar
Prime Mover
Posts: 2439
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2007 1:19 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska

Re: MOTU interface for other applications than recording?

Post by Prime Mover »

Sounds good to me. However, I've always been under the impression that for live sound, you want to keep things as simple as possible, and this seems like a bit of a jury rig (no pun intended). I would rather have a good analog mixer with good pres, like an Allen & Heath or better. The ability for a mixer to even convert to digital is not really a feature for live sound, strictly. It's only good if you're doing live sound AND digital recording, and you want to save a bit of money by combining equipment together. But ideally, you want different equipment for live sound then for studio recording, because they have different strengths.

However, everyone has a budget, and sometimes we have to make do with what we already have, and forgo things like simplicity-of-setup. With separate units for pres, a A/D converter, and a DA mixer, the signal path is much more complex, and more likely to fail somewhere along the line, but if it's the only way we can get the job done at all, then it's better than nothing, right?
— Eric Barker
Eel House

"All's fair in love, war, and the recording studio"
MacPro 1,1 2Ghz 7GB RAM OS 10.6.8 | MacBook Pro 13" i5 1.8Ghz 16GB RAM OS 10.8.2
DP7/8 | Komplete 7 | B4II | Korg Legacy Analog | Waves v9 (various) | Valhalla Room | EWQLSO Gold
MOTU 828mkII | MOTU 8pre | Presonus BlueTube | FMR RNC
Themes: Round is Right and Alloy
User avatar
rolandvg99
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:58 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Notodden, Norway
Contact:

Re: MOTU interface for other applications than recording?

Post by rolandvg99 »

If I were to replicate this on an analog rig then we're talking tedious and cumbersome. :-)

This rig i setup in just a few minutes and gives each musician full control over his/hers monitoring, including limiting and eq-ing to avoid hearing damage. It also gives me the oportunity to run things from stage. I mainly monitor the stereo outs on the 01v96 to get an overall feel for what goes out to the audience. I also have the abillity to listen to all monitor sends if required. With everyrhing kept in the digital domain until the final stage latency is kept at a minimum.

Doing this analog would have seriously risen the overall cost and setup time of the rig. I just need a 01V, 828, 3 Adat cables, and 3 head phone cables for our regular setup. Add a MacBook and an iPhone/iPod/iPad if you want remote control.
Owns a 828MKIII, 8M AVB and DP7.24 + loads of non-significant stuff.
funkyfreddy
Posts: 418
Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: upstate NY

Re: MOTU interface for other applications than recording?

Post by funkyfreddy »

I just wanted to chime in and say that I use my DP 7 mixer 2-3 times a week to broadcast/stream music over the internet. I've setup a few templates for this. It works very well for me.....

I love the flexibility of DP7 and the ability to make clippings of plugin chains and templates of different mixers. My broadcasts range from almost pure acoustic/Americana to psychedelia to chill out/ambient type stuff, and I can call up any number of plug/template sets to suit my needs in a pinch. I'm constantly tweaking but find I make good use of the MW limiter in order to avoid clipping during these broadcasts.
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) 2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9 16 GB RAM OSX 11.2 Big Sur
UAD Apollo Quad DP11.22 some Waves, Soundtoys, Digital Performer 11.2, Reason 12, iZotope 11, and lots of real instruments to play :)
Klaus
Posts: 1173
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Nordring 38, CH - 3013 Berne

Re: MOTU interface for other applications than recording?

Post by Klaus »

Prime Mover wrote:Sounds good to me. However, I've always been under the impression that for live sound, you want to keep things as simple as possible, and this seems like a bit of a jury rig (no pun intended). I would rather have a good analog mixer with good pres, like an Allen & Heath or better. The ability for a mixer to even convert to digital is not really a feature for live sound, strictly. It's only good if you're doing live sound AND digital recording, and you want to save a bit of money by combining equipment together. But ideally, you want different equipment for live sound then for studio recording, because they have different strengths.

However, everyone has a budget, and sometimes we have to make do with what we already have, and forgo things like simplicity-of-setup. With separate units for pres, a A/D converter, and a DA mixer, the signal path is much more complex, and more likely to fail somewhere along the line, but if it's the only way we can get the job done at all, then it's better than nothing, right?
A/D with my 896mk3 rig and going AES to the processor...
Sounds pretty amazing
Current processors are A/D - D/A anyway...
But then, sometimes when I do double A/D - D/A, the sound *can* be magically better...

YMMV

Best


Klaus
Agent of Random
Posts: 115
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 4:40 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS

Re: MOTU interface for other applications than recording?

Post by Agent of Random »

One time I taped 20 Ultralite's together and made a pair of pants.






















I like them better for recording :wink:
Post Reply