Completely confused about recording and playback

[FrankParticipant]

I am sorry, because I think, my questions are the same like a lot of other people had, but I don’t understand this hundreds of articles and tutorials about recording to QU-drive, into DAW, with MIDI-protocols and so on and so on…

Would it be possible to get a clear step by step manual, what I have to do for this task, with the A&H Qu16:

I want to record a selection of 16 Channels plus stereo-channel 17+18 (my Keyboard) into Cubase 9.5 Elements AND want to playback at the same time a additional track in Cubase, where I importet an mp3-playback.

What I have to do? Step by step?

I also experimented with MIDI-connection to Cubase, but have a lot of problems with this also (I get strange tracks, no wave-picture, only vertical stripes and don’t know, how to include the stereo-channel 17+18…). So perhaps it would be easier for the first to record with USB-B to the DAW without MIDI-control (I don’T know?).

Perhaps I could record also to an USB-harddisk, an play the playback from Cubase and the copy the tracks from the harddisk to Cubase, but it would be nicer to record directly into the DAW…

At which channel must be the playback from the PC, not to disturb the recording? And is it possible to leave the keyboard on channel 17+18 ST1?

I hope anybody has mercy with me, an absolute beginner on QU16 and Cubase and can tell me in easy words, what I have to do (my englisch is not perferct, but it wioll be possible with a dictionary 🙂

[FrankParticipant]

After 3 hours of more “try an error” I can not hear multitrack recordings to U-Drive and it seems, that on every recorded channel is the stereo-sum (I only can hear it on PC, with the mixer I can not hear multitrack-recording, when playing the recording directly after recording)…. their must be a big fault in routing, I think….

And with trying again USB-B-Recording to Cubase, I get terrible distorsions, when playing it back to the mixer!?!?

So again… I need HELP 😉

[GigaParticipant]

When trying to play back a recording through the desk, have you set the inputsources to usb (the laptop) or Qu-drive (desk) ?

Giga

[FrankParticipant]

I have set ST3 to U-Drive or USB-B. Not the other channels. ST3 should be the playback channel. I think I will not hear my instruments on the PA while playing, whenn setting it to USB or Qu-Drive also.
I can hear stereorecordings but no multitrack recordings. And I can hear USB recordings but with bad distortions sometimes.

[MarkPAmanParticipant]

Multitrack recordings need each track to come back into the desk through a different channel, so your input sources need to set to USB input.

[FrankParticipant]

Really!!!!??? Wow, never thought this. And when I patch all channels to U-Drive oder USB-B, I still can hear my playing on the PA while recording? Or do I have to change it between recording and playback (so I would need to create a scene for recording with channels on local and another scene for hearing the records with cahnnels on U-Drive/USB-B?)

[MarkPAmanParticipant]

Yes.

Or you could mix your multitrack in the DAW, taking care not to clip anything, & playback a 2 track (or another number I guess) version to play along with.

[FrankParticipant]

Sorry, I don’t understand exactly, what you mean with “taking care not to clip anything, & playback a 2 track (or another number I guess) version to play along with”. My english is school english 37 years ago 🙁 . And whatfor the “Yes” stands? For wich part of my text?

Problem with DAW-multitrack-recording and playback is in the moment a also known problem with crazy noise sometimes, distorsion-like, so there I am looking also for a solution (could be a USB-Port-Problem at the HP-Laptop or problems with latency/buffer and so on…. I am reading about this also since 1/2 an hour under https://community.allen-heath.com/forums/topic/qu-24-electrical-noises-during-streaming/page/1

Now I drive home after work and then go in my sessionroom and test a little bit more, what you did write… with the U-Drive-source-routing, but I think, than I will not here, what I play while recording… let’s see (hear) 🙂

[FrankParticipant]

Allright, now checked the above things and I did understand now stereorecording and multitrackrecording with Qu-Drive! The problem is really, that I have to change source every time between recording and playing multitrack-recordings. Thats a little bit laborious, but with different scenes realizable. Perhaps it would be better to copy the files to my DAW software Cubase and to hear it from there…

With the second problem with DAW-recording I got forward a little bit… the distorsions start erratic when I playback an importet mp3-track together with an recorded track (stereo-channel for keyboard). It has something to do with Asio-buffer-settings and so on… I tried different things and are not yet sure, what is the best setting to do in the Windows Asio-Driver of the Qu. And perhaps there are also some settings in Cubase, which I have to do? I don’t know yet.

Another strange thing now is, that I get a recording track of my keyboard in Cubase, but don’t see there a stereo wave. It’s an empty track optical, but I hear the played keyboard and I can hear also playback, no matter if I have muted the playbacktrack… very strange. Their must be still a problem in routing the channels from A&H to Cubase and within Cubase…

It would be so perfect to have somebody in my near, which knows, what to do and shows me everything step by step in my session-room. It is so difficult and time-consuming, to do this in “try and error” manner, even if your help in this forum is very great! Thank you fpr this! Unfortunately I have a job of 8 to 12 hours a day and can do music only in my freetime besides wife and children… a little bit a problem. Day should have 48 hours, not 24 🙂

So I try out further and hope to solve all problems before christmas 😉

[GigaParticipant]

Where abouts do you live Frank ? Otherwise we have several German forum members here…

Giga

[FrankParticipant]

Ingolstadt, Germany…

[GigaParticipant]

That’s convenient to get your serviced ! 🔧

I was hoping maybe you lived a bit closer to the dutch border. Alas and good luck !

Giga

[FrankParticipant]

Hi there…. coming forward… 🙂

Multitrackrecording and Multitrackplayback stored with special scenes. And I had to change the USB-Audio routing a little bit to get recorded, what I want (for example ST1 on channel 17/18).

DAW-Recording also works now. Also there I had to change the USB-B routing, because 17/18 was L/R and so on…

The problem with the electrical noise/distorsion while playing a playback-track from Cubase is still sometimes to hear. It seems to be a common problem, a lot of people have it. I don’t have a solution with this yet. I screwed the buffers of ASIO-Drive up, that is better, but not perfect. Could have to do with USB-3.0 ports of the laptop also, as I did read, don’t know. I am waiting on an answer of the german Allen&Heath support, but he is in holidays until 10.12.. Perhaps somebody here knows something about this…

The other problem with not visible wavelines in the track of Cubase ist solved also. It is a known problem of new Cubase version, a workaround is to put the setings to 24bit in the project-settings. They will bring an update in some time, I could read this on the Steinberg homepage.

The last question, which I think about, is: When linking the mixer to Cubase together with MIDI on the custom layer, I get 16 fader on the custom layer, which move together with Cubase. Is the only use for this to increase the loudness of the channels in Cubase and the other way around, or do I need this for something else? I take the ST3 channel in the mixer as OUT in Cubase. IN’s are the other channels of the mixer. I think, recording will work without MIDI-control also!? I do not understand the use of this. When I adjust the customlayer MIDI fader at the mixer, in the first second the motor works against my movement. So I always be a little bit scared, if I break something on the fader!?!?

[FrankParticipant]

The problem with “electrical noise” is a known problem together with INTEL-USB 3.0 driver and A&H -Windows-ASIO driver. I got this information from A&H support Germany today. A&H and INTEL are looking for a solution, but until now they didn’t find one. I will be informed, if there is a solution and then will report here…

The MIDI-usage-question between DAW and mixer I solved also… I don’T need it, because I have the mixer in the music-room, but rearrange the recordings on another PC. So MIDI-Connection between mixer and PC is not necassary.

[Author]

Posts