Garageband2 + Motu 828 Audio Recording ?, How to assign inputs to tracks in GB2 ?? Options

[Culchie STV]

Hello,

I have a MOTU 828 (not the MkII) on an iBook via firewire, and I want to record a live band to eight tracks.

I can't figure out how/where to tell GB which input signal (instrument) from the 828 goes to which track. There should also be some way to assign the GB2 tracks' outputs to go back out thru the 828...

I have the Mary Plummer book on GB2, but she doesn't say anything about this. Or I can't find it... <G>

Many thanks,

stv

[deaconblue]

stv,

I use GB as a scratch pad app with my original 828 and it works pretty well. But I had the exact same questions the day I opened my first Garage Band song and tried to get sound out of it from my guitar.

Which version of GB are you using? If it is v2.0 then you can record multiple inputs simultaneously. If it is 1.x, then you are limited to only one track at a time.

To enable a specific track in GB for the 828 when creating a new track, use the Input Select to choose which channels you are wishing to record from for that track.The default is "Channel 1 & 2 (Stereo)" which is tied to the two neutrik connectors on the 828. Also, if you want to confirm that you are indeed recording by hearing the signal, make sure the Monitor pull down is set to On. You can then choose an instrument "voice" which will add time effects, modulation effects, amp simulators, etc. You can add a new track via the "Track" menu -> New Track -> Real Instrument.

If you have an existing track you want to record on, then double click the track near the icon for that track (far left of the window) and do the same thing. Existing tracks may already have effects tied to them and will modify your sound. Software instruments (if you click on the track in the GB window and it highlights green it is a software instrument, blue if it is a "real instrument" [i.e., live track or a recorded loop]) you cannot record to it and the channel assignment and monitor options will not be available.

Once you have all your tracks set up, make sure the red dot is "lit" in each track you want to record on. Click on the record button in the transport mechanism at the bottom of the window (next to the track back, rewind, play, etc) and you should be golden.

Best of luck.

Peace,
deacon

This post has been edited by deaconblue: Mon 1 Aug 2005, 16:37

[Culchie STV]

Hi Deacon,

Thanks for the help, good detail! And I like your name, too, as well as the song. Gooood stuff.

I'm using at least GB2, there might have been some point upgrades since I installed it. I understood that multitracking was only available on GB2.

You wrote: "To enable a specific track in GB for the 828 when creating a new track, use the Input Select to choose which channels you are wishing to record from for that track."

Does the Input Select only show up when creating a new track, or is there a way to gain access to the assignments after the track is created?

I made a 'template' eight-track song before I got the 828 up and running and I've been searching thru it to find the I/O assigns. If I need to start over, that's fine.

Many thanks!

stv

This post has been edited by Culchie STV: Mon 1 Aug 2005, 18:55

[deaconblue]

stv,

No problem. It is my pleasure to help out.

If you already have your 8 tracks set up, then doubleclick on any one of them (make sure that when you single click on them they show a blue highlight for a real instrument) and you will open a track info window. You should see the channel assigment in hte lower portion of the window as a pull down and also have a "Monitor" set to off by default.





Also, it is a good idea to make sure your GB preferences are set to use the MOTU (sorry I didn't mention that before, kind of take it for granted after a while). In the GB preferences, go to the Audio/MIDI pref pane and make sure it is set to Audio Input: MOTU 828, Audio Output: MOTU 828 (GB2 should prompt you if you start up the 828 after you open GB2 that a new Audio device has been detected). Also, use hte small buffer size for live performances to cut down on the offset you will have for the delay if you intend to monitor the performance via GB.





If you single click on any one of your 8 tracks and they show up as a green highlight, then you have a software track (for the MIDI loops or MIDI instruments) and you won't have channel assignments for those. You will need to start over with those specific tracks.

Color coding in GB works like this:

Blue: live instrument, live audio loop
Green: Software or MIDI instrument track
Purple: Master Track (you'll only see this if you go to Track menu and select "Show Master Track". This will allow you to add "type specific" reverb, compression, etc. to the overall sound of your song.

Have fun!

peace,
deacon

[B3 Basher]

Great Post Deacon Blue!

[Culchie STV]

Yes it is a great post! Thanks for your generous and detailed help!

I'm with it now! Woohoo!

Many, many thanks, and all the best,

stv

[deaconblue]

thanks y'all. I am blushing.



glad to help out. some of the simplest stuff in GB had me doing some head scratching. If I can pass along some information to remove some of that for my fellow travellers, it's all good.

peace.

This post has been edited by deaconblue: Wed 3 Aug 2005, 04:37