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Looper's Delight
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>And by "standalone", I meant something like Deck, same as you're talking >about. A cheap software app that takes advantage of the audio and >processing in the pc. Problem with that, though, is you only have a stereo >input so you can't record multiple sources into different loops at once. >And you have a crappy multimedia codec digitizing the audio. The other >problem is that most sound cards don't let you record and play back at the >same time. Korg is releasing a PCI card for the Mac, which will work with Deck, that has (as I recall) 12 ins/outs. Mosey over to the Deck list to read the guy from Macromedia flogging it. Price is right (a bit more than the Digi stereo Audiomedia card). In fact, let's see what I can dig up from the archives. . . >The Korg 1212 I/O card offers analog stereo, S/PDIF, and ADAT optical - a >total of 12 channels of I/O. All of which can be used simultaneously or in >any combination. > >Hank H. >Don't know if this is anywhere else, but here is my current blurb: > >Korg 1212 I/O > >PCI bus audio card >Adat optical in and out (16 bit) >S/PDIF in and out (16 or 20 bit) >Analog in and out (16 bit) >Word Clock in and out >Adat sync in >Bundled with Macromedia's Deck II multitrack recording software > >* The 1212 I/O features 12 independent record and playback channels - > 8 Adat, 2 S/PDIF, and 2 Analog. Deck will allow recording and >playback > using all 12 channels. > >* Any input channel can be routed to any output channel. > > This means, for instance, that you can bring in signals from the >Adat > input, send them out S/PDIF for processing, bring them back in via > S/PDIF, and then send them back to the Adat. > >* The 1212 I/O's Adat sync in port allows the 1212 I/O to synchronize > playback with an Adat system, acting essentially as another Adat. >Time > code can be derived from this input, allowing programs within the > computer (such as Deck II) to sync to an Adat system without need >for a > BRC. The 1212 I/O will also work well in combination with the BRC. > >* The Korg DRS series product line also includes two rack-mount > Adat-to-analog interfaces. The 880 D/A is an 8-channel D/A, >converting > the Adat input to 8 analog outputs; the 880 A/D is an 8-channel >A/D, > converting 8 analog inputs to Adat output. > > By connecting these interfaces to the 1212 I/O's Adat input and >output, > you can add 8 additional analog inputs and/or outputs, for a total > of 10 analog inputs and 10 analog outputs. (By using additional >analog > converters for the S/PDIF channels, one could bring all 12 >channels out > to analog, if desired.) > > These interfaces do not add additional channels; they merely >mirror the > Adat channels to analog inputs and outputs. The upper limit on i/o > remains constant: 12 channels in, 12 channels out. > > Each interface includes both Adat input and output, allowing them >to > be used within the Adat optical loop. This means that you don't >need to > re-patch to switch between analog and Adat optical i/o; the same 8 > channels are mirrored to both analog and Adat formats. >Using a pc/mac for looping is really something that would only apply to >studio use, though. Not many people are willing to lug their computer to >rehearsals, gigs and on tours. Its a big risk, and expensive to do it >safely. The interface could be made so much more powerful, that it's worth thinking seriously about. All we need is a PCMCIA I/O card. Powerbook 5300s are ~1700 in color. That would not be unreasonable at all. >One thing that concerns me, design wise, is the real-time performance of >the mac/pc while its handling lots of I/O, audio processing, and disk >accesses. The reaction time is critical in looping, and desktop os's are >not designed for this. Deck works pretty darn well. Peeople with fast machines are going 16+ tracks of 44.1 audio, with mixing and EQ and effects.