VDAT

[fraz]

H there,

It's good to be back on Planet Z and am sorting all the music stuff out which is excellent! - I managed to buy a Scope Pro board to add to my collection of Pulsar 2 and Power Sampler - Pulsar 2 and Power Sampler are in a PC with SW1000XG card and PC is working fine but isn't really a powerful PC but thats the whole point of DSP cards....... ...lovely....

Due to the PC not being powerful I come today to ask about the VDAT within Scope software....I know nothing about this other than it may be able to record audio directly from within the Scope environment......is this correct? - If so please take it easy as this is a new subject to me.... ....but all being well I'll learn some more about this great hardware......

The idea would be to run audio tracks along with the sequencer but have the DSP take the brunt of the audio.....but there are only 9 DSP chips within the P2 and Power Sampler in the PC in question......anyway I look forward to your feedback and thanks in advance.......

[Shroomz~>]

I know nothing about this other than it may be able to record audio directly from within the Scope environment......is this correct?

Yes, VDAT runs within Scope. It is a virtual 8-track digital tape recorder that works/operates the same functionally as an Alesis ADAT multitrack recorder. Each VDAT instance can play or record up to 8 audio tracks at a time & you can cascade up to 16 VDATs to provide a theoretical maximum of 128 tracks.

The idea would be to run audio tracks along with the sequencer but have the DSP take the brunt of the audio.....but there are only 9 DSP chips within the P2 and Power Sampler in the PC in question

VDAT doesn't use your DSPs & is not particularly taxing on your CPU.

You can get the VDAT user manual HERE

There's a forum thread in problem solving with some useful VDAT discussion HERE (it wasn't really a problem at all though - more a case of braincell not using the software correctly because he hadn't read the VDAT user manual).


Mark

[dawman]

Here's an example of a way I like to make little fast mockups for rehersal, and also include cues for the intro, chorus, verse, bridge, etc.
I record 8 stereo drum tracks in 4 VDATS ( which appear as one 32 track module ) using track 17-32, then remove the ASIO 2 Source Module ( Cubase 4 / Reaper ) and record my various Gigastudio tracks into the VDAT, where the quantized drum tracks are semi mastered in the STM1632.
Then at rehersal I can delete/mute the various parts as members perfect their Bass and Guitar parts.
It's faster than using a sequencer, and as long as there's no conversion to mp3 the quality of VDAT is also better. Many say there's little difference in the sound quality but I notice it in Kick drum and cymabals, or extreme highs and lows.

[Tau]

In order to sync VDAT and the audio/MIDI sequencer, you should check if it allows sync to ASIO SPP (song position pointer). For example, Reaper and Cubase allow this, but Live doesn't. In case it does, all you have to do is to connect the VDAT "clk" output to the "clk" input of the ASIO destination module, and set the sequncer to sync externally to ASSP. After that, the transport section of the sequencer will be controlled by VDAT.

Cheers, and good luck!


T

[fraz]

Thanks for the info on this - It gives me a good starter...probably won't be easy but with a little help here I'm confident that progress will be made...

VDAT is an extra plug to buy then? - Not standard? -

[Shroomz~>]

Well, if you don't have VDAT, your best option might be to buy the Scope v4.5 Upgrade which if you buy it for your Pulsar2, entitles you to choose between adding the Synth & Sampler pack or Mix & Master pack to the card. The Mix'n'Master Pack which you could get free with the v4.5 Upgrade consists of: Optimaster, PSY Q, Vinco, Interpole, VDAT, Vocodizer.

You also get the following plugs with 4.5:-

# Mixing: STM2448, STM4896, STM 48 S, STM 1632, STM 16 S, Dynamic Mixer, Micromixer, Channel, Meterbridge, ControlRoom
# Reverb: MasterVerb Pro, MasterVerb, MasterVerb Classic, Early Reflector
# Dynamics: Compressor, Limiter, Gate, Expander
# Filter: GraphEQ, Parametric EQ, 4-Pole Filter, High Cut Filter, Low Cut Filter, DC Filter, MIDIPole Filter
# Chorus: Chorus, 4-Tap Chorus, Harmonic Chorus, Hexa Chorus, Master Chorus
# Flanger: Flanger, Harmonic Flanger, Master Flanger, Space Flanger, Random Flanger, Step Flanger
# Phaser: Phaser, SSB Phaser, SSB Modulator, SSB Mod Delay
# Delay: Delay, Ducking Delay, Pattern Delay, Multi Tap Delay, Delay LCR, Delay Long, Dual Delay Long
# Mastering: Dither Shaper, Stereo Expander, Softclip, Spectral Balance Control
# Distortion: Distortion, Overdrive, Tube Drive, TQ Drive, Resonator
# Modulation: AutoPan, AutoWah, Tremolo, MIDI Tremolo
# Tools: AuxRack, MultiFX, Deesser, Ducker
# SpecialFX: Vocoder III, Ringmodulator, Pitchshifter
# Synthesizer: SB404, Poison, EDS 16i, EDS 8i, BlueSynth, EZSynth, miniscope, U KNOW 007, Vectron Player, Inferno, Lightwave, Prisma, Arpeg01
# Sampler: STS-2000P, STS-3000, STS-4000

You'll also get a free Upgrade to Scope v5.0 when it's released in the near future if you have v4.5.

v4.5 Upgrade costs 198 EURO ... see HERE

[RP_001]

In order to sync VDAT and the audio/MIDI sequencer, you should check if it allows sync to ASIO SPP (song position pointer).

Where can i find this in cubase?? Ive been able to record some parts of my tracks, but once i release the files in cubase (Vdat outputs to Asio Inputs), everything is out of sync....

Or should i make some kind of "reference audio track" in cubase, and manually put the recorded tracks in sync with this reference track??

Cheers!

[Tau]

In Cubase 4, go to the "transport" menu, then "project synchronization setup". Choose "ASIO Audio Device" from the "Timecode source" drop-down, then OK.

Press "T" to activate external sync.

It should work by now. Pressing play on VDAT should also start Cubase, and what you record will be in sync with your project.

If you have already recorded something into VDAT without sync, there's a good chance you may have started VDAT a little before or after starting Cubase, so it won't line up with your existing tracks. It's impossible to start both programs by hand at the exact same time (or time difference). If you do record without sync, then yes, a simple "sync track" should be of great use - just record it on a separate track from your audio, import them both into Cubase, and line them up together.

But if you can get it in sync from the beginning, it'll always be locked.

Hope this helped,

T

[Shroomz~>]

Where can i find this in cubase??

In SX2 it looks like this:-

[dawman]

There's another little treat from Adern too called Clock to Click in case you want to try something else as another option.

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Clock 2 Click is a metronome tool and synchronizer for VDAT - CreamWare's recording plugin for Scope 4. By connecting VDAT's Clock output (ClkO) to Clock 2 Click's Clock input (ClkI) you can have a metronome that is in sync with VDAT and knows its song position all the time. Besides being a metronome you can also use Clock 2 Click as a syncronization tool for Creamware Modular, Flexor, and other MIDI devices. Clock 2 Click has several outputs: MIDI - Generates MIDI clock. Click - The metronome audio output. Ramp - For synchronizing with FleXor Bar # - For computing song position events in modular. Install: Copy Clock 2 Click.dev to your /Scope/Devices/Plugins/Adern directory and place the two wave files in C:\

______________________________________________________________________________


http://www.adern.com/home/modules.php?n ... tit&lid=26

[at0m]

In order to sync VDAT and the audio/MIDI sequencer, you should check if it allows sync to ASIO SPP (song position pointer).

Where can i find this in cubase?

Mind you - only ASIO2 Dest. has an input for Clock - Clock generated by Clock to Click or VDAT.

On a sidenote, Flexor's Ramp module (saw up oscillator with BPM control etc., for sequencing), with the abstract idea of time (and hence Clock!) being a perpetuum increasing value, like saw up, inspired us to make the Clock to Click.

[dawman]

Not sure what all of that means, but I am very appreciative of it's creation......ankyuvarymush.