Anyone else using a 'virtual' mixing desk?
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Category: Other Chat
Forum Name: Computer Talk
Forum Description: Help and discussion about your manly PC or girly Mac
URL: https://forum.speakerplans.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=41649
Printed Date: 27 March 2026 at 4:06am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.08 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Anyone else using a 'virtual' mixing desk?
Posted By: loudnclear
Subject: Anyone else using a 'virtual' mixing desk?
Date Posted: 29 July 2010 at 4:17pm
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just wonderingf.... I'm using Software Audio Console for the last 9 months with great success. I can use it with either a traditional multicore or run it via remote laptop using CAT5 or wifi....  http://www.softwareaudioconsole.com - www.softwareaudioconsole.com |
Replies:
Posted By: soundguymatt
Date Posted: 30 July 2010 at 1:32pm
| i know i have a console to do something like this with my motu but yeah wouldn't mind getting that software. |
Posted By: loudnclear
Date Posted: 31 July 2010 at 10:41am
| The built in mixer software with most soundcards / interfaces isn't anywhere near as advanced as SAC. Gates and comps on every channel, paramatric EQ, 24 separate monitor mixers, etc.... |
Posted By: Saul
Date Posted: 31 July 2010 at 12:15pm
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what interface are you using? i assume you'd need a few to do lots of channels. motu 828 has 10 ins
i also don't know if i could rely on a computer to keep a gig going. as good as they can be, it would just worry me. mind you, i suppose an LS9 is effectively this. |
Posted By: loudnclear
Date Posted: 31 July 2010 at 1:11pm
All digital mixing desks are essentially computers just running proprietary software, wheras SAC runs on a standard PC running windoze (XP / Win 7). My main rig is based around an old IBM Pentium 4 small form factor desktop with and RME HDSP9652 soundcard linked to 3 Behringer ADA8000 preamps, giving me 24 analog ins plus I use the S/PDIF connections looped back to each other for internal winamp use for break music etc.... so 26 ins / 24 outs in this configuration. You can use whatever (ADAT based) pre's you want.... I'm considering upgrading to Focusrite, but TBH, for live use, I can't fault the Berry's (there are even some massive Las Vegas Casinos running SAC systems and using the Berry pre's!)..... I reckon that I've got easily 60 live gigs under my belt with this rig so far, although I was as sceptical as anyone in the beginning as to reliability, so left it on 'soak test' for a week running 24 channels. I also have a laptop based system I've been playing around with, as I had a Phonic Firefly interface kicking around from a recording project. I eventually got this set up working but I'm not keen on the fragility of the firewire connection, which,if it gets disturbed, windows loses sync with the interface. Others are using laptops with RME interfaces with great results and the M Audio Profire 2626 seems to be working well too.... I think the main benefits are price. I was gonna buy a LS9-32 before I found out about this, which was s/hand about £5.5K at the time.... I built my SAC system for about a grand and the wholething rolls in a 10U ABS rack that has the monitor built into the back cover and takes about 2 minutes to rig. Also, the ability to use a 2nd PC as a remote (no audio passing through it at all) is fantastic. I mixed last night's gig from a netbook via wifi into the main system...... Folk have a hard time getting their heads around the fact that I'm mixing the band and not just checking my emails!  The other (major) benefit is sound quality. It is sooooo clean, really doesn't sound digital at all, strangely..... Okay, I'm starting to sound like some kind of evangelist here.... just that I don't think that many in the UK are aware of it yet.... |
Saul wrote:Posted By: soundguymatt
Date Posted: 02 August 2010 at 1:29pm
| so is the software free? |
Posted By: silworm
Date Posted: 02 August 2010 at 1:59pm
| What's the difference between these and using the mixer from Cubase or any other DAW? |
Posted By: loudnclear
Date Posted: 02 August 2010 at 2:01pm
No, $500 US |
Posted By: loudnclear
Date Posted: 02 August 2010 at 2:04pm
For live use, mainly the fact that cubase, reaper, etc are designed for recording use. SAC is laid out like a digital mixer for live use would be. plus 24 monitor consoles..... gates, comps, low latency suing a decent soundcard, the ability to use the remote software on a laptop via wifi...... |
Posted By: podman999
Date Posted: 15 February 2011 at 11:57pm
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Loud and clear, are you Steven that was with 3 card trick last week at the showcase? I'm Lee from teh Copycats, we had a good chat! Have to say I was well impressed with the quality of your system! Iwould make the move myself but I think as a performer/operator It could be fiddly for on the fly editing. Great for use with someone on front of house though! Loved the seperate monitor mixer too!! Lee. |
Posted By: loudnclear
Date Posted: 16 February 2011 at 7:50am
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Hey Lee... yeah, guilty your honour.... Was good to chat with you, sorry I didn't get a bit more time at the end of the night but you know how it is at those things - everyone's desperate to get away and the lads had another gig that night... Like I mentioned to you, when I was playing with my old band and running sound, the biggest problem was always not having a hand free to make any changes. That said, with a small control surface hooked up, you could arrange your main 8 'money' channels together to at least get easy access to faders and mutes. without needing to use the mouse. A press of one F key will jump you to whatever monitor mixer you need on the same fader layout, so the control surface faders will chase..... I did buy an 8 fader Behringer surface, but TBH have gotten so used to mixing with the mouse now that I don't bother taking it out. You can link up multiple 8 fader surfaces together......... Also, not sure if it would be of interest to you guys - but if you ever wanted to use backing tracks, the developer also wrote the SAW Studio DAW program and it hooks straight into SAC without using up any line inputs or preamps, it just patches together virtually. you can also do multitrack recording straight off the inputs from SAC to SAW Studio in the same way. Personally I couldn't justify the cost of the studio package but I am able to track in a similar way using Reaper but I need to individually assign the inputs and name them, whereas SAW Studio does that all automatically. Anyway, it's probably not for everyone, but it has been the best money I have spent in my audio career so far..... |
Posted By: Steve_B
Date Posted: 16 February 2011 at 8:50pm
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I’ve not used SAC, but I’ve done a number of gigs controlling
an 01V remotely using wifi. I use an old wireless router and a Belkin network
to USB hub. The last gig I did was using Studio Manager running on XP,
which in turn was a guest OS under Virtualbox on Ubuntu. PC was a Toshiba NB100
netbook. The main problem was lack of screen area. |
Posted By: MRalx
Date Posted: 16 May 2011 at 11:29pm
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I've been eying up SAC for a while now, I'm a bit worried by having control with a mouse... but maybe thats because i want o splurge on a touchscreen :-) I imagine for reliability you need a uber clean windows install and very little else?
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