Getting Logic to see ADAT signals?

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Getting Logic to see ADAT signals?

I'm dumping down 8 tracks from an Alesis HD24 to put inside Logic for editing. I have an Audiofire Pre8 with the ADAT inputs as my interface.

The problem is, I don't know how to configure Logic see these digital inputs. The Audiofire Console says that each of the 8 tracks are routed just fine (on inputs and outouts digitally), but nothing in Logic to reconfigure its analog inputs. I figure there has to be some way to do this....I had an old Digi001 years ago that allowed each track to see whatever input it needed to see...either be it analog, spdif, or ADAT. I don't see that in Logic.

My hookups are simple...ADAT out from Alesis into ADAT input of Audiofire...Audiofire Firewire into MacBook.

Let me further add that getting analog (2 ch stereo) output signal out of the Audiofire is working just fine.

Please help! Am I making this harder than it really is?

MacPro 3 Ghz/6gig RAM/MacBook Pro 2.8 Unibody, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Feb 13, 2010 4:23 AM

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Answer 1

spheric

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Feb 13, 2010 4:31 AM in response to Talonhead

What inputs does Logic show?

For my MHLabs MIO 2882, it just shows 18 inputs. I know 1-8 are analog ins, 9-16 are ADAT, and 17/18 are AES/EBU.

I would assume it's exactly the same with your Audiofire - Logic should show you 16 available inputs.

Message was edited by: spheric

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Answer 2

Talonhead Author

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Feb 13, 2010 4:53 AM in response to spheric

You're right...Logic does show 16 inputs. So you're saying just treat Inputs 9-16 like ADAT 1-8? Put Track 1 on 9...Track 2 on 10 and so on? Then Logic would see the outputs of the Audiofire's ADAT signals?

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Answer 3

spheric

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Feb 13, 2010 5:11 AM in response to Talonhead

Talonhead wrote:
You're right...Logic does show 16 inputs. So you're saying just treat Inputs 9-16 like ADAT 1-8? Put Track 1 on 9...Track 2 on 10 and so on?

Yep.

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Answer 4

Talonhead Author

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Feb 13, 2010 5:21 AM in response to spheric

I gotcha...but what's a guy to do if he's dumping down more than 8 tracks at one pop? What then?

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Answer 5

spheric

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Feb 13, 2010 5:27 AM in response to Talonhead

Um.

If you need more channels than your interface offers, get a different interface?

Alternately, just bounce 7 tracks on the second go and as the eighth track, include a reference track you've already bounced on the first run to be able to properly align the second set of tracks.

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Answer 6

Talonhead Author

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Feb 13, 2010 6:04 AM in response to spheric

I didn't think it was an interface issue. Like you said, Logic offers 1-8 as analog and 9-16 as digital. I asked about if I wanted to transfer, for example, 24 tracks from the Alesis into Logic at one pop, how that would work.

This is of course provided you have three interfaces daisy-chained (one for each set of 8 ADAT tracks)...but if Logic only has 8 digital inputs to use at once, how would it work out?

I don't want to bounce anything. I did enough of that back in the analog days of 8 track.

Thanks bud.

Message was edited by: Talonhead

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Answer 7

spheric

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Feb 13, 2010 6:21 AM in response to Talonhead

Talonhead wrote:
I didn't think it was an interface issue. Like you said, Logic offers 1-8 as analog and 9-16 as digital. I asked about if I wanted to transfer, for example, 24 tracks from the Alesis into Logic at one pop, how that would work.

This is of course provided you have three interfaces daisy-chained (one for each set of 8 ADAT tracks)...but if Logic only has 8 digital inputs to use at once, how would it work out?

It won't. You'll have to split it into several batches.

Transfer tracks 1-8, then transfer tracks 9-15 + 1 track from the first batch, so you can align them, then transfer tracks 16-22 + that 1 track from the first bathc, so you can align them, then transfer the final two tracks.

Sorry if that wasn't clear from my previous post.

I assumed that "bounce" is a perfectly valid verb for transferring tracks from an ADAT into a computer. It's not just reducing several tracks into one or two, AFAIK.

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Answer 8

Talonhead Author

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Feb 13, 2010 11:46 AM in response to spheric

Ahh yes I see. I guess if there is no work around on the procedure, then that's what has to be done.

Is there anyway to reconfigure Inputs 9-16 to be analog? I understand what one has to do to "bounce" more than 8 tracks into Logic (when doing a transfer from the Alesis)...but in another case, what does one do when recording more than 8 tracks from say, a live band?

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Answer 9

spheric

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Feb 13, 2010 4:31 PM in response to Talonhead

I'm not sure how one would "reconfigure" an optical plug to be 8 analog inputs. 🙂

You'd just buy an 8-channel analog-digital converter with ADAT out. Behringer makes a surprisingly decent one, Mackie has one, the Audient ASP 008 is one I can recommend, and there's a bunch of others.

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Answer 10

Talonhead Author

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Feb 13, 2010 7:35 PM in response to spheric

No no no...lol I guess I didn't word that right on the reconfiguring. I meant how would it be reconfigured (mapped) in Logic to turn those 9-16 inputs (in Logic) into analog instead of having them see digital inputs only.

Not at the Audiofire.

Even adding the Behringer or other converters into the mix as you say to have more than 8 digital inputs would mean that something would have to be changed in Logic (as far as input mapping) in order to have that work.

Remember...recording on the fly more than 8 tracks (either be it analog or digital) at a whack. It seems to me that one can't use strictly digital or analog to do this (as only 8 are available at one time). It would have to be a mix of the two?

Thanks a bunch!

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Answer 11

spheric

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Feb 13, 2010 7:44 PM in response to Talonhead

Please excuse me, but it's late here:

I've read that twice and still don't get what you're saying.

How could you use Logic, a piece of software running in a computer, to change 8 digital inputs, which are built into your audio interface hardware in the form of a digital optical input, into 8 analog inputs, which require highly complex hardware - clock, filters, analogue-digital converter chips, preamps, and not least the actual physical sockets to plug your cables into.

It's almost five a.m., so please excuse if I'm missing something basic in your post, but there's a fundamental misunderstanding somewhere in this thread.

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Answer 12

Pancenter

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Feb 13, 2010 11:54 PM in response to Talonhead

Talonhead wrote:
Ahh yes I see. I guess if there is no work around on the procedure, then that's what has to be done.

Logic will see as many inputs as you have available providing the Interface software "sees" the daisy chained audio interfaces. There is no 8 tracks limit.

The interface software "presents" the hardware to Logic. It's not Logic that determines which tracks are analog and which are digital. MOTU interfaces used to come in with digital inputs starting on input 11-19, Inputs 1 & 2 were s/pdif in, inputs 3-10 were analog. That's the way the MOTU drivers and Logic worked together.

pancenter-

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Answer 13

Talonhead Author

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Feb 14, 2010 12:58 AM in response to Pancenter

By George...I think he's got it! I guess it isn't 5am where you're at when you answered this is it? lol

I see exactly what you're saying now. I thought it was Logic that dictated how many inputs were available, but it's the Audiofire that's doing spitting out that info to Logic. 10-4 on that.

By that logic, if I were to daisy-chain another Audiofire 8, perhaps Logic would NOW see Inputs 1-32 instead of 1-16 with 17-32 being digital inputs?

I obviously don't have much experience yet working with interfaces so I really appreciate your patience here. Learn something new everyday.

Thanks to both you guys that offered your info to me!

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