[Getting Older and Grumpier Gear Minion]

I'm looking a acquiring a USB interface and wondered if more than one
can
be used to record tracks a the same time. The software bundles are
capable
of many tracks but the device has 2 outputs-2 tracks. Can 2 different
models
be used to record 4 tracks, say a Lexicon Omega and a Tascam US-144?
Computer has 4 USB 2.0 ports plus a 54mm card with dual USB 2.0
ports.
Thanks!!

[soundhaspriority]

"Getting Older and Grumpier Gear Minion" wrote
in message ups.com...
I'm looking a acquiring a USB interface and wondered if more than one
can
be used to record tracks a the same time. The software bundles are
capable
of many tracks but the device has 2 outputs-2 tracks. Can 2 different
models
be used to record 4 tracks, say a Lexicon Omega and a Tascam US-144?
Computer has 4 USB 2.0 ports plus a 54mm card with dual USB 2.0
ports.
Thanks!!

No, they can't. Windows wants to talk to a single software driver. There
exist a number of Firewire devices that can be concatenated on one buss, and
are run by a single driver. But not for USB, and never for combinations of
hardware from different makers.

Bob Morein
(310) 237-6511

[Bill Ruys]

It fully depends on your recording software and what driver model you use.
Audio apps that can use WDM drivers can usually handle multiple audio
devices. However, the ASIO driver spec does not support multiple audio
devices, unless *one* driver handles all the devices (such as multiple Delta
cards, which all run under a single driver). So if your devices are made by
different manufacturers, there's virtually no chance of making it work with
ASIO, but a reasonable chance of doing it with WDM drivers.

Your other problem (if you used WDM) would be keeping the audio interfaces
in close sync. You might get away with a little bit of drift if you don't
record any single instrument across multiple sound cards. Otherwise you
will get some flanging/phasing.

But, to be brutally honest, your best bet is to just buy a card with the
required number of channels.

Bill.

"Getting Older and Grumpier Gear Minion" wrote
in message ups.com...
I'm looking a acquiring a USB interface and wondered if more than one
can
be used to record tracks a the same time. The software bundles are
capable
of many tracks but the device has 2 outputs-2 tracks. Can 2 different
models
be used to record 4 tracks, say a Lexicon Omega and a Tascam US-144?
Computer has 4 USB 2.0 ports plus a 54mm card with dual USB 2.0
ports.
Thanks!!




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

[Scott Fraser]

No, they can't. Windows wants to talk to a single software driver. There exist a number of Firewire devices that can be concatenated on one buss, and are run by a single driver. But not for USB, and never for combinations of hardware from different makers.

In Mac OSX 10.4 one can create an Aggregate Device incorporating any
number of pieces of hardware, but they will need to be word clock
synced.

Scott Fraser

[Arny Krueger]

"Soundhaspriority" wrote in message
...

"Getting Older and Grumpier Gear Minion"
wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm looking a acquiring a USB interface and wondered if more than one
can
be used to record tracks a the same time. The software bundles are
capable
of many tracks but the device has 2 outputs-2 tracks. Can 2 different
models
be used to record 4 tracks, say a Lexicon Omega and a Tascam US-144?
Computer has 4 USB 2.0 ports plus a 54mm card with dual USB 2.0
ports.
Thanks!!

No, they can't. Windows wants to talk to a single software driver.

Windows can definately talk to more than one audio driver at a time. There
are some audio drivers that won't allow them to have more than one instance,
but that is the choice of the software designer and not a limitation of
windows.

However, many USB audio devices have a property called isosynchronous, which
means that the device ties up the physical path to it for the duration of a
transfer. This can be circumvented by having more than one physical path,
and giving each isosynchronous device a unique physical path.

[gunnar]

I have never heard about anyone doing it reliably. I know a lot of
people has tried, as far as I know no person has been happy with it.
Best bet is that you will end up will all kinds of software hangups
and gross digital pops.

Call back if you succeed.

Gunnar

[Mike Rivers]

On Aug 22, 3:02 pm, gunnar wrote:
I have never heard about anyone doing it reliably. I know a lot of
people has tried, as far as I know no person has been happy with it.

It's not a generic solution, but CEntrance, the company who created a
universal multi-device ASIO driver for Windows, is supplying a multi-
device USB driver for their USB audio products, which at this point is
only one (other than perhaps some OEM products), the MicPort. It's a
USB adapter for a microphone, and their multi-device driver solves the
problem of what to do if you want to use more than one mic.

Unfortunately, they decided to drop the Firewire Universal Driver so
if your question was about Firewire audio devices, the only answer now
is "get a Mac."

[Getting Older and Grumpier Gear Minion]

Bill Ruys wrote:
It fully depends on your recording software and what driver model you use.

Snip

But, to be brutally honest, your best bet is to just buy a card with the
required number of channels.

Bill.

"Getting Older and Grumpier Gear Minion" wrote
in message ups.com...

snip

Computer has 4 USB 2.0 ports plus a 54mm card with dual USB 2.0
ports.
Thanks!!


Thanks, it's laptop and I'm going to explore MOTU world.
The 8 input device looks like it's the best choice for
more than 2 mics.