Setting up tsp2 loop recorder with external mixer
i’m hoping someone might explain how to properly route audio for using traktor scratch pro 2’s loop recorder with my allen and heath xone 42 4 channel mixer… thanks in advance for your response
hello,
What soundcard are you using? and whats your usual setup?
In my knowledge u have 2 options.
-
you can use the record out of the mixer, connect it toa IN channel on your soundcard (set that IN and set it to the Input FX Send in the traktor input routing options). Use a OUT of your soundcard (set it to Output FX Return in traktor output routing options) and connect it to a input chanel of your mixer.
-
Bassicly the same, just you dont connect it to the record out and line in channel , but you connect it to x:fx snd and x:fx:rtn on your mixer. So from the snd to a input of your soundcard, and from the rtn to a output on your soundcard. again select the proper channels in traktor input and output preferences.
Hope that helps a bit. I dont have traktor with me so i hope i explained everithing right 
)))
You do not have to have an extra output from the audio interface running to the 42, as it’s got an fx loop, so connect the fx send to a pair of inputs on your audio interface which Traktor will record from, and send the audio out via the 42’s own controls. However specifically for 42 I am unsure of how the filters will work together with the fx send; I’ve yet to try the 42. I would not recommend using the record out, as you would be very limited in terms of what you can record mid-set.
I’ve got a setup similar to yours and played a bit with the FlexFX as I was exploring the 42’s features.
This was using one of the effect slots as a send reverb and the result was quite disappointing. I’ll setup the loop recorder this evening and have a bit of a mess about then report back, but I’m under the impression that doing send/return in a single knob is not a great idea.
thanks for your help!!! yeah with the xone 42, ive got the fx send and return ports as an option and i can control the wet/dry of the send on each of the four channels. i’m still not exactly sure how to configure it. i understand that i’ll connect the fx send port from the back of the mixer to an open input on my audio 8 dj soundcard (i’ll use 5/6 input) and then select 5/6 in traktor input routing (input fx send (ext)). but im not sure what to do after that. my complete setup is listed in my signature. thanks again for your assistance !!
Setting up tsp2 loop recorder with external mixer
As for actually just sending audio, I’m not familiar with the 42, but possibly just adjusting the d/w knob is everything you have to do.
As for connecting it all to Traktor, it would be correct to assign the ext under input to whatever input is accepting audio on the A8. The under the loop recorder, the d/a knob works as the loop recorder’s volume adjust if. Playing with the (very simple) loop recorder for 2 mins should be enough to know it by heart.
i’ve got audio from my mixer fx send to an input on the audio 8dj soundcard sorted out. do i not need to configure routing audio out? sorry if i sound like a dumb@#$
Setting up tsp2 loop recorder with external mixer
No problem, we’re all idiots anyway.
The fx send from Traktor is for when you’re mixing internally. You can then assign the send parameters in Traktor, process the audio internally and the route it back into Traktor. Wit an external mixer, you already have all the (up to 4) external stereo channels separated on hardware and controllable from there with the mixer’s fx send, that’s why Traktor’s send is useless with an external mixer with fx send for the loop recorder. Still, you could probably find other uses for it, like having an effect unit in external mode, routed into the return on the mixer - I dunno, your limit is your imagination.
If you’ve got a spare USB port, you could use the Xone’s internal soundcard as a 5th channel (and assign either the loop-recorder or let’s say a sample deck to that - depending on which one you want more control over)
okay so after sending audio from my mixer to an input (5/6) on my audio 8dj soundcard via fx send and then selecting that soundcard input channel (5/6) in traktor’s loop recorder input, im STILL not sure what to do next. Do i route audio back to an open mixer channel from an output on the audio 8dj and select that audio 8dj output channel in traktors loop recorder output routing? what about the fx return port of the mixer?
Almost understanding this…please bear with me… i appreciate your patience lads.
thanks!
I think you have to route it back to a normal channel…
Alright, I’ve had a bit of a mess about with all of this.
Xone FX send > A8 inputs 7/8
Input settings : “Input FX Send (Ext)” as A8 input 7/8.
Output settings :“Output FX Return” to A8 output 7/8 (ch4 on my mixer)
The loop sampler automatically sets itself to Ext and will record/playback on these channels.
- Think of the Return channel on the 42 as an extra invisible channel which is always full volume, and that you have no control over except with the filter (see below).
- The “XFX To filter” will only filter the return channel. It’s like any other channel filter button, except it looks like arse.
- The filter applied to a channel does NOT go over the send, which only happens post gain/eq/upfader, so you won’t be recording any filter sweeps through the 42’s FX Send, sorry. You can still record yourself “cutting” with the upfader, but I don’t think the logarithmic curve is vicious enough for that to work properly.
I tried routing Traktor’s return (here, 7/8) into the Xone FX Return. You probably don’t want that considering the above - as long as something is going through it, you’ll hear it, even with all the faders down. So if the loop sampler kept playing with all decks stopped and all faders down, you’d still have that loop blasting at full volume, which you can then only control from the loop sampler’s dry/wet knob.
Since you only have an A8, you’ll want to sacrifice one of your four channels as a dedicated loop sampler/return. Notice you can also use it as a regular deck 4 output at the same time since TP2 allows routing several channels to a single output.
- If you had a TA10 you could use outputs 9/10 for the return and route that to the mike channel using an RCA/XLR adapter, but you only have two EQs and no filter on that.
- If you wanted to use the Xone’s usb soundcard, you’d have to aggregate both A8+Xone with Asio4All and lose timecode control. This could also mean increasing the latency - I just can’t get Asio4all to go below ~10ms with the Xone’s USB interface.
Now, the thing to remember with the 42’s Send is that it potentially moves all the channel’s sound outside-it doesn’t clone whatever amount you’re sending to that output, it STEALS it.
So how do we go about recording AND hearing what we’re doing?
Deck A/Channel 1 is playing out loud.
- Turn the Loop recorder’s dry/wet all the way down.
- Push your return volume all the way up.
- Send CH1 all the way up (D/W to Wet). it’ll fill up your return channel and you will HEAR it. Whatever you do with CH1 gain/eq/upfader will go to your sampler.
- Pick a sample length.
- Hit record and dick around on deck A : hotcues, fx and whatnot.
- At this point, in TP2 you can turn the sampler’s D/W, which is now playing your loop, all the way up to WET and you’ll hear your awesome shit instead of what you’re sending to it.
Now that you have a cool loop, you can turn CH1’s Send D/W down to dry - you’ll start hearing it again.
if you don’t pull either CH1/4 (return/looper)'s upfader down, you’ll also hear them both flanging, you’ll redline the mixer and shame will be brought to your family.
thanks bumtsch for your detailed post and others too for your input on this!
i gots it all sorted:
mixer ch 1 plays timecode vinyl (Deck A), mixer ch 2 is the dedicated loop recorder output, mixer ch 3 plays output from the sample decks, and mixer channel 4 plays timecode vinyl (Deck B). i can record using the mixers booth.
me very much likey this setup!
The bit I liked when experimenting with this was turning deck C into a sample deck and dragging sampled loops to the sample slots. This almost made me consider keeping the cables as such and mapping part of an X1 for this. almost