Very good point. Also long usb cable length past 6 feet can pick up resistance and cause intermittent problems. I also would say that switching to my pc’s usb 3.1 port hub has been a great option! The output current on the 3.1 is much higher than the 3.0 and 2.0 connections. Also if you dig a little deeper on interface spec, you will find a host of features of larger more expensive units and the MOTU Ultralite AVB interface has thunderbolt performance over usb. I’ve been watching MOTU for years and got my first interface this time last year and have been thoroughly impressed ever since.
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Beware that some USB devices do not like long cable lengths. My audio interfaces and synths are fine on 6M cables, but my Line 6 Helix will not connect over a 6M cable. 5m is fine. Strange but true…
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DeadBolt, that’s some clever stuff. I need to explore that a little closer. I’ll check out the TS video. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Derek, I’ll definitely keep that in mind.,
If you want more info on USB cable, I posted this over 2 yrs ago:
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Hey Stan,
the VoiceTone Harmony G is a different beast - it just creates harmonies based on an audio input from a guitar. My VoiceLive Rack uses both MIDI and audio inputs; since I mainly play keys, it is mostly fed by a MIDI output from my Cantabile songs (I use an encapsulated rack for this and create a route from my keyboards to it). For songs where I play guitar, I create another route (this time audio) from my guitar input to the VoiceLive - in parallel to the route that goes to the amp sim. This way, the VoiceLive gets a clean guitar signal, without any delay or distortion.
The reason I route my guitar to the voicelive through Cantabile is that, even turned down, my guitar input seems to create some noise that causes my VoiceLive to expect audio input instead of MIDI. Using Cantabile, I simply disconnect the guitar input for non-guitar songs, so the VoiceLive correctly expects MIDI.
With the Harmony G, there is no MIDI input, so if you want to use it with guitar only, it is simple: connect your guitar to the Harmony G, then connect its guitar thru to Cantabile and process it with a virtual amp.
If you want to create harmonies both from keys and guitar, you’ll need to use a different setup:
- you’ll need one separate audio output channel in your Cantabile setup to feed your Harmony G
- If you only have a stereo interface, that means that you’ll need to route all your main Cantabile output to a single mono output and assign that to the left channel of your interface. That gives you the right channel as “Harmony out”
- Now, for every song, create routes that feed this Harmony Out with the right signal - either from your clean guitar input or from one of the VST instruments that you play with your keyboards. Choose the one that you actually play reasonable chords with, not necessarily a solo instrument…
- It might be useful to create your songs so that your keyboard VSTi are relatively clean of reverb or delay and add that via separate plugins/racks in the song setup. This way, you can route a clean signal to the Harmony G, which improves chord detection, and send the processed signal to the main out.
Cheers,
Torsten
This is some great useful info Torsten. I’m going to try it out. I just may purchase the Voice Live. I’ve been eyeballing for a couple of years.
Thank you very much!
I have the 18i20. I use it for multiple scenarios including live recording of the band. Two vocals, eDrums (MONO), Bass, Stereo Keys, and Stereo Guitar. It’s a great interface and if the band needs to run (vocal?) FX thru Cantabile, this is the way to go. The 6i6 is also a good price-point-vs.-performance/options since, like the 18i20, it has an on-board, (5-pin), MIDI interface. Of course, they call it a ‘6-in’ interface, but two of the inputs are SPDIF. So, you can put up to 4 signals in. I also enjoy between 5-8ms of latency with an i7 (6th gen) Windows 8.1 PRO system. (Yep, Win 8.1 pro… I’ve been around the block with Microsoft - [systems engineer TEACHER/INSTRUCTOR] - I’m a retired, high-level I.T. professional…). But for the price, (just a few dollars more), you simply cannot beat the performance and features of the 18i20. It even stands alone (without software like Cantabile… apologies, Brad!). You can pre-program the internal routings and then take it to the venue and plug it in!
Thanks BrionBell. Our band setup is almost identical, except I have an extra guitar. We have a female lead singer, I’m the other lead singer, guitar and keyboardist. Our drummer has a Roland synth drums. I just took a look at the 18i20. It definitely looks capable of handling multiple devices. I’m gonna put that on my list of AI devices. Thanks again!
Nice one, never saw a stereo usb soundcard with integrated DI box before. What about latencies?
Regards, humphrey
I have no latency issues using my Wireless Alesis Vortex 2 directly to my laptop using Cantibile and Kontakt libraries like Orangetree Evolution guitars or the Korg M-1 plugins .
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Great input. Have had some problems with functionality via usb. Noticed I was using ALL crap cords. No wonder I am feeling like I am walking on thin ice during our performances.
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So you use it with ASIO4All?
No The Whirlwind USB shows up as its own interface needs no drivers
Brion,
Does the 18i20 appear as multiple USB inputs and outputs? I am currently using a Behringer XR18 mixer which also functions as an 18 in/out interface. Each of the channels can be configured to be either USB feed or analog audio signal. Does the 18i20 have this capability. The downside of the XR18 is that there are no physical controls and all the settings have to be configured using a computer interface.
Thanks,
Derek
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I was looking for this with my xr16. It’s not possible to use as soundcard. So the xr18 works this way?
What about latency?
Sven see my reply to the other post.
Yes. 18x18 user configurable routing. I never bothered to measure the latency, but nothing really discernible.