Hi
I have cubase system 4 (cubase sl3 and mi4 interface) and I'm trying to play the vocal out through my mixer to put the mixers delay and also my lexicon pcm91 reverb on it and then record it back on a track with the effects added.
when I did it there seems to be a bit of low humming feedback and if I turn anything up too much it really feeds back.
Is what I'm trying to do ok?if so am I doing it wrong or am I trying to do something I shouldn't?
I'm putting the left and right outputs from the mi4 interface into a stereo channel on the mixer adding the effects on the aux of the channel and then using the mono out of the mixer back into the mi4 interface to record back into the computer


I'm doing it this way as the cubase software I have doesn't seem to have a tab for external effects and I want to use my pcm91 reverb on vocals.

thanks in advance for any replies

Firstly check Cubase is using the correct sound device (Devices -> Device setup from the menu bar, and use ASIO rather than the Multimedia Audio driver).
Then in the operating system's volume controls make sure you have the input that is coming back from the desk muted as you don't want Windoze (or your Mac) to send the signal back out to the speakers, you only want to record it. Do not confuse this with muting a channel in Cubase though.

I hope this makes some sort of sense and sorry if I'm covering things you already know. I use SX3 and version 4 but I think you still have the same options in your version.

You can use many of the Lexicon effects using the impulse responses from Echochamber (download the relevant zips under lexikon 960) and load them into Cubase using SIR.

thanks for your reply
I am using the outputs that are normally for my speakers to a stereo channel in my mixer to add the effects etc.
I am wondering if this is creating some kind of loop that shouldn't be happening and thus giving me the feedback.
I think my cubase system 4 was a kind of all in one package that is designed to use the effects in it.but I am trying to find a way of using better quality effects.do you think what I'm trying to do is possible?
I shall try and see tomorrow if I can add effects like you suggest above.
actually thinking about it can you mute a track whilst recoring into it so that what you.re recording is not going back out to the left and right outputs.

Just to clarify this point a little.
You have said you are using the sound cards main outputs to send the signal to the mixing desk to which you then add the effects to each channel. There is nothing wrong with this but before you plug any more cables in, connect some headphones to the mixing desk and make sure you can hear the tracks playing and there is no hum coming from the desk itself.

Once this is confirmed then in Windoze mute all the inputs.
Then connect your cables going from the mixing desk outputs back to the sound card input 1 (or 2,3, 4 whichever you are using)
Also make sure that the channel is not on 'Monitor' within Cubase (the little speaker symbol on each track) as this will also send the signal back out to the mixing desk causing feedback.

I think a diagram could be useful. I have read this as you are connecting the main l and r output from the computer, via the MI4 to a couple of mixer in channels. sending some of this to a reverb unit via an aux, then returning from the mono mixer output back in to the MI4. Unless the return to the MI4 is totally wet and contains none of the dry signal, then this could be the source of the feedback as the output from the sequencer is coming straight back in. To be honest, problems like his often occur when you attempt to use an external mixer for anything other than mixing and balancing. You can use it for adding hardware effects, but going back into the sequencer is tricky. Cubase does have the facility for using external units, but only if you have D/As with enough inputs and outputs. The best you can do is have stereo out, plus one aux out and one aux return.

Sounds like you've got software/hardware monitoring going on which is causing a feedback loop.

Make sure your soundcard's 'input, out' volume is turned down (if you know what I mean, the volume of the input coming back out), and also that Cubase's software monitoring is off (the little speaker logo shouldn't be enabled on the recording channel), otherwise the sound will keep looping from the computer, through the mixer, back into the computer, back into the mixer, and you'll end up with feedback.

Also, a word of advice in case you aren't doing this already, record a '100% wet' mix (all effects, none of the original vocal recording) of the effects on a separate channel to the main vocals in Cubase so you can adjust the amount of effects in relation to the vocals.

Not having used Cubase ever, I hesitate to reply but your symptoms sound so much like a question we get almost daily on the Audition forums that I'll risk a generic answer.

The symptoms sound very much to me like Russ83 is right in suggesting that this might be signal routing problem, either in Windoze or in the mixer/control software that came with your soundcard. I can't give a specific set of instructions but basically you have to set it so the playback control is set to only feed the wave out from your PC to the speaker output and the Record side must be set to "line in" or "wave in" only, not "What you hear" or anything equivalent to that.

Hope this helps,

Bob

Hi thanks for eveyones help
I think I've got it sorted now.
I changed the monitoring setting from 1/2 to 3/4 and it seems to have done the trick!
not quite sure what that means but if its sorted it out thats good enough for me :-)
it must have been some kind of loop feedback going on.
I will try to record the 100% wet mix as suggested above as that seems a good idea.presumably then I just set the level of the wet track against the original vocal track rather then recording back in a vocal with the effects added? am I understanding that right?

Yep, that's correct.

When you say you set the monitoring system from 1/2 to 3/4, it sounds to me as though you're using one of the M-Audio Delta sound cards, maybe a Delta 44?