Alesis Firewire 8 Problem

[LowDown Hal]

Anyone using one of these?

I can't get the setup right to record.
It works if I only want to record whatever is plugged into Mic1 or Mic2.

I can't change that mapping. For example if I want to record Main_L and Main_R

Or even Mic3 and Mic4

When I bought this thing I thought I was supposed to be able to record all 10 channels simultaneously if I wanted to.
i.e. inputs 1-8 plus Main_L and Main_R

Any ideas other than throwing this out

THANKS

 

[John Wentzien]

What software are you using?

 

[LowDown Hal]

I have the latest drivers installed from Alesis.
I'm running Windows XP pro SP3

I'm attempting this with Sonar Home Studio XL ver.7

 

[masterfader87]

ive heard some people saying that alesis doesnt like cakewalk. could be heresay im not sure im a digi protools guy

 

[John Wentzien]

I'm not too familiar with Sonar..
There should be a way to toggle each recording channel to assign an input from each channel on the Alesis.
I use Steinberg Nuendo..and must choose an input for every channel I add past input1, and input2.

 

[vin*tone]

Yeah works fine for me. Mac+ Logic or Garageband.
You will be given a selection of inputs for each track and theoretically a big drop down list of all inputs.

 

[vin*tone]

and BTW. If you want to throw it out- I have a great rubbish bin at my house that you can use.

 

[John Wentzien]

There should be a drop-down screen on each channel that you can select an input from the firewire.

 

[John Wentzien]

Yeah works fine for me. Mac+ Logic or Garageband.
You will be given a selection of inputs for each track and theoretically a big drop down list of all inputs.

Beat me to it!

 

[LowDown Hal]

While I appreciate the sentiment I'm not buying a new Apple to solve this problem

The drop down screen gives me choices between
Alesis Left
Alesis Right
Alesis Stereo
So, I choose left and right but it then only records Mic1 and Mic2 channels.

For the moment I would be happy if that meant Main_L and Main_R.

It appears that the Alesis firmware maps Mic1 to WDM1 and MIC2 to WDM2. I'm guessing that Sonar thinks WDM1 = Main_: and WDM2 = Main_R.
Actually the Alesis seems to map the 8input channels to WDM1-8 but there is no way to re-map for the MAIN channels since it only seems to recognize 8 WDMs' ??

The thing came with CubaseLE so maybe I'll try that tomorrow.
I'm tired of fighting it for tonight

Perhaps Audacity ?

 

[John Wentzien]

It will definately work with cubase...

"Reaper" is another choice. Free to download and try.

 

[John Wentzien]

I think you can get 4 channels at a time with LE.. It's upgradable though.

 

[LowDown Hal]

I'll try it tomorrow. Hopefully it lets me pick between the 10 alleged available inputs.

 

[John Wentzien]

Good luck!

 

[LowDown Hal]

Installed CubaseLE and still see similar behavior.

I can only record two channels at a time.

It can be any of the 8 Alesis input channels if I remap them in the Alesis Control Panel. The panel shows 8 WDM but apparently the PC Software only recognizes WDM1 and WDM2.

However, I can not map the Alesis Main_L and Main_R to WDM1 and WDM2. When I try I get the Blue Face of Bill Gates (the screen of death)

I think my issue is with the Alesis Driver???
I have contacted their tech support but they are slow to respond.

Totally frustrated right now..........

 

[rdcowan]

What does Alesis tech support say?

 

[MakiSupaStar]

I don't know if it makes a difference with your software, but make sure your input is set to mono. Sometimes that can cause problems.

 

[LowDown Hal]

What does Alesis tech support say?

Haven't heard back yet. Wrote them yesterday afternoon.

 

[LowDown Hal]

Can anyone confirm that they have been able to record more than 2 channels at once.
Allegedly I can do up to 10.
The 8 inputs and the Main_L, and Main_R

 

[jkramer5]

have you gone into the audio setup of any of these DAW's and told it about all 10 inputs? I had to do that to my firebox to get it to use all the inputs as mono rather than stereo pairs.

You will also want to select the ASIO driver that came with your unit rather than WDM or any other listings.