[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

7 hours ago, J.F.N. said:

I have only good experience from the Focusrite support, they helped me with some minor things with my SL61MkII and surprisingly sent me a Power supply, for free, even though it's an old product and I had bought it used.

 

Call them and ask for help with setting your interface up in Reaper and they will most probably walk you through the process, and eventual problems can be ironed out with them directly on the phone.

 

 

I called them about a year ago with a different issue. and had a positive experience. This time I could not find a U.S. phone number on their web site, and there was only the chat/email option. Not as good of an experience this time around.

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

3 hours ago, J.F.N. said:

What previous poster said, switch the "stereo" on the ports (boxes to the left) to mono and you should instead see one box per mono channel, which hopefully will resolve your problem.

Turns out this doesn't matter too much. That can be set up as either Stereo or Mono and it works either way. 👍

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

I was able to get it to work this morning! Turns out I had some cables plugged into the wrong physical channels. Woops! 😳

 

Thanks to all here for chiming in with their seasoned advice. I've learned so much from this forum over the years.

 

No thanks to FR Tech Support 😆

 

🙏🙏🙏

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

6 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

Ah..you didn't mention the interface control software. Not familiar with your interface, but since all looks good on the reaper end, I'd bet dollars to donuts that's where the bottleneck is. 

That could very well be it. The Focusrite Control software appears simple but maybe I'm missing something... I suppose I'll keep researching it.  I'm not able to route the Track 3 audio to output 3 even though I'm fairly certain I have it set up to do so... it appears there is signal being sent to Output 3 in the FR Control software, but that track's audio is playing through both 1+2. I suppose it's possible the chat-man at FR was right.🤔

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

1 hour ago, Sean M. H. said:

 

 

No, I don't think it's a dumb idea at all--now that I understand what you're going for.  By everything you've described, this SHOULD work!  The software (Reaper) supports multiple outputs...The Focusrite interface has 4 outputs...the mixer has enough inputs...

 

So sounds like what you basically are doing is "submixing"...so that you maintain some control over your sounds and can adjust levels prior to going to FOH/soundman?  Again, no reason this shouldn't work with the stuff you already have.  Everything is just pointing to a software setting/routing option.  I don't know Reaper well enough to offer specific advice though.

 

Could you still hear track 3 when the song was playing, even though the knob didn't do anything?...and if so, was track 3 affected by knobs 1 or 2?  If the answers are yes, then that even further points to there just not being a 3rd output activated and routed correctly within the software.

 

One thing to keep in mind (not sure it's been mentioned)... typically, these interface also have their own software/app that allows you to route its inputs and outputs.  So even if you have Reaper setup such that track 3 is going to an output called "Focusrite Out 3" for instance...you might still need to go into the Focusrite software and make sure that "Focusrite Out 3" is actually routed to the 3rd physical output on your interface.  Think the Focusrite app is called MixControl or something like that (been a while since I had mine)

Thanks for your feedback! I can hear track 3 as its being routed somehow to outputs 1+2 (I think). I cannot control the individual level of track 3 like I can 1 and 2 via the analog mixer. I think I have my Focusrite set up correctly since I'm seeing the signal coming through via output 3 there. I'm able to mix all the outputs separately via the Focusrite Control (inside of the software UI), just not track 3 by itself with the analog mixer. I think there is a Driver issue within Reaper or the Focusrite Control software needs to be tweaked. Maybe I can try searching for updates...

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

5 minutes ago, D. Gauss said:

 

 

does it show them labeled as such i.e.  first =scarlette 1,  last=scarlette 4,   and the device driver in reaper is the asio driver for your interface?  

 

 

 

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

50 minutes ago, D. Gauss said:

I'm recording/mixing in Reaper 8 hours or more a day 5 days a week. Lot going on in your post and not a lot to go by.  Assuming your interface is truly 4 in/4 out, this shouldn't be a prob. Also assuming your audio is leaving reaper...going to the interface..then to the analog mixer...then to some powered speakers or headphones to hear.

-first in reaper device configuration make sure your interface shows up with 4 channels out. If not, you should be able to select all 4 outputs there then save.

-be mindful that the default send for every channel is 1 and 2.(master bus) Unless you disable/change that, even if you send to ch 3, it is still going to 1 and 2 as well.  

 

Not sure what you're trying to accomplish with the hardware mixer. If it is just to have some hands on faders to touch vs. a mouse, you may be better off just using your phone or tablet and control the reaper mixer via the built in web browser OSC touch mixer. 

cheers! your assumptions are accurate.

 

I'm pretty sure I have Reaper configured to have the Output Range to 4. At least that's what it's showing in the Preferences under Audio - Device.

 

Yes, track 3 is getting routed to 1 and 2. I think this is my issue. I've unchecked Master Send on all three of my tracks and routed them using Hardware Outputs. 1 and 2 are working the way I envision but 3 gets routed to 1 and 2. Under "Add Sends", there are only 2 listed and also Parent Channels showing are 1-2 or 1, 2. No 3-4 anywhere there...

 

Hope that narrows it down. Maybe there is a better way to do this?

Thanks for the thoughtful responses.

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

1 hour ago, J.F.N. said:

The 4i4 has 4 physical inputs, and 4 physical outputs, which you will find, all of them, in your DAW. You are talking about a mixer, what mixer is that? If you want to route 4 channels from the mixer to 4 of the physical inputs on the 4i4, the mixer needs to be compatible with your strategy here.

It's a generic analog mixer, a Spirit Notepad with four mono channels and 2 stereo. By no means high end gear. I'm actually routing outputs from the 4i4 to the inputs of the mixer and then sending a stereo out signal to my studio monitors. It seems to be compatible so far... but maybe I'm going out about it all wrong.

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

1 hour ago, Docbop said:

I've never seen or used Reaper, but currently getting up to speed with Ableton Live. In Ableton's configuration for Audio section you can setup routing to all the your audio interfaces outputs so you could send your tracks to whatever output on your Focusrite you want.   I would imagine Reaper probably has the same capabilities to  map your outputs and then route your audio track to any of those outputs.     

yes, same with Reaper! This is what I'm attempting to do.

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

1 hour ago, Sean M. H. said:

What mixer are you using?

 

But more importantly...What exactly do you mean by "control" the tracks?  If you're routing the tracks to an analog mixer, then the most you could do would be to adjust the levels/gain and apply whatever EQ is built into the mixer*...but to be clear, you're not really "controlling" the tracks (i.e....you won't see the knob or fader on the software moving). 

 

 

...when someone says "control," I tend to assume they mean using hardware to adjust the various parameters and sounds of the computer software...if this is what you're trying to do, the right tool for the job is a MIDI control surface...not a "mixer".  

 

I don't think the Focusrite is the problem here...unless I'm totally misunderstanding what you're trying to accomplish.

 

*Note...sending audio tracks out through your interface, to an analog mixer, is in fact a "thing"...but it's typically done in professional studios, where the mixer in question costs as much as a house, and adds something special to the sound...or in live settings, where you are sending individual tracks/stems to FOH...but again, I'm not sure if that's what you're ultimately trying to accomplish.

I just mean to control the volume level of the DAW track(s) using the corresponding faders on the analog mixer. Sorry for the misnomer.

 

It's kind of an experiment to see if I could possibly perform this way live - being able to manipulate some individual levels before sending them to the house engineer. Maybe it's a dumb idea though.

[Hacking my Focusrite Scarlett (looking for a second opinion before buying more gear)]

I'm hoping to control several tracks in my DAW from an analog mixer via my Sarlett 4i4. Yesterday I set it up and was able to control 2 separate mono tracks by routing the outputs 1+2 into an analog mixer and assigning them in my DAW. I tried to route a 3rd output but was unsuccessful in controling that from my mixer even though the signal came through loud and clear. The knob did nothing for channel/track 3.

 

After contacting their tech support they made it clear that this is not the Scarlett's intended purpose and I must buy more of their other gear in order to reach my goal. I feel like maybe that's incorrect?

 

My goal: control 3 mono source tracks in my DAW from the analog mixer, by simply routing them through the hardware outputs of my Scarlett. This seems do-able on paper but perhaps not?

 

I'm using Reaper, if that matters. Any thoughts? 🙏

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

11 hours ago, mcgoo said:

 

Well, 100% of my income comes from Music or music related services. I'm not aware of the makeup of his clientele otherwise. To me though, that's not important. It's up to him to know tax law and how to use it legally to make sure that I don't pay anymore than the law dictates. As for what we musicians do and him understanding us, we buy tools to make money, spend money to learn our craft, and use part of the house to do our work or prepare ourselves for the work we do. Doesn't seem that difficult to understand. I don't pay him to remind me to keep track of mileage to gigs. I pay him to advise me when it's time to convert the sole proprietorship to an S-Corp. 

Feel free to pass along his info.

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

13 hours ago, Reezekeys said:

Don't quote me exactly but I remember measuring the dimensions of my home studio and coming up with a figure that was a percentage of that area compared to the total square footage of our house. My accountant deducts that percentage of our utility bills - oil, propane, water, etc. This is the home-office deduction that I've heard some say can raise a flag with the IRS. The key is the work you do in the studio must be related to your income-generating music work. If you play in a cover band and use your home studio only to create vanity projects of your originals that you show off to family, that deduction may not fly. At least this is how I understand it (yes that's a disclaimer!).

The home office deduction would be questionable for me since I live in a studio apartment. I've read that it needs to be a separate dedicated room in your home for it to fly with the IRS. I'm sure people still deduct a portion of it anyways. Something to think about. 🤔

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

14 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

You should be depreciating your gear purchases, tracking your mileage at 65.5 cents a mile, keeping receipts for your music subscriptions and media purchases, etc.   The standard deduction doesn’t have anything to do with money you didn’t make due to business expenses.  Track your mileage and keep receipts.  

 

If you’re the sole proprietor and you haven’t any employees you don’t need to be an LLC or S-Corp or anything like that. Just do your taxes as usual.  Bight the bullet and pay an accountant to help you with this the first year.  See what he did and do the same next time around. 

I'm definitely going to look into depreciation for next year. That's one area I have never used. Thanks for the tip!

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

7 hours ago, mcgoo said:

 

Don't underestimate the value of a good CPA. I can't write the check fast enough to my guy because he saves me way more than I could if I did my own taxes.

Does your person work with full time music professionals? I'd consider using them if their rate is in my budget.

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

The plan going forward is to be much more vigilant about my book/record keeping and take any and every advantage I can regarding schedule C while trying not to trigger their audit system. 😆

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

2 hours ago, Shamanzarek said:

I stopped having to itemize everything when the Standard Deduction was doubled several years ago. As long as you're not in a high tax bracket for other income it shouldn't really be an issue.

unfortunately it is. I don't even bring in THAT much income from gigs... 🤷‍♂️ most of my teaching income is W2'd. No I'm not in a high tax bracket either -  It's pretty annoying.

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

2 hours ago, Reezekeys said:

You might find this helpful: https://www.keepertax.com/tax-write-offs/musician

yes, this!

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

Yes, I receive at least one 1099 but also multiple venmo/paypal/cash payments. I'm not trying to shell out $$$ to a CPA who ultimately does not care about my personal financial situation and knows nothing about the nuances of the industry.  I'll keep looking for resources online that are catered to folks in our profession. Thanks for your comment!

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

Also, forgot to mention that I teach...

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

United States.

[Any good tax guides for musicians out there?]

I'm a freelancer and I also have my own solo project. I've always treated everything as a hobby in regards to the IRS. That was probably a dumb idea.

 

Happy tax season!

[tips for performing solo with backing tracks? (optimization)]

On 3/13/2023 at 8:21 PM, Reezekeys said:

This might not help, but on my laptop rig using Plogue Bidule as my hosting software, I had multi-channel .WAVs of the tunes I wanted to play along with. Three channels in all - usually everything but bass in stereo, and bass on a separate mono track. Bidule has a multi-channel .WAV player that can load these files. I put gain controls on the outputs and assigned them to knobs on my Roland controller, allowing me to vary the level of the bass with the main track from my keyboard. I could add more tracks if I wanted or needed, but three were enough. Everything went out as a single stereo feed from the headphone jack to my PPAs.

 

If you're already bringing a laptop to gigs to play tracks, then depending on your platform and available software you could be good to go for this method. I used my laptop for all my keyboard sounds as well, which it sounds like you're not doing. Not sure if Mainstage or the other hosts can do this, but if Bidule can, I imagine the others can too. There's always a plain old DAW for playing multi-channel tracks of course, and I presume you can use midi CCs to start, stop, advance to the next song, control faders etc., unless you don't mind interacting with the computer during a gig (mine was behind me, I didn't need to look at or touch it, so midi control was a must).

 

 

The method I described, with tracks' levels assigned to midi controllers, means you control the mix of your backing tracks, not the FOH person; they only get a stereo feed. Of course they can still screw you over on your overall level, but they won't be able to adjust the different tracks' levels individually.

I find this super interesting and will add your suggestions to the research file! Thanks so much for adding your own experience and input on the topic. 👍

[tips for performing solo with backing tracks? (optimization)]

On 3/9/2023 at 6:17 AM, miden said:

My tips for playing with trax - is keep them as empty as possible. IE, play as much live as you can and (if solo) do not try to emulate 100% the "record".

 

I tried the whole full separation thing, even when playing live bass and a drum machine all with separate feeds and running the show in stereo with panning and all....in the end it simply is not worth the effort or cost. Just create well balanced trax and you'll be fine!

For sure, I see what you're saying. The tracks I have now actually do the job adequately but I'm wondering if there is a way to make it sound even better/fuller. Some of the feedback I received was that the house mix wasn't loud enough so I'm wondering if the lack of bass separation is part of the reason for that... lots to unpack still! Thanks for the tips!

[tips for performing solo with backing tracks? (optimization)]

On 3/8/2023 at 1:19 PM, ElmerJFudd said:

There are benefits to leaving your backing tracks (whatever is included in them - drums, bass, other timbres) in the software you made them with so that you have control to mix them for the room you are playing.  If you bounce them down to a stereo file you lose track faders, panning, eq and compression for the instruments not just the whole recording.  You can put your whole set list in an Ableton, Logic, Reaper file and run your show off of a laptop.  Or bounce down your stems and load them in backing track player software on an iPad or something.  

Example: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/multitracker/id1107736294

 

There are also many backing track apps that generate the tracks for you based on the chord changes, style and tempo.  They pretty much all give you controls over what to play and what to mute, volume level on a track basis, etc.  Some also project lyrics, or present your chord charts, or sheet music to match where you are in the tune,  

 

This is all VERY interesting. I'm not sure if some of it applies to my music since it is all pre-recorded and I'm not really "jamming" or improvising live much at all (right now). I will defeinitely check into it some more. and take a look at the link you posted. I've never used a DAW on stage live before so the idea is a little scary (if it were to crash in the middle) but I've seen other people do it and I can see why it works for some. Thanks for the input and chiming in. Cheers!!