Reply To: Digigrid system or similar in your studio?

[Lem MeadorModerator]

Hey, Samuel and Matt, there's a good public Facebook group called Waves SoundGrid Connection. There are some folks in there that are deep into SoundGrid, with a lot of expertise with integration into HDX and all kinds of systems. Because I was building my studio from scratch, I didn't have to worry about integration. The folks in that group seem genuinely helpful. I follow it pretty closely, even though about half of it is about integration with systems that I don't have. There's one guy that is amazingly helpful. He may actually be a Waves employee. Not sure, but he does moderate the group and keep it clean. His name is Ümit Ceyhan. He is also the moderator and guide for another private group called DiGiGrid Connection. I belong to that group, too, since I actually own DiGiGrid equipment.

I'm checking with Matt D. to see if they have ever posted my videos that will give you an inside look at how I use my system. As a starter, I have this equipment:

MacBook Pro 2011 (maxed out)
DiGiGrid iOX (12 channel interface with 4 headphone outs and 3 stereo pair outs)
DiGiGrid D (desktop interface with 4 additional inputs) I use this one as my monitor controller in the control room.
Impact Server (the smallest of the servers, but so far has been more than sufficient for even the largest mixes with 60+ tracks)
A Waves certified Netgear switch (8 channel)
Yamaha HS8's with the matching sub

That's the core of my system. With just that limited amount of gear, I can track a live band with 5 musicians, capturing live drums (9 mics), bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, stereo piano and a scratch vocal. I still have one input left over and sometimes use an extra mic on the drum kit or add a cabinet to the electric guitar or the bass, depending on the musician, which pedal boards they bring, what the song needs, etc. With that limited gear, I can also provide all 5 musicians with individual mixes. Everybody gets exactly what they want. I can also provide effects like delay and reverb in ear for tracking, if wanted, while tracking clean to disk. I can also apply the effects and track dirty and have in ear dirty. I can even track dirty and have in ear clean. I always track through the new Scheps Omni Channel plugin, for all tracks. I don't track dirty with it, but I don't really have to. With the way the I use the system most of the time, the musicians hear the effects (EQ, compression, etc.) from the Omni Channel plugin in ear while tracking. Then, when they step into the control after tracking, the playback automatically includes the same plugin and treatment without any changes at all by me. It's not printed that way, but the playback automatically switches from the "input" mode to the "output" mode, identical to what happens when I start mixing with a plugin. It's crazy cool. Great technology. As you've probably seen, for probably 50 to 60% of the plugins that Waves make, they can track with the SoundGrid system with no additional latency. The system has a default of 40 samples (.8ms) which is undetectable by even the most time sensitive musician.

Okay. That's a start. If we don't get the videos posted soon, I'll just upload them to this thread. Hope this is helpful. Cheers!