I just started using Overbridge with my Analog Keys. It works well enough but the FX do not get recorded per track. I understand the technical reasons for this but this complicates the recording process on my end.
Since the built in FX are digital anyway, would it be possible to have the FX recreated in a plug in that pulls the FX settings from the synth and then adds them in your DAW on each track?
That would be cool, but I am afraid that is not compatible with the signal-path architecture.
The FX are affectively “send” and not “insert” - i.e. “[…] The digital send effects are parallel to the main audio path, and the wet signals from the digital send effects are mixed with the dry analog signal before the main output stage.[…]” (manual under “Signal Path”)
Having a plugin to replicate the effects on the PC with the same settings on the hardware seems a bit overkilled - given the huge amount of reverb/delay/chorus plugins that you can have within a DAW (let alone the fact I am not totally sure they’d ever sound the same anyway - also given p-locks, FX track trigs, LFOs… which is where you can make those HW fx shine…).
For studio work is still possible to record only the wet signal of each tracks in a DAW: solo the track, disable output to master and now you can record the track dry signal and wet signal in 2 separate tracks, at the same time, within the DAW.
Well send or insert, can’t this just be worked out in the plugin? You have the dry signal for a track coming in from USB. Then the plugin could have a replicated effect that it would post treat as a send effect. Not sure what is so complicated about that since it is all being done on the computer. No need to change anything in the Analog Keys itself other than a way to send the FX track settings and pattern. Basically I understand the architecture of the synth can’t be changed which is why I am thinking the FX could be recreated in the plugin and thus bypassing this limitation.
I also don’t see why the FX wouldn’t be perfect or damn near close enough since they already are digital. Just pull the same algorithms into the plugin and I would imagine they would be close to if not the same sounding. Frankly I wouldn’t mind some small difference between recorded play and live play as long as the settings and animation from the FX pattern line up.
At this point I am sticking to using my Behringer XR18 as an audio interface then. A lot of the magic in the Analog Keys is in the effects which seem lost when using Overbridge. I can play a bit with using the master out as an FX send and I might be able to find a happy medium. It will just be hard isolating certain parts in a mix. If I wanted to solo a track I would still have all track’s FX on the master.