Some friendly advice on using OB but not losing sound quality

[j0hnglist]

So, I want to offer some friendly advice for those wanting to use Overbridge but not lose sound quality… Let me explain:

As some of you may know, when using Overbridge there is a substantial loss in sound quality because the A/D converters of Elektron boxes are not as good as your sound interface’s (as to be expected). Streaming audio using OB, while convenient, will not sound as good as recording outputs directly to your interface. Don’t believe me? Test out any of the kick drum synth engines in both modes and compare your bounces.

The good news though is that you can still take advantage of the benefits that the Overbridge VST brings (like controlling parameters using a GUI, loading samples, etc) without losing sound quality . All you have to do is turn OFF ALL outputs in Overbridge Control Panel , while turning ON a couple inputs (which you won’t use). If you have nothing turned on, the panel won’t accept or default to turning on Outputs again, so make sure something is clicked for Inputs. Then you load your VST in your DAW but mute it, and you will get the best of both worlds. Hope this helps somebody as I really wish I knew this earlier!

[tsutek]

fwiw I conducted an A/B test of overbridge vs. recording via a Soundcraft signature 12MTK some time ago. The result was, both sounded virtually identical. So, do not automatically assume overbridge tracking will sound worse than your audio interface (unless your AD converters are highend/mastering grade)

[j0hnglist]

I did not assume. I was using OB and then thinking why my projects suddenly sounded worse. I then compared to recording straight into my RME interface and realized the problem. And there are others that agree btw:

Overbridge sound quality?

This happens to me with almost every AD converter I have used. Openness and imaging changes ever so slightly. My solution is to monitor everything post conversion, so you already hear how it will sound "in the box". Then you can make the lil tweaks necessary to get everything sound as you wanted again before even recording anything. I'm quite sure that the highend converters out there keep the converted sound "true" to the original, but those converters have always been beyond my price range. …

Anyway, I am not here to argue. If you are happy with OB sound quality great, but for those that aren’t, I wanted to share this tip

[Zwolf]

Agreed. I heard no perceptible difference b/w the USB OB audio and that of the main outs through my Duet. Not that that’s a high end sound card, but the quality of audio from the USB stream is fine in my opinion.

[VanillaSun]

Usb gets the job done just fine for me, thanks for the tip though!

[Jacknoid]

RME has great converters imo, better than my UAD Apollos

[psyclone001]

Not necessarily true at all.
Depends on the quality of your audio interface

[tsutek]

I have not heard RME conversion, perhaps it is indeed better. Have you made a levelmatched A/B btw?

[Orwell]

Agreed. I reckon the AR DAC/AD and usb, the analog compressor, is all steller sounding. Its a very warm soundcard to my ears. on the latest ob os I’ve never had a major issue with latency, pops, crackles and all the rest of the usual soundcard crap - the same cant be said for most of $400-800 sound cards I’ve used.

[basehead617]

Not to hijack the thread (for long) but I have heard the mk II (blackface) Apollos have much better converters than the old and are now stellar.

[The_N_Y]

i have an apogee ensemble TB and its sound is definitely a slightly higher quality, in a vacuum. but in a mix, that little bump disappears. the latency is better than OB too, but its a thunderbolt interface.

[Jacknoid]

I have the MKII and a MKI and there’s a definite improvement yeh. Still think the RME is subtly better, I was using my mates for some Foley recording and the transients and high frequency information sounded really clear and pleasant in a way that was characteristically different to the Apollos. It could be the Preamps are better quality. Apollo is still great though, it’s splitting g hairs really

[154]

Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but the main outputs are going through converters regardless due to the digital fx section. If you hear a difference between OB and through your soundcard I think you should check some settings/gain etc.

16bit/24bit def makes a difference btw

[Barfunkel]

Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but the main outputs are going through converters regardless due to the digital fx section. If you hear a difference between OB and through your soundcard I think you should check some settings/gain etc.

Are you sure? You can have digital FX and an analog synth engine in one machine, without the analog synth engine necessarily having to go through the AD/DA-converter. If it’s designed that way.

[154]

Not even the Heat has true bypass I’m afraid, so yes, pretty sure.

[154]

Individual voices could be without ad/da, main def not.

[alfred]

I am pretty sure in the analog boxes the FX work as send FX and are mixed with the dry signal in the analog world. I don’t think the dry signal gets converted. At least that’s what I always assumed.

[Olle]

Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but the main outputs are going through converters regardless due to the digital fx section.

They are send effects so the analog path and the return from the digital effects are in parallel. No conversion on the mains output.

[154]

I stand corrected, and just got a bit more interested in the suggested setup bypassing OB audio. When all IO is deactivated in OB would this mean the control plugin remains active but the latency goes back to zero? Do you really have to keep one input active and does this have an effect on the overall performance?

[Olle]

Currently you will have latency anyway unfortunately. This is something that has been discussed about and a “Live” mode where there is just latency compensation one way. As usual there are no promises for implementation but we are aware of it.