Syncing up to 4 interfaces together for DAW and running outputs to Utrack-24.

If your only using the Utrack-24 for your main recording, this may not interest you, but if, like me, your running your main “recording” into your computer and using the Utrack as a backup only, I may have some good info.

I bought a Digiface unit by RME a while back. It has 4 optical inputs (toslinki), and 4 optical outputs. What I’ve been doing up to this point is plugging 3 of my 8 channel audio interfaces, (all different brands) out of their respective Adat outputs into channels 1,2 and 3 of the RME interface. The RME also has a usb out that plugs into your computer, (laptop, or whatever). From there I can run my line outs from the audio interfaces into the Utrack-24. I’m then able to pick and choose any of the channels of the three interfaces to use for recording into my DAW. So far, everything is in sync., and, of course the Utrack picks up the line outs from the interfaces and records the backup. The one trick, at least I had to use, was to run a BNC word clock cable from the 1st interface, out and in, doing a daisy chain to the 2nd and then third interface. Somehow that allowed the RME to lock sync with all the interfaces and keep everything in sync.

What I’m hoping to do now, is buy the ADAT plugin for the Utrack-24 and then either run the outputs from the RME to the ADAT plugin on the Utrack, or to maybe be a little safer, in case I have a computer crash,, run a splitter from each interface and run one output to the RME in and the other one to the ADAT in on the Utrack. That way, in case the computer goes down which has the Usb from the RME plugged into it, then, if the RME dies, at least I’d still have the ADAT out from the audio interfaces feeding the Utrack, and there’s my backup.

If you have any questions or comments, I’ll try to address them. Marc Trainor.