LinuxMusicians

Hello,

I've seen quite a lot of people on here using various USB based Focusrite Scarlett interfaces, but has anyone successfully used the firewire connected SaffireLE ?
With the addition of FFADO on my Fedora build, I've eventually got it working for the most part with jackd and am able to do all I need to with controlling it through Ardour (input and monitor switching and mono'ing etc.). BUT... because I can't run the Windows-only Focusrite mixer software, I don't seem to have a way to implement direct monitoring on it when I'm recording so I can't hear myself until playback (or with latency if I switch on Ardour monitoring).
I believe direct monitoring is done through a mixer slider on the mixer software. The FFADO-mixer allows some control as an alternative to that, but that mixer slider I think I need doesn't seem to exist on that.

At the moment I would have to monitor through software (I can get jack to route in to out or switch on Ardour monitoring), but I think that will need a lot of work to get the latency down (if it's even possible on my set up), or record through an older (lower sample rate) device and take the hit on added faffing and reduced quality when then mixing through the Scarlett.

Has anyone managed to use one of these fully? Or anyone have any ffado-mixer 'tweaking' experience?


thanks,
Neil

Edited - just realised that after reading a lot about Focusrite Scarletts on here, like a chump I put that in the subject, but it's actually the SAFFIRE LE. The rest stands! Sorry.

In case anyone else does hit similar, I find that the ffado-mixer's faders do give me direct monitoring but only when jackd is running and then only with a sample rate of 44100 or 48000. Any higher and I get nothing and I don't know why. Still, it's better than nothing!

My next (and hopefully last) issue with the FireWire connected LE is that playback on some Ardour projects with a lot of tracks is poor and occasionally laggy (sound stops, transport carries on then rewinds and picks back up where it left off). The same project used to be fine on an old USB connected Boss BR-80, so I can't see the problem being anything other than PCI, FireWire card or the LE. That said, I would have thought that Ardour was just pumping out a single audio stream through jackd so why the audio interface makes a difference I don't know.

Neil