Hello, i don’t have enough inputs in my audio interface and i wonder if i could do the following just with the firewire connection (not analog outputs):

connect my xs8 (2 firewire ports) into my mac (2 thunderbolt ports) and process the audio of the 8 stereo tracks independently on cubase, each track with different inserts or sends.

i readt something about machines that have various firewire ports (daisy chain) and it seems to not fit on that type of task, but i don’t entirely understand.

any idea to manage this?

thx!

Hi Valdesuru,

I’m not perfectly sure that I understand your question, but here’s a few things which could be obstacles for you.  This is presuming that you are attempting to connect BOTH your XS8 and your regular audio interface to your mac simultaneously.

No matter how you connect the XS8 and your other interface to your Mac, in separate ports or if daisy chaining them works, you will be attempting to use two interfaces at the same time.  Cubase does not allow you to use two different interfaces at the same time; it lets you choose one.

Luckily for you, you own a Mac and you can create an ‘aggregate device’ which would allow you to treat both interfaces as one thing.  Think of it as virtually rubber banding them together.

If you’re interested in creating an aggregate device, check this link out:

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT202000

On the subject of daisy chaining your XS and your regular interface together, I’d suggest that it probably won’t work, which I know is contrary to the usual information about daisy chaining firewire equipped devices, but audio interfaces are in a whole other universe to ‘normal’ firewire equipped devices such as external hard drives etc and rarely follow suit.

I’m not saying that it isn’t possible, and there’s nothing to stop you trying it, but it is much more likely that you can daisy chain two identical make and model interfaces together than it is a Motif XS8 to Interface X, with at least one of them needing to be converted, and at this time, you’ve not given us any info on the other.

Hi Phil, yes i have aggregated device as my audio interface, it contains the XS interface plus the UR242.

Right now i have the motif xs connected via firewire to my mac (UR242 don’t have any fw ports), my question is if i can profite the other free fw ports on the computer and on the mac to achieve the objective before mentioned. 

If not, is there a way to make what i want without using the analog outputs??

Valdesuru - 01 November 2017 09:56 AM

my question is if i can profite the other free fw ports on the computer and on the mac to achieve the objective before mentioned.

sorry, where i said on the computer and on the mac i wanted to say on the motif and on the mac

The two FW ports on the Motif serve the same function - two exist in order to support daisy chaining, since of course it can’t be done if there’s only one connector. I can’t see any advantage to connecting simultaneously to both ports.

See http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/469360/

The basics for mLAN operation are covered in the XS Owner’s Manual, pages 43-49.

Although the specifics of this support article are meant for Cubase 5…
http://www.motifator.com/index.php/support/view/setting_up_the_external_instrument_function_in_cubase_5
...the basic information might be helpful to set up audio lanes, etc.