Utilizing external effects loop with Firepod/Cubase

[Schu]

I'm looking to utilize the rear send/receive jacks on my Firepod to hook up an external effects processor to color some EXISTING vocal tracks in Cubase. This may be rudimentary...and I apologize...but can anyone lend some insight as to whether this is possible and, if so, how I would go about routing things? (It's clear from what I've read that that it is possible to incorporate external effects at the time of recording a track using the rear send/receive jacks, but I'd like to apply the effects to existing tracks.) Would it, in theory, be a matter of creating a new track in Cubase and somehow routing the signal from the desire vocal track, say, back out through the effects loop and back into the new track? I'm having issues with the logistics.

Thanks for your help.

[Schu]

I only have Cubase LE, incidentally. Am I simply dealing with a software limitation here? Again, any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[speedydave]

here's the process:

If you have the processor configured how you want it, you can basically use some simple routing and re-recording to record your processed track.

Go to devices -> VST outputs, enable bus 2 (the power button at the top), set the output for bus 2 to Output 3L (which is actually firepod's out 3+4, they are activated in stereo pairs). Now go to the vocal track and change output to bus 2. This basically sends your vocal track and only your vocal track that you selected to leave the firepod through line-out 3 and 4.

Using a balanced 1/4" cable, connect either 3 or 4 (or both for stereo) to your processor's balanced line inputs. Now, take another balanced 1/4" cable and connect your processor's balanced line OUTputs to, for example, the FirePod's line-input 7 (& 8).

The signal path goes: out of FP 3 (& 4), into processor input, out of processor output, back into FP through 7.

Now create a track in Cubase, set the input channel to IN 7. Record-enable this track and voila! when you hit record, the vocal goes out of 3 & 4, gets processed, goes back into the firepod and is recorded to the new track. The rest of the song gets sent out of the main bus, usually bus 1. After the processing is finished, set the output bus of the new track back to bus 1 in order to hear the vocal back in the mix.

Things to consider: the volume going out of the line outs may not be equal to the volume coming back in through in 7. Adjust the trim pot for line 7 as needed. For stereo, create two tracks of course.

Hope this helps.... should be simple.