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InputMonitoringinDigitalPerformer
DigitalPerformerNotes&Techniques
Technique:DigitalPerformerNotes

PublishedinSOSMarch2008
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There'smoreusefulstuffthanyoucanshakeastickatthismonth,
includingadviceoninputmonitoring,waystogetaroundlatency
issues,andnewsofCDburningandaudionetworkingapplicationsto
makeyourlifeeasier.
RobinBigwood
Overthelastcoupleofmonthswe'vebeenlookingat
monitoring:whatitis,andhowtomakeitworkforyouin
DigitalPerformerwitharangeoftypicalstudiosituationsand
hardwaresetups.Inthisfinalinstalmentofourmonitoring
extravaganza,DP5'sInputMonitorfunctionandauxtracks
comeunderthespotlight,andIoffersuggestionsfor
incorporatinghardwareeffectsunitsintoyourDPbasedrig.

NotJustForRecording
Youcouldbeforgivenforthinkingthatmonitoringisonly
relevantforrecordingspecifically,forsupplyinga
headphonebackingtrackmixtoanartistrecordinga
performance.Butitencompassesmorethanthis,especially
inthemodernstudiointegratinghardwareandsoftware
synthsandeffects.

Threeapproachestoinputmonitoring:anInput
Monitorenabledaudiotrackhandlesthesignal
fromReason4(above),whileanauxtrackis
setuptoreceivethereturnfromaYamaha
REV500effectsunit.Meanwhile,MOTU's
CueMixConsole(lurkingbottomleft)provides
azerolatencymonitorofaKorgRadiassynth.

ToillustratewhatImean,imagineReasonandDParerunningonthesameMac.TheRewirelink
betweenthetwoapplicationscarriesaudiofromReasontoDP,butinordertohearReasonatallsomesort
of'openinput'isneededinDP.Anauxtrackisoftenperfectforthis,bringingtheReasonaudiointoDP's
MixingBoard,andallowingittobemixedalongsideothertracktypes.Whattheauxtrackisreallydoingis
monitoringthelivesignalfromReason,allowingtheengineertohearitwhileworkingonotheraspectsof
themix,justasasingerwouldhearabackingtrackastheyrecordedvocals.
These'openinputs'areusefulforallsortsofthings,notjustReason.Youcouldusethemtomonitorthe
returnfromahardwareeffectsunit,thesignalfromahardwaresynth,orasignalfromanotherMacarriving
digitallyviaanADATconnectionoracrossanetwork.Alltheseneedtobemonitoredasyouworkonyour
track,untilyouchoosetorecordthemandcapturetheirsignalstoanaudiotrack.Sowhataretheoptions
availabletoyou?
Auxtracks:AuxtracksarealongstandingDPfeature.Youcan'trecordontheminsteadthey'realot
likemixingdeskchannels.Theycanbefedwithinputsfromyouraudiointerface,DP'sinternalbusses,or
theRewiresignalfromothersoftwareallofwhichisusefulfromamonitoringpointofview.What'sgreat
aboutthem,too,isthattheiroperationisnotaffectedbyDP5'sAudioPatchThrumodeyoucouldhaveit
settoOffandthey'dstillwork.Also,ifyouhaveaMOTUaudiointerfaceandareusingDirectHardware
Playthroughmode,theystillallowyoutomonitoryourinputthroughanyeffectspluginsinstantiated.
Audiotracks:You'vealwaysbeenabletomonitorinputsignalsthroughaudiotracks,courtesyofDP's
AudioPatchThrufeature,bysimplyrecordenablingthem.ButinrecentversionsofDPyouhavemore
flexibility,thankstotheInputMonitorfunction.Thismeansthatanaudiotrackcanbemadetopermanently
'patchthru'itsinputtoitsoutput,whetherthetrackisrecordenabledornot.Justclickthetrack'sInput
MonitorbuttonintheTracksOverview(the'Mon'column),SequenceEditor(aloudspeakericoninthe
track'sinfopane)orMixingBoard(theInputbuttonnexttoRec,SoloandMute).AnInputMonitorenabled
audiotrackisnotquitethesameasanauxtrack,though.First,itdoesrespectDP5'sAudioPatchThru
mode,soifthat'ssettoOfftheInputMonitorfunctionisessentiallydisabled.Also,ifyou'reusingDirect
HardwarePlaythroughmodewithacompatibleMOTUaudiointerface,InputMonitorwillnotrunthesignal
throughDP(oranyeffectspluginsonthetrack),butinsteadsetupatemporaryCueMixzerolatency
routing.

NotJustForRecording
ARealworldExample
DealingWithLatency
DPToCD?
Who'sRecommending
Soundfly?

Zerolatencyhardwaremonitoring:There'snothingtosaywehavetocontrolallmonitorsignalsfrom
externalhardwarewithDP.Inmanycasesthebestapproachistomonitorexternaleffectsreturns,and
especiallyhardwaresynths,viaahardwaremixeroranaudiointerfacewithzerolatencymonitoring,asyou
mightwhensettingupmonitoringforavocaltake.Theexternalhardwaresignalscanbeincorporatedinto
yourcontrolroommixindependentlyofDP,untilyouwanttorecordthemintoyourtrack.Atthispointyou
justrecordenablesomeaudiotracksinDPandroutethemin.

ARealworldExample
Here'sasituationI'vemockedupthatincorporatesallthreetypesofinputmonitoring,usingmyownsetup
ofaPowerMacG5andMOTUTraveler(whichhasCueMixzerolatencymonitoring).I'mrunningDP5.13
andReason4,andalsohavesomeexternalhardware:aKorgRadiassynthandaYamahaREV500
reverb.Thisishoweverything'scoordinated(seescreenatstartofarticle):
Input:Reasonsoftware
MonitoringMethod:InputMonitorenabledaudiotrack.
Description:Asit'sprovidingsomesynthandpercussion
parts,IwanttomonitorReasonconstantlyasIworkonmy
song.UsinganaudiotrackwithInputMonitorallowsmetodo
this,andwhenI'mnearingcompletionI'llrecordenableitto
recordthesignalsasaudioinDP

TheTimeShiftplugincanhelptocompensate
formonitoringlatencywithsynthsdrivenfrom
MIDItracks.

Input:Radiassynth
MonitoringMethod:CueMix
Description:AsI'musingtheRadiastoprovidethebasisofmyarrangement,includingbassandkey
rhythmicparts,Iwanttohearitcompletelyfreeoflatency.HenceI'vesetuphardwaremonitoringinthe
CueMixConsole:theRadiassignalisnotcomingintoDPatall.ButwhenI'vefinishedmysong,I'llrecord
theseparatepartsintoDPonaudiotracksforthefinalmixandanyfurthertreatment.
Input:REV500hardwarereverb
MonitoringMethod:Auxtrack
Description:TheREV500ispatchedintomysetupsothatit'sfedbyoneoftheTraveler'soutputs(with
acorrespondingAuxsendinDP)andreturnsbackintoacoupleofinputs.I'mbringingitssignalintoan
AuxtracksoIcanfurthertreatitwithaMASplugin.Isuffersomelatencybecauseoftheroundtripoutof
DPandtheTravelerandbackintoDP,butit'snotaproblem,asitsimplybecomesabitofadditionalreverb
predelay.IfIneedtorecordtheREV500'ssignallater,Icouldroutetheauxtrackviaabuspairtoa
recordenabledaudiotrack.
ThisallworksgreatformeasI'mdevelopingmysong.ForAudioPatchThruI'musingtheBlendmode,
andI'veseta512buffersize.Themixofhardwareandsoftwaremonitoringpresentsnoproblemshere.
Butit'snotalwayssoeasy...

DealingWithLatency
Aswe'veseenoverthepastfewmonths,latencycanbeaproblemwithcertainapproachestomonitoring.
Musiciansgenerallyhateitiftheheadphonemonitormixoftheirliveperformanceisanythingmorethana
fewmillisecondslatewhichiswhyzerolatencysolutionslikesuitablyequippedinterfacesandhardware
mixersareroutinelyusedformonitoring.Butwhatifyoudon'thaveaccesstooneofthese,orif,forother
reasons,youmustmonitoryourexternalgearthroughDPanddon'twantlatency?
InthecaseofmonitoringsynthsandsamplersdrivenbyMIDI,DP
automaticallysortsoutlatencyissuesforsoftwaresynthsithosts,orthose
comingintoanauxoraudiotrackviaRewire.Soevenifyouusealarge
buffersize,suchas1024,playbackofDPhostedorRewireconnected
synthswillbeperfectlyintime.Butyou'llstillneedtouseasmallbuffersize
togetacrispresponsewhenplayingthemlivefromyourcontroller
keyboard.ThesamegoesforhardwaresynthsmonitoredinDP,butonce
theirMIDItracksareinplaceyoucancompensateforthelatencyassociated
withswitchingbacktoalargebuffersizebymakingtheMIDIplayearly.Just
putaTimeShiftpluginoneachMIDItrackandsetthetracktoplayearlyby
anappropriateamount.Youcanstartbydefiningitinsamples,tomatch
yourbuffersize,beforefinetuningfurther.
Itseemssuchaniceidea,tohaveyourfavouritehardwarecompressororreverbunitpatchedintoyour
audiointerface,readytobeaddressedviaanauxsendonyouraudiotracks,andyetlatencyoftenspoils

theparty.Inmyearlierexample,whereI'musingmyREV500forsomereverb,Icantakeabitoflatencyon
itssignalbecauseitcomesoutsoundinglikepredelayonthereverb.Butforatrueprocessortreatment,
likeEQorcompression(orifIjustdon'twantanypredelayonareverb)any
amountoflatencyiscompletelyunacceptable.Evenafewmilliseconds
couldmessupthemusicaltimingofthemixorproducenastyphasingin
somecircumstances.Andazerolatencymonitoringschemedoesn'tfixit,
becausethere'slatencyinherentinthesignalpassingoutofDP.What's
neededissomesortoflatencycompensation.
Now,ifyou'rethinkingDP5hasbuiltinlatencycompensationyou'reright,
butit'sonlyforhostedplugins,notexternalrouting.However,afreeware
AudioUnitplugindoesexistthatdoesexactlywhat'sneededforexternal
routinglatencycompensation:it'sLatencyFixer,from
www.collective.co.uk/expertsleepersandit'saniftylittlething.Itworksby
firstreportingalatency(which,usingthecontrols,yousetmanuallyinterms
ofsecondsorsamples)toDP.DPthencompensatesforthislatencyby
sendingtrackaudiotothepluginaheadoftime,butthepluginactually
appliesnodelayatalltotheaudiopassingthroughit.
Consequently,ifyouplaceitonanauxtrackthat'sbeing
usedtofeedyouraudiotrackstoanexternaleffectsunit,the
latencyaccumulatedinthetripoutofDPandbackinagain
canbepreciselycompensatedforafterabitof
experimentation.ThescreensaboveshowhowIuseitto
IincorporatemyREV500reverbunitintomy
routeaudiotrackstomyexternalhardwarecompressor,the
DPmixesbyhavingitpatchedintomyTraveler
outputofwhichcomesrightbackintomyDPMixingBoard.

DPToCD?

interface.Icanthenroutetracksignalstoitvia
anauxsend(asontheVocalstrackhere),and
Ialsoneedanauxtracktohandleitssignal
comingbackintoDP.UsingtheLatencyFixer
AUpluginIcancompletelyeradicatethe
latencythatwouldotherwiseoccurinthis
arrangement.

IntheAugustandSeptember2007PerformerworkshopsI
lookedatsomewaysinwhichDPcanbeusedtopreparean
albumlengthprojectforCDburning.DP'smultitrackaudio
capabilities,flexibleeffectsandautomationmakeitverygood
forthistask,eventhoughitdoesn'thaveanyfeaturesspecificallydesignedforit.DPcan'tdoCDburning,
soyouhavetotransfertheresultingaudiofilestoanotherapplication,andit'sherethatyoucanhave
difficulties.Forexample,theapplicationsthatcanworkwithDP'snativestereoaudioformat,SplitSound
DesignerII,areeitherdiscontinued(Roxio'sJam),notavailableseparately(AppleWaveBurner),don'tread
regioninformation(i3DSPQuattro)orareveryexpensive(BiasPeakProandSonicStudioPreMaster
CD).Wouldn'titbegreattohaveanaudioeditorthatcouldloadanyaudioformat,includingSD2,correctly
readregioninformation,andofferheavyweightediting,dithering,exportandburningoptions?Now,inthe
formofanupdatedWaveEditorbyAudiofileEngineering,youcan.

WaveEditor1.3isathoroughlyuptodateapplication,
utilisingOSX'sCoreAudiofeaturesandpresentingaslick,
customisableuserinterface.Itsreallyuniquefeatureisa
multilayer(asopposedtomultitrack)approachtoediting,
wherebyyoucanassembleonatimelinedifferentsections
ofaudioatanysamplerateandresolution,applyingfades,
crossfadesandotherprocessingonorbetweeneachlayer.
WhenthetimecomesforburningaCDorexportingyour
Itain'tallthatpretty,butWaveEditorisan
audiotoanotherformat,WaveEditortreatsanylayersat
affordableaudioeditorandCDburning
applicationthatcomplementsDPbeautifully,
differingaudiospecswithiZotope'shighlyregardedSRC
andincludesheavyweightfeatureslikeMBIT
samplerateconversionandMBIT+dithering.ForDPusers
ditheringandDiscDescriptionProtocol(DDP)
(andothers)thisapproachbordersontherevelatoryyou'll export.
almostneverneedtothinkaboutditheringyour24bit
projectsforCDagain,andifyou'recompilingmixesdoneatdifferentsampleratesyoucanletWaveEditor
dealwiththattoo.
IfyouliketoburnyourCDsfrommultiregionaudiopreparedinDP(asdescribedintheSeptember2007
column),WaveEditor(below)offersastraightforwardworkflow.AfteropeningyourmultiregionSD2files,
makesure'Regions'istickedinWaveEditor'sWaveformmenu.Then,intheLabelsdrawer,selectallyour

audio'sregionlabelsandrightclick(orcontrolclick).ChooseConvertTo/Tracks,andyouinstantlyhavea
burnreadydocument,withCDtrackboundarieswhereyourDPregionboundarieswere.What'smore,
everythingamasteringapplicationshouldbeabletoeditCDTEXTmetadata,ISRCandUPC/EAN
codes,DDPannotationandPQsubcodescanallbeedited,eitherbyclickingonindividualtracksinthe
Labelsdrawer,orenteringdatainthePropertiespalette.YoufinallyburnyourCDbychoosingBurnDiscin
theFilemenu.
WaveEditormightnothavetheinstantuserfriendlinessofconsumerlevelapplicationslikeToastand
Jam,andareadthroughitsPDFmanualisamustforthefirsttimeuser.Butit'shardtoimagineamore
powerful,flexibleandusefulaudioeditorcertainlynotonethatdovetailssowellwithDP,andisso
affordable.WaveEditorcomesasadownloadfromwww.audiofileengineering.com,andcosts$250(but
only$200until31stMarch).Ifyou'reeligibleforeducationalpricingit'sonly$100,anda$150crossgradeis
availableforownersofmostothermajoraudioeditors. .

Who'sRecommendingSoundfly?
WritingthemonthlyPerformerworkshopcanoccasionallyfeellikesomethingoutofaDickensnovel
long,darkeveningsspentwithjusttheplaintivechirpsofmyG5PowerMacforcompany,andonlya
redhotMacbookforwarmth.Soit'salwaysnicetogetsomefeedbackfromreaders,andIwas
especiallypleasedtohearfromPeteTownshend(oftheWhofame)recently.Heveryhelpfullydrewmy
attentiontoalittlefreewareapplicationIhadn'tcomeacross,whichmightbeofinterestifyou'reusing
(asPetedoes)astudionetworkofMacstooffloadvariousprocessingandvirtualinstrumentduties.It's
calledSoundflyandcomesfromAbyssoft,thecompanythatalsomakesthesuperbTeleport'mouse
andkeyboardsharingacrossanetwork'software.SoundflyexiststosendaudiofromoneMacto
another,acrossanEthernet,Airportorothernetworkconnection.ItreliesonCycling74'sSoundflower
interapplicationaudioutility,soyouneedthatinstalledfirst.ItalsoutilisestwooftheAudioUnitsbuilt
intoOSXAUNetSendandAUNetReceivethoughyouneverinteractwiththesedirectly.
Inuse,Soundflyisverystraightforward.OntheMacfromwhichyouwanttosendaudioperhaps
onerunningsomestandalonesoftsynthsyourunSoundfly.OntheMacthatneedstoreceivethis
audioyourunSoundflyReceiver.Bothapplicationsaresosimplethatnormallytheydon'tevenhavea
userinterface.ButyoucanforceonetoappearbyholdingdowntheAltkeyasyoulauncheach
application,andIfindit'susefultodo.Firstoff,youcanconfiguretheaudioformatusedbySoundflyto
broadcastacrossthenetwork.A'fullmonty'uncompressedPCMformatisselectable,butincaseyour
networkcan'tcopewiththatmuchdatathroughputvariouscompressedformats,likethedependable
AAC,canbechoseninstead.Someexperimentationmaybeneededtofindwhatworksbestforyour
network.IalsofoundIneededtoconfigureSoundflyReceiveronmyG5inordertomanuallymakethe
connectionwithSoundflyrunningontheMacbook.Thisisstraightforward:justselecttheaudiostream
fromSoundflyinthedirectorylist,andclickConnect.
Soundflywon'tgiveyouamultichannelaudioconnectionbetweenyourMacs,onlyastereoone.Also,
theSoundflyconnectioncan'tbebroughtdirectlyintoDP'smixingenvironmentonthereceivingMac.
Butit'sstillausefullittlething,andacrossawirednetworkthatisn'tboggeddownwithothertrafficitcan
operatewithlowlatencyanddependableaudioquality.Itcanbedownloadedfree,withtheoptionof
makingadonation,atwww.abyssoft.com.Don'tforgettoinstallSoundflower,from
www.cycling74.com/products/soundflower,ifyoudon'thaveit.
PublishedinSOSMarch2008

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