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Can someone make sense of how the Cuemix FX handles routing? I just do not get it at all. I previously had an EMU 1820m and Patchmix was certainly a little awkward to learn but nonetheless I have a pretty solid grasp of signal flow. Needless to say, the way Cuemix FX routes audio makes absolutely no sense to me at all. I can get audio in and out of the 828Mk3 and have figured out the "monitor" as a means of attenuating the level but that's about all that makes sense so far. This is truly the most oddly designed software mixer I have ever come accross!
anyone? I'm debating chucking it on ebay at this point ... I am getting no audio with Live at all, I hear audio from reason but it just does not show up in any meters in Cuemix fx. Sound Forge plays audio but only if I use the MOTU main out 1/2 as my default sound in Windows sound devices under control panel.... I just do not understand the logic of this interface at all...
I guess the simple explanation of Cuemix is that the computer screen is the window into how the "digitizer" is routed. My main purpose is to monitor any or all of the inputs that I am recording. It is a "headphone mixer" for the recording end only. You can also assign (or route) signals to other outputs (in the case of most MOTU products. I user SONAR 6.0 and there is no way to monitor the recorded signals unless you use Cuemix. I have setup (ahead of time) a basic mixer with all inputs assigned, "up" and ready to monitor. One word of caution here is not to adjust too wildly (up, down) while recording as it affects the internal hard drive and can cause "digital hicups" in some or all of the audio channels! That's something the manual doesn't tell you!
I usually power up my laptop and MOTU devices and let them settle down, then connect the FW devices. I then check the settings on the MOTU's, then start Cuemix and load basic presets. I may adjust presets during band warmup. Once they start, I do very little adjusting (or do that between songs. You can solo one or several inputs (just like the big boys).
One more thing I take with me on remotes is a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply). I have a 650 Watt unit which will keep my entire rig recording for 8.5 minutes. That's enough time to find the idiot who just unplugged your AC and slap him around without messing up the session!!
Ok, that should be enough to keep you busy. See ya later. Having fun with 32 tracks in OKC!
Hal
hp laptop zd7000 XPP 2.8 Ghz 1Gb RAM
MOTU 896HD (x3)
MOTU Ultralite
SONAR 6.0
many studio mics
Having fun with 32 tracks in OKC
hp laptop zd7000 2.8 Ghz 2 Gb DDR RAM
XPP SP3 with AVT1394 FW drivers
Sonar 8.31P
MOTU 896HD (x3)
MOTU Ultralite
many studio mics
email: hswin@att.net
If its any consolation dnbhallifax, I have exactly the same issue. The routing with CueMix is just not intutive to me at all either. Perhaps it is because of my experience with other hardware and software. I would expect to be able to take a number of software ins, and hardware ins, and map them with their own levels to the hardware outs. And hardware ins should be able to create software outs. I cannot map those concepts to anything in Cuemix.
I can't get individual control of any hardware outs, it seems to be an all or nothing deal here...I can have max volume, or I can assign an out to the master volume group. If I do the former, then I am blowing the doors off the house. If I do the latter, well everything in the group is at the same volume, and what I want is to be able to have my outs at differing volumes. And I can't get any software returns (such as my output from WinAmp, Windows Media Player, or Sound Forge) to play thru anything other than the mains. Am I doing something wrong or is this the way it is supposed to work? i.e. how do I get Cuemix to play an apps audio thru more than just the mains? I have three stereo pairs of monitors hooked up and would like to use more than just the mains.
Maybe this will give you some ideas. Not sure how large of a set up your typical cue mix needs to be but . . . .
Reminds me of my partner who REFUSES to use cue mix at my place when tracking – rather put is amp in the control rm and monitor off the mains. Cue mix is only for routing the live inputs going to your i/o with very limited processing for the artist in the studio’s headphone mix; only volume and panning.
My buddy can’t get past the idea that cue mix does NOT control the individual playback of the tracks in the DP. Cue mix only mixes and routes the real time INPUTS going into your i/o. An i/o that uses a 424 card, (or maybe even a 324 card) cue mixes uses DSP on the card to create the headphone mix. No latency. The Fire wire i/o’s I am not 100% sure how cue mix works with them.
Cue mix is not a software mixer. The headphone playback mix of the tracks you have laid down; i.e. 1-12 drums, 13 bass, 14 Gtr , 15 Gtr, 16 S vox is done in DP. Then via cue mix you can bring up the live MIC (for argument lets put it on ANLG Input 16) from the vocal booth to dump into the mix being sent to your headphone amps. That mix would be a summation of your master output mix from DP and whatever stereo bus you choose to route Anlg Input 16 out via cue mix.
In my case I have the i/o’s ANLG 1-16 returning to the desk. On the i/o Chan’s 17-24 out I have them wired to the various cue amps that feed the studios. I have the 24 tape busses out of the Sony desk normalled to the 24 anlg in’s on the 24io.
If while tracking I just need a quick stereo pair to come out of MOTU I use anlg out 1-2, to the Sony chan’s 1-2 tape return. On the Sony desk I assign tape returns 1-2 to sub group out 1-2 (hence it is going right back into the 24i/o) I tell Cue Mix to bus ANLG 1-2 in, and ANLG 16 in, the vocal mic, to group 9 (anlg 17-18out) The physical connection of Anlg 17-18 out of the 24io goes to the headphone amp in studio A. I went one step further and patched a cheesy little 2 MIC/ 2 Stereo line input Berhinger mixer between the 24 i/o’s anlg 17-18 out and the feed to the head phone amp in studio A. That little mixer has a MIC input (actually 2 MICs) that at a press of a button gets dumped to the main headphone mix. It also has a speaker and headphone out volume control for the control room; grab a set of cans I can monitor what the artist is hearing.
What you can’t do in a native DAW is real time EQ and FX’s to the head phone mix. (OK choke your buffer to 64K and only have one input to record and a faster G5, you can sneak in some real time FX’s and monitor through DP) For that, if needed, add some outboard gear – send the VOC mic to your lexicon and return it into your i/o on anlg input 3-4 which is being mixed in Cue Mix to output on Group 9 (Anlg 17-18 out Main Head Phone Mix) Singer wants more reverb in their cans? Bring up input faders 3-4 in cue mix. Singer wants dly and not verb, change the pgm to a delay. Singer wants to hear less of them, pull down Cue Mix 16. They want the music mix louder, bring up cue mix 1-2. They want more of the live fiddle which is going into motu on Anlg input 20, bring up chan 20 in cue mix.
And if you want to get fancy when doing a large ensemble, Cue mix has the ability to assign any input to be your talk back MIC source; Put a MIC on input 24 for the control rm. The rm mic on the drums happens to be coming in on anlg 12, so tell cue mix that when you press TALK to mute ALL the inputs and raise CHAN 24 by 20db and their headphone mix just will cut out less the control rm TB mic. Tell cue mix that input 12 is the studio MIC and when you press listen it still keeps 1-24 muted but it doesn’t mute or I believe it can even raise the gain of the artists TB Mic on input 12.
I recommend to get cheap mixer to use for checking the headphone mix you are sending to the studio room. Keep a set of cans plugged into it or even a set of powered monitors if you have to build a really involved headphone mix and don’t want to get ear fatigue wearing cans.
In Use Practicality:
You finally got a headphone mix that band A likes – save it. They come back to track the full band next week (assuming you didn’t change the micing, routing and musician line up) just open the saved cue mix file and there is their head phone mix. You want to take a break between tracking the whole band live and do just their solo vocalist and their back up choir in studio B, create a headphone mix for that, save it do it, the band comes back after dinner and sits back down in studio A, open the cue mix called BAND TRACKING STUDIO A and you are right where you left off.
Ciao
a wise man has more questions than answers
Commadore 64, Sony MXP3036, DEC PDP11's, 1961 Rupert Neve tube / Valve based (@)(@) Console, Telefunken U47, Urei, Studer, MCI and Harris TAPE . . . and 2 turntables(.Y.) and a microphone
EMU and Patch mix are windows only aren't they?
windows not spoken here. Not sure how CUE mix runs on other platforms.
Commadore 64, Sony MXP3036, DEC PDP11's, 1961 Rupert Neve tube / Valve based (@)(@) Console, Telefunken U47, Urei, Studer, MCI and Harris TAPE . . . and 2 turntables(.Y.) and a microphone
I'm trying to use Cuemix FX to add reverb ie the (Effects processor) to soft synths. I just can't figure it out. I've looked online trying to find some videos on Cuemix or some sort of tutorials on how to use it with Sonar ... I have X3b now. But I haven't found much of anything. I just don't understand it. When I try and send the output of a soft synth to an input say Motu analog 1 stereo. It doesn't product any sound. I don't see signal going to it. I don't know if I'm going about this the wrong way. I have Omnisphere. If I select it's output from anything other than Master, I get no sound. I selected it's output to input 1 stereo and created an audio track to reflect the selection. But, it's not getting a signal. I just don't know what else to try or what direction to head.
