2019-07-01_Computer_Music

Witha zero-latencybalancecontrol,

settingupa cuemixissimple.Set

yourmicgainfirst,adjusttheplayback

outputlevelinyourDAW,thenadjustthe

balancecontrol.Yourinterfacemightalso

havea ‘mono/stereo’optionforspreading

ormonoingthemicinputs.

If youcansetyouraudiointerfacetoa

smallbuffersizeinyourDAW,youcan

monitorviasoftware,whichhasa couple

ofadvantagesoverhardware.First,head

totheaudiodriversettingsandseehow

welleachoneworks.Herewecanseethat

witha buffersizeof 64 sampleswegeta

latency(inputtooutputroundtripdelay)

of8.3ms.

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1

Withsoftware-controlledhardware

monitoring,wecancreatea

headphonemixbybalancingeachofthe

inputsaccordinglyagainsttheDAW’s

output.Remember,thesearejust

monitoringlevels,andalthoughtheyare

dependentonpreampgain,theycanbe

setwithoutaffectingit,whichisprecisely

whatyouwantfora headphonemix.

Softwaremonitoringmakessetting

upforrecordingonestepsimpler,and

enablesdroppinginonexistingtracks.In

yourDAW,lookforthe‘autoinput’(or

similar)recordmonitoringoption,then

simplyarmthetrackyouwanttorecord

to.Hitplayandyou’llhearanything

recordedonthetrack;hitrecordandyou’ll

heartheinputassignedtoit.

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2

Somesoftware-controlledhardware

monitoringsystemsalsoincorporate

DSPeffects,andoneofthemostcapable

isUniversalAudio’sApollolineof

interfaces.Here,we’vesetupa mixof

inputsourcesandtheDAWoutput,and

incorporateda DSPreverbintothe

headphonecuemix– allwithouttouching

thehostCPU.

Software monitoring also makes it

quite easy to create a separate

headphone mix. Here, we’ve set aside an

auxiliary input on our DAW for just this

purpose. Use pre-fader sends to make the

levels independent of the main monitor

balance, then, if possible, route the bus to

a separate main or headphone output on

your interface.

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> Stepbystep

11.Hardwareandsoftwarecuemixes

> Stepbystep

12.Softwarecuemixesandlatency

Whenrecording,it’simportantforyour

performerstobeabletohearthemselves,each

otherandtheguidetrackorclickthey’replaying

to.Ina livegigsituation,thiswouldbeachieved

withwedgesand/orin-earmonitors.Ina studio

space,thesamemethodcanwork,butit’s

easiesttooptforheadphonesorin-ear

monitoringforeveryone.Thishelpsyougetthe

cleanestrecording,withoutsoundfromthe

monitorsgettingintothemicrophones.

Regularmixingdesksarewelldesignedto

handleheadphonemixes,eitherviaauxiliary

bussesordedicatedcuemixbusess,whichis

whythey’repopularforrecordingbands.Thisis

called‘hardwaremonitoring’,andtheDAW(viaa

multichannelaudiointerface)isusedsimplyasa

multichannelrecorder.

However,whenit comestorecordingintoa

computerDAWwitha simplersetupandno

desk,youhavetofindanotherwaytoachievea

headphonemixthatcombinesthemicinputs

andthetrack.Conveniently,manyinterfaces

includehardwaremonitoring,eitherusinga

physicalinput/outputbalancecontrol,orwithin

theinterfaceitselfviaa software-controlled

hardwarecircuit.

The first option is pretty basic, and is enough

to enable the input mic or mics and the existing

track or click playing back from the DAW to be

heard. The second can – depending on interface

• serve up multiple different mixes and route
  them to multiple headphone outputs.
  Both of those options tap the input signal off
  before it reaches the computer, but monitoring
  via the DAW can also work if you set a very small
  buffer size (64 samples or less, ideally), so that
  the round trip delay (latency) added to the input
  signal isn’t too offputting. Be aware, though, that
  a very short buffer size will tax your computer
  and can cause audio glitching. Also bear in mind
  that most vocalists will find any noticable delay
  unworkable, and this is why hardware
  monitoring is always the better option.

Monitoringandcuemixes

“It’s important for your

performers to be able

to hear themselves”

32 / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2019

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