Multichannel routing for Addictive Drums?

[artartart]

Anyone know the up to date info on multi - outputs from virtual drums like Addictive Drum etc? Just experimenting with using Mixbus for everything rather than just sending wavs from cubase to mix - but this routing stuff is driving me up the wall. It would be nice to sort out but I cannot find any clear up to date instructions - and I'm beginning to think It's not worth struggling with.

Thanks

[Ben@Harrison]

If you make a "New MIDI Track" and the in the Instrument pulldown menu, choose a VST instrument with explicit multi outs, like this:

[Image: multi-out-vst.png][/img]

...you should then get a dialog with a checkbox "fan out" selected by default ... if you leave that selected then Mixbus will create buses for every output of the plug (well, actually we assume there are stereo pairs so an 18-out plugin will have 9 stereo buses attached)

If you choose some other instrument format, or if the instrument doesn't specify how many outputs it has ... then yes it can get tricky.

Best,
-Ben

[artartart]

Anyone know the up to date info on multi - outputs from virtual drums like Addictive Drum etc? Just experimenting with using Mixbus for everything rather than just sending wavs from cubase to mix - but this routing stuff is driving me up the wall. It would be nice to sort out but I cannot find any clear up to date instructions - and I'm beginning to think It's not worth struggling with.

Thanks

---

If you make a "New MIDI Track" and the in the Instrument pulldown menu, choose a VST instrument with explicit multi outs, like this:

[Image: multi-out-vst.png][/img]

...you should then get a dialog with a checkbox "fan out" selected by default ... if you leave that selected then Mixbus will create buses for every output of the plug (well, actually we assume there are stereo pairs so an 18-out plugin will have 9 stereo buses attached)

If you choose some other instrument format, or if the instrument doesn't specify how many outputs it has ... then yes it can get tricky.

Best,
-Ben

Hi Ben - Thanks for the reply. That certainly gets me a step further - but then what? I did the fan out thing and mixbus has generated an Addictive Drums group but what do you do to get the sounds onto individual tracks?

I think I have discussed with you before my misunderstandings of the routing grid and I fear I am back at the same scary rock face.

[Ben@Harrison]

Each plugin has its own internal router where you have to select which drum (kick, snare, whatever) feeds the various outputs. You'll have to visit the plugin developer's manual, or do some clicking around inside the plugin to find that selection. It's usually a pulldown menu somewhere in the "kit setup" page where you select your kick sound, snare sound, etc. Or it might be in the "mixer page" of the plugin. Or both!

-Ben

[artartart]

Each plugin has its own internal router where you have to select which drum (kick, snare, whatever) feeds the various outputs. You'll have to visit the plugin developer's manual, or do some clicking around inside the plugin to find that selection. It's usually a pulldown menu somewhere in the "kit setup" page where you select your kick sound, snare sound, etc. Or it might be in the "mixer page" of the plugin. Or both!

-Ben

OK - I've done some digging around and learnt a bit more. I've set this up in Cubase before and in Addictive Drums in Cubase one is given the option of where to route the outputs, mono or stereo. For example Kick is mono output 17 and the 3 toms are set up as a stereo pair on a stereo output.

There appears to be no option in AD to specify which outputs now, except to send pre or post fade and not use the master channel. Mixbus has created for me (I think 9) stereo outputs. So my Kick is L on output 2 (Output 1 just gives me a feedback loop) and Snare is on the side of the same stereo pair. Great, I thought - I'll just duplicate the track and separate them with the panning. So I duplicated the track - and that's when Mixbus froze and I've had to force quit.

But am I on the right lines?

[Ben@Harrison]

Ah, yes, I've just tried AD and now I recall that it has some special behavior.

It has a mix of outputs: each drum can be sent to a mono out; but the OH's, Room, and Bus outputs are always stereo. Furthermore it doesn't allow you to pick which output a drum is sent on, when you pick "separate out", it just goes to its dedicated output. And finally, the master bus is drawn (in their GUI) as if it were the last 2 outputs; but it is the first 2 outputs which follows the convention of other drum plugins. This is a case where you really have to understand the plugin's working before you undertake a multichannel setup.

To accommodate this plugin, you'll want to create a stereo master output, then 10 individual mono buses, and then 3 more stereo buses for OH, Room, and Bus pairs. And finally use the grid to connect it all up.

Perhaps someday we'll make a dialog to do this process for you; but at the end of the day it's important to know what you are doing. To paraphrase Einstein: We can make things as simple as possible, but no simpler

Here's a quick video that shows the steps to add the plugin, add the required buses, and configure the plugin to use the individual outs for the kick drum: https://youtu.be/P-T_YWxgRvU

Regarding your comment "I get a feedback loop in the master", I'm not sure what you mean, but note that in my video I disconnected the Instrument track from the master bus (Mstr) because we are sending the first 2 outputs to a bus called "AD Master" instead. That might not be strictly necessary but I think it makes it clearer to have ALL the outputs on buses, rather than have some of them in the instrument and the others fanned-out.

-Ben

[artartart]

but at the end of the day it's important to know what you are doing


[/quote]

Hi Ben

Ah well, your quote hits the nail on the proverbial - but the good news is I got it worked out before I saw your reply. So it's not set up quite as you suggest but I have it in a way that suits me at the moment and I now have a better understanding of some of the steps involved. I am now going to have a go with a couple of other multi out plug-ins so it should be a breeze from now on. (?) (Yeah, it'll be fine.)

One of the confusions arises with the terminologies of outputs and inputs - The output of one thing becomes the input of another and the grid thing does not speak to me in a way I want it to. Jackplugs, patch bays, cables and sockets I understand but the virtual versions throw me, every time.

Thank you very much for the helpful support.