MOTU routing woes

[BluMunk]

Hi all!

 

I'm using an UltraLite mk4, and am really struggling with understanding the routing matrix and getting it to quickly do what I expect. Here's a screenshot of what I've got going on.

 

http://natevenet.com/misc/MOTURouting.png

 

 

Questions:

 

 

 

1. Outputting "To Computer". These channels send audio out of the MOTU to my computer. But, if I want to send multiple inputs to one channel on the computer, I have to use a Mix Group (you can't route more than one input to any output). Ok. But I can't send Mixer channels to outputs, virtual or otherwise? In order to do that I have to use a Group/Aux/Main/Monitor send? Actually, as I work this out for this post, it's all starting to come together for me. It works like a mixer (duh).

 

But what feels strange is that inputs can bypass the "Mix In". So not all audio goes through the "mixer"? In my setup above, I have Mic 1 going to both "To Computer 1" and "In 1". So, the "To Computer" input sends the audio to my computer (on channel 1), while the "In 1" sends the audio to the mixer in the UltraLite? So, the channel parameters I apply "in the box" on the MOTU mixer (eq, fx, etc . . . what about basic gain for the input?) won't go to the computer unless I send that channel to a Mix Group and then send that Mix Group to the computer?

 

2. My computer (Windows 10) sees both "In 1-24 (MOTU Pro Audio)" and "In 1-2 (MOTU Pro Audio)". What's the difference?

 

 

Thanks in advance. I hope those questions made some sense.

[Dr Mike Metlay]

Hi BluMunk,

 

Sorry for the long delay. Been AFK for two weeks playing my HydraSynth (see GearLab) and building a new computer (see thread in this forum).

 

Currently my UltraLite AVB mostly sits unused in my closet, so I'm a bit rusty on this stuff, but I think you're trending in the right direction. If I might make a suggestion: try setting up a DAW project that has nothing to do with a particular song or project, but which is JUST for testing the UL4. Choose easily differentiated sounds, and experiment with routing them. Empirical experience works better for many folks than trying to read another manual (which is also vital for a box this complicated!).

 

YouTube is often a resource for stuff like this, but the quality of the videos is often pretty scungy... have you tried asking MOTU support for a pointer to a tutorial that explains what's in the manual a bit better? Check their website?

 

As far as question 2 goes, the Windows driver may present the box to the OS as either a multitrack interface or a simple stereo box -- this is potentially important for applications that get confused by more than two inputs. As a Mac user, I deal with Audio MIDI Setup instead, but I think my guess is somewhere near the mark... any Windows folks out there who could weigh in?

 

Hope this helps!

 

mike

[BluMunk]

Thanks Mike (and sorry for my delay . . . this summer got wonky and I've not been keeping up well with online forums).

 

I love that idea of using a DAW for routing testing/experimenting. I've mostly got things figured out, or at least "stable" for my current needs, but stable in the sense of "I figured it out . . . now, don't breathe on it; I don't want it to all come tumbling down!"

[SamuelBLupowitz]

I don"t know that there"s more going on here than is necessary to discuss outside of a PM, but now that I"ve started struggling through figuring out the MOTU Stage-B16 and its digital mixer, I"m happy to keep the conversation going.

 

I also struggled to understand the way the 'Mix In' routing worked, because the mixer *is* separate from the preamp gain, phantom power, and polarity (which are set on the Device tab). So the computer and the onboard mixer are two separate destinations which run in parallel, but can also be routed to one another. Had to soak my head in a bucket of cold water after trying to figure out how to monitor a vocal being tracked through the mixer but everything else out of the DAW... but I GOT it, dammit!