The Audio Mixer/Router Plugin

24 Jan The Audio Mixer/Router Plugin

Posted at 10:00h in Gig Performer Blog, GP2 New Features by

A much requested feature in Gig Performer was an Audio Mixer, a multi-channel gain control plugin. Instead of creating separate gain controls after each synth plugin, you could use a single plugin to control the gain of multiple plugins. Our plugin comes in 4ch (two stereo pairs), 8ch (four stereo pairs), 16ch (eight stereo pairs), 20ch (ten stereo pairs) and 32ch (sixteen stereo pairs) versions. Here’s a picture of the 8ch plugin (yeah, we know, we got cute with the tape labels):

Audio Mixer in Gig Performer, multi-channel gain control plugin

Of course, if you need more than that just 32ch, instantiate as many audio mixers as you need.

Using the Audio Mixer plugin as a mixer

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Here is a typical example of how you might use the Audio Mixer plugin as a simple mixer.

Audio Mixer in Gig Performer, Setup Example

In this example we have four synths, each one going to its own gain/balance control in the Audio Mixer plugin. All the gains are then routed to the first two outputs of the plugin from where they are then connected to the first stereo pair of the audio interface.

Each channel pair can be soloed or muted as desired and of course these can be controlled from front panel widgets and so from your keyboard controller as needed.

Using the Audio Mixer plugin as a router

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Take a look at this image:

Audio Mixer plugin in Gig Performer, Router usage example

On the right, the connection view of a rackspace, you can see that we have a single synth (the Modartt Pianoteq) connected to the Audio Mixer. But now we have four different effects each of which is connected from a different pair of outputs of the Audio Mixer. If you look at the left part of the image, a view of the plugin editor, you can see that the first input (the Pianoteq) is currently being routed to Output 3-4, which represents the Flanger. So by changing the current output routing, you can quickly switch from one effect to another.

Using the Audio Mixer plugin as mixer and router together

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Take a look at this image:

Audio Mixer Plugin in Gig Performer, usage example, combination mixer + router

In this example, we can instantly route combinations of inputs to combinations of outputs so you can route your piano to the phaser and chorus while routing your pads (ARP 2600) to chorus and echo. By using rackspace variations in Gig Performer you can instantly switch among arbitrary combinations.
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Related topics:
– Controlling your personal mix (blog)
– Gig Performer built-in plugins (User Manual)

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Scaling Curves

Scaling curves allow you to control the shape of the output of a widget or convert an incoming note velocity to a new velocity. Various predefined curves are available and they can be tweaked as necessary. You can also just draw your own curve as well to achieve the effect you require.

 

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MIDI File Player Plugin

You can load up to 128 MIDI song files in a single plugin instance. Switch from one song to another, mute tracks and/or change their channel numbers. Tempo can be controlled by individual songs or you can use the global tempo and tap tempo to control the BPM interactively.

 

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Favorites and Presets

Create a sound by placing and interconnecting your desired plugins, such as a synth, some effects and perhaps a mixer. Select them all and then save the selection as a named favorite. The favorite will subsequently show up in all plugin insert menus, making it easy for you to recreate that configuration whenever you need it again. This feature is also very powerful for creating your needed sounds on your studio computer and then transferring them to your touring laptop.

 

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Probabilistic Sound Designer

Parameters you select in an open plugin are captured into the Probabilistic Sound Designer dialog window. When you click Randomize, you're only adjusting those selected parameters. Each entry in the PSD dialog has a curve but unlike widgets where the curve controls scaling, in the PSD the curves are used to define the probability of particular values being selected. Make sure the filter cutoff never gets too slow so as to block all sound. Perhaps adjust the max range of the VCA attack parameter so that the sound doesn't have too much delay. Constrain the octave ranges of the oscillators, perhaps ensuring that 1/3rd of the time we select 8' and 2/3rds of the time we select 4'. The possibilities are endless.

 

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More Widgets

Numerous new widgets are included in Gig Performer - a new sustain pedal, plastic knobs, drum pads and more colored sliders. Shapes can be colored with different borders and fill colors and morphed from rectangular to circular. Your creativity is now the limit to creating fabulous front panels in Gig Performer.

 

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MIDI Message Helper

Select MIDI devices by name. Choose the MIDI message type and adjust the appropriate parameters for the specific type

 

  

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Layout management

Gig Performer supports arbitrary resizing. Layout your widgets the way you want - resize the main window and the widgets will grow or shrink as necessary to maintain the same interrelationships. No matter what size screen you have, your front panels will still be neat and usable.

 

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Undo Support

If you move your widgets around and/or resize them, or even delete them by mistake, the Undo facility will correct your mistake. Minor moves to a widget by mistake will no longer spoil your design

 

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Plugin Channel Count

Some plugins support a large number of outputs and they depend on the traditional channel strip to control how many ports should be available.   When you only need a stereo pair, it is convenient not to have a large horizontal block. In Gig Performer, the number of available ports  is controlled by the channel count override, which can be applied to individual plugins and will be remembered when the gigfile is reloaded or if the plugin is saved as a favorite.

 

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Input muting and output fading

Rather than a single audio length tail, Gig Performer 4 gives you the ability to control input muting and output fading separately. Input muting controls how much time it takes for audio input to be silenced when you leave the rackspace. Output fading controls how much time will be taken for audio to fade out when you leave the rackspace.

 

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Faster Plugin Finder

Instead of searching through menus of perhaps hundreds of plugins (you know who you are!), the Quick Plugin Finder makes it easy to find the plugin you need by simply typing partial strings. For example, as shown here, to find the Modartt Pianoteq 7 plugins, it's enough to type pia mod 7 (in any order, by the way)  to restrict the list of available plugins to those matching your query. The Quick Plugin Finder also knows about manufacturers, presets and favorites.

 

  

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Touch Friendly Input

Any entry field can be changed by either dragging your mouse (or finger) up or down, or by using the large popup touchpad where you can just tap on the squares to enter a value. The large popup keypad also does validation so you can't enter an invalid value. You can also just tap the BPM field to pop up a larger view where you can quickly change tempo, tranpose, trigger Tap Tempo and enable Ableton Link, the last allowing you to synchronize Gig Performer with any other application that also supports Ableton Link.

 

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New Tuner Display

The tuner view makes it easy for guitarists to quickly check and adjust their tuning. You can toggle into the tuner view from any other view and toggle right back as soon as you're done. All output will be silenced automatically while you're in tuning mode. You can adjust the concert reference pitch from its default of 440 Hz to suit your own needs. The tuner view fills the entire screen so you can easily see it from a distance.

 

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