Aggregating multiple channels with Tracktion Waveform?

[Netflixandzzzzzz]

I'm pretty new to this, but I've searched around for answers and tried finding what I'm looking for in the manuals/forums, but I can't seem to find an answer for the problem I'm experiencing.

Basically, I'm trying to use three pairs of headphones to hear three input channels simultaneously. I'm working with a Behringer U-Phoria UMC404HD, which allows up to four inputs/outputs, but for the most part I can only get the headphones to hear a single input each while recording.

I can adjust the settings to treat each channel as a stereo pair, which allows channels 1&2 and 3&4 to hear each other, but won't allow all channels to come through each pair of headphones.

Is there a way that we could have three to four people hear 3 to 4 mic inputs simultaneously while recording?

Thanks for any help, and I hope this isn't a dumb question. I'm just starting to worry that Waveform is so geared toward music editing that it might not be user friendly for podcasting purposes.

[chico.co.uk]

How are you plugging in 3 pairs of headphones to that interface? It only has one headphone output from what i can see...

[Peter Widdicombe]

I got an ARTcessories 4-channel headphone amplifier for a similar purpose. That way each can have their own volume; and it was relatively inexpensive. Plus it allows for 1/4 or 1/8 headphones on each output; and the single input also allows 1/8 or 1/4.

The question above does apply - are they monitoring the INPUT they are associated to, or the overall mix being fed out of Waveform. This is probably a limitation of the interface itself and how it's set, and not of Waveform.

[Netflixandzzzzzz]

@Chico.co.uk On the back of the interface you can plug into 4 output playback channels, but maybe they can't be aggregated? It seems like there should be a way to have all inputs play across all output channels though.

@PeterWiddicombe I'll look into the ARTcessories 4-channel then, since there is only one headphones plug on the front of the interface and the plugs on the back seem linked to the individual lines. I did try methodically adjusting each button and rheostat on the interface to see if this might change the feed to the headphones, but that didn't work. The closest I was able to get was to switch the channels in Waveform to Stereo paired, which allows two inputs to be monitored.

Thanks for your help btw.

[fde101]

the single input

If there is only one input, all of the headphones will obviously receive the same output, just at different volume levels.

Are you trying to send different signals to different headphones, or just select which signals go to the headphones, but send the same set of signals to all of the headphones?

Also, are you trying to do this without impacting the main stereo mix, or is this instead of the stereo mix?

If you are doing this in place of the stereo mix and can send the same thing to all the headphones, you can just solo the tracks you want to hear and make sure a copy of the stereo mix is being sent to all of the headphone outputs.


If you are trying to do this independently of the main mix, set up an extra track in the mix to act as a bus feeding the headphones, and set the output of that track to the outputs of the interface corresponding to the headphones. Add an Aux Return plugin at the start of that track and assign it to an unused bus.

On the channels you want to send to the bus, add Aux Send plugins - add them before the volume/pan plugin if you want to mix them independently of the stereo mix, or at the end of the plugin list if you want the stereo mix to have an effect on the output. Make sure they are sending to the same bus you assigned the Aux Return to. You can create and set up one then copy it to the other tracks to save time.


If you are trying to mix different signals to different headphones, you will need separate outputs on the interface to feed each set of headphones: if your interface only has 4 channels going out, you can probably only get two separate feeds going as there will be 2 channels (stereo) feeding each set of headphones or other devices, so you might need a bigger interface depending on your requirements, and your external amp having only a single input suggests that it can only support one of those headphones (the amp built into your interface might give you a second one).

To make this work in the software, repeat the steps I listed above (track with aux return, aux sends on the channels) for each set of headphones - each set of independently-mixed headphones would get a separate track with a different bus assigned to its aux return, then you would add an aux send to each channel you want to feed into it, for each set of headphones you want to send the signal to.


I am probably making this sound like more work than it actually is - try it and once you catch on it probably won't seem quite so bad.

[abrickwall]

Easiest way I've found to do this is to make a return track for each additional headphone, then route the master to each of them.

For example if you have headphones on output 1&2, 3&4, and 5&6, you would make 1&2 the default output. Then you would create two tracks in your project, route one to output 3&4, and the other to output 5&6. Place an Aux return plugin on each track (you can use one return channel for both tracks), then place an Aux send in the master FX and route it to them.