Live Input Monitoring is Broken

[Rock]

Am I missing something? Unless I arm recording for a track it is not passing audio even when Live Input Monitoring is checked. I don't want to record the signal just monitor it. Is there anyway to accomplish this?

[Peter Widdicombe]

There is a setting for something like "run audio engine even when stopped". I believe it's one of those under Options in the lower left window, by default.

Do you see the INPUT meters showing input as well?

[Rock]

"Run audio engine even when stopped" is on. The inputs show activity.

[Peter Widdicombe]

Odd. I do this all the time. Question time:

1. OS ?
2. Traction or Waveform? Version?
3. Input device (make sure you see the input meters bouncing)
4. If MIDI, what VST are you using? If you select that track, do you see the keyboard "playing" at the bottom?
5. Do you see output meters moving?
6. Have you solo'd or muted anything that might prevent the path going through?
7. Disable any master outputs. Do you see the master showing a signal level?
8. All levels are at 80% or more, to be audible?
9. Your output master is a device turned on (powered speakers, USB audio, amp, etc.)? This works if recording or playback?

[Rock]

[quote="Peter Widdicombe"]Odd. I do this all the time. Question time:

1. OS ?
Windows
2. Traction or Waveform? Version?
Latest Waveform
3. Input device (make sure you see the input meters bouncing)
Check
4. If MIDI, what VST are you using? If you select that track, do you see the keyboard "playing" at the bottom?
Audio Track
5. Do you see output meters moving?
No
6. Have you solo'd or muted anything that might prevent the path going through?
No
7. Disable any master outputs. Do you see the master showing a signal level?
No

No need to go any farther. There is definitely an issue. Because when I cycle through pressing the input's "Rec" arm button and "live input monitoring" buttons over and over, it works sometimes when live input is active and sometimes it doesn't. It always works when record is armed, but only occasionally when it isn't.

2017-06-06 00_57_56-_Patch Bay.svg - Inkscape.png

I screen shot the top image when it was working, I hit the "live input monitoring" button, and the signal was no longer being passed (which is normal). I hit it again the signal was still not being passed (not normal). Took a screen shot again to show that the input and output no longer matched despite live input monitoring being on.

[dRowAudio]

IIRC this is by design and how it has always worked.
I think this behaviour is there to stop people blowing up their speakers by simply adding an input device to a track. You very definitely have to record arm it to get the live input monitoring.

You can use the "Record Mode:" "Don't make recordings from this device" if you don't actually want to record.

[Rock]

Certainly it's not designed to function inconsistently...

It IS producing a live monitoring of the input WITHOUT the input being armed AT RANDOM as you can see from the screenshot on the top.

Personally, I prefer the top behavior, but there is a bug when it works one way at times and another way at other times under the same settings.

BTW, why would live input monitoring be any more dangerous for the user's speakers when a track is unarmed?

[dRowAudio]

Ok, you're right that does seem like a bug. You shouldn't be able to monitor without having record enable armed.
I'll look in to this a bit more.

One last thing though, when you say this is "AT RANDOM", is that at random in general use or when you're testing by constantly pressing the "Live Input Monitoring" button? If the latter, could it be that the button is just out of sync with the actual behaviour? Does deselecting then reselecting the input show the same inconsistency?

BTW, why would live input monitoring be any more dangerous for the user's speakers when a track is unarmed?

I thought that this was because it was impossible to add an input with record arm already on e.g. if you add a lot of inputs at once with the "add inputs to consecutive tracks" option.
However, this doesn't seem to be the case so I'll check with the team and get back to you.

[Rock]

I figured out when it occurs. Now that I figured it out, I think I am going to wish I had never brought it up, because I can get it to work either way.

To allow live monitoring of an unarmed track:
- With live monitoring off, arm the track.
- Turn on live monitoring
- Disarm the track

To prevent live monitoring of an unarmed track:
- Turn on live monitoring when the track is unarmed.

I prefer that it always allow live monitoring if it is turned on (which makes a lot of sense, since the user has selected to turn it on and arm should enable recording not monitoring). But the way it works now is better than simply not allowing it at all. I can at least get the function when I need it.

[Peter Widdicombe]

I think I kind of like the fact you don't specifically have to arm a track, if you have live monitoring on, to be able to hear it.