USB Tie Lines Question

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This topic contains 4 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by Profile photo of JEschhofen JEschhofen 1 year, 7 months ago.

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  • #108288
    Profile photo of JEschhofen
    JEschhofen
    Participant

    This may just be a fundamental misunderstanding of routing on my part, but I’m confused by how tie lines work in the routing.

    I’m working with an SQ7, and I am mixing a theatre show. I need to mix the band/singers and then play audio files (sound effects) through the system as well. I’m playing the audio from a computer via a USB connection. In order to free up processing channels (and because all sound effects are pre-processed in the computer), I would like to tie these audio playback channels straight to the speakers via the routing page. However, when I route my USB 1 channel to the Main L output, it steals that output from anything else, so now I can’t send my actual Main L mix to that physical output. Am I missing something? Is there a way to send a mix to an output and also separately send a tied input directly to that output? If not, is there a way to tie the input directly to a mix or matrix that is sending to that output? Again, I don’t care about the processing of the channel, but I need the sound effects and the actual band/singers to all come out of the mains.

    Up to this point, I’ve always just assigned each USB channel to a channel strip, which obviously works perfectly. However, when I have 30 singers and a 12 piece band (including several instruments that need more and 1 mic/channel), if I could save 8-12 input channels (several mains and surround speakers and subs, etc) that are otherwise wasted as the processing isn’t needed, that would be wonderful!

    Thank you!

    #108294
    Profile photo of Dave Meadowcroft
    Dave Meadowcroft
    Participant

    Tie Lines are for patching input sockets to output sockets directly without using any processing.

    What you are looking for is Mix Ext In. This adds whatever you want to the mix you want, again without using any processing.
    This can be done from either the processing page of the channel strip for the Mix you want to add to, or in the routing page under Inputs | Mix Ext In on the left – select USB in your case at the top and insert to the mix in the grid below.
    The only caveat I believe is that a mono mix will only take a mono mix ext in and a stereo requires a stereo on adjacent odd/even sockets or USB channels.

    #108298
    Profile photo of JEschhofen
    JEschhofen
    Participant

    Thank you for the response! I see what you are talking about, I think, but I can’t get any audio through it. I patched the USB channels 1&2 into the main LR mix and I get no sound from them. I tried in both places you mentioned (although obviously one copies the other, so it was really more checking that I had done it correctly). The trim on the Main LR just gets me noise through the channel (just in a “turning up the noise floor” kind of way) and upping the volume from the computer source doesn’t affect it.

    I started with the USB 1&2 patched into 2 input channels going to the main outs and playing a test tone. All sounded good. Then (without shutting off the test tone), I unpatched the USB 1&2 from those channel strips and repatched them into the Mix Ext In for the Main mix. From there I had no sound. Then when I patched back to the channel strips, the tone was still going. So is there some other mute switch for the Mix Ext In? Or an enable switch somewhere?

    #108306
    Profile photo of ioTon
    ioTon
    Participant

    You have to patch you main LR bus to some physical output sockets
    You have to unmute your main LR bus
    You have to open the main LR fader

    #108342
    Profile photo of JEschhofen
    JEschhofen
    Participant

    Well, I came back the next day and tried it with no issues at all. Not sure what I was doing the first time, but all is working now!

    Thank you both!

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