Cue Mix Assistance PLEASE!!!!

[S2H]

Hey guys. I need assistance setting up a cue mix. We are using the 192 Digital I/O and the Control 24. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Scott

[netnoggin]

Setting up a cue mix in Pro Tools (and therefore the C24) can be done in multiple ways, and really depends on what you expect it to do. But the thing to remember in the C24 is that the functions intended for a cue mix such as talkback are more or less standalone and separate from the rest of the console. This was not immediately obvious to me when I first got my C24. I guess I expected to have some sort of internal audio routing. Not that there's anything wrong with the way it is implemented, it just didn't make sense at first.

To achieve the biggest bang for your buck feature-wise, all cue stuff needs to go thru the aux inputs and outputs of the C24. This is because the talkback mic audio and switching are built into this path. So with that in mind, all you have to do is decide on the audio source to feed into the headphones. I have an 003R, so I can't tell you about the 192 Digital I/O. But conceptually you have a couple of major choices - either feed the same audio as the control room, or setup another separate feed by choosing a buss to use, setting up a send in each track to a pair of audio outputs, and hooking those outputs to the aux input of the C24.

One gotcha on the 003R is that the Low Latency Monitoring funtion only works on the main outputs, so using a separate buss for a cue mix will not work if one is using LLM. Again, I don't know if this is an issue with the 192 I/O.

[rockwald]

Here is what I do at my facility:

I set up an aux send on send E on all channels, including a mono and a stereo unused track which I can duplicate for new recording without having to assign the ins, outs, and auxes. Use a stereo pair of hardware outputs for this new aux send. I happen to use outputs 23-24 for this. Physically patch your new Cue Mix outputs from the 192 into the AUX ins on the back of the Control|24. Patch the AUX outs on the back of the Control|24 to your headphone amp. Plug the headphones into the headphone amp and listen.

Bring up the volume of the AUX Level pot on the Control|24 to about 1 pm. Do NOT activate the "Monitor to Aux" button.

Now, you hit the button for Send E on the Control|24 and hit the "Flip" button. This puts the levels for your Cue mix on the faders, and lets you use the rotary knobs as pan pots. Build your mix the same way you would build a regular mix.

You could also copy your current main mix to the Cue send you've built and then modify it from there. You do this from the Edit menu. Choose Edit > Automation > Copy to Send.
In the Copy to Send dialog, do any of the following:
• Select Current Value to copy the current settings of the corresponding controls.
• Select Automation to copy the entire automation playlist for the corresponding controls.

Select the controls you want to copy.

Select the sends to which to copy the automation, and click OK

I usually do have the send set up Pre-Fader, so that any changes I make on the main mix won't affect the Cue Mix, although when I am tracking several takes of vocals to separate tracks, I put these Post-fader, so that I don't have to remember to mute the Cue send as well as the main mute when I switch tracks. Also, if I am using a click-track, I often want that to be Post-fader, so I can mute it or ride the volume when tracking to avoid click bleeding from the headphones into open mics.

Good luck!

Tom Luekens