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X32: Waves Channel and Bus Inserts Part 2

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Synopsis: This Article shows how to setup Waves MultiRack or SuperRack on an X32 to process channels and buses at the same time. Following the instructions below you can setup an X32 with Waves processing on 30 channels as well as inserts including Main Left/Right bus. You can also use the last two input channels- they will not have waves inserts but would still sum and be included in the mix before the Main L/R Waves Insert.

This setup will still cause the overall latency to be doubled, which on a native system could very well be too much for your program, but the routing would be the same for a Soundgrid Server System from Waves which is very low latency and more reliable than a native system.

Much like part 1, we are going to use the new User Input routing patch system introduced in Firmware Version 4 as well as the Aux in Remap to achieve 30 channels of Waves processing as well as Bus Processing– in this example on the Left Right Main Bus. There are many different ways to route sources in the X32 and this is just one example, but I have tried to come up with a system that will be the easiest to keep straight.

In this example I am using a Midas DL32 for all 32 channels on AES A. You could substitute Local channels or sources from AESA and AESB in addition or instead of. This would only change the Card Out and User Out Routing.

***IMPORTANT NOTE- Before going forward mute the Aux In Channels 1+2 so you do not create a feedback loop. You could also change their source for instance to Local Inputs to handle playback or something but if you do not change the source then you need to mute them before using the Aux In Remap.***

See video of process or scroll down to read the article:

Also, you can download the .scn file from the downloads section of the website if you would like.

Input Blocks

Input Blocks get routed like the picture above. The Aux In Remap only allows Selection of Card or User sources starting at 1 so we will use User In 1-6. You could use User In 1-2 and use the others as inserts somewhere else but that would make for routing that is more complex than it is probably worth.

Routing would look like this:

Block 1-8: Card In 1-8

Block 9-16: Card In 9-16

Block 17-24: Card in 17-24

Block 25-32: User in 25-32

Aux In: User 1-2 (Aux in remap will not let you route anything to Aux 7+8, but in the configuration tab for the Aux it is possible to assign any source.)

Expansion Card Output

This is where we set the sources that will feed the Expansion Card and ultimately our channels. In this example I am going to use AES A1-32 to feed all 32 channels to the mixer.

Card Out 1-8: AES A1-8 (this send the signal coming off the preamps to Waves)

Card Out 9-16: AES A9-16

Card Out 17-24: AES A17-24

Card Out 25-32: User Out 25-32

Patch Points: AUX

Here we set the Aux Output to be Inserts. Do this for Aux Out 1 and Aux Out 2.

Patch Points: User In

Here we set the User Inputs. Set Input 1 to Card 31 and Input 2 to Card 32. These will be our returns from the Main L/R insert.

Next we can skip down to User In Bank 25-32. Set Input 25 to Card 25 and patch 1 to 1 through to Input 30.

Input 31 and Input 32 can be set to any preamp and used for channels that do not include Waves Inserts. I usually leave these open for Talkback or MC mics anyway, they can be patched from local sources on the mixer or in the example above I am using channels 31 and 32 on a DL32.

Patch Points: User Out

Here we set User Out Bank 25-32. This is what feeds the last 8 channels to the Waves system. Set User Output 25 to AES A25 and continue to patch 1 to 1 through User Output 30.

User Output 31 is set to Aux Out 1 and User Output 32 is set to Aux Out 2. This is how you feed the insert from the Main L/R bus to Waves via the Card.

Main Left/Right Insert

Page to Home>Config for the Main Left/Right Bus and set the Insert to Aux 1. You can set if the insert is before or after the channel dynamics and eq.

X-Live Card

If you are setting up a Native Waves system and have an X-Live Card in your mixer you will need to set the Playback Config to “USB Interface” and make sure the USB Interface is set to 32in/32out.

Waves Routing/Setup

For this example I setup Waves SuperRack with 30 mono racks that would be the channels, and Rack 31 was a stereo rack.

Starting on Rack 1 I routed the racks like this:

Rack 1: X-Live Mono – Input 1 / Output 1

Rack 2: X-Live Mono – Input 2 / Output 2

Rack 3: X-Live Mono – Input 3 / Output 3

Etc. all the way to:

Rack 31: X-Live Stereo – Input 31+32 / Output 31+32

X32 Input Presets

For redundancy sake you could build a routing backup that bypasses the Waves Inserts in the event there is a problemo so you can quickly switch to an alternate routing system. The X32 allows for routing presets that can be recalled, but an easy alternative is using the Input Recording/Playback settings. You can set one up for the inserts like the article above and setup a backup routing scheme that routes the channels straight from the preamps/sources bypassing the Waves Card.

Download the Scene File

Check out our download section to download the scene files (link Below). The download includes a scene with inputs coming from AES50-A like the article above, as well as a version using the mixer’s local preamps. You should be able to load it on your mixer and then save the routing to a routing template to work with your scenes you already have.

Takeaway

There are many creative ways to route sources and outputs with the X32 and this is only one more of many. I plan on covering some other routing examples in later articles. Let me know if you have any questions or would like to see another example covered.

20 thoughts on “X32: Waves Channel and Bus Inserts Part 2”

  1. you wouldn’t happen to have a .scn file? I’m using an m32c and a dl32 so I have to set it up in m32 edit. I can’t see the patch points unless it is called something else on the m32 edit. and to be honest I really haven’t upgraded to version 4
    thanks again this is even more useful than my original question

    1. Hi Mike,

      I can make a scene file and send it to you. Are you trying to do the exact same routing I outlined?

      The mixer needs to have a firmware version of 4.00 or higher to use the User Routing Blocks.
      The X/M32 edit app needs to be version 4 or you won’t have access to the User Routing Blocks.

  2. Michael D. Koslowski

    a scene or a routing preset whichever, I am trying to do the routing you describe in part 2

    thanks again

    1. Hi Mike,

      I tried emailing you a scene file. Let me know if you didn’t get it. I am currently working on making it available in the downloads section.

  3. Michael D. Koslowski

    thanks very much for all your help, I’ve been away but I just updated to 4.02 and used the file you sent me it works perfectly. And it also helped me understand the new things in version 4.
    Now I’m going to read some of your other articles I know they’ll be a big help[.

    Mike

  4. This method works flawlessly!
    Question, how would you do a virtual soundcheck while still being able to process the MAIN LR. I had everything set up well and all my channels were receiving signal except my mains. Any tips?

        1. Hi Humberto,

          Were you able to process the playback channels from virtual soundcheck but just not the mains? Are you trying to run playback for virtual soundcheck and host Waves on the same computer? Have you setup Waves QRec for driver sharing? That took me a while to figure out when I was first trying to process channels in SuperRack from a virtual soundcheck played back from the same host computer.

  5. Hi Chris,
    Really great tutorial on waves routing… I’m running an x32c (v4.02)/WSG I/O card and DL16 (AES50 A) supporting a live house mix and live stream mix concurrently. P16 output 1-5 is used for Turbosound IQ (4 x IQ12, 1 x IQ18B) so I’m using P16 output 6-12 to the expansion card CO1-6 remapped to aux 1-6. I have 3 stereo racks in SuperRack, x32 bus 5-6 is vox (wsg 1-2), bus 9-10 (wsg 3-4) is keys and bus 11-12 (wsg 5-6) is acoustic guitar all post fader. I use bus 7-8 (local xlr) for my live stream and only want Waves processing on the live stream. I require 13 channels of input and (3) P16 outputs for monitoring. I’m having an issue where the vocal channels are somehow being sent to both the vox rack and the acoustic guitar rack. The left channel in the guitar rack is receiving twice the input level as the right channel. After many hours, I still can’t find the issue. I know there is a better way to do this, but could you provide assistance on this setup? Create an .scn or review the one I an currently running? Thanks in advance.

    1. Hi Ken,

      If you email me your .scn I would be happy to look at it and see if I can figure out what is going on. I’m guessing this routing was setup before firmware version 4 and that is the reason for the P16 outputs to the card? If so, it may make the most sense to use the User In and Outs but this is complicated enough we probably need a flow chart to keep it straight.

  6. Using a waves server with my Midas M32. Is there a way to set the waves processing to be post console EQ before hitting waves? I’m pretty sure the answer is definitely no due to the consoles lack of card insert points but figured I’d ask.

    Also regarding this 30+LR in waves routing, it’s exactly what I’m currently doing but I want to be sure I have my latency groups set correctly in super rack due to two of the racks being LR and not inputs. Guidance?

    1. You can send direct outs post channel effects but prefade using the P16/Ultranet or Output Routing but you would then have to return those channels on a different channel. So channels 1-16 could be direct out pre fader send to waves but you would need the returns to be on Channels 17-32, effectively halving your channel count. I’m not sure why you would want to do this aside from having monitor sends with console processing but without Waves processing and reserving the Waves processing for FOH.

      For the latency groups you would not include the LR bus in the latency group, since it is being processed separately from all of the channels. You want the channels in a latency group so they are all delayed correctly together.

  7. Hi Chris,

    I have M32C with DN32-WSG card, Waves Server and SuperRack and I wonder if there’s any way to make routing look like this:
    1-24 CH AES50 A to Waves SuperRack
    25-32 CH AES50 to M32C’s channels 25-32 (without waves processing)
    2 stereo AUX sends (reverb / delays) to Waves SuperRack
    L/R insert to Waves SuperRack

    I did similar routing but with 3 AUX sends to Waves SuperRack, but I can’t figure out how to make this insert for L/R. Do You have any idea?

    1. Hi Tomas,

      I am pretty sure it is possible and I have done it in the past. I can’t remember the details and it may take a thorough write up to explain it. I will look for the scene file and get back to you.

  8. Hi Chris,

    Thanks so much for this great explanation. Looked for a while before finding your article and it saved me time. I just have one small issue with this–please note I’m using the Dante card with Live Professor, but it all seems to work pretty much the same way with the added step of patching ins and outs in the Dante Controller.

    When I monitor a single signal that goes local pre > card out > live professor > card in > x32 channel, I get this phasing sound that I don’t get with the insert on the LR. Don’t have any other bus processing setup, just the template you presented here. The phasing sounds especially obvious when sourcing the channel with the local input vs through the card.

    Is this something you’ve experienced before?

    Thanks!

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