How does one setup to utilize all 16 inputs/outputs for the Audio 8 / Audio 16 modules inside the DAW (in my case Bitwig) with the new VCV Rack 2 plugin?
I see it is much more straightforward in the standalone app, but I can’t wrap my head around how to do this inside the DAW.
In Bitwig you can only use 4 audio input channels.
You can use all 16 outputs of Rack 2 Pro (/FX) Audio-16 in Bitwig.
But I can only figure out how to use max 4 of the input channels in VCV Rack 2 Pro FX. (3+4 is sidechain)
I currently only have 8 track bitwig 4.1 - that’s why I can’t add chains here:
But on Bitwig Studio 16-track and Full you can make the chains…
… and you can then use those chains as input for audio tracks.
Everything works in stereo pairs - I don’t know how to switch to mono.
Yeah I can’t figure out how to get mono either - I’m not sure if it is possible or not - perhaps not.
I know some VSTs come in mono and stereo versions - it might be that a stereo VST will only ever output stereo audio even when that is multi-channel. It’s the same in Ableton.
The bitwig manual explains how to get multi-channel audio out of VSTs but it doesn’t mention mono/stereo at all.
Mono takes a bit of a work around in Bitwig. I myself wish it would be more straightforward.
I’ve dabbled a bit with this by using two instances of Bitwig’s Tool plugin.
Say in Rack, you have Voice 1 and Voice 2, patched into VCV Audio Out 1 and 2. Setup two audio chain inputs in the VCV Rack 2 plugin as described above. But! Have both be set to stereo channels 1/2 from Rack.
Then create two instances of Bitwig’s Tool plugin after each stereo pair channels. Use the pan parameter on the first instance to hard pan to the isolated mono channel from Rack (L for channel 1 and R for channel 2).
Then, use the second Tool instance to centre the source in the stereo field by attenuating the width.
Then you’d use the Tool plugin as your source to record from in Bitwig.
I only dabbled a bit with this, so you might be able to get away with just one instance of Tool after each stereo pair by panning to the mono output and then attenuating the width. At the time there was some reason for using two instances, it might have been an over sight.
Thanks - will check that out!
Does any know how to send multiple Bitwig audio tracks to one instance of vcv 2 vst (eg for crossfading between different audio passages)?
Only 4 channels input to VST
Feel free to upvote this:
upvoted . Thanks
I used to complain endlessly to Reaper about no mono. Back in maybe 2004. Even on a mono track they would run VST in stereo, use twice the CPU. Maybe that’s still common?
Arghh, just been through this whole process when decided to multitrack a patch
Not being able to output mono is not very usefull!
yes sadly it seems to be a common issue, why DAW / plugin format developers don’t acknowledge this as a problem is beyond me. As for VST2 I think it’s an issue with the format itself, possibly that it needs to declare if its mono /stereo when it gets inserted (I have no idea tbh).
at the end of the day making a signal stereo when it is fact mono is just bad practice. in analog you waste channels and in digital you waste cpu…
