Sources

The SOURCES page decides what the musicians can hear. Every source here is available in every musician's mix; how loud and where it sits is then set per musician on the MIX page. On the left are the rack's channels, on the right the inputs that only go to the in-ears.

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1. 1The interface the in-ears use: the rack's
2. 2LISTENING TEST: test files and noise
3. 3A rack channel in the in-ears
4. 4A rack channel not in the in-ears (dimmed)
5. 5A new source from the interface
6. 6A source only in the in-ears: colour and name
7. 7Where it comes in - click to move it
8. 8Take it out of the in-ears

The interface#

The box at the top left, INTERFACE - THE RACK'S, shows the interface the in-ears play through, then "48 kHz 64 smp". It is always the rack's interface with the rack's buffer: change it in Setup > Audio. When something is wrong – the interface isn't at 48 kHz, isn't connected, Shadow Rack has none – the problem is written here in red.

Rack channels#

RACK CHANNELS - CLICK: IN / OUT OF THE IN-EARS shows a tile for every rack channel. New York buses, buses and mains aren't offered.

• Click a tile to put the channel into the in-ears, or take it out. A stereo channel goes in as one stereo source.
• A tile that's in has a lamp: IN EARS - POST in green (heard after its plugins), IN EARS - RAW in yellow (heard straight from the interface right now), or IN EARS while the state isn't known yet. See POST and RAW.
• A tile that's out is dimmed.
• Right-click a tile for Rename / Colour / Icon. This changes the rack channel itself, so the rack and the in-ears always show the same name.

A rack source takes the channel's name (with " L" / " R" for the sides of a stereo channel), colour and icon, and keeps following them. It also follows the channel's input: move the channel to another input on the rack and the in-ears follow. If you delete the channel from the rack, it leaves the in-ears too, a few seconds later.

With no channels on the rack, the left side reads "NO CHANNELS ON THE RACK".

Only in the in-ears#

The column on the right, ONLY IN THE IN-EARS, holds the sources the audience never hears: interface inputs for click, talkback or audience mics, and test files or noise. Each row has:

• a colour chip (click for the colour menu);
• the name – double-click to rename. A stereo pair is renamed together, "Amb" becoming "Amb L" / "Amb R";
• where it comes from: "Interface input 21", "Interface inputs 29–30" (with the interface's own name for the input, where it has one), "Test noise", or a file name;
• X to take it out of the in-ears.

Click the "from" text of an interface source to move it to another input. Both sides of a stereo pair move together. A name the app gave it follows the new input; a name you typed stays.

Adding an input#

Click + INPUT. The input picker opens:

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1. 1One input, or a stereo pair
2. 2Already used (here by a rack channel) - can't be picked
3. 3A free input, with the interface's own name for it
4. 4A free input

1. Choose MONO or STEREO. Stereo shows pairs of neighbouring inputs (IN 1–2, 3–4 ...), the left side on the first.
2. Click a free input. Inputs already used by a rack channel or by another in-ear source show what's on them, in its colour, and can't be picked.

The new source is named after the interface's own name for the input ("Talkback"; a pair called "Amb L" / "Amb R" becomes "Amb"), otherwise "IN 21" or "IN 23-24". Only the first 64 inputs of the interface are offered.

Every new source goes to every musician#

Taking a source out (a click on its rack tile, or X) takes it out of every mix.

Where new sources land#

Rack channels are placed from their names, roughly like a band seen from the singer's spot, with the kit behind:

The sides of a stereo channel go 20° either side of that spot. Interface inputs start straight ahead (a stereo pair at 30° either side). Rack channels keep their own colour; a test file gets one from its name (drums red, bass orange, guitars green, keys purple, lead cyan, vox blue, percussion yellow), an interface input the next colour in line. All of it is just a starting point – move things on the MIX page.

Test files and noise#

The LISTENING TEST group is for trying the 3D sound with recordings before anybody plays, or for showing a musician what 3D does.

• + FILES opens a file chooser – or just drop audio files anywhere on the IEM layer. A stereo file becomes a stereo source. Several files are spread across the front, from 70° left to 70° right.
• PLAY plays and stops them. All files loop together, as long as the longest one. START rewinds.
• + NOISE adds a source called NOISE: bursts of pink noise, easy to place by ear. It sounds while PLAY is on, like the files, but loops on its own (4 s).