Waves Multirack User manual

Chapter 1 – Introduction.....................................................................................................3

1.1 Welcome.............................................................................................................3

1.2 Product Overview................................................................................................3

Chapter 2 – Quickstart Guide.............................................................................................4

2.1 Connect Your Console to the Sound Card or External I/O..................................5

2.2 Create a New Session and Set the Preferences.................................................6

2.3 Add Empty Racks ...............................................................................................8

2.4 Snapshots.........................................................................................................11

2.5 Create Processing Groups................................................................................13

2.6 Saving in MultiRack ..........................................................................................14

2.7 Recall Safe Mode..............................................................................................14

2.8 Overview Window: Viewing the Status of All of Your Racks .............................15

2.9 Controlling MultiRack with MIDI........................................................................16

How is MIDI Used with MultiRack?................................................................................ 16

The Controller Strip ....................................................................................................... 16

Assigning Hardware Control with the Remote Controller Editor....................................18

Remotely Triggering Snapshots....................................................................................20

Hot Plug-in Mode...........................................................................................................20

2.10 Show Mode.....................................................................................................22

2.11 Shortcuts That Are Always Available ..............................................................22

2.12 Automatic Recovery........................................................................................22

Chapter 3 – MultiRack Windows and Controls Explained.............................................23

3.1 Status Bar.........................................................................................................24

3.2 A Quick Look at the Windows...........................................................................26

MultiRack Window.........................................................................................................26

Rack View Window........................................................................................................26

Group Properties Window ............................................................................................. 27

Snapshots Pane............................................................................................................27

Preferences Window ..................................................................................................... 28

3.3 The Windows in Detail......................................................................................28

MultiRack Window: Setting Up Your Processing Environment ...................................... 28

Rack View: Using Your Plug-ins....................................................................................34

WaveSystem Toolbar Buttons.......................................................................................35

Controller Strip...............................................................................................................36

Group Properties Window: For Organization and Latency Alignment...........................37

Snapshot Pane: Automating Your Racks......................................................................39

Preferences Window: Global Controls........................................................................... 43

Chapter 4 – MultiRack Menus...........................................................................................46

4.1 File Menu..........................................................................................................46

4.2 MultiRack Menu (OS X only)............................................................................. 47

4.3 Edit Menu..........................................................................................................47

4.4 Snapshots Menu...............................................................................................50

4.5 Help ..................................................................................................................51

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Welcome

Thank you for choosing Waves! In order to get the most out of Waves MultiRack, please take the time to read through this manual.

In conjunction, we also suggest you become familiar with will find an extensive Answer Base, the latest Tech Specs, detailed Installation guides, new Software Updates, and current information on Authorization and Registration.

By signing up at registered products, reminders when updates are available, and information on your authorization status.

www.wavesupport.net, you will receive personalized information on your

www.wavesupport.net. There you

1.2 Product Overview

MultiRack is a host platform for Waves audio processing plug-ins, designed especially for live sound applications. It provides a software equivalent to outboard hardware processing Racks, and signal flow to and from your console is similar to what you’re accustomed to with traditional hardware Racks. MultiRack allows you to program up to 1000 Snapshots per Session, so you can seamlessly change setups between or even within songs.

Chapter 2

Quickstart Guide

The Quick Start section contains all you need to know to configure your system and to get up to speed with the application. We will follow these steps as we get started:

1. Connect your console to the sound card or external I/O

2. Create a new Session and set the preferences

3. Add new Racks and set their audio signal flow

4. Add plug-ins for sound processing

5. Create Snapshots for easy recall of Racks and processors

6. Organize Racks into groups for ease of operation and latency management

7. Set up your MIDI environment for remote control

After the Quick Start chapter is a detailed description of MultiRack’s interface, so if you have a question about a particular button, function, or feature, this is the place to look. At the back of this manual, you’ll find details of MultiRack’s application menus.

Follow the steps in the Quick Start guide, and then experiment with a Session of your own. It won’t be long until you’re managing complex concert setups with much greater ease than ever before.

Please note: Throughout this manual, keyboard shortcuts indicating Ctrl/Cmd refer to Windows (Ctrl) and Mac (Cmd) respectively.

2.1 Connect Your Console to the Sound Card or External I/O

Before starting the application, connect your console to your sound card or external I/O. It’s useful to make a chart of the connections, so that when you assign Racks to specific I/O channels, you won’t need to look behind your console.

MultiRack signal flow to and from your console is similar to what you’re used to with external hardware processors: Some connections will be from aux sends on your console, with returns on faders; others will be from channel inserts. You may also choose to connect via a patch bay or router.

Here are some flowchart examples of MultiRack connections. For more about Rack I/O configurations, see the detail section “MultiRack Window: Setting up Your Processing

Environment.”

2.2 Create a New Session and Set the Preferences

A Session is a collection of Racks, each of which contains plug-in processors. It holds the “architecture” of your setup (input and output routing, how many Racks, in what order, which plug-ins and their order, etc.), as well as Rack I/O levels and plug-in settings. Normally, a Session will contain the setup for an entire show, while Snapshots are used to change settings between or within songs.

MultiRack will initially open with a blank Session. Afterward, it will open to the most recent Session.

Get started by accessing the Preferences window: Ctrl+P in Windows/Cmd+, on Mac). Set the audio I/O device by clicking the Audio Device dropdown and choosing from the available devices. (MultiRack supports Windo ASIO and Mac CoreAudio sound ca

The rest of the Preferences can be set later.

rds.)

2.3 Add Empty Racks

A Rack is a chain of plug-ins used to process an audio signal, whether mono, stereo, or mono-to-stereo. In the hardware world, signals flow from a console’s channel insert or aux track, are processed with a collection of outboard gear, and then returned to the console. MultiRack follows the same principle, except that processing takes place in virtual Racks filled with plug-in processors rather than in hardware racks.

The first step in building a MultiRack processing setup is to add empty Racks. Double click on the area that says Double Click to Add Rack.

This will reveal a dialogue box that asks how many Racks you want to add, as well as what type of Rack (Mono, Stereo, or Mono-to-Stereo). Don’t worry about making the wrong choice; you can always change this setting later.

Now you’ll see one or more empty Racks. Define the audio input and output channels of each Rack by clicking on the left (input) and right (output) side rails of the interface. The Audio I/O pull-down menu will open. T number of channels available depends on the I/O devic you are using. Set the channel(s) for both input (left side rail) and output (right side rail) for each of the Rack you’ve cr

eated.

You may decide later to change a Rack’s input from mono to stereo, or to mono-to-stereo. Use the Switch Rack Type pull-down to modify the input and/or output.

As you add Racks, a blank area will appear beneath the newest Rack. Double click in area to add more Racks, up to a maximum of 64.

Just as it’s important to write on the scribble strip of your console to identify the source of each channel, it’s equally useful to name the Racks of your MultiRack Session. Label a

Rack by clicking, then typing, in the Rack name text cell at the top of the Rack. In this example, we’ve labeled the Rack “Hi Hats.”

To delete a Rack, right click on it and choose Delete Rack from the menu, or choose Delete Selected Racks from the Edit menu.

This is a good time to Save your Session. Look in the File menu for the command, or type Ctrl/Cmd+S.

2.4 Add Plug-ins for Sound Processing

Once you’ve created Racks and assigned their I/O channels, it’s time to add plug-ins to each Rack. A Rack can hold up to eight plug-in processors, and the signal will always flow from left-to-right.

Click on the small arrow near the Input Fader to add a plug-in from the pull-down list. Plugins are organized by type of processor. Add another plug-in by clicking on the arrow to the right of the first plug-in, and so forth. You can always rearrange the plug-in order by clicking on a processor and dragging it to the desired position.

To view a plug-in and adjust its parameters, double click on the box representing it. The plug-in’s interface will appear below the Rack. This view is called Rack View. Set the plugin as desired. At the top of the interface of all Waves plug-ins is the WaveSystem toolbar, which is used to load or save your favorite settings for that plug-in. Learn more about the WaveSystem Toolbar in this manual’s section entitled “Rack View: Using Your Plug-ins.”

To exit Rack View and return to MultiRack window, double click on any empty area at the top of the Rack, or click the red [X] button on the right. To move to another plug-in interface, simply double click on the plug-in you’d like to see. You can also navigate between the plug-ins in a Rack by using the left/right arrows on your keyboard. To delete a plug-in, right click on it and choose Remove Plug-in. (This action is undo-able.)

2.5 Snapshots

With MultiRack, you can easily store and recall Snapshots of the Racks and the plug-ins they contain. A Snapshot is sort of a “super preset,” a picture of all of the Racks in your MultiRack Session. It contains the following parameters:

• Rack input and output gain

• Rack in/out and mute states

• Current plug-in parameters

Snapshots are contained and saved as part of a Session file. A single Session file can contain up to 1000 Snapshots. Snapshots can also be exported to or imported from files in order to integrate them into a Session.

Use Snapshots to change the state of Racks (mute/out), levels, and most importantly, the settings for the plug-ins. Snapshots do not change the physical configuration of a Session, so you cannot use a Snapshot to change the audio I/O, the Rack order, or the plug-ins in a Rack. However, since Snapshots can take plug-ins in and out of the processing path, you can insert several plug-ins into a Rack, and then control which are in use in specific Snapshots.

Snapshots are stored, recalled, and managed in the Snapshot Pane. To open this window, click the Snapshots button.

Here, you can store up to 1000 Snapshots. We’ll discuss the Snapshots Pane in greater detail later in this manual. For now, it’s sufficient to know that first you should set your I/O levels and plug-in parameters as desired, then click on a Snapshot register where you want to store the information.

Click Store As…. This will reveal the Store Snapshot As window. Type a name for this Snapshot and click Store. In the image to the left, we’re adding a Snapshot for the chorus of “Song #2,” and storing it into Snapshot slot #0004.

To recall a Snapshot, double click on a defined Snapshot in the Snapshot Pane, or select the desired Snapshot, then click on Recall. The functions in the Snapshot Pane are pretty logical, so you can learn how it works th

experimentation. Refer to the next section of this manual, “MultiRack Windows and Controls,” for more details about these features.

rough

2.6 Create Processing Groups

Since MultiRack allows you to build Sessions of up to 64 Racks, each of which are specific processing chains, you may choose to organize related Racks into groups to better manage your Session. Grouping Racks offers a few advantages:

• Group related Racks together (such as all drum channels), and they will share a common group name.

• Groups are color-coded, making visual identification of similar Racks much easier.

• Grouped tracks can be latency-aligned, offsetting unequal delays caused by each

channel’s chain of plug-ins, which may have different latencies.

Create a group by clicking on the grouping pull-down menu and choosing Open Group

Close the window.

Properties window. Here you create Rack groups and determine if and how Racks within the group will be latency-aligned.

In this example, we named the group “Drums.” Each new group is automatically assigned a color. (We will discuss latency alignment in more detail in the section “Group Properties Window: For Organization and Latency Alignment.”) For now, choose Auto, which sets the latency of all Racks in the group to match that of the Rack with the greatest latency.

To add more Racks to a group, click on the grouping pull-down menu, where the group

name will appear, and then select the group that you want the Rack to belo

ng to.

2.7 Saving in MultiRack

MultiRack offers four different levels of “Save,” enabling you to quickly and confidently store and recall needed Session information. From most specific to most general, here are your options for saving information:

• Per Plug-in: Each plug-in has its own WaveSystem Toolbar, so you can load and save your favorite plug-in settings without affecting the rest of the processing environment. Say you have a C4 preset that you’d like to use for the bass. Simply load the preset from the C4’s WaveSystem Toolbar’s Load menu.

• Per Rack: There’s a WaveSystem Toolbar at the top of each Rack, so you can load and save settings for an entire Rack, independent of the Snapshots.

• Snapshots are used to store your plug-in and Rack settings.

• Sessions hold the settings for every plug-in, Rack and Snapshot, and contain the

information about the architecture and signal flow for the entire setup.

2.8 Recall Safe Mode

There are times when you don’t want certain Racks or specific plug-ins to be affected by Snapshot changes. The Recall Safe Mode allows you to select the Racks and/or plug-ins that won’t be affected as you change Snapshots that would normally affect them. The recall-safe option applies within the Session (not a specific Snapshot).

To set a Rack or plug-in to Recall Safe:

• Select Recall Safe in the Snapshots menu, or type Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+R.

• Racks: Select a Rack or multi-select several Racks, then right click in any empty area of

the Rack. Select Recall Safe from the pull-down menu. A Rack’s blue input/output rails indicate that it is in Recall Safe.

• Plug-ins: Select the plug-in or plug-ins you want to set to Recall Safe. Right click on any of the selected plug-ins and choose Recall Safe from the pull-down menu. Recall Safe plug-ins glow blue.

• To remove a Rack or plug-in from Recall Safe mode, de-select Recall Safe from the right click menu in Recall Safe mode.

• Plug-ins or Racks that are set to Recall Safe can be edited. However, their Recall Safe status can be viewed only while in Recall Safe mode.

• Selecting Recall Safe in the Snapshots menu does not activate or de-activate Recall Safe. Rather, it only allows you to see plug-ins and Racks and set them to Recall Safe.

When you turn Recall Safe mode off, Racks and plug-ins which have been Recall Safe remain so; they just don’t glow blue.

2.9 Overview Window: Viewing the Status of All of Your Racks

Once you’ve filled several Racks, you’ll want a convenient way to keep track of everything happening within your processing environment. To get an overview of your Racks, select Overview from the View menu. This will reveal the Overview Window, where you’ll see a condensed view of each Rack.

The Overview Window tells you if a Rack or an individual plug-in is functioning, and it enables you to turn on or off, bypass, or mute a Rack. Clipping is also indicated for each Rack.

Use the Overview Window when you want to keep an eye on the entire processing setup. Since each mini-Rack in the Overview Window displays clipping information, you can easily watch out for over-level clipping across your entire setup.

2.10 Controlling MultiRack with MIDI

Since FOH situations demand that you keep your hands on the console and your eyes on the show, you may not always want to control MultiRack using a mouse and a computer display. Instead, you may choose to control MultiRack using your digital console or other familiar MIDI hardware controller for greater efficiency.

The following MultiRack functions can be controlled via MIDI:

• Navigation between Racks and between plug-ins

• Global controls such as Rack or Plug-in On/Off, Mute, etc.

• Selected Plug-in parameter controls

• Snapshot recall

How is MIDI Used with MultiRack?

Important MultiRack functions can be assigned to a MIDI hardware controller using the Remote Controller Editor, which is supplied with MultiRack. Assigning is simple: On the Editor’s interface, select the MultiRack function you wish to control, and move the desired knob or press the desired button on your MIDI controller to establish an assignment. Even when you have Racks full of processors, you can only control the plug-in that’s currently being displayed. This way, you always know which plug-in parameter you’re adjusting. So when controlling MultiRack via MIDI, you will always first select the Rack and plug-in you want to address, and then adjust its parameters.

The Controller Strip

A MultiRack Session can have up to 64 Racks, each containing up to eight plug-ins. Since every plug-in has several parameter controls, remote control of so many different variables could be a logistically complex task, and would require users to re-map MIDI links each time the configuration changes. MIDI mapping is simplified in MultiRack by using a matrix that sits between the plug-in and the MIDI controller. This matrix assigns key parameter control knobs and buttons to fixed matrix positions so that MIDI assignments always make sense, regardless of type of processor. For example, when using dynamics processors, the matrix usually assigns the first variable MIDI position to Threshold, the second to Ratio, the third to Attack, and so forth. With EQ processors, the first variable position is usually Input Gain, followed by Band One Gain, Band One Frequency, etc. The matrix is reflected in the

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