How to Use a Summing Mixer in Cubase if You Use an Apollo
NOTES: I’ve set this up on W11/Cubase 12 Pro with a Neve 5057 Orbit summing mixer and a UAD Apollo. Other configurations may vary. You must use the Cubase Control Room for this configuration to work. Much of this applies even if you don’t use an Apollo. Also, the steps do not necessarily have to be done in the order shown below.
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Assuming you haven’t already done so, set up your stem channels by creating new buses in the Cubase Audio Connections window/Outputs tab (which you can see by pressing F4), and assigning the Apollo line outs to these buses.
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Name these buses Stem 1, Stem 2 etc., depending on how many stereo outputs your Apollo has. (I’m assuming you want stereo stems, but you can also set up mono stems if you prefer.)
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You may find it helpful to anchor the stems to the right zone of the mix window. This way they will always be visible in the mix window. To do so, open the left zone of the mix window by clicking the leftmost of the 3 rectangles in the top right corner of the mix window. Then, in the left zone, choose the Visibility tab. Find your stem output channels, and for each one, click the rightmost of the 3 dots. You should probably do likewise for your stereo output bus.
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Route the outputs of all your individual tracks and groups to these stems as seems appropriate for your project. For example, you might want to route synths to one stem, drums to another, etc.
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Make the necessary physical connections to route audio from the Apollo line outs to the summing mixer. You may want to pass them through a patch bay first for added flexibility (Apollo line outs > patchbay > summing mixer inputs). By using a patchbay you can easily apply outboard processing to the individual stems before they reach the summing mixer, and/or to the summed mix when it leaves the summing mixer. If you normal the Apollo line outs to the ins of the summing mixer, you can minimize the need for patch cables.
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Make sure none of your individual or group tracks (or ANYTHING) are also routed to the stereo output bus.
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In the Cubase Audio Connections window/Inputs tab (press F4), choose an input bus (or create a new bus) you want to serve as the return (from the summing mixer) audio channel. Give it a descriptive name…mine is Sum Rtrn x8p IN 7/8.
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Make a physical connection between the summing mixer’s output and the Apollo line input you chose in the previous step. The Orbit has 2 stereo outputs, and I use a patch bay and normal the Orbit’s -6dB output to the aforementioned Apollo line input. I’ve also connected the Orbit’s 0dB output to the patchbay, and can connect it to the Apollo line in by using 2 patch cables to break the normal between the -6dB output and the Apollo.
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Make a new stereo audio track and name it something appropriate such as Summing Return. Assign its input to be the bus you created in step 7, and its output to be the stereo output bus. Enable its Monitor function (the speaker icon found near the bottom of the Summing Return channel in the mix window). You might want to anchor the Summing Return channel to the right zone, as you did with the stems in step 3.
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You must use the Cubase Control Room for this setup. Press F4, and in the Control Room tab, create a bus called Monitor 1, and assign it to ports Mon L and Mon R.
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In the Control Room, which you can find in the right zone of the Project window, make sure the Listen function is enabled, that its level is set to 0.0, and that Listen Dim is set to minus infinity. If you don’t see these in the Control Room, click the Control Room’s Main tab, and then click the horizontal bar named Main (about ¾ of the way toward the bottom of the Control Room window). Also, make sure the button to the left of Main on the horizontal bar is on (blue).
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In UAD Console, mute the track that corresponds to your return channel, otherwise you will hear the mix twice.
Now any audio that you’ve assigned to a stem will be routed out the Apollo, through the summing mixer, back into the Apollo, and finally back into Cubase (specifically, your Summing Return track). You will hear the full summed mix. If you have instantiated a room correction plugin (or similar) in the Control Room, you will hear the corrected audio.
You can record the summed mix into the Summing Return track, then play it back through the stereo output bus (when playing back, turn off the Monitor function…the speaker icon), where any final processing can be applied prior to the final export.
If you want to hear just one (or more) of your source tracks (or stems), use the Listen function. You activate this by clicking the L shown above the channel faders (admit it…you always wondered what those Ls were for). The Listen function, like the Solo function, enables you hear just the selected channels or stems. But unlike Solo, Listen does not stop the other audio from reaching its destination. It does reach its destination, but you won’t hear it.
What if you have multiple channels or stems in Listen mode, and you decide you want to hear the entire mix? Do you have to click L on every one of those channels to release them from Listen mode? No…simply click L on the Summing Return channel. Then you’ll hear the full mix. Click it again and you’ll hear only the channels that are in Listen mode.
If you configure your Cubase template this way, you won’t have to set this all up every time.
I’ve probably missed something or made some other mistake, so I welcome corrections and additions.
I hope someone finds this useful.
