Separate headphone mixes for drums, guitar, vox, etc. How?

Apologies if this has already been covered - I have looked but cannot find an answer.

I’m looking to have four separate headphone mixes for each of the band members. I was hoping that I could have a setup which allowed for the individual mixes to be tweaked to the individuals taste - bass loud for the bass player, some verb for vox only, etc. Is this possible? If so how would I go about setting this up?

This can be done using the Control Room. You can set up 4 ‘Cue Mixes’ and then use the ‘Cue Sends’ to set the levels of drums/bass/vox etc. going to each of these Cue Mixes.

Best to have a read of the manual for the full details.

This is what the cues are for, but setting them up for individuals to use was a real pain until Cubase iC (Pro) came along.

If you each have an Android (even a sub-$100) or iOS device (I don’t know if you can have a mixture), each can have a touch mixer (side-by-side vertical sliders for easy comparison, as shown on the product page) with all the sources (as set up in each source track) for one of the maximum of four cues on it.

The picture is for a tablet, but a phone will show only the mixer section. So if one of the performers is controlling the session, they are better off with a tablet, or a couple of phones with the cue mix on one and the transport controls on the other!

[CORRECTION 2014-08-02: Not mentioned on the product page, but to get the multi-section display, you will require an Android device with 8" (about) or larger display. 7" will show the ‘phone’ display. Just a little piece of info before you inadvertently waste your money.

Though I brought this information oversight to SB’s attention over a week ago, the page has NOT been updated. Thanks for giving your customers the info required for making purchasing decisions, SB - NOT!]

Makes it much easier than the fiddly horizontal ones in the standard mixers.

The actual outputs used for each cue will need to be assigned in your VST Connections dialog, and you may need a headphone amp for each performer to drive their phones.

Is it possible to have more than 4 cues?

Not ‘official’ cues, but there is nothing to stop you having as many outputs as you want with normal sends from channels. If running out of sends, each of those sends can go to a group which gives another eights sends, ad infinitum, meaning that the number of foldback channels is really only limited by the number of physical hardware ports, and the capability of the computer to manage and feed them.

The main thing about cue mixes though with the right hardware is: they’re Zero latency .


If you start using regular sends then you’ll be at the mercy of latency…which is a bad thing when recording :smiley:



Control room is your friend especially with Steinberg hardware.


I agree with Patanjali with regards to iCpro making the cue mixes easier to deal with. If you have Euphonix controllers like myself you can just tab through the sends until you get to the cue mix and then flip the faders so you have levels on hardware faders.


MC

Thank you for the responses guys. I have a headphone amplifier on order and will report back when it arrives and I have implemented your suggestions. Thanks again - I appreciate it very much. :slight_smile:

Just an idea.

You can convert the 4 stereo cues into 8 mono cues just like with an analog mixer

Not quite. What you’ll get is 2 pairs of 4 Cue sends (sharing the same levels etc.). You won’t get 8 independent sends (with individual send levels).

Those are independent yes, but It is like having Channel One and two being send to Group 1-2 (in a analog mixer), if you want that Channel One just be heard en Group 1 just move the pan hard left, if you want Channel Two being send to Group 2, then pan Ch2 Hard Right, then each group physical exit can be connected to a Headphone amp or whatever. It’s basic mixer routing (although buses aren’t the first choice for foldback mixes)

You can do the same with Cues in Cubase, Each Cue is basic a two channel output.

Headphone amp arrived and everything is rosy in the garden. Thanks you so much guys for the helpful advice.

On an unrelated matter, we are looking for a new guitar technician for the band. Only the one applicant so far but he looks promising. Would you guys mind offering your professional opinion as to his suitability, please?

Thanks again. :slight_smile: