Reference Guide

929
External Insert plug-in
Mixing
The round-trip time for the signal to return is measured and displayed on the button. This is the
delay that will be compensated for in SONAR to keep the track in sync with the rest of the
project. For information about testing the delay measurement, see “Testing the delay
measurement” on page 929 and “When to measure the delay” on page 930.
6. Play back the project and adjust the Send and Return levels to obtain the desired mix. You may
also need to adjust levels on your external gear.
Testing the delay measurement
The External Insert plug-in's delay measurement is normally sample accurate. However, for some
hardware configurations, it is possible that a manual adjustment of up to several samples may be
required in order to be exactly sample-accurate. If you want to test the accuracy of the delay
measurement for your hardware, follow these steps:
1. Create an audio track and record or import some audio.
2. Use the Track view Tracks > Clone Track(s) command do clone the track (including the audio)
to a new track.
3. Insert the External Insert plug-in on one of the tracks.
4. Assign the Send and Return to any available input and output on your audio hardware.
5. Patch an audio cable directly between the assigned input and output on your audio hardware.
6. Press Play in SONAR.
You should hear both tracks out of time with each other.
7. Carefully match the levels of the two tracks.
8. In the Track Inspector or Console view, click the Phase button on one of the tracks to invert
the phase.
9. In the External Insert plug-in, click the Delay Measurement control to measure the round-trip
delay through your audio hardware.
Note: Time-based effects such as reverb and delay can artificially increase the latency
measurement. Before manually measuring the delay, you may want to bypass the external gear
(if Bypass is supported by your external gear).
Tip: The Send and Return levels, Phase and I/O port settings can be saved as a preset. If you
frequently use a specific external effect, save the settings as a preset that can be quickly recalled in
other projects.
Note: If you bounce audio in a project that uses the External Insert plug-in, the bounce operation
must be performed in real-time. For more information, see “Real-time bounce” on page 960.
Tip: While adjusting levels, refer to the numeric peak indicators on the track strip. It is important for
this test that the levels match as closely as possible.