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Synchronization
Internal mixing and latency
One problem with mixing inside the computer is the latency
issue we mentioned earlier. The VST engine always com-
pensates for record latencies, but if you are monitoring
through computer 1 you will hear a processing delay while
you listen to signals coming from your other computers
(not on your recording!). If your audio card in computer 1
supports ASIO Direct Monitoring you should definitely turn
this on. You can find the setting on the VST Audio System
device panel for your hardware (see
“ASIO Direct Monitor-
ing” on page 80). Most modern ASIO cards support this
function. If yours does not, you may want to change the
Offset Samples value on the VST System Link page to
compensate for any latency issues.
Setting up a larger network
Setting up a larger network is not much more difficult than
a two-computer network. The main thing to remember is
that VST System Link is a daisy chain system. In other
words, the output of computer 1 goes to the input of com
-
puter 2, the output of computer 2 goes to the input of
computer 3, and so on around the chain. The output of the
last computer in the chain must always go back into the
input of computer 1, to complete the ring.
Once you have done this, the transmission of all the trans-
port, sync, and MIDI information to the whole network is
handled pretty much automatically. However, where you
may run into confusion in a large network is in the trans
-
mission of audio signals back to a central mix computer.
If you have lots of hardware inputs and outputs on your
ASIO cards, you do not have to send audio via the chain at
all, but can transmit it directly to the master mix computer
via one or more of its other hardware inputs. For example, if
you have a Nuendo Digiset interface or 9652 card on com
-
puter 1, you could use ADAT cable 1 for networking, ADAT
cable 2 as a direct audio input from computer 2, and ADAT
cable 3 as a direct audio input from computer 3.
You can also transmit audio via the ring system if you do
not have enough hardware I/Os for direct audio transmis
-
sion. For example, in a four-computer scenario you could
send audio from computer 2 into a channel in the Mixer in
computer 3, from there to a channel in the Mixer in com
-
puter 4, and from there back to the master Mixer in com-
puter 1. This can certainly be tricky to set up, so for
complex networks it is generally recommended to use
ASIO cards with at least three separate digital I/Os.
Application examples
Using one computer for VST instruments
(not in Cubase LE)
In this example, one computer will be used as main record
and playback machine, and another computer as a virtual
synth rack. Proceed as follows:
1. Record a MIDI track into computer 1.
2. Once you have finished recording, route the MIDI out-
put of that track to VST System Link MIDI port 1.
3. On computer 2, open up the VST Instrument rack and
assign an instrument to the first slot in the rack.
4. Route the VST instrument channel to the desired out-
put bus.
If you are using computer 1 as your main mixing computer, this would be
one of the VST System Link output busses, connected to computer 1.
5. Create a new MIDI track in the Project window of
computer 2 and assign the MIDI output of the track to the
VST instrument you created.
6. Assign the MIDI input of the track to be VST System
Link port 1.
Now, the MIDI track on computer 1 is routed to the MIDI track on com-
puter 2, which in turn is routed to the VST instrument.
7. Now activate monitoring for the MIDI track on com-
puter 2, so that it will listen and respond to any MIDI com-
mands coming in.
In Cubase, click the Monitor button in the track list or Inspector.
8. Start playback on computer 1.
It will now send the MIDI information on the track to the VST instrument
loaded on computer 2.
Even with a slow computer you should be able to stack a
whole bunch of extra VST instruments this way, expanding
your sound palette considerably. Do not forget that VST
System Link MIDI is also sample-accurate, and thus has
much tighter timing than any hardware MIDI interface ever
invented!