8.0

Synchronization
Working with VST System Link
574
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
All digital audio cables by definition always carry a clock signal as well as audio
signals, so you do not have to use a special word clock input and output for this
(although you may find that you get a slightly more stable audio system if you do,
especially when using multiple computers).
The clock mode or sync mode is set up in the ASIO control panel of the audio
hardware. Proceed as follows:
PROCEDURE
1. From the Devices menu, open the Device Setup dialog.
2. On the VST Audio System page, select your audio interface from the ASIO
Driver pop-up menu.
In the Devices list, the name of the audio interface now appears as a subentry to the
“VST Audio System” entry.
3. In the Devices list, select your audio interface.
4. Click the Control Panel button.
The ASIO control panel appears.
5. Open the ASIO control panel on the other computer as well.
If you are using another VST System Link host application on that computer, check
its documentation for details on how to open the ASIO control panel.
6. Now you need to make sure that one audio card is set to be the clock master
and all other cards are set to be clock slaves (i.
e. they listen for the clock
signal coming from the clock master).
The naming and procedure for this differs depending on the audio hardware – consult
its documentation if required. If you are using Steinberg Nuendo ASIO hardware, all
cards default to the AutoSync setting. In this case you must set one of the cards (and
only one) to “Master” in the Clock Mode section of the control panel.
RESULT
Typically, the ASIO control panel for an audio card contains some indication of
whether or not the card receives a proper sync signal, including the sample rate of
that signal.
This is a good indication that you have connected the cards and set up clock sync
properly. Check your audio hardware’s documentation for details.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
It is very important that only one card is the clock master, otherwise the network
cannot function correctly. Once you have set this up, all the other cards in the
network will take their clock signal from this card automatically.
The only exception to this procedure is if you are using an external clock – from a
digital mixing desk or a special word clock synchronizer, for example. In that case
you must leave all your ASIO cards in clock slave or AutoSync mode and make sure
that each of them is listening for the signal coming from the synchronizer. This signal
is usually passed through your ADAT cables or word clock connectors in a daisy
chain fashion.