Audio & Routing

CueStudio 2 plays many audio cues simultaneously and routes each one to the outputs you choose.

#Audio Devices (set up first)

Open the Audio Devices window (⇧⌘D) before patching outputs. It lists every audio interface on this machine with its connection status, channel count, and sample rate, and lets you give each one a nickname ("FOH Dante", "Monitor rig", "Truck feed") so it's easy to recognise later.

A nickname is only a label saved on THIS computer. It never changes the real device name that macOS and Audio MIDI Setup show (that name always stays visible beside the nickname), and it never travels with the show file: a backup or session machine keeps its own hardware nicknames. So you can nickname freely without ever tripping yourself up about which box is which.

Beside each connected device's channel count and sample rate is its I/O BUFFER SIZE. Smaller buffers cut the delay between pressing GO and hearing sound, which matters for live Mic cues where you need lip sync; larger buffers are safer for dense playback. "Device default" leaves whatever Audio MIDI Setup or the driver chose. Two things to know: the buffer size belongs to the DEVICE rather than to CueStudio, so changing it affects other audio apps using that interface; and the new size takes effect when CueStudio next opens the device, so any output already playing through it restarts when you change the setting. Like nicknames, the choice is saved per machine, not in the show.

Each device card can be expanded to see its per-channel names and which outputs are currently patched to it. Press Identify to walk a test signal across every output of that device, one channel at a time: the quick way to confirm which physical box (and which jack) you're looking at before you patch anything. The Booth Monitor and LTC Timecode outputs are assigned to their devices here too, under Special Routing.

#Output channels

Audio outputs are configured in the Audio Outputs window (⇧⌘P). Each output channel:

Has a name (e.g. "Mains L/R", "Stage Left Monitor").
Is assigned to a specific hardware audio device and a channel range on that device (e.g. channels 1–2 for stereo, or channel 3 alone for a mono output). When the device reports channel names (as shown in Audio MIDI Setup), they appear in the channel-range menu, for example "Ch 1 (Left)" / "Ch 2 (Right)".
Has its own master fader and mute button.
Has its own bus FX chain (slider icon in the row): AU/VST effects applied to EVERYTHING routed through this output (EQ the mains, compress the fills) on top of any per-cue effect chains. Add, reorder, and bypass effects, and open each plugin's own UI; edits to a plugin's controls apply live, while adding/removing/bypassing an effect takes effect from the next cue fired through the output. Not available on the LTC output (effects would corrupt the timecode carrier).
Latched mode preserves the source channel layout; non-latched sums a mono source to all channels in the range.

A new show starts with no program outputs (just the permanent LTC Timecode and Booth Monitor entries) so "Add Output" adds exactly the outputs you ask for. Choose how many, pick a channel layout (stereo pairs or one mono channel each), and optionally patch them all to a device: the outputs are then assigned to successive hardware channels automatically (Output 1 → ch 1–2, Output 2 → ch 3–4, and so on). "Clear Patch" removes every general output (the Booth and LTC outputs are kept) after a confirmation.

The window is organised in three sections: PROGRAM OUTPUTS (the numbered bank cues send to), BOOTH MONITOR, and LTC TIMECODE. Drag a program output's grab handle to reorder the bank: the output number is a position, not an identity, so cue routing follows the output wherever it moves.

Each assigned device's sample rate is shown beside its name (display only, CueStudio 2 follows the device's configured rate; change it in Audio MIDI Setup). Selecting a row highlights it; interacting with any of a row's controls selects that row too, so the highlight always shows which channel you're patching.

#By-device view

Switch the header's "By number / By device" control to group the program outputs under each audio interface. Every device header shows a connected/offline dot, the output count, the device's channel count and sample rate, a collapse chevron (collapse states are remembered; unpatched outputs start collapsed), and a "Test all" button that walks the test signal through just that device's outputs. Device nicknames set in the Audio Devices window (⇧⌘D) appear here; the hardware name stays visible beside a nicknamed device.

#Patch Matrix

Open it from Audio ▸ Patch Matrix…, or press Patch Matrix in the Audio Outputs window header, for a console-style patch grid: the fast way to patch a show onto a big interface (e.g. a 128-output Digiface AVB). Pick a device at the top; the grid shows one column per output engine channel (a stereo output is two columns, L and R) and one row per hardware channel on the device. An amber cell means that engine channel feeds that hardware channel.

Click a cell to toggle a patch point on or off. One engine channel can feed several hardware channels at once: light as many cells in a column as you need.
Double-click a cell to type a level in dB (−60 to +12; blank switches the point off). Cells at a non-unity level show their dB value. Level edits on a playing output are audible immediately.
The last remaining patch point of an output can't be removed from the grid: silence an output with its power toggle or mute instead.

Columns shown dimmed belong to outputs assigned to a different device (or none), clicking one of their cells moves the whole output onto the selected device, keeping its channel shape relative to where you clicked. The Booth (B) column is patchable like any other; the LTC column is a single mono patch (click moves it). Hover any cell to read the exact patch and level in the status line at the bottom.

Simple 1:1 patches keep using the plain channel-range path; fan-outs and levelled patches route through a matrix mixer inside that output's engine. Picking a channel range from an output row's menu, or changing its device there, resets any custom matrix patch back to simple routing.

#Audition (headphone preview)

Preview an Audio or Playlist cue through a dedicated headphone device without sending anything to the show outputs. Pick the audition device (and its volume) in Show Settings ▸ Audio ▸ Audition (a laptop headphone jack or a spare interface output works well) then right-click any Audio or Playlist cue and choose "Audition (headphone preview)". The cue plays only on that device; right-click again for Stop Audition, or use the Test Tone button in Show Settings to check the device. The audition device is saved with the show.

#Output Test

Press Output Test in the Audio Outputs window header for a pre-show loudspeaker check: pick a range of outputs, how long to hold each one (1–30 s), pink noise or a 440 Hz tone, and a level. CueStudio 2 steps the signal through each enabled, patched output in turn: walk the venue and confirm every box. The sounding row lights up; Stop Test (or PANIC) ends the walk. The per-row speaker button still tests a single output on its own.

#Special outputs

LTC Timecode: a mono output dedicated to SMPTE linear timecode. Assign it to a physical audio output wired to your timecode distribution or recording device. Timecode cues use this output automatically.
Booth Monitor: an output dedicated to the operator's headphones or in-ear monitor. Audio cues automatically feed the booth at the loudest active send level.

#Routing a cue

Open a cue's Routing tab to choose which output channels it sends to, and at what level. Each send is a console strip built exactly like the ones in the Live Mixer — dB readout on top, then a printed dB scale, the fader itself, and a live VU meter for that output side by side, with Mute / Solo and the engage button underneath. An engaged output is outlined so you can see at a glance which channels the cue feeds. The meter reads even on an output this cue is not sending to, because a shared output carries whatever else is routed there; those strips have no fader cap, since there is no send level to set. A cue can feed several outputs at different levels simultaneously. Changes take effect immediately, even while the cue is playing. The Clear Mutes / Clear Solos buttons beside the AUDIO OUTPUT SENDS title clear every mute or solo on the cue in one click (they dim when there is nothing to clear).

Device assignment, channel ranges, and latching are edited only in the Audio Outputs window (⇧⌘P): the Routing tab controls this cue's sends, not the shared output patch.

Click a send's dB readout to type an exact level. Press Tab to commit and jump to the next active send's level (Shift-Tab goes back): the value is pre-selected, so you can type straight over it: click Output 1, type -10, Tab, type -10 to set two outputs in a row.

The MASTER strip on the left of the Routing tab also has a PAN control that pans the cue's audio across its output's stereo field (L ↔ R). Click the pan readout to re-centre. Pan moves are audible immediately while the cue plays.

#Crosspoint matrix

For full control over which file channel lands on which output channel (multitrack stems, click/band splits, or sending one channel of a stereo file to a specific speaker) click the grid button under an engaged output's send. Turn on "Custom crosspoint matrix" and the sheet shows a grid: one row per channel in the cue's audio file, one column per hardware channel on that output.

Click a cell and type a level in dB (0 = unity). Leave a cell blank to silence that path.
Identity sets the diagonal (file ch 1 → output ch 1, ch 2 → ch 2, …) at 0 dB.
The send's fader still applies on top of the matrix, and edits are audible immediately while the cue plays.
With the matrix off, the output's normal latch / mono-sum behaviour applies.

#Panning between two outputs

When a cue routes to exactly two outputs, an "OUT A↔B" balance control appears on the MASTER strip. It pans the cue's level between the two sends (A is the first output, B is the second) on an equal-power curve, so you can fade a cue from one physical output to another (e.g. Output 1 ↔ Output 2). At centre both outputs play at full level; click the readout to re-centre. Balance moves are audible immediately while the cue plays. (To pan within a single stereo output's L/R field, use the PAN control above instead.)

#Test tones

Each output channel has a test-tone button (speaker icon) in the Audio Outputs window. It plays a 440 Hz sine wave through that channel so you can confirm the physical patch without firing a cue. PANIC stops test tones.

#Per-cue audio options (Playback tab)

Trim: drag the waveform handles to set in and out points. Click the waveform to move the in-point; ⇧-click to move the out-point.
Fade in / fade out: ramp the level at the start and end of the cue.
Fade curve: the shape of both ramps: Linear, S-Curve, Exponential (slow start, fast finish), Logarithmic (fast start, slow finish), or Custom (hand-drawn, drag the control points, double-click to add or remove). The same picker on a Stop cue shapes its fade-and-stop ramp.
Loop: repeat a set number of times, or infinitely (count = 0).
Rate: change playback speed (0.25× – 4.0×).
Pitch: shift pitch in cents (±2400 = ±24 semitones), independent of rate.

#Audio effects (FX tab)

Each audio cue has its own AudioUnit effect chain. Click + to add a plug-in, drag to reorder, click the bypass toggle to audition without an effect. Per-channel effects are also available in the Audio Outputs window.

#Levels during a show

The master volume knob in the header bar scales all audio output globally.
Open the Live Mixer (Audio ▸ Live Mixer, ⇧⌘M) for a Grand Master fader on the left, group masters, and a strip per output channel: each with a VU/peak meter, fader, and MUTE / SOLO. A Mute All button in the top bar silences everything instantly. Audio embedded in video cues is metered here too.
Each strip is laid out like a desk channel: a printed dB scale on the left, the fader cap in the middle (its bright centre line is the reading edge), the meter on the right, then the channel number, MUTE / SOLO, and a scribble-strip name plate at the foot. Double-click a fader to snap it to unity (0 dB); double-click a name plate to rename it.
Faders in the Live Mixer and the Routing tab adjust playing audio in real time.

#Output groups

DCA-style group masters: one fader and mute over several outputs ("Mains", "Fills", "Delays") so you trim a zone without riding each output fader.

Open Audio ▸ Audio Output Groups (⌥⌘P). That is the Groups page of the Audio Outputs window: the Outputs and Groups tabs at the top switch between patching outputs and building groups.
Click Add Group. Type over its name to rename, use the arrows to reorder, and the trash button to delete it (member outputs keep playing at their own levels).
Click a group to open its output list, then click the outputs that belong to it (Select All / Clear do the whole bank). An output belongs to at most one group, so adding an output that is already grouped moves it: the chip says which group it is coming from. Booth and LTC are never groupable.
You can also assign from the Outputs page: use the Group picker on any output row, or ⌘-click several rows and use Assign to Group. Member outputs show a violet group tag in the Live Mixer.
The group fader multiplies its members' levels (it moves no audio and adds no latency); the group MUTE silences every member, and lights up their MUTE buttons too, so the strips agree with what you hear. Un-muting the group restores any mutes you had set on individual members beforehand.
Click a group's colour dot to tint it. The colour carries onto every member output strip, so a glance says which outputs belong together.
The group faders, mutes and solos themselves live in the Live Mixer (⇧⌘M): its GROUPS section sits between the Grand Master and the output strips.
Group levels, mutes, colours and order are saved with the show and mirror to session peers live.

#Mute and solo (Live Mixer)

Every output and group strip has M and S buttons.

SOLO restricts playback to the soloed outputs, everything else is silenced until you drop the solo. Soloing a group solos its members. The Booth Monitor is exempt and keeps monitoring, so you can solo an output and still hear it in the booth.
CLEAR MUTES and CLEAR SOLOS in the top bar drop them all at once, so a solo left up on a strip is one click to undo.
Solo is a monitoring tool and is NOT saved with the show; mutes and fader levels are.

#Reading the faders

Strips run top to bottom: dB readout · meter and fader · MUTE/SOLO · name · number.

The printed scale beside each fader runs from +10 dB down through 0 to -60 and -∞.
The fader snaps to 0 dB when you drag close to unity; double-click anywhere on it to jump straight to 0 dB.
Click the dB readout to type an exact level (e.g. -12).
Double-click an output or group name to rename it. Renaming an output here also renames it in Audio Outputs: it is the same output.
Click the group tag under an output's M/S buttons to assign or reassign its group without leaving the mixer.

#Per-cue MIDI output (Control tab)

Any cue can send MIDI as a side effect of firing:

Channel: 1–16, or 0 to broadcast on all 16 channels.
Program Change: 0–127 (0 = off).
Note: note number (0–127), velocity (1–127); note-off is sent 100 ms later.
CC: CC number (0–127), value (0–127).