pharohoknaughty wrote:I have not been active in this forum, but I keep a relationship with the Facebook group.
I put this feature request in the Facebook page, and someone asked me to also post it in this forum. So here goes:
Then a warm welcome to the RME user forum again (I see it's your 3rd posting). It was a good idea to post here because there is a lively exchange of information between users and RME and also "user helps user" activities.
pharohoknaughty wrote:I love Totalmix, I have used it as the main mixer for many years, and it is great to not have a messy physical mixing board taking up space. But I run into roadblocks using Totalmix from time to time. I suppose there is little harm in asking for new features. So here I go:
I also love TotalMix FX 
I am using it since a long time (around 7 years now) and am using many of its unique features. I am very active on this forum and wrote quite a few blog articles about RME products and also TM FX. Maybe I have an idea for some of the points that you wrote. But no matter what I write from my personal perspective, be sure that RME will also read your posting! Maybe I can help with some ideas or at least give you a quick feedback from another user.
pharohoknaughty wrote:Scalable window size, and the dot definition remains high even if the window is expanded. The 135 and 200 percent don’t quite make it for me. I like to fill the screen on my secondary monitor with Totalmix, and I can only come close.
From this RME posting it seems that bitmaps are being used to ensure that the visual presentation of TM FX has always optimum quality: https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.ph … 144#p97144
Another reason could be performance related (uses less CPU/GPU resources) and to have a lag free display.
Maybe RME can tell whether there are any plans to change the proven design according to the fact, that the market offers now monitors with many different native screen resolutions. BTW one of the things why I still prefer Full HD, to ensure that VSTs/VSTi's do not become too tiny as most of them are also not being resizeable.
pharohoknaughty wrote:The ability to fit the height of the channel inside the window. Right now, on my iPad with Totalmix Remote, I can get 3 tiny rows, or I can get 1 ½ rows, but not just one row. I fantasize about having several iPads on the desk, each with one row of channels.
Maybe it would be easier to contact RME support by mail or phone to discuss this. A video or screenshot might be helpful to easier understand the issue.
In some cases below I will refer to chapters of the UFX+ manual:
https://www.rme-audio.de/download/fface_ufxplus_d.pdf
https://www.rme-audio.de/download/fface_ufxplus_e.pdf
pharohoknaughty wrote:The ability to relocate any hardware input, software output, or even the hardware output channels to any sequence or row that you want in the window on the screen, like a modern DAW console view. Right now, I have something like 10 hardware inputs across the top row, but the middle row only has 2 software output channels, leaving a bunch of empty space on the second row.
Did you try already 2-row mode? See on the right side in the blue area "view options".
By this you get all inputs in the top row and in the 2nd/bottom row SW Playback / HW Output combined.
This 2-row mode in combination with other window resolution can also solve some scaling issues on the screen.
pharohoknaughty wrote:For example, in my world, it is intuitive that the hardware input and the software output should be all in one row. They are both channels that will feed into the output. Or, take the case that I have two guitars plugged into physical inputs number 2 and number 8. It would be very convenient if I could show the two next to each other for presentation in the Totalmix window. It would be great if Totalmix allowed me to configure the screen the way I approach the concept of mixing.
Regarding "in my world": please keep in mind, that things are not that easy. You have a relationship betweeen hardware inputs and software playback channels for each of the HW outputs aka submixes.
RME's submix mode is IMHO the best concept to not loose the overview. It allows you easily to observe the mix by:
watching the fader positions of HW inputs / SW playback channels
by clicking on the bottom edge of a channel you get a popup window showing to which other channels the signal is routed
by clicking the "Sub" button on the right under "Layout Presets", see also manual chap. 25.5.3 last paragraph, you will see in the upper/middle row (HW inputs / SW playback channels) only those channels that route audio to the selected submix (HW output).
EDIT1: note, there is the "trim gain" feature to change the gain of HW inputs and SW playback channels for all channels at once, if you want to change the volume in all submixes at once. This is especially useful if you want to use TM FX as live mixing desk, see manual ch 25.3.1. You can exclude a submix from trim fader operation by selecting "no trim" on the output.
Regarding "modern DAW console view": I personally do not know any DAW software, that gives you the flexibility to place inputs and outputs with the mentioned flexibility on the screen. Could you please put some examples ? I work with Cubase and evaluated Protools, Reaper and a few others some years ago. Never noticed such a feature.
Regarding "hardware input and the software output should be all in one row.": IMHO this would completely destroy the functionality and overview that TM FX submix mode brings you with the output/submix oriented visualization of routing.
The TM FX online help brings maybe some light into this: "The visual design of the TotalMix mixer is a result of its capability to route hardware inputs and software playback channels to any hardware output. TotalMix can be used in a 2 row mode (Show - 2 Row), a view often found in DAW programs. However, the default is a vertical alignment in three rows as known from an Inline desk, so that the row Software Playback equals the Tape Return of a real mixing desk: [...]"
pharohoknaughty wrote:Allow for sub-mixes to be sent to another hardware output. For instance if you are tracking a band with a live drummer it would be so nice to submix the drums so that one volume fader would control the mixed drum level, and then the output of that fader would go to the headphone output along with the other instruments. I know that Fader Groups are available in Totalmix FX. This is a reasonable work around, but let’s say you are allowing the musicians to control their headphone mix on Totalmix Remote on iPads. The Fader Groups might not be so intuitive to the musicians, compared to a sub-mix fader labeled “drums”.
There are several ways to achieve this in TM FX:
1. First of all .. capabilities of "submix mode" itself
Every HW output is a submix, route the HW inputs and SW playback channels as needed to each of the outputs.
TM FX supports you to copy a submix quickly to another HW output by using "copy a submix", see manual ch 27.2
In some cases also the "doubling the output Signal (mirror)" function is helpful, see manual ch 27.3.
2. If you need the drummer alone as a subgroup, then route all signal to an otherwise unused output (ADAT, MADI).
Enable loopback, then you get this output signal on the corresponding input.
Now you can adjust the drummers volume in each of the submixes individually by moving the fader of this input.
If this was maybe too terse or not well enough explained I can detail it if required. But as you said you use TotalMix FX already since years, many the short form is already fine to give you an idea.
pharohoknaughty wrote:By the way, if allowing the output of one channel to go to another output channel is difficult for the bakers, a seemingly nice and easy way to accomplish sub-mixes would be to work from the direction of adding features to the Fader Groups. For instance the ability to add a “virtual” (empty, does not take up a real channel) input channel, which could be assigned to a fader group. Label the “virtual” channel “mixed drums” and then have a toggle to hide all of the other drum inputs, and another toggle to allow adjustment of relative volume of each channel in the group on a temporary basis. The virtual channel fader would control the level of the “sub-mix”.
I think the two mentioned points above will also help in this case.
pharohoknaughty wrote:Subwoofer support. I have digital monitors, but I can’t use the digital output of the UFX+ because I also have an analog subwoofer. I am forced to use the subwoofer’s analog ins and outs. But wow would it be great if Totalmix allowed me to output 2.1 on the main speakers. Then I could use the digital monitors, and an analog output to the subwoofer. Also, then I could turn off and on the subwoofer to hear it’s impact. It would be especially nice if Totalmix did subwoofer management, but I could live with just being able to add a third output to the stereo main outs controlled by the main output fader. I imagine that RME gets caught up in surround sound issues when planning this feature. For me, just having 2.1 would be great.
But TM FX seems to be less of a problem here than the combination of analog subwoofers and digital monitors.
For example, a Neumann sub has everything required "built-in" and you have only to connect suitable active monitors to the sub. No issues to be solved by TM FX. It has an internal cross-over so that sub and satellites both get their ideal frequencies. Maybe also even less or no problems in the area of transmission time differencies.
pharohoknaughty wrote:BY the way, one seemingly easy way to accomplish 2.1 would be to allow the creation of groups of outputs, using the same system as the current channel groups. If you could group the faders of two outputs, then you could make one output the stereo and one the mono subwoofer, and the volume level would be linked. This would easily extend to 5.1 or 7.1 or just about any kind of surround sound.
Yes of course, you can implement a fader group so that you can change the volume for multiple outputs.
RME has already on the todo list that TotalMix FX should get something like "7.1" or whatever support at some point.
But here it is probably more the goal that you can use the control room features such as mute, DIM, etc. for all speakers
and that you do not need fader groups as workaround. Things like subwoofer management is potentially out of scope.
pharohoknaughty wrote:Post fader send. Totalmix already has a post fader send, but it is hardwired to the reverb and delay effects. If you really need to, I imagine you could figure out a way to turn down the effect level and send the dry effects output to a hardware output. But it would be nice to make a nice clean option to send the post fader send directly to a hardware output instead of the effects. Or install another per channel post fader send that is very similar to the effects send. Actually, this would partially solve the subwoofer issue.
This can only be commented by RME. My personal opinion is, that there are subwoofers which allow the connection of Satellites where everything will be properly managed by the subwoofer itself. IMHO the best solution.
pharohoknaughty wrote:Automatic periodic backup. Right now, you have to remember to click store for the scene, and to backup the Totalmix workspace is a multi-step procedure. Please add the ability to automatically back up the settings periodically, like a typical DAW does.
I can’t imagine that backing up the Totalmix settings would pound the hard drive very much, and it would be great to have confidence that the mix is not lost if something interferes with the computer.
Sounds like a nice idea.
pharohoknaughty wrote:I tried to make this a serious set of requests. If I am asking for something that already exists, I won’t be surprised, so let me know. I use Windows 10 with a UFX+.
I hope my feedback is of help. BTW very nice choice, the UFX+ is an excellent device :-)
BTW .. if you are interested, part of my UFX+ based setup is this: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … Rec-EN-DE/
The "big picture" with an ADAT connection to HiFi: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/index.ph … Setup-jpg/
BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14
