1) Normally you want to monitor the incoming signal in either audio interface or the DAW, if any.
2) You DAW should be able to handle the functionality of no monitoring during the playback, it is usually set by default.

Please keep in mind that your DAW have the direct access to your audio interface input channels, so you don't need to "route" them to any of your outs to be able to record them, as it would be the case with the hardware mixer. I.e. you may want to keep your input faders at zero in Total Mix FX (depending of the Operation mode).

hexachordia wrote:

Hi. I am a newcomer to TotalMix FX and the RME UCX. I have a somewhat easy question: How do I mute the incoming microphone signal (analog 1 & 2)while playing back a take in my daw (Samplitude)? I thought that turning down the AN 1 and An 2 in the hardware playback would do this? I also have a slightly annoying sound in my headphones while recording from a short delay of the signal being double (both return from daw and the routed signal in the ucx at the same time?) How do I get rid of this? I thought muting the an 1/2 in the software playback would do this. Something elementary I must have missed. Thanks for all the great contributions in this forum!

OK back to your initial question .... I have a certain feeling you require step by step instructions:

Some preparation, not necessarily required, but its nice to have phones and near field monitors in the monitor section of TM FX. TM: push assign button:
- assign your near field monitors (assumed AN1/2) to Main Out
- assign your phones (for me its PH9/10) to Phones1

TM: ensure you are in submix mode (upper right -> routing mode: "submix")

Example you want to listen via near field monitors and don't want a feedback loop via Mic

TM: in the bottom row, in the monitor section on the right, click to "Main" (AN 1/2).
Now you create a submix for this particular output AN1/2 (to your near-field monitors)!
Raise / lower the faders from HW inputs and SW playbacks to create the mix for your near field monitors.
If you want to prevent that i.e. Mic9 (in my case) will be recorded and played back you need to perform 2 things
1. in TM: lower the fader of Mic9 HW input to zero or press the mute button or both (what you prefer)
Note: this only prevents that signals from Mic9 will be routed to AN1/2 inside of TM FX.
The Mute and Fader positions only are in effect inside of TM FX.
The HW inputs are always passed to the application / DAW.
So you need also to look, that you do not monitor the Microphone input inside of your DAW, because then you would get a feedback loop.
2. in your DAW: look to the Mic9 input and ensure that you do not push the monitor button or additionally mute the channel or lower the fader to zero.
If your submix is finalized, then save it i.e. to Snapshot1 and rename it to "Monitor" or whatever you like to indicate that this is the submix to playback on your Monitor.

If you are recording then you need another submix, where the Monitors are muted because I assume you put your headphones on to avoid feedback loops when you record vocals.
1st step is to mute Main out.
Then click to your phones output, unmute if required and create a submix for phones 1.
You want to listen i.e. from SW playback AN1/2, this is most likely what comes out from DAW, if you choosed in the DAW AN1/2 as your output.
If you want to listen to your vocals directly / zero latency, then unmute Mic9, raise the fader until you have a comfortably listening volume and good ratio between vocals and playback track. You can also lower the fader of SW playback AN 1/2 (from DAW), so that you stay below 0dB to avoid distortion.
This you can save then to i.e. snapshot2 for Phones (if you record using your phones).