• Jonah
  • ADAT user
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  • Registered: 2020-02-19
  • Posts: 26

Topic: Pro Tools input routing tricks for channels above 32?

What solutions have people found for getting specific channels above 32 to show up within the non-HD Pro Tools limit? I have a MADI FX and am trying to get together some presets for guest engineers. The output side is easy because you have the Playback mix to Hardware Outputs in TotalMix. On the input side, the best I can come up with is using Rogue Amoeba Loopback to create a virtual device that routes the required Hardware Input channels to the first 32 channels of the PT Aggregate I/O, then I just make the MADI FX the Aggregate’s output. Trying to avoid unnecessary hops, as Loopback virtual drivers have some latency.

For reference, my typical rig is two Orion 32s at 96kHz on the two MADI FX optical lines, plus the AES input, on a 2012 Mac Mini running Sierra. Mojave soon but not yet.

  • gregd
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  • Registered: 2016-04-12
  • Posts: 30

Re: Pro Tools input routing tricks for channels above 32?

Hopefully at some point Avid will remove this crazy restriction (I use Ultimate - and it's crazy to have this limit on such an expensive piece of software).

It's also a long standing request for RME to do as some other companies - and provide the ability to remove channels from the driver. https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=28310

For now the best option is probably to use loopback in TotalMix FX - you can then map the MADI channels to channels you don't use. Someone here will know the latency details - but I recall this only taking a few samples inside the hardware (which is likely better than a software solution).

It's a hassle to set up - but depending on how many channels you need you perhaps only have to do it once (I did it one for my two OctaMic XTCs - and have rarely looked at it again).

If your mapping is stable - you can set up a named Protools IO setup that used the MADI channel names so you don't need to remember the loopback mappings.

If you're running at >= 96k - then the number of channels is limited because the additional ADAT inputs still appear in the driver and occupy the protools inputs, but can't be used as loopbacks in TotalMixFX.

Also remember not to use any of the EQ/Compression and the mapped channels etc when recording - since that will also affect your loopbacks.

Finally I suggest you turn off "Center Balance/Pan when changing Mono/Stereo." option which could mess up your loopbacks if you treat them as fire and forget.

  • Registered: 2020-10-29
  • Posts: 3

Re: Pro Tools input routing tricks for channels above 32?

Just a follow up - I picked up a second hand SSL DeltaLink MADI box and HD Native Thunderbolt box on eBay for cheap.

Its a PITA routing in TotalMix but it works and this gives you the full 64 channels...

Still a ludicrous and false limitation in 2020 though...

  • Registered: 2013-09-14
  • Posts: 9

Re: Pro Tools input routing tricks for channels above 32?

Another vote for this now Pro Tools can access 64 channels. As it can happily record 64 channels at 96K, but only the first 64 presented by the Interface Driver still, it would really help with my HDSPe MADI FX if I could either disable or re-order channels, or even just full Ports.