X32 routing question

Critter55

Member
Can someone explain to me routing on the X32. I understand the concept but what I can't find in the manual or in any videos is what signals are available on what routing option. For example, our church mixes the live stream sound on mixbus 5 which I understand defaults as output 5. The company that set up our board when we bought it set the output on the card to be aes50a 1 to 32 in the 8 channel blocks. To me, this should only be our aes50a inputs being directly sent to the card outputs as if we were doing multi track recording but we are definitely getting mixbus 5 as a mix going out the card. Someone has also set a matrix as an output on the card on one of the scenes. I know this is a case of if it isn't broke, don't fix it but I would like to have a better understanding. Furthermore, is there a way that I can more clearly view where a particular channel or mixbus is being routed to. Thanks in advance.
 
Can someone explain to me routing on the X32.
it’s pretty much like every other console. Inputs go to mixes, and mixes go to matrices. Think of a mix bus as a mix of channels and a matrix bus as a mix of mixes.

fx return channels are dedicated returns from the FX engines, think of them like a mix that just gets FX so you can then route to a matrix or the stereo out. you route an input or a mix to the FX engine and it returns to an fx return channel (though a lot of folks typically return to an input channel instead, digital desk so you got all the options).


VCA’s are remote controls for the channels assigned to it but not technically a routing option (don’t @ me for the simple version of the answer).
I understand the concept but what I can't find in the manual or in any videos is what signals are available on what routing option.
The X32 may possibly be the most documented console in the history of consoles thanks to the sheer number of amateur users who own them due to the price point. Do a search of YouTube, you can find it all there. What sort of info do you seek? Inputs, mixes, matrices. Mixes don’t have to be outputs but can be, matrices are typically always outputs.

you can route to local I/O, the AES50 ports, and the card Slot. You can route to all simultaneously, the world is your oyster with a digital desk.

For example, our church mixes the live stream sound on mixbus 5 which I understand defaults as output 5. The company that set up our board when we bought it set the output on the card to be aes50a 1 to 32 in the 8 channel blocks. To me, this should only be our aes50a inputs being directly sent to the card outputs as if we were doing multi track recording but we are definitely getting mixbus 5 as a mix going out the card. Someone has also set a matrix as an output on the card on one of the scenes.

This is where the offline editor really shines, pop open the routing pane on the computer and check out what’s going on - yeah you can see things on the tiny console screen but the computer editor is nice and big and allows you to see a lot more data at once.

it’s a digital desk - you can double assign inputs, you can double assign outputs, you got all sorts of options! You also assign and route inputs separately from outputs which I think you’re conflating as one in the same here, but I could be mistaken.
Furthermore, is there a way that I can more clearly view where a particular channel or mixbus is being routed to. Thanks in advance.

Like with all digital consoles you need to pop into the channel overview or the mix overview screen. Channel overview will show you what mixes a selected channel shoots to, mix overview will show you what matrices a selected mix shoots to. I don’t know what buttons to press (X32 dumb in that I’ve only touched one once, but I’m digital audio console smart, they all do 98% the same things in 90% the same fashion) but it’s the same buttons to view per-channel compression and EQ typically.[/QUOTE]
 
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So if our card out was set to AES50A 1-32 then our mixbus 5 would be going out AES50 A 5 on the card correct? I guess I am to use to analog wiring were I can trace electrical path of flow with a multimeter. I suppose I am too much of a visual person. I would like to see a chart that would tell me which physical and digital ports mixbus 5 is going to. I'm sure this is really simple and I'm having way to much difficulty understanding this fully. Please forgive me.
 
So if our card out was set to AES50A 1-32 then our mixbus 5 would be going out AES50 A 5 on the card correct? I guess I am to use to analog wiring were I can trace electrical path of flow with a multimeter. I suppose I am too much of a visual person. I would like to see a chart that would tell me which physical and digital ports mixbus 5 is going to. I'm sure this is really simple and I'm having way to much difficulty understanding this fully. Please forgive me.

It does not exist in a single place. You'd be surprised that most digital consoles cannot display a *complete* end-to-end signal path.

I suggest downloading Behringer's X32 Edit software for your choice of Mac or Win. It uses matrix of rows and columns and colored dots to display various routings. Why the installer routed the bus outputs to the expansion card may have been laziness.
 
So if our card out was set to AES50A 1-32 then our mixbus 5 would be going out AES50 A 5 on the card correct?

The Card I/O is separate from the AES50 I/O. I'd take a look at a video on how the routing section of the X32 actually works, plenty exist. Just make sure to find one that covers the v4 firmware because it has a different look than the v3 routing pane.

In the routing page you'll see a section labelled AES50 and a section labelled CARD. In the AES50 section your X Axis is SOURCE and your Y Axis is DESTINATION. To get Mix Bus 5 to shoot down the AES50 stream on 5 you'd need to configure the SOURCE to read "OUT 1-8" and the DESTINATION to read "AES 1-8". If you were to select "Card 1-8" as the SOURCE you'd simply be mirroring whatever input signal is shooting IN from the expansion card and sending it OUT AES50 direct to your stagebox, sort of like a weird Direct Out that doesn't necessarily hit the audio console.

If you want Mix 5 to hit the Card you'd pop into the CARD section, again X Axis is SOURCE and Y is DESTINATION (the card). You would want to select OUT 1-8 as the SOURCE and whatever you need on the Card as the DESTINATION. Default routing on the X32 just shoots Local Inputs 1-8 right to the OUTPUT of the card.

You can have Mix 5 hit both the Card and the AES50 outputs, but if you're in the routing pane for CARD and AES50 is selected, you're just going to route INPUTS from AES50 to the OUTPUTS of the CARD and if you're in the routing pane for AES50 and CARD is selected, you're just going to route INPUTS from the Card to the OUTPUTS of the AES50 device. Digital = Flexible. you give up some of that visual signal straight-line signal path for a path that can branch and loop and do all sorts of crazy stuff, ultimate flexibility* (in banks of 8). If we wanted nice straight lines we'd be Electricians.

I guess I am to use to analog wiring were I can trace electrical path of flow with a multimeter. I suppose I am too much of a visual person.

Like I said, use the Offline Editor if you want more data at one time. If you understand Analog audio consoles, digital consoles should 100% sense because they are directly related and built off of their analog counterparts. It's just getting accustomed to what they can do above and beyond an analog desk and some new terminology. You have every bit of information you could ever want on a Digital Desk, much like you'd look at a channel strip on an analog desk, you simply expand the selected channel view on the screen and start from there, it tells you exactly what you need.

I would like to see a chart that would tell me which physical and digital ports mixbus 5 is going to. I'm sure this is really simple and I'm having way to much difficulty understanding this fully. Please forgive me.

You can do that, it isn't a chart though. Next time you're at the desk hit the physical "BUS 1-8" button, hit "Select" on Mix 5's channel, hit the "Sends on Fader" button and the left bank's faders will flip into Sends on fader mode and show you exactly what's routed to the selected mix. It's how you dial in monitor mixes really fast.

I really implore you to go watch some videos on the operation of the X32. I can't stress enough that I've only touched one once - but once you understand digital console operation they all pretty much do the same thing, you need a mastery of analog audio consoles to master a digital console because the core knowledge is 100% transferable you just need to make direct analogies to what you already know and apply it to this new domain. But take the time to learn the value of scene memory, that's one thing [almost all] analog consoles didn't have and the single huge struggle point for folks making the analog/digital leap.
 
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Hey everyone. Sorry for the late reply. Thank you all for your help. I have watched more hours than I can count of routing videos. I find most of them gloss over certain things. I am still confused how our card out is set up as AES50A 1-32 yet our mixbus 5 still makes it's way out to the streaming computer. It is working so I don't want to create a problem though.
 

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