Applies to: all audio interfaces
This guide explains how to set up Cubase’s 'Control Room' feature for use with Focusrite interfaces. The Control Room provides talkback functionality for communicating with performers via a microphone, separate cue mixes for each performer's headphones and switching between sets of monitor speakers.
To access the Control Room in Cubase, select Studio on the menu bar and then Control Room to open it in a separate Window, or it can be found in the Project and MixConsole windows in the Right Zone by selecting the CR tab.
The example below shows the following functionality using the inputs and outputs on a Clarett+ 8Pre:
- A dedicated talkback microphone that can be switched on and off to communicate with the performers in their headphones only.
- Speaker switching so an engineer can monitor the main mix on two different sets of monitor speakers*
- The same main mix is also on headphones for the engineer
- Separate cue mixes for two performers (a guitarist and a vocalist), one via a headphone amp connected to a pair of line outputs, and the other via one of the built-in headphone outputs
Third-generation Scarlett 18i8 and 18i20 have a built-in Speaker Switching function. This can be configured in Focusrite Control in Device Settings . See the Focusrite Control Scarlett 3rd Gen User Guide for more information.
This diagram shows an overview of the setup:
The number of monitor speakers and headphones you can use depends on how many inputs and outputs your audio interface has, some steps may not be possible with all audio interfaces.
Before following the steps below, ensure you have completed the initial setup for your audio interface in Cubase as detailed in the following article: Cubase: Setting up Focusrite interface.
Contents
Part One: Cubase Audio Connections
Part Two: Control Software Configuration
1. Routing Playback Only (Software Monitoring)
2. Routing Playback and Inputs (Direct Monitoring)
3. Monitor Controls (Optional)
Part One: Cubase Audio Connections
The Audio Connections Window
To configure this in Cubase, go to Studio on the menu bar at the top of the window, and select Audio Connections... to open the Audio Connections Window.
The Inputs Tab
Under the Inputs tab, the input buses need to be set up if they are not set up already. If the bus list beneath Bus Name is empty, click Add Bus to add at least one input bus. Set the Count (the number of input buses you are adding), select the Configuration (Mono, Stereo etc.), enter a Bus Name for the input buses and then click Add Bus
.
In this example, Input 1 and Input 2 on the audio interface are connected to microphones for recording two performers, so two mono input buses named 'Mic' have been added to accommodate this.
If input buses already exist, double-click on the Bus Name for each input bus to rename them.
Then, whether creating or reusing input buses, ensure each is assigned to the appropriate Device Port.
The Outputs Tab
To output any audio from Cubase whatsoever, there needs to be at least one bus under the Outputs tab to serve as the output channel within the software. This will also serve as the Main Mix for the Control Room.
Under Outputs, click Add Bus to create an output bus. Leave the Add Output Bus window as it appears by default (Stereo unless working in a different configuration) and click Add Bus
.
Next, set each Device Port under the Outputs tab to Not Connected† because, when using Control Room, the output buses under the Outputs tab must NOT be routed directly to the audio interface.
†If there are output buses configured for routing to outboard gear, these can remain connected. Ensure that any outputs intended for monitoring are NOT connected to a Device Port under the Outputs tab.
The Control Room Tab
The Control Room tab can be used to create and route multiple Monitor speaker buses, an engineer's Headphone bus, several performer Cue buses and a Talkback mic to the audio interface.
The Talkback Bus
One talkback bus can be created. To create the talkback bus, click Add Channel , select Add Talkback
and then set the Device Port to the physical input on the interface that the talkback mic is connected to.
In this example, a spare microphone is connected to Input 8 on the Clarett+.
The talkback is the only bus that does not require any further routing in the Focusrite Control or Mix Control software. It is automatically routed to any cue busses; it can be adjusted or muted in each Cue Channel independently. See Steinberg's documentation for more information.
The Monitor Buses
Up to four monitor buses receiving the Main Mix can be created. To create a monitor bus, click Add Channel , select Add Monitor
, enter the Name of the monitor bus, select a Configuration (usually Stereo for a pair of monitor speakers) and click OK
.
Then, set the output for each Device Port. For simplicity, it is recommended that each Device Port is set to the output that directly corresponds with the physical output the monitor speaker is connected to on the interface, though this is not entirely necessary (as covered later).
In this example, there is a pair of monitor speakers connected to Outputs 1-2 and another pair of monitor speakers connected to Outputs 3-4 on the Clarett+, so two corresponding stereo monitor buses have been added. There is still some configuration required in the control software to connect these software outputs to the physical outputs.
The Headphone Bus
One headphone bus can be used. It is a duplicate of the Main Mix that can be controlled independently of the monitor buses in the Control Room Mixer. To add the headphone bus, click Add Channel , select Add Headphone
and then set each Device Port. The headphone bus can be renamed by double-clicking on the Bus Name.
As with the monitors, it is recommended that each Device Port is set to the output that directly corresponds with the physical output the pair of headphones or headphone amp is connected to.
In this example, the engineer's headphones are connected to the first headphone output on the Clarett+. This headphone output always carries the signal currently routed to Output 7-8, so the headphone bus has been routed to correspond with this, and it has also been named accordingly. There is still some configuration required in the control software to connect these software outputs to the physical outputs.
The Cue Buses
Up to four mono or stereo cue buses can be created, each fed by its own discrete mix with sends in the MixConsole. To add a cue bus, click Add Channel , select Add Cue
, enter the Name of the cue bus, select a Configuration (depending on the devices receiving the cue mix) and click OK
.
Then, set the output for each Device Port. As with the monitor and headphone buses, it is recommended that each Device Port is set to the output that directly corresponds with the physical output the devices are connected to.
In this example, there is a stereo headphone amp connected to Outputs 5-6 and a pair of headphones connected to the second headphone output on the Clarett+; the headphone output always carries the signal currently routed to Outputs 9-10. Therefore, two corresponding stereo cue buses have been added. There is still some configuration required in Focusrite Control or Mix Control to connect these software outputs to the physical outputs.
These cue buses will appear in the Cue Sends Channel Rack in the MixConsole Window and the Inspector on each track. Cue Sends can be altered for each track and cue bus to create an independent mix for each cue bus.
See Steinberg's documentation for more detail on Cue Sends and how to use them.
Part Two: Control Software Configuration
Any audio outputs from software have to be routed to a physical output on the audio interface using Focusrite Control or Mix Control. This guide will focus on Focusrite Control, but the same principles apply to Mix Control. These instructions also only apply to audio interfaces with multiple outputs that can be configured in control software.
Before configuring the control software we recommend you Restore Factory Defaults‡ to provide a clean starting point. In Focusrite Control, you can save the current configuration if you need it in future. Go to File and Save Snapshot. To restore the default settings, select File and Restore Factory Defaults.
‡Configurations already in place that are required for a particular use case can remain as they are, as long as they do not clash with the control room configuration. Restore as many settings as possible to their defaults, then check that there are no clashes between the control room routing and any other requirements of the setup.
For a full breakdown and tutorial for Focusrite Control, please see Focusrite Control Tutorial: 1 - Understanding Focusrite Control and the other tutorials in that series. For devices using Mix Control, please see Saffire and Scarlett MixControl tutorial.
It is important to be aware that, by default, inputs and software outputs are named slightly differently in Cubase and Focusrite Control:
Inputs
|
Hardware Inputs
|
| Input 1 | Analogue 1 |
| Input 2 | Analogue 2 |
| Input 3 | Analogue 3 |
| Input 4 | Analogue 4 |
| Input... | Analogue‖... |
| Outputs | Software (DAW) Playback |
| Output 1 | Playback 1 |
| Output 2 | Playback 2 |
| Output 3 | Playback 3 |
| Output 4 | Playback 4 |
| Output... | Playback... |
Cubase Input X = Hardware Input Analogue X. Cubase Output X = Software (DAW) Playback X.
‖Rather than Analogue, digital inputs will be labelled ADAT or S/PDIF respectively.
The routing for the hardware outputs in this example will be as follows:
- 🔈Monitor Outputs 1-2 ← Main Mix from Control Room Monitor 1
- 🔈Line Outputs 3-4 ← Main Mix from Control Room Monitor 2
- 🎧 Line Outputs 7-8 (Headphone 1) ← Main Mix from Control Room Phones
- 🎧 Line Outputs 9-10 (Headphone 2) ← Cue Mix 1 from Control Room Performer 1 and direct monitor of both performer mics on Analogue 1 and 2
- 🎧 Line Outputs 5-6§ ← Cue Mix 2 from Control Room Performer 2 and direct monitor of both performer mics on Analogue 1 and 2
§Line Output 5-6 are connected to a headphone amp in this example.
To set up output routing, navigate to the Output Routing section in Focusrite Control.
Each output has an Output Identifier, an optional Custom Name and a Source.
A full breakdown of the Output section can be found on page 8 of the Clarett+, Clarett USB, Clarett, Scarlett 3rd Gen and Scarlett 2nd Gen user guides.
Routing Playback Only (Software Monitoring)
Outputs not intended for performers can afford some latency when monitoring tracks being recorded live. Monitoring in the software also ensures inputs to the audio interface are being recorded as expected in the DAW. See Steinberg's documentation for more detail on Monitoring via Cubase.
Software monitoring like this is simplest to route in Focusrite Control. Under OUTPUTS, click on the Source for the output in question and select the Playback (DAW) number that corresponds to the software output configured in Cubase. Then, set the Custom Name as desired by double-clicking on the Custom Name box.
In this example, both sets of monitor speakers and the engineer's headphones only need to receive their corresponding software outputs from Cubase. Monitor Output 1-2 is set to Playback 1-2, Line Output 3-4 to Playback 3-4, and Line Output 7-8 (Headphone 1) to Playback 7-8. Each is also named according to the bus they are receiving from Cubase.
Routing Playback and Inputs (Direct Monitoring)
Performers will need to monitor their performance in as close to real-time as possible. The simplest way to do this is to directly monitor the required inputs before they enter the computer and also monitor the relevant cue mixes from Cubase for any playback.
To monitor multiple input and playback channels in Focusrite Control, do the following. Under OUTPUTS, click on the Source for each output and select Custom Mix. Then, set the Custom Name as desired by double-clicking on the Custom Name box.
In this example, performer 1's headphones are connected to a headphone amp receiving audio from Line Output 5-6 and performer 2's headphones are connected directly to Line 9-10 (Headphone 2), so the sources for these outputs are set to Custom Mix, and the outputs are also named accordingly.
The custom mixes then need to be configured. To add or remove inputs and playback, select an output for which the source is set to Custom Mix. Then, under HARDWARE INPUTS or SOFTWARE (DAW) PLAYBACK, click the + to add or remove channels. This will open a panel on the right-hand side of the window: select or deselect these either individually in mono or paired in stereo as required.
In this example, both performers need to hear themselves and the other performer directly in mono and hear their cue mixes from Cubase in stereo. Therefore, Analogue 1 and 2 are selected separately under HARDWARE INPUTS, and Playback 5-6 and 9-10 are selected under SOfTWARE (DAW) PLAYBACK).
It is important to note that any input or Software Playback selected in these input and output panels will appear in every custom mix. The faders, pans, mutes (M) and solos (S) can be configured separately for each custom mix, so these can be used if there are different requirements for each. Also, there is space for an Editable Name at the top of each input or playback.
In this example, performer 1's cue mix is Playback 5-6, and performer 2's cue mix is Playback 9-10. Therefore, Playback 9-10 is muted on Line Outputs 5-6, and Playback 5-6 is muted on Line Outputs 9-10. Their respective faders have been turned down to make this clearer to see and less easy to reverse. The inputs and playbacks have been named as well.
Monitor Controls (Optional)
Applies to: all Clarett+, Clarett USB and Clarett interfaces; and Scarlett 18i20 and 18i8
When using multiple monitor outputs, it may be preferable to control every set of monitors with the same monitor dial on the audio interface. To do this, open Focusrite Control with a compatible audio interface connected, then click the gear button to open Device Settings—a panel will appear on the left-hand side. Under Monitor Controls, select the outputs the Monitor dial will control.
In this example, Monitor Outputs 1-2 and Line Outputs 3-4 are each connected to a pair of monitors, so the Monitor Controls have been set to 1-4.
With all the steps in this article completed, talkback, speaker switching, engineer headphones and performer cue mix functions should be enabled.
See Steinberg's Cubase documentation for more information regarding the specific features of the Control Room.
If you encounter any problems setting up the Control Room with your Focusrite audio interface, please contact Technical Support.