Pipeline is affecting all tracks except the one I actually put it on, which it mutes

[thetrick]

Losing my mind. I set up a mono track on my Focusrite Saffire Pro26. Channel 5 for both out and in. Put Pipeline XT on the input of the track, choose in and out channel 5, and now the track is muted for some reason. Pipeline shows both an input and output signal but no sound comes through. Deactivate Pipeline, sound, activate, no sound. Here is where it gets funny. EVERY OTHER TRACK is affected by Pipeline (in this case a Line 6 delay). So all tracks are delaying and playing EXCEPT the actual track with Pipeline, which is muted by the system for some reason. Deactivate Pipeline, no effects on all tracks, activate, everything delaying.

 

[SwitchBack]

Yes, Pipeline will delay all other channels because that's the only way to make those tracks line up with the (delayed due to I/O latency) Pipeline track at the mix buses. Did you use Pipeline's Setup Mode to adjust the loopback delay offset? And did you deactivate Setup Mode after the adjustment?

Also: You cannot use the green Z option with Pipeline. To avoid the extra delay green Z will deactivate it.

 

[thetrick]

But Line 6 is a delay unit. When I say all tracks are delaying except the one with Pipeline, I mean, they are doing a digital delay. So would the others be doing a delay as well to line up with a digital delay? Is Pipeline only for compressors? How else am I supposed to use an external delay unit?

 

[apessino]

Pipeline does not care what the external unit is doing, but it does care about how long it takes for the audio to come back after it has been sent out for processing. The other tracks are doing "a delay" to compensate for the latency introduced by the round trip. This can be controlled/tuned from the Pipeline UI. What number does it show as the rond trip latency at the top right of the Pipeline instance?

It sounds like everything is working fine except the audio is not coming back to your input, or maybe it is coming back very low - this would also affect Pipeline's ability to calculate latency. Is the external delay showing level coming in? If not, then your send is not reaching it. If yes, then the problem is probably with the return. Does it show level coming back? I would check with the interface mixer - maybe the return is muted or the Line6 output is set too low?

If everything checks out, then maybe take some screenshots of how you have everything setup (I/O, Pipeline, etc.) so we can get an idea of where things might be going wrong.

 

[SwitchBack]

Pipeline's Setup Mode will try to compensate (the other tracks) for delay measured between its output and input. If you want to insert an analog delay unit then it may be good to run Setup Mode with just a patch cable between output and input, then connect the delay unit and not run Setup Mode again. Or set the delay unit to 100% dry for Setup Mode.

 

[thetrick]

Ok, so I swiped out the delay for another distortion unit. I got it to work but the problem I’m facing is that it sends a wall of noise when the send isnt being used. So, when the track goes out to it, it gets the effect. However, when not being sent to the unit sends a wall of noise back, even if it is bypassed or the volume is low. I’ve tried a gate but it literally has no effect. The wall of white noise, not distortion, won’t stop until I deactivate pipeline.

 

[thetrick]

Wanted to come back on and close this out. Issue was two fold. My Saffire wasn’t configured correctly in the software interface combined with the effects I was testing being guitar effects which you can’t simply call out to without a converter box. Tried an EQ unit and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the suggestions.