Envelop SF Configuration
Envelop SF at the Midway is configured to be run using two separate machines. The frontend machine is dedicated to the performer and runs Live 10 with the Envelop for Live tools. Typically this is the artist's personal machine with their own installation of Live 10 alongside plugins and projects. The backend machine is an iMac permanently installed in the space, dedicated to Ambisonics spatial decoding via standalone Max patch.
The front-end connects to an RME Fireface UFX soundcard. Make sure that drivers are installed for the RME Fireface UFX. Drivers are available here.
Note: if using macOS High Sierra, you will need to follow these instructions to enable the driver installation.
Connect the performance machine to the soundcard via FireWire or USB and use the RME Fireface Settings application to check the configuration. Using a sampling rate of 48000 is recommended.
Additionally connect the Ethernet network cable to the frontend machine and open the System Preferences | Network panel. Select the Thunderbolt Ethernet device and Configure IPv4 Manually to use a static IP Address of 10.0.0.6 with a Subnet Mask of 255.255.255.0.
Open Ableton Live 10 and enter the Audio tab of the Preferences menu. Select the Fireface UFX as the Audio Output Device. An In/Out Sample Rate of 48000 is recommended. Buffer Size may be selected at your discretion, based upon your available CPU horsepower.
Click on the Output Config button to open the interface channel options. The RME Fireface sends audio to the backend renderer using Stereo Outputs 15-30. Make sure that all of these pairs are enabled. Even though we won't be using output 1-2, it is also a best practice to enable Stereo Output 1-2 (occasionally the soundcard does not initialize properly if the main outputs are not enabled).
Follow the instructions on the Getting Started guide to configure an Envelop for Live project. On the E4L Master Bus device, perform the following actions:
- The Decoder should be set to
AmbiX - Configure the Output Routing selectors to use channels 15-30 in sequence
- Disable the Monitor 1+2 toggle
- Enable the LED Control toggle
- Ensure the LED Setup is set to
Midway - Enter
10.0.0.5as the Hostname for LED Control
Once you have performed these steps, Live 10 will be routing 16 channels of Ambisonics audio out of the ADAT outputs on the Fireface UFX.
The iMac at the Midway is configured to receive 16 channels of Ambisonics audio from the performance machine and decode these to the 32.4 channel system in the Midway using a Max patch. Turn on the iMac and open Max.
One Max is launched, open the Options | Audio Status... menu.
Ensure that the Input Device and Output Device are both set to use the HDSPe RayDat. The sampling rate should be set to 48000. A buffer size of 512 should be safe for normal applications, though a lower size may be selected if very low latency performance is desired.
Open the Live 10 Remote Decoder shortcut from the desktop. If the shortcut is not present, the patch lives at:
~/Documents/Max\ 8/Packages/EnvelopForLive/patcher/remote/e4l.remote.midway.maxpat
The patcher will show the 16 channels of Ambisonics input with a level control, as well as the ability to directly playback a local B-Format file. Make sure that the On/Off toggle is activated, and you're good to go!
