In this video I'm going to take you through the different features
of the iD Mixer, that controls iD44.
If you want information on a particular section of the iD Mixer
then go to the video description for timestamps
of the different sections so you can skip ahead.
On a Mac, double click on the iD Mixer in your application menu.
This will launch the app and create a menu bar item
in the top right of the screen.
The mixer window should then open
so long as your unit is connected and powered on.
If you close the mixer window
you can reopen it at any time by clicking on the iD icon
and selecting show mixer window.
On Windows, click the ID Mixer in the
application menu to launch the app
this will open the mixer window when iD44 is connected
and also create an icon in the system tray
where you can open the mixer window and change settings
like iD44's sample rate and buffer size.
Simply put, the iD Mixer is the control centre for your iD interface
allowing you to customise functionality and settings
to make iD44 work best for your workflow.
The ID mixer is made up of a few different sections
The channel section displays your analog and digital inputs as well
as your DAW returns or in other words, the audio coming back
from your digital audio workstation or computer.
The Master Section contains the Cue Mixes and the monitor controls.
Then finally you have the system panel
which enables you to control your routing and other settings.
We will look at the routing options available in more detail
later in this video.
So the Channel Section is what you will use to build up
your Main and Cue Mixes or in other words
the audio you want to send out of iD44
whether it's your full DAW mix going to your main speakers
or a separate headphone mix with a click track to an artist you're recording.
There are three kinds of channels
Mic Channels, Digital Channels and DAW Returns
and these individual types can be hidden using these channel toggle buttons
in the master section to help keep things tidy.
The four mic channels show you the signal from the mic and line inputs
The "Digi" channels show any signal from the optical inputs
and the DAW returns display the audio coming back from your computer
where the iD44 output in your DAW
will correspond to the DAW return channel.
For example Output 1+2 will go to DAW 1+2
and Output 3+4 will go to DAW 3+4 and so on.
This will come in really handy when sending out
separate artists mixes or processing audio with outboard gear.
At the top of each channel is the customizable channel name.
You can double click on this and type the name that you want
to help organize your mixer app.
Once named if you forget the input type
or get a little lost in the mixer window
you can hover over the channel toggle buttons
and the type of input will appear under the name.
On the analog and digital input channels
a polarity reverse button can be found below the naming strip
for dealing with phase issues caused from multiple microphones
such as top and bottom miking a snare or the front and back of a guitar cab.
Next you have the pan controls to position your signal in the stereo field
you also have the stereo grouping button letting you control the levels of a stereo
source by grouping together two adjacent channels.
The solo and mute buttons allow you to quickly isolate channels
which can be useful if you want to check that
a particular input is sounding good
without any distraction from other sources.
Finally you have the meter and the fader.
The meter displays the dBFS value
which is the level that comes into your computer.
If the input is set too loud
the peak LED will light up meaning you have clipped your converters
and could end up with some bad sounding distortion.
We recommend setting your input so at the loudest point
you're peaking at -10dB.
The fader is used to set the monitoring level of a channel
for the particular mix you're working on.
and when you turn up one of the input channels you're actually making use of
the low latency monitoring letting you listen to your inputs without any delay.
To quickly zero a fader you can hold alt and click on the fader cap.
These three channel types will allow you to build up your main monitor mix
as well as up to four additional cue mixes
found to the right of the channels in the master section.
In the master section you are able to toggle between different cue mixes
letting you create custom headphone mixes for artists you're recording.
Simply click on the cue mix you want to edit and adjust the faders
each cue has its own colour associated with it
which can be seen in the cue name and also in the coloured bar above the channels.
Like the channel names, the cue name can be customised
by double clicking and renaming.
If you want to preview a cue mix
you can hit the solo button in the cue window.
You can also adjust the master level of a cue mix here too.
The meters will show you the overall of a cue
and the chronometer along the bottom will show the level over the
last 20 seconds so you can see that the audio signal is being sent
and you can keep an eye out for any clipping.
Next we have the monitor control buttons.
Here you have a number of different functions that can be used to help improve your
workflow in the studio including talkback, polarity
mono, alt speaker, dim and cut.
The polarity button will flip one side of the stereo field whilst also
activating mono using phase cancellation to cut out the center of the stereo
signal and playing only the sides.
This is a great way to get mix inspiration
by removing center panned signals in existing records or to check the sides
of your own mixes and make sure that any reverbs and delay tails
are sounding as good as they can.
The mono button will sum a stereo mix bus into a mono signal
which is useful for checking if your mix will sound good
on mono sources such as mobile devices.
The alternate speakers button enables you to quickly switch
speakers at the touch of a button.
Once configured you can toggle between different speakers or headphones
and you're able to match the level of the
second set of speakers using the ALT speaker trim found in the system panel
which we'll have a look at later.
Each one of these monitor controls can be assigned to a function button
by right-clicking and selecting the function button you want to assign it to
This gives quick and flexible access to your monitor controls
in the middle of a session.
There are dedicated buttons on iD44 to cut and dim the speaker output
which will temporarily mute or lower the level of the output
while retaining your preferred listening level
perfect for having a quick word with someone in the studio.
You can also control how much the dim lowers the level in the system panel
There is also a dedicated talkback button
which opens up a line of communication between the engineer and artist
either using one of the mic inputs or any mic connected to your computer
This is configured in the System Panel which we will go over now.
The system panel is where you can change most of the inner workings of iD44
On the left hand side you have the digital settings here you can select the digital
protocol you want to use for your digital inputs and outputs
either ADAT or a S/PDIF.
You're able to choose different protocols
for the different individual inputs and outputs
Below this is the preferred clock source
Here you can select whether you want to use iD44 as the master clock by setting internal
or whether you are wanting to slave iD44 from one of the external digital inputs
The LEDs next the digital sources
will show you the status of the clock for that digital input.
If you have selected an external clock but the indicator is red
then this indicates that there is no clock signal on the input.
This could be because a cable isn't connected
or the wrong digital protocol is being used.
A yellow indicator shows that a valid clock is available
but the sample rate doesn't match the current operating sample rate of iD44
so you'll need to go and change the sample rate of iD44
or the device so they match up.
A green indicator it means that a valid clock is present on that input
and it's at the correct sample rate, so you're ready to record.
For information on clocking and setting up iD44 with digital equipment
please click the card in the top right of this video to find out more.
Below the preferred clock source you have the mono mode
letting you adjust which output is used during mono summing.
At the bottom are the trims for the dim and alt speakers
allowing you to set the output level when the dim or alt button is pressed.
Nnow we move on to the routing panel
which has a number of tabs allowing you to control the output routing
for the analog outputs and both the digital outputs.
The sources are displayed horizontally along the top
and the outputs are vertically on the left
To route the signal click the button that lines up
with both the source and destination you want.
By default the main mix is routed to analog outputs 1+2
which means that everything you've turned up in the main mix
will be sent to your main speaker outputs.
Alt speaker will switch that particular output to
play the main mix when the Alt speaker button is pressed.
This can be used for speakers or headphones.
If you have built a low latency monitoring mix
for an artist on one of the cue mixes
and you want to send it to an output
you would select one of the buttons below the appropriate cue mix.
You could therefore send Cue A to Headphones 1 for example.
DAW Thru allows you to directly route signal from your DAW to a physical output.
So for example if you set outputs 3+4 to DAW Thru
this means that anything that is sent out of outputs 3+4 in your DAW
Will get sent directly to the physical outputs 3+4
bypassing all routing and volume controls.
This is useful if you want to send pre-recorded audio to
external gear at full line level in the iD mixer.
Because of this you'll need to be careful of using Daw Thru on your main outputs
as it will send full volume audio to your speakers
which might not be very pleasant.
You will get a warning explanation every time you select it
just in case you press it by mistake.
You can set the outputs to mono by pressing the stereo button on the left
this will allow you to choose different sources for each output.
This is useful if you want to send two mono signals to different pieces of outboard gear
from Output 3 and Output 4 for example.
The routing matrix works exactlythe same for the digital outputs
as it does for the analog outputs.
By default the digital outputs are all set to DAW Thru
meaning you can send the signal out of Outputs 9+10 in your DAW
and it would send signal to the first two channels of the first digital output.
The final tab in the routing panel is the talkback tab
where you can select the input that you'll be using for your talkback source
Here you have the option of one of iD44's inputs
whether analog or digital
or you're able to use an external source which could be your
computer's inbuilt mic or even a USB microphone.
When selecting an internal source
it gives you the choice of the currently available input channels.
Simply choose the input that your talkback microphone is connected to
and you're ready to go.
Selecting an external output gives you a
list of the audio devices currently connected to your computer
which can be used as a talkback source.
Select the device you wish to use and if applicable choose the input channel.
When a talkback source is selected that channel will
turn into a talkback channel in the iD Mixer window.
An external source will come in on the DAW Return 10 channel.
A talkback channel can be identified by it's solo and mute channels changing
into a talkback button which will trigger the talkback.
By default the talkback channel will be routed to all the cue mixes
ready to be sent to your artists headphones.
Once you've setup the iD Mixer just how you want it
you can save it as a preset or even store the settings on the unit itself
so you don't even need to open the iD mixer to recall all your settings.
To save a current setup simply go to file -> save
and you can now give the configuration a name to remember it by and click Save.
you can also export the configuration to send to friends or collaborators
or to store along with your project.
To recall a preset simply go to file and then click Open
a list of your previously saved presets will appear
Choose the one you wish to use and click Load.
The mixer will now change to that particular preset.
If you plan on using iD44 away from a computer then you can save a
preset directly onto the iD44 itself known as a standalone state.
This is great for complex monitoring mixes out on the road.
So to do this simply go to the setup menu and select Store Standalone State.
The current configuration of the mixer will then be saved into iD44's memory.
It is worth noting that the Mixer app will always take preference over the standalone settings
so if the app is loaded and the unit is connected
then the standalone setting will be replaced.
Occasionally we will release firmware updates for the iD44
to add new features or to maintain compatibility
with any new operating system releases.
To ensure your iD44 is running the latest version of firmware
simply go to the help menu and select Check For Updates
The iD mixer application will check if any updates are available and
if so will prompt you to install them.
If your computer doesn't have an internet connection
you can also update using a locally stored firmware file which will
be available for download on our website.
Simply click Next once you've selected the file location and click Update.
The process will take around a minute and
the iD44 may make a few clicking sounds when the relays change during the process.
Once completed reboot the iD44 fully to finalise the installation.
We hope that this video has given you an idea of the capabilities and powerful
features of the iD mixer and that you find it a useful tool to add to your workflow.
For more information about iD44 or the iD Mixer please look at the
product manual which is available for download on our website
or have a look at some of our other help videos