Logic Pro 7: Folding Down Surround Mix To Stereo F, enviroment surround layer Options

[trixie]

hello all!

i've just hooked the 5.1 system. normally, i've got the MAIN outputs from my MOTU 828 coming up my Mackie 32:8. logic's stereo outs and any other input signals (keyboards, mics, etc) are combined via stereo aux 3-4 and sent to a headphone amp for foldback during recording. i have to take the foldback feed from the desk to ensure we're monitoring the input. this set up has been wonderful when working in stereo. but my surround outputs are NOT coming up the mixer when working in surround. they are passed directly to a MultiMax signal distributer (on premix channel one) and fed to the surround speakers. i have no more channels available on the mixer to plug up these additional 6 outputs, but i must be able to feed logic's outputs to aux 3-4 for foldback.

i know i have two concerns.....

first, i must be able to pack down any surround mix and route all signals to the MAIN outputs (and thus the correct aux feeds) in order to hear logic in the foldback. i only need to do this while recording! i can switch back to the surround output set up once recording is over and we're ready to monitor out loud in surround.

second, i must be able to pan any signal from the rear and sub to left, center, or right so not to lose anything.

it would be great if i could bus the signals to MAIN outputs, but the output audio objects themselves do not have sends.....

sooooo...... any other suggestions on how i could switch easily between the two monitoring modes in LOGIC? i've built a seperate surround layer in the enviroment already.

thanks for any help!!!

[banevt]

If you are using a MulitMax distributor there is a folddown output on the box. I know you said that you don't have any extra inputs but that was for all six, maybe you have two inputs available for the folddown mix. When we did Oceans Twelve I just patched that stereo folddown mix from the multimax into the console for sending to the headphone outputs via aux sends. This was because we were monitoring off Logic only on 8 faders of the console during recording because we had a lot of instruments set up and ready to record at a moments notice. I rarely had to change what was coming from the folddown mix on the mulitmax after we got it set up initially. Any other adjustments that needed to be made to the headphone mix was easily done either by changing the mix in Logic temporarily or using the aux sends on the console. This just seemed like the fastest and least disturbing method of doing a folddown headphone mix it seems a lot easier than having to change the overall surround setup. I don't know if you have two extra faders for this, but if you did it seems like the ideal situation if not maybe you could patch them into another small mixer and then patch the aux sends into that and send the outputs of this small mixer to your headphone distribution system instead of aux 3/4. I hope this helps a little I don't know of any solution from inside logic that comes to mind right away unless you make some sort of master faders for the surround bus and use internal aux sends in Logic to make a folddown mix but this essentially doing what the mulitmax is doing with it's own folddown mix option. Anyway again I hope this helps and wish you luck.

Valente

[trixie]

thanks valente! i was eyeballing the fold down button earlier..... yes, there are two spare channels in the mackie, but not six. so that seems like it could be a good place to start. thanks a bunch!!

[banevt]

You don't have to monitor the folddown to have it output to the headphones either. It goes out of the folddown output regardless of what you monitor. Good luck.

Valente