Audio input to Magic from other applications

[Magic]

Windows

Many Windows audio devices provide an input that allows you to monitor any audio going to the speakers. Selecting this input in Magic will allow your visuals to respond to your speaker output, including any other applications that are playing audio.

Standard audio devices

For standard audio devices, the input is usually disabled and hidden by default, so it must be enabled manually.

The following link explains how to use the Sound configuration in the Windows Control Panel to enable the "Stereo Mix" input. The example shown is for Realtek audio devices, but many other devices work in a similar way:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/39532/ho ... ord-audio/

After the "Stereo Mix" input is enabled, it will show up in the list of available input devices in Magic. Selecting this input will allow Magic to repond to whatever audio is playing on the system. See this section in the Magic User's Guide for how to select the audio input device:
http://magicmusicvisuals.com/downloads/ ... udioDevice

ASIO audio devices

For ASIO devices, the process is even simpler. The following image shows an ASIO audio device with two inputs (Input 10 and Input 11) called "Monitor L" and "Monitor R":

Whatever is playing back through the audio device will be routed to these inputs. All you have to do is select these inputs as the sources for your modules.

Virtual audio devices

If your Windows audio device doesn't have the functionality described above, you can use a virtual audio device. The one we recommend is VB Cable:
http://vb-audio.pagesperso-orange.fr/Cable/

OS X

If you have a Mac, your best option is to use a virtual audio device. The one we recommend is Soundflower:
http://cycling74.com/products/soundflower/

[Magic]

A few people have asked me about multi-channel audio routing on Windows. VB-Cable doesn't support multi-channel unfortunately, so another good (free) option is JACK: http://jackaudio.org

JACK is a very high-quality utility, suitable for professional use, but it's a bit confusing. However, I recently found this tutorial, and it's the best one I've seen so far:
http://music.tutsplus.com/articles/work ... udio-20601

So, if you're looking to send more than 2 channels from your audio application to Magic, you might want to try JACK.

[damstraversaz]

As english is not my native language, I'm not sure to understand the issue,. If i make a mistake, you can edit the post of course.
this is actually possible with voicemeeter : http://vb-audio.pagesperso-orange.fr/Vo ... /index.htm I will try to explain this , sorry for my poor english...
I suppose people want to route the audio signal from a DAW like ableton live , cubase, reaper etc to magic. So you will use the asio driver of your soundcard for low latency.
here is a basic explanation, you need to clic on the screenshot , as the pictures seems to be crop in the forum

1
first intall the software and reboot (for finishing the intallation of the virtual audio port , named voicemeeter input and voicemeeter output)
then , open the voicemeeter window, select your soundcard as an output (A1). here is a screenshot, I have selected the roland quadcapture asio driver. You need to select the mixdown option if your output is only stereo ( voicemeeter wil mix all the virtual output in the same stereo hardware output) . if you have or need multi outputs of your soundcard ( for exemple 8) don't active this option, and each audio virtual output will be on each hardware output.

111808vbaudio.jpg (154.24 KiB) Viewed 165780 times

2
then launch your daw ( in this exemple ableton live). If you're using some modular audio Daw like bidule, sensomusic usine for exemple, this is a lot easier in my opinion, but most people seems to use ableton or other softwares. in the preference menu select voicemeeter virtual asio as a driver. Voicemeeter will route without latency the output from ableton to the voicemeeter app, and use your hardware soundcard ( with its asio driver) as an output, so you can ear the signal on your speakers. in ableton, select the output ( config output) , in this exemple I select mono output. You can close the preference menu. On each track , select the output as show in the picture: Ext output 1, 2 etc... each track will be send to to its own output.

608909ableton.jpg (319.21 KiB) Viewed 165780 times

3
finally launch Magic, and in the audio/midi menu select Voicemeeter virtual asio as your soundcard driver. add all the input you need VM-VAIO 1, VM-VAIO 2 etc. each track from ableton will be send to each input from magic. this is done without latency like jack, and in my opinion is a lot easier.here is a very simple exemple , each track from the previous picture have is own waveform

854988magic.jpg (277.67 KiB) Viewed 165780 times

hope it answer to the multi channel audio routing question. I'm using this since few month on stage, and never have an issue, this seems to be pretty solid, at least on my system.

[Magic]

Ok great thanks! I'm sure that will be helpful for a lot of people.

[damstraversaz]

This is working if you are just using sound source from the DAW, and not from your soundcard ( for exemple external sources like mics, hardware instruments etc) as voicemeeter route the audio input directly to the output.
Sometimes you just don't want that mics are always open, or in most case you want to apply FX and mix your sound sources. that's possible with voicemeeter banana ( sort of pro version of voicemeeter) if you use some other features ( voicmeeter asio insert as a driver for your DAW, and voice meeter asio for magic). One great option with this : you can make each output from your Daw as a send , that's very useful for show.
Unfortunatly, this is a little complex to configure, and it depends really of your computer : I have 3 laptops and it works perfectly with 2 of 3 , but is not enough stable for the last.
Another option is to use Asio pro link, a payware software, but it rocks really solid ( I clearly prefer this solution)

I will try to post soon how it works ( at least how I'm using it)

[Magic]

Thanks, that looks like a good utility. Here is the web site if anyone is interested: http://odeus-audio.com.au/Odeus/ASIOLinkPro

Also, for OS X users, it seems that there is a new link for Soundflower: https://github.com/mattingalls/Soundflower. But, I have read in a few places that Soundflower might not work on newer versions of OS X. So, another possibility is Sound Siphon: http://staticz.com/

[damstraversaz]

first sorry for my poor english...Eric feel free to edit this post !

some supplements about this for windows users :



Asio from DAW --->asio in magic

asiolink pro is by far the best solution. the dev is really a great person. After a few exchanges with the developer, he create the loop fonction.
how to use it :
load the asio link pro driver inside you audio software. create the number of audio output you will need ( for exemple if you want to send to magic 4 tracks individually, create two asio out for your sound ( left and right) and 4 additionnal output. You can use the routing of the DAW for sending each sound to each output.In my opinion the best way to do this is to create a Aux bus for each output and to use the send fonction of each track.
then link each asio driver out mix to a looper out number . So your music will be on the 1 and 2 output for sound, and each sound will be send to output 3 to 4 , but you will not ear it.The send to bus fonction is very useful here: you can adjust the sound as you need for visual inside the daw ( volume , filtering, fx etc. none of this will be hear, that's just for shaping your sound for the visuals.

asio link pro DAW window

asiolink pro DAW window.jpg (275.42 KiB) Viewed 162794 times

Launch magic, select Asio link pro as driver . Inside the asio link pro windows, link each loop in to different asio host in mix. Tou can now use each input for your visuals.

asio link pro magic window

asiolink pro magic window.jpg (46.18 KiB) Viewed 162794 times

magic audio midi

magic audio midi.jpg (34.97 KiB) Viewed 162794 times

asio link remember the setting for the daw or magic, but you can too save this two profile ( each profile is saved for each software)

+
asio driver: very low latency. the loop fonction jsut add one sample for routing, so you will never ear this.
I'm using this since one year on stage, and never had a issue, it rocks really solid
unlimited number of outputs !

-
a little works for working as you read.
payware solution, but that's really a pro and serious software


another solution Asio to WDM
http://odeus-audio.com.au/Odeus/Wdm2Vst
load it inside your daw ( vst2wdm version)just like another vst . An aux bus is a great solution. The send to bus fonction is very useful here too: you can adjust the sound as you need for visual inside the daw ( volume , filtering, fx etc.) none of this will be hear, that's just for shaping your sound for the visuals. It will works for 2 outputs.
the latency is near 30 ms, it could be or not an issue depending of your project.
On the windows mixer , choose the MIX Wdm2vst device as the default recording device.
Launch Magic and select the MIX WDM2VST device. You can now have two input from the sound of your DAW directly in magic.

+
it works great, like asio link pro. I'm using it since a long time for smal digital art, and no issue.
easy to config
Two outputs , you can shape your sound for visual without changing the audio output

-
payware too, but not so much !
as it use the wdm driver, add some latency, it may be an issue or not depending of your project.


the last : Two hardware solutions

Roland and Esi allow you to use your asio output directly to a wdm device. I'm using this too, and it works perfectly.

https://www.roland.com/global/products/quad-capture/
you can use the "main quad capture" outpout ( choose it in the sound panel of windows) . low latency ( less than 10ms). Rocks very solid, I'm using this since 3 years. But you can just deal with the main left and right audio signal from your audio software.
the quad capture drivers are some of the best I know with RME.

most of esi sound cards have the directwire fonction, you can route your asio signal to WDM, just be sure to check the directwire logo on the product page.http://www.esi-audio.com/products/?m=12

https://www.amazona.de/wp-content/uploa ... ctWIRE.jpg

this hardware solution works great, as you will not need to setup something. But you can not shape your sound for visuals inside your Daw, as it will be hear directly inside your music. You can't do separate tracks , but if you just need a stero input for magic, there is no need.

hope it helps a little

[damstraversaz]

the last serie of focusrite interface ( gen 3 ) have now a loopback feature. SInce the last beta driver, you can route every signal from the card to the default recording device of your computer. So it's a perfect solution for routing a signal from a musical software to the magic input.

I'm using it since few weeks and it works perfectly. This is available for the 4i4 and all the above models of the serie.
If you are not using more than 2 sources in the same time, it seems to be the easier solution actually. (for the routing, see the previous posts)
Voicemeeter with ASIO insert driver is still the best solution if you are using more than 2 sources in the same time ( but this is harder to do, at least for beginners)

https://focusrite.com/scarlett
of course, I'm not working for them, just want to share some easy solutions with people.

[Bill]

I am a Mac user and I want to use Sound Siphon to create four audio sources for Magic. Is anyone using Sound Siphon and can help me configure it? Thanks.

[damstraversaz]

Hi
The developper of Asio link pro unfortunatly passed away last year, so activations for the pro version did not work . His nephew take the source code and give it to some people for making a patch ( a lot of people in music industry use it).
So the software is now free ( windows only) :

here is the story
https://give.academy/posts/2018/03/02/A ... P-CJ9RH6E/

and the link for software and patchs
https://give.academy/downloads/2018/03/ ... IOLinkPro/

This is an amazing tool for routing audio between softwares, actually the best in my opinion
Eric, maybe could you add this in the additionnal resources page ?

best,
Damien

[ManoloLDH]

Hello, I am unable to solve the following problem. I work with rekordbox, controlled by an external controller. The sound goes directly from the controller to the speakers. What I need is some way to configure magic music visuals so that the sound I am working with, serves as sound input for magic music visuals.

[Terry Payman]

If your speakers are active (with built in amplifiers) then you just need to split the signal to them and feed it also into an audio input on your Magic rig. You can likely get an audio cable that will do this if the controller output is on phono (RCA) sockets.

If the controller contains the speaker amplifiers then the output signal level will be too high for your rig's audio input and you will need attenuators.

For specific recommendations, more details of the controller make and model will be necessary together with details of your rig's audio input.

[SpaceTraveller]

Great info here - exactly what I wanted to see modules react to my DAW audio.


Here's the question? - Is there a way to capture / record these MMvisuals in HD on the fly whilst they are reacting to my DAW audio? Or is it not possible?


Many thanks for any advice.

[Terry Payman]

There will almost certainly be a performance hit (reduced fps, perhaps jitter too) for any way of capturing your visuals on same rig as is generating them. You will need to capture the sound too.

That said, it may be possible with some game capture setup, but that's outside my experience. I use an external hardware recorder, but they're expensive.

It's much easier to capture just the audio, and that's unlikely to cause an impact on your visuals. Alternatively, simply make a DJ mix with the same song tracks.

You then have a DJ mix that you can use as a Magic sound file after the event. You can then export your visuals from Magic. It doesn't capture your actual performance, but it could be a useful demo.

[SpaceTraveller]

There will almost certainly be a performance hit (reduced fps, perhaps jitter too) for any way of capturing your visuals on same rig as is generating them. You will need to capture the sound too.

That said, it may be possible with some game capture setup, but that's outside my experience. I use an external hardware recorder, but they're expensive.

It's much easier to capture just the audio, and that's unlikely to cause an impact on your visuals. Alternatively, simply make a DJ mix with the same song tracks.

You then have a DJ mix that you can use as a Magic sound file after the event. You can then export your visuals from Magic. It doesn't capture your actual performance, but it could be a useful demo.

Cheers Terry - food for thought...

[powertrace]

I cant get the audio from another source to work, is there any video explanation?
Also the link in the first post dont work.

i'm using windows.