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[Andrew Broughton]

Anyone used an X32 console to remotely control an X32 rack?


Obviously it’s possible using OSC, just curious if software is required between the 2 devices to make that work?

[Luke Geis]

From John Chiara in 2016:

1.  Connect the AES50A port of the X32 to the AES50A port of the X32 Rack.
2.  On the X32 Rack, navigate to the CONFIG tab of the SETUP screen.
3.  Use the third encoder under the display to set the Synchronization to AES50A.
4.  On the X32 Rack, navigate to the PREAMP tab of the SETUP screen.
5.  Use the sixth encoder under the display to activate HA Remote for AES50 Port A.
6.  On the X32 Rack, navigate to the AES50A tab of the ROUTING screen.
7.  Using the first encoder under the display, set the first column to LOCAL 1-8
8.  Using the second encoder under the display, set the second column to LOCAL 9-16.
9.  On the "other" X32, navigate to the HOME tab of the ROUTING screen.
10.  Using the first encoder, set the first column to AES50 A1-8.
11.  Using the second encoder, set the second column to AES50 A9-16.

With this setup, the inputs of the X32 Rack will show up on channels 1-16 of the other X32 console, with the preamps controlled by the other mixer.

The short answer is yes you can do it. The long answer is that since V4 it may have changed a little. I have done it with an M32, an X32 Rack and a DL32 at once. I sold the X32 rack since. The way to do it shoudl be nearly identical to  what was shown above.

[Russell Ault]

Anyone used an X32 console to remotely control an X32 rack?


Obviously it’s possible using OSC, just curious if software is required between the 2 devices to make that work?

I haven't done it (although I've done plenty of other crazy things with an X32 and OSC), although I seem to recall many years ago seeing a piece of software that would let you.

You'll definitely need a piece of software, if only because of the, er, unique "subscription-based" way that the X32 handles OSC output (unlike, say, every other OSC implementation before it). Essentially, the software would subscribe to the X32 and then forward everything it receives back out to the Rack. If you want bi-directionality (i.e. someone makes a change on the Rack and it's reflected on the X32) then the software would need to subscribe to both consoles (also required if you want to the X32 to pull its initial state from the Rack). Either way, it wouldn't be a particularly difficult piece of software to bang together (assuming your favourite programming language has a decent OSC library, anyway).

The biggest problems you're going to run into are PFL and metering, neither of which can be achieved with OSC. A couple Dante AVIO units and a headphone amplifier would deal with PFL. Metering would require actual signals, though, which means either a lot more Dante or just running AES50 (and either way a more complicated piece of OSC proxy software to deal with the fact that the routing on the X32 will then be different from the Rack).

-Russ

[Andrew Broughton]

From John Chiara in 2016:

1.  Connect the AES50A port of the X32 to the AES50A port of the X32 Rack.
2.  On the X32 Rack, navigate to the CONFIG tab of the SETUP screen.
3.  Use the third encoder under the display to set the Synchronization to AES50A.
4.  On the X32 Rack, navigate to the PREAMP tab of the SETUP screen.
5.  Use the sixth encoder under the display to activate HA Remote for AES50 Port A.
6.  On the X32 Rack, navigate to the AES50A tab of the ROUTING screen.
7.  Using the first encoder under the display, set the first column to LOCAL 1-8
8.  Using the second encoder under the display, set the second column to LOCAL 9-16.
9.  On the "other" X32, navigate to the HOME tab of the ROUTING screen.
10.  Using the first encoder, set the first column to AES50 A1-8.
11.  Using the second encoder, set the second column to AES50 A9-16.

With this setup, the inputs of the X32 Rack will show up on channels 1-16 of the other X32 console, with the preamps controlled by the other mixer.

The short answer is yes you can do it. The long answer is that since V4 it may have changed a little. I have done it with an M32, an X32 Rack and a DL32 at once. I sold the X32 rack since. The way to do it shoudl be nearly identical to  what was shown above.

Sorry, Luke, you may have misunderstood. I’m talking about CONTROLLING the x32rack with another console, not accessing the preamps.

[Andrew Broughton]

I haven't done it (although I've done plenty of other crazy things with an X32 and OSC), although I seem to recall many years ago seeing a piece of software that would let you.

You'll definitely need a piece of software, if only because of the, er, unique "subscription-based" way that the X32 handles OSC output (unlike, say, every other OSC implementation before it). Essentially, the software would subscribe to the X32 and then forward everything it receives back out to the Rack. If you want bi-directionality (i.e. someone makes a change on the Rack and it's reflected on the X32) then the software would need to subscribe to both consoles (also required if you want to the X32 to pull its initial state from the Rack). Either way, it wouldn't be a particularly difficult piece of software to bang together (assuming your favourite programming language has a decent OSC library, anyway).

The biggest problems you're going to run into are PFL and metering, neither of which can be achieved with OSC. A couple Dante AVIO units and a headphone amplifier would deal with PFL. Metering would require actual signals, though, which means either a lot more Dante or just running AES50 (and either way a more complicated piece of OSC proxy software to deal with the fact that the routing on the X32 will then be different from the Rack).

-Russ

Thanks, Russ.
To your knowledge, nobody’s built an app for this? Seems to be a LOT of X32 apps out there...

[Kevin Maxwell]

If you hook up the Midi from one to the other you can have some control. I have controlled some of the DCAs on a second M32 coming out of the main M32 Midi out into a Midi Solutions Event Processor (MSEP) and into the Midi in on the second M32. With the MSEP you can load it with a program that tells it to only pass certain Midi messages. This was my way of linking limited control from the main M32 to the second M32. They were right next to each other. The Midi implementation is limited in these consoles so there isn’t a whole lot you can control. But if you were to just hook up the Midi out of the X32 to the Midi in on the X32rack the rack will follow on things like the faders the mutes and the pan controls and a couple of other things.

I have wondered if there was a way with using the Remote switch on an X32 or M32 and if there was a way to treat a second console as a DAW since the remote function is meant to control a DAW.

I have been playing around with using Mixing Station (for a PC) as an interface to control a Wing with Palladium (Theatrical software) and your question has me wondering if Mixing Station on a PC would work as an interface between 2 consoles. I don’t have 2 consoles at home to test that but you might want to ask Mixing Stations developer if this is possible.

What kind of control do you want from the X32 to the X32Rack?

[Russell Ault]

Thanks, Russ.
To your knowledge, nobody’s built an app for this? Seems to be a LOT of X32 apps out there...

I do seem to recall seeing one at some point (or, at least, a blog post by someone who was doing it), but that would have been back in v2 (or maybe even v1) days and I don't remember the name or anything. What I do remember is that they were still connecting the two consoles with AES50 to make metering and PFL work. (I'm thinking that part of the reason I don't remember the name is that when I saw the AES50 connection I thought "well, that seems silly and pointless" and moved on.)

Not sure what your programming language of choice is, Andrew, but it wouldn't be a particularly complicated piece of software to write of you wanted to give it a go.

[...]
I have wondered if there was a way with using the Remote switch on an X32 or M32 and if there was a way to treat a second console as a DAW since the remote function is meant to control a DAW.
[...]

Last time I checked you can't do this directly, but you should be able to use the Remote function to control Mixing Station. Of course in Remote mode you're limited to 8 faders, but at least the meters should work.

-Russ

[brian maddox]

Thanks, Russ.
To your knowledge, nobody’s built an app for this? Seems to be a LOT of X32 apps out there...

I've not come across this functionality, but if i did i would be wanting to make use of it.

I've several clients who use the X/M32 infrastructure and i would LOVE to be able to assist them in setup and show remotely using an actual surface.

[Andrew Broughton]

If you hook up the Midi from one to the other you can have some control. I have controlled some of the DCAs on a second M32 coming out of the main M32 Midi out into a Midi Solutions Event Processor (MSEP) and into the Midi in on the second M32. With the MSEP you can load it with a program that tells it to only pass certain Midi messages. This was my way of linking limited control from the main M32 to the second M32. They were right next to each other. The Midi implementation is limited in these consoles so there isn’t a whole lot you can control. But if you were to just hook up the Midi out of the X32 to the Midi in on the X32rack the rack will follow on things like the faders the mutes and the pan controls and a couple of other things.

Interesting! I would suspect OSC would be the more complete protocol for the Behringer.

I have wondered if there was a way with using the Remote switch on an X32 or M32 and if there was a way to treat a second console as a DAW since the remote function is meant to control a DAW.

Guess it depends on whether the protocols match. The Mackie protocol seems to be popular, and often protocols aren’t configurable, unfortunately.

What kind of control do you want from the X32 to the X32Rack?

I was actually thinking of using an x32rack for monitors, x32 for foh, but controlling the rack with the x32 instead of x32edit or an iPad...

[Andrew Broughton]

Not sure what your programming language of choice is, Andrew, but it wouldn't be a particularly complicated piece of software to write of you wanted to give it a go.

Conceptually, no, but internally these things are always more tricky than you’d think, and as you know, I’ve done my share of remote control software... ;-)

[ProSoundWeb Community]