If you have trouble setting up DirectConnect, check to be certain that the DirectConnect plug-in and the external synth’s or drum-machine’s “plug-in description” file are in the Plug-Ins folder inside the DAE folder. Another file called Digidesign StreamManager must be in the Extensions folder. Those files should appear automatically during a normal installation, but they’re worth knowing about if you need to do any troubleshooting. You may also run into DirectConnect-compatible soft synths that operate only in mono or only in stereo. If you have difficulty firing up a certain soft synth, you may simply be trying to use it on the wrong type of track. It’s also a good idea to enable Active in Background from Pro Tools LE’s Operations menu to keep the program from stopping whenever you bring Gamma9000 to the foreground.
Numerous soft synths, samplers, drum machines, and other applications support DirectConnect, including Native Instruments B4 and Reaktor, BitHeadz Unity DS-1 and Phrazer, and TC Works Spark XL. DirectConnect doesn’t do Windows.
Get Wired
So how about running a virtual synth’s output into your sequencer to apply effects to it and to record it? One great solution is ReWire from Propellerhead. ReWire is a virtual audio pathway of the interconnection-standard variety. It provides up to 64 virtual pathways for real-time streaming of audio between supported applications. It also provides sample-accurate synchronization and transport integration between the programs.
With that many virtual audio cables at your fingertips, you can run the outputs of a program such as Propellerhead’s ReBirth into separate audio inputs of Steinberg’s Cubase VST and apply different effects along with mix automation. The setup process is essentially identical on Mac and PC. ReWire-enabled applications detect each other automatically, so all you have to do is route the audio exactly where you want it to go.
Activate one and it pops up in Cubase VST’s Mixer window. Any output can be enabled independently of the rest, though little is gained in system resources by leaving them disabled.
ReWire is supported by other host programs such as Steinberg Nuendo, Emagic Logic Audio, MOTU Digital Performer, and Propellerhead’s own Reason. Other ReWire-compatible synth applications include BitHeadz Unity DS-1 and Retro AS-1, Cycling ‘74 Max/MSP, as well as Koblo Vibra9000, Gamma9000, and Stella9000. In addition, because ReWire supports multiple outputs, it could, for example, handle Reason and ReBirth simultaneously. Check their Web site for the latest information regarding ReWire support.
Trying to get MIDI communication enabled between Windows applications often requires an extra step: the installation of a third-party virtual MIDI cable. The Windows platform lacks a unified MIDI management tool, such as OMS or FreeMIDI, so interapplication functions must either be built into a program or facilitated by applications such as Hubert Winkler’s Hubi’s Loopback Device or Jamie O’Connell’s MIDI Yoke, both of which are available as freeware. Check out this Web site for links.