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Help: Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 outputting mix in mono

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Topic Help: Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 outputting mix in mono
Hi, y'all. I hope I've searched thoroughly enough, haven't seen this answered here.

Got a puzzling situation....

Yesterday, I sat down at the desk and there was no stereo imaging.

I've got Pro Tools 11 running on a Mac Mini Server, and a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 A/D interface.

So I check the Saffire's interface and although I've got stereo coming from the DAW, the supposedly stereo mix output is summing both channels from the DAW into mono for each R/L channel.

So I re-route the monitor output from the mix to the DAW, and voila, stereo. I'm watching the DAW 1 and DAW 2 channels on the Saffire interface bouncing happily along independently, but next to it the R/L channels on the mix are in lock-step.

I'm quite new at this stuff, and usually I can figure out what little basic thing I've done wrong or neglected, but this is a stumper, especially since I don't recall changing any settings from the day before when all was well.

If anyone has any troubleshooting ideas, let me know. So far I've come up snake-eyes on the Focusrite answer base etc.

Thanks -ej
2
Hi Erniejones,

Thanks for your thread.

What is your operating system and which version of Saffire Mix Control and Pro Tools 11 have you installed?

Is the mono switch enabled in Saffire Mix Control?

Screenshots of your Saffire Mix Control settings and Pro Tools I/O should be quite helpful as well.

Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance to you.

With best regards,

Marcel // Technical Support
3
Hey, thanks for the reply.

Sorry, I forgot to post that I solved the problem.

As I expected, it was a simple oversight on my part. Typical "one-D-ten-T" error. ;)

The problem was indeed the mono/stereo toggle on the R/L DAW channels being set incorrectly -- must have done a drive-by click somehow.

But I'm actually glad I had the problem, because now I know of a feature I wasn't aware of, or hadn't thought about to be more accurate. It's a very nice feature to be able to simply toggle the DAW channel settings so that they are either pushing stereo into the mix output, or summing the stereo channels into mono (and getting what amounts to "stereo" output of mono input). Makes it very easy to listen to the mix in both monitoring environments.

As a newbie, I'd gotten used to thinking of everything in the mix control in terms of separate right and left, so at first it didn't make sense that the two channels should be summing to mono when they were behaving independently in visual terms, despite the fact that I hadn't used the stereo toggle, which for some reason I presumed (incorrectly) would be handled exclusively by my settings on the mix output.

Now I know that the mix output has to be coordinated with the DAW channels to the immediate left in order to hear output from Pro Tools in stereo or mono.

But as I say, this is a benefit, not a drawback, when used properly.

Cheers -ej
4
Hi Erniejones,

Thanks for your reply.

I'm glad you have discovered this indeed very handy feature.

Please let me know, if I can be of any further assistance to you.

With best regards,

Marcel // Technical Support