2. An Overview of Each Module
All Modules
The on buttons support audition modes (solo) with a long press that allow you to fine tune a single voice or effect. Auditioning is simple and intuitive once you know how to enable it. You can audition more than one voice at a time by long pressing another module's on button. Exit audition modes by normal clicking any on button that is in one of the auditioned states.
The mixer and Bus Depot modules have fade automation that can be started and stopped with the on buttons or the on CV. Ctrl + click an on button to quickly bypass long fades.
All modules have a 70's Cream and Night Ride theme available in the context menu. You can optionally default to the Night Ride theme.
On three of the mixer strips, you can make the blue and orange buses post red fader effect sends. If you use this option frequently, the context menus allow you to set this as your default mixer behavior.
The Four Mixer Modules
1. Gig Bus Mixer
The Gig Bus Mixer is a quick, traditional mixer strip with vu meters. It has a pan knob and the level knobs treat the red bus as a master bus by default.
- Stereo, mono, or polyphonic input
- Stereo vu meters on red bus input with -48dB sensitivity and peak indicators
- Audition (solo) mode by long pressing the on button (normal click to exit)
- Exponential fade automation up to 34 seconds (ctrl + click the on button to bypass)
- Separate fade in and fade out speeds (from the context menu)
- Constant power pan
- Linear level knobs to three stereo buses
- Blue and orange knob levels are post red level by default (red is the master bus)
- Optionally make the orange and blue bus levels normal sends (selected through the context menu)
- 2x to 8x preamp-style gain on inputs (selected from the context menu)
- On button with CV input and pop filter (controls fade automation)
2. Mini Bus Mixer
This mixer strip is perfect for mono sounds that sit steady in the middle of your mix, like a kick or a bass.
- One mono or polyphonic input
- Audition (solo) mode by long pressing the on button (normal click to exit)
- Exponential fade automation up to 34 seconds (ctrl + click the on button to bypass)
- Separate fade in and fade out speeds (from the context menu)
- Linear level knobs to three stereo buses
- 2x to 8x preamp-style gain on input (selected from the context menu)
- Make the orange and blue buses post red fader sends (through the context menu)
- On button with CV input and pop filter (controls fade automation)
3. School Bus Mixer
Use this mixer strip for any sound in your mix. With CV inputs on almost everything, you can connect LFOs, master control knobs, or envelop generators. The School Bus Mixer is also the most flexible mixer strip and can inspire creative routing of the three stereo buses.
- Stereo, mono, or polyphonic input
- Audition (solo) mode by long pressing the on button (normal click to exit)
- Exponential fade automation up to 34 seconds (ctrl + click the on button to bypass)
- Separate fade in and fade out speeds (from the context menu)
- Constant power pan with CV input and attenuator
- Pan CV expects a bi-directional signal from -5.0 to 5.0
- Three linear level controls, with CV inputs, to three stereo buses
- Level CVs expect a signal from 0.0 to 10.0 and are attenuated by the level knobs
- CV input smoothing filters on pan CV and level CVs (can be turned off with the context menu)
- Post fader optional on two level controls (red becomes the master bus)
- 2x to 8x preamp-style gain on inputs (selected from the context menu)
- On button with CV input and pop filter (controls fade automation)
Note that panning rolls back seamlessly when the pan CV input, attenuator, and pan knob overload the pan signal.
4. Metro City Bus Mixer
This mixer takes a polyphonic input and spreads the channels across the stereo field. The pan knob controls the pan placement of the first channel from the polyphonic input (or the last channel if the REVERSE CHANNELS button is on). The spread knob spreads the other polyphonic channels to the left or to the right. The LED indicators give you a visual indication of the stereo spread.
For a dynamic polyphonic pan follow, automate the pan with bi-directional modulation on the CV input and adjust the effect with the attenuator and spread knobs. When pan following, the attenuator determines the stereo width of the auto pan. The spread knob creates a follow delay for each polyphonic channel, with up to one second of delay between each channel. The light indicators give you a visual of how the channels follow each other in the stereo field.
Pan spread and pan follow are always smoothed to allow for dynamic polyphonic channels. More polyphonic stereo spread modes are planned for a future release.
- One polyphonic input
- Polyphonic stereo spread and pan follow with LED visuals
- Audition (solo) mode by long pressing the on button (normal click to exit)
- Exponential fade automation up to 34 seconds (ctrl + click the on button to bypass)
- Separate fade in and fade out speeds (from the context menu)
- Constant power pan with CV input and attenuator
- Pan CV input expects bi-directional signal from -5.0 to 5.0
- Reverse channel order on polyphonic spread or pan follow
- Three linear level knobs, with CV inputs, to three stereo buses
- Level CVs expect a signal from 0.0 to 10.0 and are attenuated by the level knobs
- CV input filters on level CVs (toggle on or off with the context menu)
- Post fader option on two level controls (red becomes the master bus)
- 2x to 8x preamp-style gain on polyphonic input (selected the from context menu)
- On button with CV input and pop filter (controls fade automation)
Mixer Groups, Send Effects, Mix Outs, and Utilities
5. Bus Depot
Bus Depot provides fade automation, vu meters, or a stereo mix out for your mixer chains and mix groups (or for any sound source). While the levels on the four mixer modules control the sound input to buses, the Bus Depot has a level knob and fade automation that works on all three stereo buses and the stereo out. Even a simple patch might have more than one Bus Depot.
The fade automation on Bus Depot is controlled with knobs and has CV input with three fade automation modes.
None of the Modular Bus Mixer modules, including Bus Depot, will clip (or clamp) your audio. You can safely place mastering effects, like limiters, after a Bus Depot has mixed your stereo buses.
- Master level knob (will apply level to the MIX OUT and BUS OUT outputs) with CV input
- Audition (solo) mode for Bus Depot modules by long pressing the on button (normal click to exit)
- Can set a Bus Depot to always audition when used as part of a master chain (in the context menu)
- Level CV expects a signal from 0.0 to 10.0 and is attenuated by the level knob
- CV input filter on master level CV (toggle on or off in the context menu)
- Fade in and fade out knobs, with a CV input, sets fades from 26 milliseconds to 34 seconds
- Three fade CV modes to control one or both fade speeds (fade CV expects 0.0 to 10.0)
- Aux input that accepts stereo, mono, or polyphonic cables
- Aux level control
- Bus output (with any audio from the aux input added to the red stereo bus)
- Left and right stereo output from the sum of three stereo buses and aux input
- Stereo vu meters on red bus input with -48dB sensitivity and peak indicators
- On button with CV input and pop filter (controls fade automation)
6. Bus Route
Use Bus Route to connect (route) effect sends and returns to your buses.
The on buttons allow you to quickly audition your buses. Hold a button to audition that bus and temporarily mute any other active buses. If there are no outputs connected to a bus's send ports, the on/audition button will provide a pass through (no connections are needed).
Returns are not toggled with the on/audition buttons. This allows you to hear the tail of a return effect.
Bus Route also contains an optional integrated sample delay on each send. These delays can be used for latency compensation. For example, a complex send effect chain of several modules connected to the orange bus would create a latency of several samples. You can compensate for that latency by adding a delay on the red bus and keep your audio in perfect sync. When latency is not documented by a plugin, a scope can be used to detect and correct for latency.
The integrated sample delays can also be used to create effects based on millisecond delays, or subtle time shifts on a bus or a mix group. These delays are limited to 999 samples so they can be light on resources and set with sample accuracy (use CTRL drag to increase mouse accuracy on a knob).
Finally, the stereo mix out ports allow you to connect a Bus Depot directly to mastering effects like limiters and compressors.
- Three stereo sends with on buttons that can solo an effect with a long press
- Three stereo returns
- Stereo mix left and right out ports (sum of the three stereo buses)
- Three sample delays, one on each stereo bus, with up to 999 samples of delay
7. Road
Road will create mix groups for common send effects and a final output (and it has the best name of any VCV Rack module ever). You can also use Road when you want to keep your mixer modules parallel (instead of sequential). The on buttons, with pop filters for live use, can be used to mute or audition (solo) mixer modules and groups.
- 6 bus inputs (18 stereo buses) to one bus output (3 stereo buses)
- 6 on buttons with click filters
- Hold a button to enter audition mode on the selected bus input
8. Enter Bus
For advanced routing, including loop backs from send effects, this utility module merges audio onto any bus.
- Three stereo inputs to three stereo buses
- Three bus input level knobs
9. Exit Bus
For advanced routing or to be used as a sort of expander that exposes the outputs of any bus module or group of modules.
- Three stereo outputs from three stereo buses