No Audio on ST4

howifeel

Well, I have been a long time user of Multitracker. I bought ST3, but it seemed best for a solo, duo or trio setup but not a full band. So I continued with Multitracker until I saw that ST4 has all of the features for which I was looking (that wasn't there before). How could I say, "No?" So I upgraded.

All my files are m4a. A few issues I am having.

My audio interface is UMC1821 by Behringer. Works perfectly with Multitracker. I installed ST4, hooked up my audio interface, routed 7 (2 stereo and 3 mono) of the 16 outputs and disabled the other 9. Loved the interface, loved the routing flexibility, created a few songs.
I set all of the settings of which I could think.

No audio playback. I power cycled everything. Noted that ST4 detected my connecting and disconnecting the audio interface. Still no playback.

I have worked with iPad audio for several years and used backing tracks for a little under 600 shows over 12 years.

I thought that maybe I should just go back to Multitracker for a minute until I increase my knowledge about ST4 (which I plan to use instead of Multitracker on my iPad or Ableton Live 12 On my PC).

Only problem is that now, regarding Multitracker, the use of ST4 has made my UMC no longer detectible by Multitracker on my iPad. I resolved this and restored functionality of UMC with Multitracker by resetting all iPad settings.

ST4's handling of external audio interfaces has me deeply concerned! It removes audio interface functionality for other iPad multitrack apps! It can only be restored with an iPad reset. (same issue on 2 separate iPad Pros)

Two problems.

All routing set right, levels set properly, songs created, but no sound (maybe m4a isn't supported?)
ST4 knocks out audio interface detectability by other iPad audio apps unless the iPad is reset.

Any help would be great. I want ST4 to be my new track handler because it has the mixer interface and MIDI file support! At this point it is super risky because of its effect on my established performance app! I have an iPad11 with the M2 processor as my test environment so far. I was able to regain/reset my iPad pro 12.9 with the M1 processor, so I can continue normal functioning with Multitracker.

Any help is appreciated, but the basic troubleshooting has been exhausted. I am very advanced at working with this type of technology. ST4 has me stumped. What am I missing?

John

AnthonyB

howifeel in addition to Peter's comment, you don't mention specifically how you have setup a song in ST and your audio routing.

Make sure you have closely read https://stagetraxx.com/docs/v4/mixer/

peter

One app on iOS can never influence another app on iOS. The sandboxing rules on iOS prevent that. ST4 can't knock out audio interfaces from other apps. That's simply not possible. Especially not if you terminate an app in the task switcher.

Regarding the no sound problem: Do you see the output meter moving on the buses you use to send the signal to? If no, then your tracks are not routed to the correct buses or maybe muted or the volume sliders are down. If you see the meters moving, you should hear output on your interface.

howifeel

AnthonyB Thanks Anthony! Yes, I looked over the routing. That is what was most impressive about ST4! So efficient, great workflow, logical and well organized. I can't wait until I am able to settle what is going on in my case so that I can get on with enjoying all of the other things about ST4. We don't use lyrics, key Change, loop points or BPM change in our band. It is a finished product that our client's already expect as a part of our business relationship. However, with all of the possibilities in ST4, and my reconstruction of my band (with new staff) since moving to Southern California, this is an exciting moment! It may take a year or so, the musicians in the LA and Southern California area don't like backing tracks! I like them, personally, but I am not as good as these players in the LA area. Still looking for staff. Again, thanks!

howifeel

Thanks guys! The meters in ST 4 show that they are receiving audio, which is confusing to me. Question, I turned off the switch to stop audio if no network activity, but I am wondering, can ST4 run in the background on an iPad when another app has the focus?

I am not sure why the interface won’t work once associated with ST4 in IOS. This may be unique to the audio interface. I have other multi client audio interfaces. The UMC is not multi client.

Thanks for your help!!

howifeel

OMG!!! I got it all working!! Here is what I did, that I think worked. I created a single region being the whole song and filled in the BPM/Tempo data (I had no defined tempo or region, because I don't use loop points such as chorus, verse, bridge or solo). My logic being, if no regions, then create a whole region for the song, and be sure to input song BPM, I suppose.

The audio interface issue sounds like a UMC1820 issue regarding flexibility across apps. That figures. UMC is a cheapo interface. The issue of not showing up in Multitracker only happens with the UMC1820 and no other interface. So that is a Behringer thing. I am so excited about ST4!!! Thanks Anthony and Peter! Great app!!!

AnthonyB

howifeel OMG!!! I got it all working!! Here is what I did, that I think worked. I created a single region being the whole song and filled in the BPM/Tempo data (I had no defined tempo or region, because I don't use loop points such as chorus, verse, bridge or solo). My logic being, if no regions, then create a whole region for the song, and be sure to input song BPM, I suppose.

No, that won't be it.

You can create a song with just a name, and then add some audio tracks, and it will work fine as long as the Track -> Bus -> Interface routing is setup correctly.

The tempo field can be blank, it makes no difference. It is only there as a descriptive label, or if using the built-in metronome or using MTC - https://stagetraxx.com/docs/v4/song-details/#bpm

Audio regions do not need to be defined if you aren't using them - https://stagetraxx.com/docs/v4/song-details/regions/

You can test this yourself with a dummy song and a few audio tracks.

howifeel

BTW, yes, ST4 runs in the background, indeed. The "No audio" was not due to unspecified regions, but due to unspecified BPM. It looks like, unless BPM is filled in, no audio will play. That makes sense, because entering BPM enables utility to disable integrated metronome. UMC1820 works well with ST4.

howifeel

Thanks again Anthony, especially for the manual references! This app is a complete iPad version of Ableton and better. Nice work Peter!

peter

@AnthonyB is absolutely right, neither missing bpm setting nor missing audio regions would prevent audio from playing. Especially as you saw the meters moving. Those meters are always post processing and represent the audio level going out of the track or bus. So if you see them moving, there is an audio signal in that output path. And that means if you can't hear anything, the problem is later in the signal path. In case of a bus, that can only be the output on the interface.

Check your audio settings and make sure to disable https://stagetraxx.com/docs/v4/settings/audio/audio-settings/#multi-route-audio. This can potentially prevent other apps from working while ST4 is running if they do not support this multi-route configuration.

And yes, ST4 can work in the background. Disable https://stagetraxx.com/docs/v4/settings/audio/audio-settings/#pause-in-background for this. You will have to terminate the app manually in the task switcher when this option is disabled because it will never stop running by itself and therefore will keep draining your battery.

howifeel

@"peter"#p32882Peter, I know you have heard this many times over, but, your app is the best!

I have been using backing tracks with full bands for 10 years. We had wired IEM's back then. ST4 is so much better than all prior BT players! Thank you so much for your hard work!

Indeed, it turned out that the cheaper audio interface did not have as much flexibility, but I got it working with ST4, regardless. I never do a show with my iPad on battery, and I appreciate the option to run ST4 in the background because I am doing a lot of things with my iPad during a performance. Nevertheless, your option to control ST4 remotely would be a reasonable answer for that matter. You have put in so many options! This app is worth lots more than you charge!