Asio input/output problem

Hi, I’m trying to follow this guide.

I’m on section 4, configuring cantabile. In the screen shot you see he has selected “ASIO - Generic Low Latency Asio Driver”, when he clicks on the Control Panel button he can choose an input and output.

On my PC I can’t choose that ASIO driver, I have the SoundBlaster Z one which doesn’t give me the option of choosing an input or output. Does this mean I can’t follow this guide?

Hi Wiz,

Not up to speed on this one but I think @terrybritton may be able to help you. I set a flag for him with the @ thingy!

regards

Dave

Aha! You are using Voicemeeter - great program!

Here are all my Voicemeeter videos:

And here are all my OBS videos concerning streaming stuff:

I go pretty deep, but truthfully, you can get good results even with the regular version of Voicemeeter. I prefer the Voicemeeter Pro “Banana” version, though.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. If you comment on a video at YouTube, I usually respond the same day.

Terry

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BTW - the HiFi Audio Cable can be tricky - make sure it is set to ASIO mode. I myself would simply use the Voicemeeter Banana “Inserts”. This is a pretty complex setup.

Another approach is to use the free MiniHost Modular interface from FL Studios. See the show notes for links to get that.

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How do I set the HiFi audio Cable to ASIO mode?

And the question in my OP is still unanswered, I can’t use the program (I don’t think) if I can’t set input and output.

The button in the center does the switching in HiFiCable. But like I said, I’m not certain that is the route I would take. I would use inserts in Voicemeeter via the MiniHost module as detailed in that video. But I would not take even that approach if I have Cantabile handy to insert effects and such into the output stream.

I gather the goal of the OP is to stream a Cantabile-based performance out of OBS, and I am going to be doing the very same thing. Voicemeeter makes this easier, but I would definitely not monitor on the studio end via Voicemeeter, but via Cantabile routings. The latency introduced by Voicemeeter can likely be compensated for in the video in the OBS delay settings. Use Voicemeeter VAIO or VAIO Aux (one of the “B” buttons) as the microphone input for OBS.

Give me a bit and I’ll go through this guide linked to and see if I can come up with a solution that works universally with Cantabile 3.

Terry

OK thank you very much, I’m getting the impression this may be a bit too complicated for me.

Edit: HiFiCable has a visual interface? I thought it was just an audio input and output displayed on the playback/recording devices window.

When I figure it out, I will make a video showing the steps.

It is usually only complicated the first time you go through the motions, finding menus and settings. Once you become familiar with where they are, it becomes much easier.

Yes, HiFiCable does have a visual GUI

C:\Program Files (x86)\VB\ASIOBridge\VBCABLE_AsioBridge.exe

  • see the videos at the bottom of this page for more info.

http://vb-audio.pagesperso-orange.fr/Cable/index.htm

The HiFiCable version still complicates things, and is VERY finicky about sample rates. I would just use the regular VB-Cable for this application, most likely.

[EDIT] But the cool thing about HiFiCable is that the GUI lets you connect anything (even system sounds) directly to the Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO inputs, or directly to the inserts. Just click the drop-down that says, “Select A.S.I.O. Device” and once selected, hit the “ASIO Off” button changing it to read “ASIO On”.

You can alternatively select an actual ASIO hardware device, or ASIO4ALL if you have that installed as well.

Terry

This may be a silly question but, I’m not sure if I have the HiFiCable version or the regular version. The file I downloaded was called VBCABLE_Driver_Pack43.zip

That is the regular version. That version does not do ASIO.

You need the download link further down that page, HiFiCableAsioBridgeSetup_v1007.zip. Run the installer as an administrator, and then reboot. It will likely select itself as your default playback device in the Windows Audio control panel once you do.

[EDIT] The thing is, HiFiCable only routes WDM or DS audio into an ASIO stream. It does not appear as an ASIO device itself. If you have Windows 10, it has a very low-latency WDM (also called WASAPI) audio system already.

I will set up a streaming concert setup via OBS today going out to YouTube and test these various setups available. Cantabile can output to WDM directly without needing ASIO at all, and can go right into either of these cables or into Voicemeeter. Each one of those can be used as the microphone input for OBS. I would monitor via a separate Cantabile output going to my headphones or speakers, and save the Voicemeeter output for the video.

Watch this space - I may have something for you video-wise even as of later today.

Terry

Hmm, the question is though, should I switch to that other version?

Perhaps not! It seems you were being driven by that article’s slant.

Terry

You just want to do a Cantabile performance through OBS as a stream, right?

Any other needs or requirements?

Terry

BTW - The user interface for the regular VB-Cable(s) is found in the downloaded/unzipped folder under VBCABLE_ControlPanel.exe

It also is placed into the C:\Program Files (x86)\VB\ folder.

Terry

Yes all I want is to record/stream through OBS and use basic VST plugins such as a compressor/EQ.

I would just use either VB-Cable or HiFiCable out of Cantabile directly into the Microphone input of OBS. Not Desktop - set that to something you do not use, as WASAPI is exclusive as pertains to the Desktop input and will not work.

This only works, though, if you have some other means of monitoring your playing, as it ties up the output by sending it all to OBS out the virtual cable. So, you still need to get the audio out to your speakers!

That is why Voicemeeter is so cool - it allows several routings. Below I have the A1 set to my WASAPI headphones/speakers output, and the B1 button is lit up in the VAIO slider to send it out to OBS, as is the A1 button for monitoring Cantabile.

Cantabile is simply routed to the Voicemeeter ASIO input:

Finally, OBS is set up to get its microphone input from Voicemeeter:

I hope that helps.

Terry

Thank you very much Terry! I so appreciate the help, I will play around with this soon but it looks like you have given me the perfect set up :smiley:

Thank you.

Awesome! Remember, anything you send out Voicemeeter via a B1 button goes into OBS in this setup. That can be your microphone going directly into Voicemeeter (like you see the Blue Eyeball mic in that picture, though it is set to be output to nowhere at this moment) or bring your mic in through Cantabile - either way, you get to use Cantabile’s effects VST’s you’ve put in there, and Voicemeeter also has some EQ stuff going for it.

Have fun! Let me know if you run into any snags. And note - though I did not use my ASIO device as Voicemeeter’s A1 device (the Focusrite 2i2) I could have selected that instead, and enjoyed even lower latency using that to monitor with. So, if you have an ASIO soundcard, go ahead and use that thing’s headphone output! :smile:

Terry

That last part has confused me a little, voicemeeters A1 device, which ASIO driver should I select? The one for my sound card (Soundblaster Z) or the Focusrite one?

Whichever one your headphone or speaker is plugged into.

Think “A” is for “Audition” and “B” is for “Broadcast”.

Just as a tip, I generally do not “audition” my microphone if I am getting any latency. That is a key reason I put my mic through Voicemeeter rather than through Cantabile (if all I need is EQ, anyway…) – I just un-click the A1 button for the mic unless I am doing a quick sound check, like when I am adjusting the EQ. Then I turn the A1 off, but do send it out of the B1 to OBS. No latency/delay madness as a result! Of course, if it does not bother you and you have low latency, then go ahead and monitor the mic.

I will tell you the truth, though - the latency delay can be troublesome depending upon your soundcard or hardware ASIO device. But do go with ASIO for auditioning, as it lowers it noticeably.

Terry