Hi Folks,
 
I dipped my foot into the pool of outbaord effects with the purchase of a DBX 160A compressor. I've got it hooked up and configured in my interface's mixer software and I've got an External Insert plugin loaded on a track in Sonar and I'm compressing away pleasantly.
 
However, the External Insert is showing up as a stereo effect, even though it's on a mono track and when I bounce down to a mono track the level is raised by 3dB, suggesting it's summing L and R to one mono track. Is there anyway to get the External Insert plugin to behave as a mono effect?
 
Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
 
Ben
 
Edit: I should note that, when I'm bouncing down in this scenario, I have the Bypass button on the 160 engaged, so the level should be identical going out and coming back in, which is why I'm attributing the 3dB increase to the L and R of the "stereo" External Insert plugin being summed.

Hi Ben,
Yeah, that is strange...I use E.I.'s all the time and I've never noticed that, but now that I look it sure seems like it's handling mono tracks strangely. I know that Sonar "assumes" you're using a stereo I/O output pair when using E.I., that's why even if you're only using one channel on a stereo pair it makes both channels unavailable for other uses...I'm guessing this behavior has something to do with that, but that's really a guess. Sadly I don't have a work-around, other than handling it with gain staging. I like and use Sonars E.I. function, but it does have it's quirks (put it on a bus and solo the bus if you want to see another).
 
Dean

Thanks, Dean. I did notice that if I clicked the Show Mono Outputs checkbox in Preferences, I could select one channel, rather than the pair, as the send in the External Insert plugin. Nonetheless, the plugin is still in stereo mode as is evidenced by the dual connector thingies (how's that for technical) in the FX bin.

benjaminfrog
Thanks, Dean. I did notice that if I clicked the Show Mono Outputs checkbox in Preferences, I could select one channel, rather than the pair, as the send in the External Insert plugin. Nonetheless, the plugin is still in stereo mode as is evidenced by the dual connector thingies (how's that for technical) in the FX bin.

Hi Ben,
Yep, in E.I. you can select just one mono output from a stereo pair, but once you've done that (assuming your system is anything like the ones I've had for the last several years) you will not be able to use the other output anywhere else in the project. So if you select output 1 as an E.I. send, and then try to select output 2 somewhere else in the project it will be unavailable. Sonar has "marked" both outputs as used.
 
Actually, I'm really hoping I'm wrong and you can select output 2 in another E.I. instance and I've just been doing something horribly wrong for years and years...it'd make my life with all my external FX waaaaay easier 
 
Dean

Razorwit
Actually, I'm really hoping I'm wrong and you can select output 2 in another E.I. instance and I've just been doing something horribly wrong for years and years...it'd make my life with all my external FX waaaaay easier 
 

I think you're right, unfortunately. Although I'm now able to select a single channel for the send, the second channel of the pair is then also unavailable. For me this is a lesser issue, as I'm not maxed out on output channels, but it would be nice to be able to get the External Insert plugin to operate in mono mode - if that's possible. Perhaps, I'll contact Cake.
 
Anyway, thanks for the help, Dean.
 
Ben