Steinberg V-Stack Operation Manual

V-STACKSetting up your system 4 – 31
•Normally, you can open the control panel by clicking the Control Panel 
button in the VST Multitrack panel.
The control panel that appears when you click this button is provided by the audio 
hardware manufacturer and not V-STACK (unless you use DirectX or MME, see be-
low). Hence it will be different for each audio card brand and model. The settings may 
include options for buffering, synchronization, digital input and output formats etc.
The Control panels for the...

V-STACK4 – 32 Setting up your system
If you are using audio hardware with a DirectX driver (Windows only)
If your Windows audio hardware doesn’t have a specific ASIO driver, 
a DirectX driver is the next best option for stand-alone use. An ASIO 
DirectX driver is available with V-STACK, “ASIO DirectX Full Duplex”. 
❐Windows 2000 users should use DirectX version 8.1.
When the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver is selected in the Device 
Setup you can open the ASIO Control Panel and adjust the following...

V-STACKSetting up your system 4 – 33
Setting up MIDI (stand-alone)
This section describes how to connect and set up MIDI for basic VST 
Instrument playback – setting up MIDI with VST System Link is de-
scribed on page 43.
❐Always make all connections with all equipment turned off!
Making connections
Since V-STACK doesn’t control external instruments and sound mod-
ules via MIDI, we don’t have to worry about any MIDI devices other 
than the MIDI interface and the keyboard (or similar) you will use to...

V-STACK4 – 34 Setting up your system
Setting up MIDI ports in V-STAC K
The Device Setup dialog lets you set up your MIDI system in the fol-
lowing ways:
• Note: After changing a setting in the Device Setup dialog, you should 
click Apply and then click OK to close the dialog.
Showing or hiding MIDI Ports
Under Windows, the MIDI ports are listed in the Device Setup dialog 
on the DirectMusic page and/or the Windows MIDI page (depending 
on your system). By clicking in the “Show” column for a MIDI input or...

V-STACKSetting up your system 4 – 35
Setting up VST System Link
Introduction
VST System Link is a network system for digital audio that allows you 
to have several computers working together in one large system. Un-
like conventional networks it does not require Ethernet cards, hubs, or 
CAT-5 cables; instead it uses the kind of digital audio hardware and 
cables you probably already possess in your studio. 
VST System Link has been designed to be simple to set up and oper-
ate, yet give enormous...

V-STACK4 – 36 Setting up your system
Requirements
The following equipment is required for VST System Link operation 
with V-STACK:
•One computer running V-STACK.
•At least one other computer running a VST System Link compatible 
application (e.g. Cubase SX, Cubase 5.2s or Nuendo 1.6 or later).
The computers can be of the same type or use different operating systems. For exam-
ple, you can link an Intel-based PC to an Apple Macintosh without problems.
•Each computer must have audio hardware with specific...

V-STACKSetting up your system 4 – 37
Making connections
Below, we will assume that you are connecting two computers. 
Should you have more than two computers, it’s still best to start with 
two and add the others one by one once the system is working – this 
makes troubleshooting easier if you run into problems. For two com-
puters, you will need two digital audio cables, one in each direction:
1.Connect a digital audio cable from the digital output of the V-STACK 
computer to the digital input of the...

V-STACK4 – 38 Setting up your system
Setting up clock sync
Before you proceed you need to make sure that the clock signals on 
your ASIO cards are synchronized correctly. This is essential when 
cabling any kind of digital audio system, not just VST System Link.
❐All digital audio cables by definition always carry a clock signal as well as 
audio signals, so you dont need to use a special Word Clock input and 
output for this (although you may find that you get a slightly more stable 
audio system if you...

V-STACKSetting up your system 4 – 39
❐It’s very important that one and only one card is the clock master, other-
wise the network cannot function correctly. Once you have set this up, all 
the other cards in the network will take their clock signal from this card 
automatically.
The only exception to this procedure is if you are using an external 
clock – which could be from a digital mixing desk or special Word 
Clock synchronizer for example. If so, you must then leave all your 
ASIO cards in Clock...

V-STACK4 – 40 Setting up your system
Setting up your software
Now it’s time to set up your programs. For details on how to perform 
the steps below in the other VST System Link application, see its do-
cumentation.
Setting up inputs and outputs
1.In the other VSL application, enable the desired number of outputs.
You need one output bus (digital output) for VST System Link connected to the V-STACK 
computer, and one or more output buses (analog or digital outputs) connected to your lis-
tening equipment,...