Strangelight Audio

1.2. Set up your DAW

Throughline runs inside a DAW as an AU or VST3 plugin. The DAW supplies MIDI, audio and transport; the patch's MIDI Input, Audio Input, Audio Output and MIDI Output nodes connect the patch to the track.

1.2.1. Logic Pro

  1. Load the selected Throughline variant on the DAW track.
  2. Route notes or audio to that track.
  3. Open the plugin editor and play the Init patch.

Result: the track reaches the plugin and its output reaches your host.

  • Throughline: create a Software Instrument track and choose it from the Audio Units instrument menu.
  • Throughline FX: insert it in an audio track's Audio FX slot.
  • Throughline MIDI: insert it in the MIDI FX slot of a Software Instrument track, above the instrument.

Logic scans Audio Units when it starts. If a variant is missing, open Plug-in Manager and check that the variant is enabled and has passed validation.

1.2.2. Ableton Live

  • Throughline: drag it onto a MIDI track.
  • Throughline FX: drag it onto an audio track.
  • Throughline MIDI: drag it onto a MIDI track before the instrument.

The plugins appear under Plug-Ins, in the Audio Units or VST3 folder. If they are missing, turn on that format in Live's Plug-Ins settings and rescan.

1.2.3. Other hosts

Load the AU or VST3 version as an instrument, an audio effect or a MIDI effect, as your host allows. Route MIDI to the track for Throughline and Throughline MIDI.

1.2.4. Playing notes

Use a MIDI controller, or your DAW's computer keyboard input: Musical Typing in Logic Pro, Computer MIDI Keyboard in Ableton Live. Throughline never assigns these keys to its own shortcuts. See Keyboard shortcuts.

1.2.5. Tempo and transport

The header Global Clock chooser follows your DAW when Host is selected. A timing row in Sync follows the Global Clock without a cable. Connect a Local Clock when a node needs independent timing. See Sync to tempo.

1.2.6. Channel layouts

Each variant accepts a fixed set of main input and output layouts:

Variant Accepted layouts
Throughline MIDI No audio input or output
Throughline No input with mono output; no input with stereo output
Throughline FX Mono in, mono out; mono in, stereo out; stereo in, stereo out

The patch always runs in stereo:

  • A mono input feeds both sides of the patch, so a mono track hears what a stereo track hears.
  • A mono output is the sum of the two sides at half level. Centred material keeps its level instead of jumping 6 dB.
  • On a mono FX track, width effects such as pan, ping-pong delay and stereo chorus collapse to one channel. Use a stereo track to hear the width.

Stereo in with mono out is not accepted: folding a stereo insert to mono is a mixing decision for your DAW. Hosts respond to unsupported layouts differently. A host either picks a supported stereo layout or refuses to insert the plugin on that track.

Throughline MIDI as an Audio Unit

Throughline MIDI carries no audio. The Audio Unit version still shows one audio output, because the AU standard requires one so the host can set the sample rate. Throughline writes nothing to it; leave it unrouted. The VST3 version has no audio output.

1.2.7. Audio and MIDI routing

  • Audio Input receives the track's main input in Throughline FX. Throughline FX has no sidechain or auxiliary input bus.
  • Audio Output sends audio to the track.
  • MIDI Output sends MIDI back to the host, for example from Throughline MIDI to the instrument after it.

1.2.8. DAW automation

DAWs automate Throughline through eight Macro slots. Assign parameters to a Macro, then automate that slot. See Macros and DAW automation.