Virtual Soundcheck User Guide

Welcome to the user guide for Virtual Soundcheck at Biltmore Church!




Prepping the VSC Computer


  • When starting a Wednesday rehearsal or Sunday morning, open the Dante Virtual Soundcard app and press the Start button
  • This should also be turned off at the end of a Wednesday rehearsal or Sunday morning

Your campus may or may not have Smaart SPL installed yet. If not, disregard the following section

  • Open Smaart SPL and ensure the current configuration is recalled
  • There may be a calibration preset on your device. This should be named according to your campus, eg. “West Base”
  • Minimize the large window and ensure the mini dB meter window is open by going to the View window or by pressing E
  • In the mini window, you can also clear the “Max” SPL level by clicking on the circle next to the level

Prepping LiveTrax

  • Open LiveTrax application and recall the VSC template
  • Once the template is selected, renamed with the rehearsal or Sunday date and your name, eg. “03072025 BDavis”

  • The template should import all needed audio settings as long as Dante Soundcard is running. If not, ensure that Dante is selected as both the input and output devices
  • Click Start

  • Once the session has been opened, ensure that all 64 tracks are present and record armed
  • To record arm all tracks simultaneously, press the red button above the red lights on each channel

If no tracks are present, use Command + Shift + N to add tracks, enter 64 tracks, and click add

  • To begin recording, record arm the session and press Play or Spacebar
  • At this point, you should be seeing audio waveforms being printed to the tracks session. If not, see troubleshooting

  • At the end of your service or rehearsal, hit Stop or Spacebar to stop playback. The tracks should turn from red to blue to indicate that LiveTrax is no longer recording

https://slite.com/api/files/SUYvuycI44GbG7/11.fully_tracked_session.png?apiToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6IjIwMjMtMDUtMDQifQ.eyJzY29wZSI6Im5vdGUtZXhwb3J0IiwibmlkIjoiQ0pDaDMxNlB1cnVleWoiLCJpYXQiOjE3NjQ5OTM0ODMsImlzcyI6Imh0dHBzOi8vc2xpdGUuY29tIiwianRpIjoiUjBOU2JMX2pkQUVTaUEiLCJleHAiOjE3Njc1ODU0ODN9.2sWF81MrpYuH7bn-hdowenWqu3JTaAjP1i3p-hddZQc

The circled meters show which inputs peaked while recording. Occasional clipping is okay, but should be monitored to ensure stage inputs are not clipping the board too often
At this point, you have a fully recorded session and are ready to begin your first Virtual Soundcheck!


Prepping the CL or DM Console

As a best practice, pull down the Band and Vocal DCAs to ensure there are no pops, clicks, or sudden loud volume changes when entering Virtual Soundcheck

  • Use the following path to switch console to VSC mode
  • I/O Device → Dante Patch → Dante Input Patch → Library → VSC patch, eg. “VSC” → Recall
  • This will usually take a moment, and you will see the Dante input labels change while viewing the Dante Input Patch






This mode is for when you want to work with LiveTrax to practice mixing only.
This is NOT to be recalled during a service or rehearsal. Doing so will cut all audio from the band and vocals.
To enable recording for a service, nothing should need to be changed on the console in order for audio to be received by LiveTrax 

  • Using LiveTrax, press Play or Spacebar to start playback
  • You should now be seeing inputs on the console as if the band was onstage. If not, see troubleshooting
  • To return to normal input mode, follow the same path to recall the base patch
  • I/O Device → Dante Patch → Dante Input Patch → Library → VSC patch, eg. “Arden Base” → Recall



Troubleshooting



No input into Smaart SPL

  • Ensure that audio interface is on and sending +48v phantom power
  • Ensure that Smaart is set to receive audio from the interface
  • Ensure that correct preset has been recalled. This will affect both routing and calibration

No input into LiveTrax

  • Ensure that all tracks are record armed
  • Ensure that the meters are receiving signal. If not, this may mean that there is a Dante routing issue. Contact Production Staff

LiveTrax is receiving input on meters, but is not printing audio

  • This is a glitch in LiveTrax that can sometimes occur. Stop playback and restart the application

LiveTrax is playing back, but I’m not hearing anything

  • Ensure that the correct Dante patch has been recalled
  • Ensure that the Dante Virtual Soundcard on the computer is passing audio by pressing Start on the application window

LiveTrax is only receiving/playing back some inputs, but not all

  • This could either be because of the DVS not loading correctly, or because of a patching error. If you have ensured the DVS is running correctly and the issue persists, contact Production Staff