Self-mix and latency
How your sound is mixed back into the headphones, how that differs from Direct Monitor, and how to turn it off when it feels late.
Self-mix returns the sound that entered the audio interface straight to your headphones. It starts on. Unlike a practice app that only plays backing, your sound and the band balance in the same headphones.
The returning sound makes one trip through the computer. The delay is small, but it is there. If that delay bothers you, turn Self-mix off and hear yourself another way. This page is about that switch.
Self-mix and Direct Monitor
There are two main ways to hear yourself in the headphones. Either way, the sound still reaches Feelism. What you are switching is only how you hear yourself. The input the band responds to is a separate thing.
Self-mix (returned by the app)
- A good fit … you want yourself and the band balanced in the same headphones. The delay does not bother you
- A poor fit … the delay on your own sound bothers you. The trip through the computer is over 15 milliseconds
The benefit is that you set the size (Return level) and Return reverb in the app, and you get the same experience even on a unit with no instant-return feature. The cost is that your sound makes one trip through the computer, so it is late.
Direct Monitor (returned at once by the unit)
Use this when the unit has a switch or a knob labeled Direct Monitor, Monitor, or Mix. The incoming sound goes straight to the headphones inside the unit.
- A good fit … the delay on your own sound bothers you. Playing feels hard
- A poor fit … you want to balance yourself and the band in the app alone. You want Return reverb
The benefit is that the delay on your own sound is almost nothing. The cost is that you hear yourself at once while only the band is a little late, you set the size on the unit’s knob, and Return reverb is unavailable. When you turn on the unit’s return, turn Feelism’s Self-mix off.
| Self-mix | Direct Monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Inside the computer, mixes your sound with the band and returns it to the headphones | Inside the unit, sends the incoming sound straight to the headphones |
| Delay on your sound | The trip through the computer (about 10–15 milliseconds) | Almost none |
| Does the band respond? | Yes | Yes (if the cable is plugged in, the same sound also reaches Feelism) |
| How you set the size | Return level in the app | The knob on the unit |
| Return reverb | Available | Unavailable |
| A good time to use it | The delay does not bother you. You want yourself and the band balanced in the same headphones | The delay on your sound bothers you. Playing feels hard |
| Watch out | A long trip makes playing hard | Using it together with Self-mix makes you hear yourself twice |
Starting with Self-mix is fine. If the delay bothers you, turn Self-mix off and switch to the unit’s return. Do not leave both on.
The switch and the size
Open Mix and the Self-mix check is at the top. The key is X.
Return level under it is the size. From 0 to 12. It starts at 2.5. − + step by 0.01 when the current value is under 0.30, and by 0.05 otherwise. Voice, upright bass, and a bass through a DI often come back quiet, so you may raise it. The peak numbers are a different scale. Even while they are still negative, 0 on that scale is just before clipping. Around −12 is plenty loud.
Turn Low cut on (it starts off) and only the return loses low end. Use it when rumble on upright bass or voice bothers you. Saxophone can leave it off. Pitch detection does not change.
Return reverb (0–1, starts at 0.15) is reverb on your return only. It does nothing while Self-mix is off.
Watch the three meters
Near the top of the screen, In · Return · Out sit as short bars and decibel numbers. The louder the sound, the farther the bar stretches to the right, and the number moves toward 0 (silence shows -inf). The time the trip is taking (milliseconds) is listed too.
The bars and numbers are a guide. Peaks land differently on each instrument, so Feelism does not label them “quiet” or “loud.” An electric bass can stay at a low number and still break up if you raise the knob too far. If you can hear it and it is responding, leave it.
While Self-mix is off, the status line shows “self-mix off.” If it is on and the trip is over 15 milliseconds, it shows “self-mix high.” When that appears, playing gets easier if you switch to one of the two options below.
Ways to hear yourself with Self-mix off
- Return it on the audio interface … if the unit has a switch or knob labeled Direct Monitor, Monitor, or Mix, it sends the incoming sound straight to the headphones inside the unit. The sound never goes through the computer, so the delay is almost nothing
- Hear the live sound … on a wind instrument or voice, you can also rest one side of the headphones lightly and hear the sound in the room
In either case, turn Feelism’s Self-mix off. If you leave it on and both are sounding, you hear yourself twice, with two delays (You hear yourself twice).
Keep this in mind
- Listening for pitch continues even with Self-mix off. Turn the return off and the band still responds
- Feelism does not lay a sample sound on top of your live audio. What comes back is your live sound
- The aim is 10–15 milliseconds or less, overall. If the number is large, see Delay, or hard to play