Advanced Routing (Patch I/O)

While the Mixer allows you to easily route tracks to buses via dropdown menus, complex studio environments require physical hardware routing.

If you have a 16-channel microphone interface or a massive 7.1 surround sound speaker system, you must use Oraphim's Patch Input/Output (I/O) matrix to tell the software exactly which physical cable connects to which digital track.

The Patch I/O Matrix

To open the routing matrix, go to Workspace > Patch Input/Output.

The matrix is a massive grid.

• Source (Left Side): Where the audio is coming from.
• Destination (Right Side): Where the audio is going.
• The Grid: Click the intersection between a Source and a Destination to create a "Patch" (a digital cable).

Use Case 1: Recording Microphones (ADR / Foley)

If you have an actor in a vocal booth and want to record them directly into the Oraphim timeline to replace a bad line of dialogue (Automated Dialogue Replacement - ADR):

1. Plug the microphone into Input 1 of your physical USB audio interface.
2. In Oraphim, create a new Mono track on the timeline (Audio 1).
3. Open Patch I/O.
4. Set Source to Audio Inputs. Set Destination to Track Inputs.
5. Find the row for your hardware interface (e.g., "Focusrite Input 1") and the column for "Audio 1".
6. Click the square where they intersect to patch them.
7. Now, arm Track 1 for recording on the timeline, and the microphone audio will flow directly into it.

Use Case 2: Multi-Channel Exporting (Stems)

When you deliver a film to a distributor, they usually do not want just a single stereo mix. They want Stems—separate audio files for Dialogue, Music, and SFX—so they can remix it for international dubbing later.

1. Ensure your timeline is organized into a Dialogue_Bus, a Music_Bus, and an SFX_Bus.
2. In the Edit Workspace, go to the Export page.
3. In the Audio tab, uncheck the default Main output.
4. Choose to export multiple tracks.
5. You can use the Patch I/O matrix to route the output of the Dialogue_Bus to Channel 1 of the export file, Music_Bus to Channel 2, and SFX_Bus to Channel 3.
6. The resulting .wav file will contain independent channels that the distributor can split apart.

Use Routing in a production project

1. Open Edit / Audio controls and select the intended clip, audio track, or mix context.
2. Establish the correct input state first—timing, media link, layer/node enable state, project settings, or source selection as relevant.
3. Apply or adjust Routing with one clear goal. Change the smallest set of controls needed to reach that goal so the result remains understandable and reversible.
4. Review the complete affected range in context. Scrub difficult frames and also play at normal speed when motion or audio is involved.
5. Save a named milestone before moving into another major operation, especially after graph changes, tracking, AI processing, relinking, simulation, or delivery setup.

Practical guidance

Routing decides where audio travels. Confirm source track, destination bus, mute/solo state, and final output path before troubleshooting a silent signal.

A useful test is a short 5–10 second section containing both an easy case and a difficult case for this feature. Tune against the difficult moment without breaking the easy one. If two approaches are plausible, duplicate/version the project state and compare them rather than stacking both together blindly.

Verify the result

• Listen through the complete affected section and check meters as well as perceived balance.
• Toggle/bypass the operation where possible and make sure the change you intended is actually responsible for the result.
• Check selection, visibility/mute/solo state, node connections, track locks, range, and source identity when the result appears missing.
• Save and reopen before treating a complex setup as reusable.
• If this feature changes final pixels or audio, render a short review and inspect the file outside Oraphim.

Related guides

• Automation
• Dynamics
• Audio Effects
• Equalization