SoundGrid Studio + eMotion ST 16 Ch. Mixer

Free StudioRack license included. Also available: 8-channel, 32-channel, 64-channel mixer versions.

To capture your best performances and perfect your productions, you can't let latency or CPU limits turn off your creativity. With SoundGrid at the heart of your studio, you can record and monitor with plugins in real time, mix plugin-rich sessions, and collaborate more easily with other musicians, producers and engineers.

SoundGrid Studio is the software controlling your SoundGrid-powered system for real-time processing and networking. It includes the SoundGrid Studio control panel and the eMotion ST studio mixer. With SoundGrid Studio at the center of your studio, you can:

Record and monitor via a SoundGrid audio interface, with plugins running at ultra-low latency (as low as 0.8 ms).
Boost your mixing power by easily offloading your plugin processing to a SoundGrid server.
Easily connect multiple computers, DAWs, audio interfaces, synths, controllers and other devices to the same studio system, using SoundGrid Studio’s all-new Patch section.

The latest version of SoundGrid Studio adds many new exciting features to your studio:

Build sessions of any size quickly and easily, via a new layered interface that can replace your hardware-based monitor management system.
Cross-check your mixes quickly across multiple sets of studio monitors, using the all-new customizable control room section.
Empower musicians to record their best takes by sending them multiple personalized headphone mixes, simultaneously, with the ability to customize their monitor mixes with a click of a button.
Set up and manage all software and hardware components in your SoundGrid network using SoundGrid Studio’s new automatic device recognition and mapping capabilities.

As your needs evolve over time, you can expand your system and configure a studio setup of any size – from a single DAW with one SoundGrid audio interface, to a flexible super-network of multiple computers, interfaces and servers.

Harness SoundGrid to your studio in order to record, mix and create more powerfully than ever.

Software for your SoundGrid real-time audio processing system
Includes the SoundGrid Studio control panel & the eMotion ST mixer
Mix plugin-rich sessions by offloading processing to a SoundGrid server
Record & monitor with plugins in real time (SoundGrid I/O required)
Collaborate easily by quickly patching DAWs, computers & controllers
Custom control room to toggle multiple sources & monitors
Create up to 8 personalized headphone mixes
Option to add 3D headphone monitoring via the Abbey Road Studio 3 or Nx plugins (sold separately)
Stream audio between up to 14 audio interfaces
Share the same audio interface between multiple computers
Customize your mixer layer for a quicker, focused workflow
Stream up to 128 mono plugin channels from StudioRack
Personal headphone monitoring control via the MyMon app
Automatic Monitoring Sync for REAPER and Bitwig Studio

System Requirements

Mac

CPU
Intel Core i5 / i7 / i9 / Xeon
Apple M1 (ARM-based) processors are not yet supported.

Memory
16 GB RAM
8 GB free disk space on the system drive

Operating System
10.14.6, 10.15.7, 11.0.1 (Intel only)

Screen Resolution
720p to 4k
Auto scaling is enabled by default.
Recommended resolution with scaling disabled: 1280x1024 / 1600x1024

The current version requires a graphics card that supports ‘Metal’. Learn more.

Windows

CPU
Intel Core i5 / i7 / i9 / Xeon / AMD Quad-Core

Memory
16 GB RAM
8 GB free disk space on the system drive

Operating System
Windows 10 64 bit

Screen Resolution
720p to 4k
Auto scaling is enabled by default.
Recommended resolution with scaling disabled: 1280x1024 / 1600x1024

Exceptions & Notes:

Mac models without ‘Metal’ support are not supported with the current version. Learn more.
MacPro models from 2012 and earlier are not supported with the current version.
SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack v12 support V12 and V11 plugins, on the following operating systems only: Windows 10, macOS 10.14.6, 10.15.7 and 11.0.1 (Intel only).
SoundGrid host applications must be aligned to the same version for Device Sharing.
StudioRack is not supported in SoundGrid mode in Pro Tools HDX, HD or HD Native.
SoundGrid processing requires a SoundGrid system consisting of (1) a SoundGrid server and (2) a SoundGrid audio interface or a non-SoundGrid audio interface (ASIO/Core Audio) connected to the SoundGrid network via the SoundGrid driver Mac & Windows).
SoundGrid is a ‘private’ network: in order to have a clean network stream, the SoundGrid network should not be used to run any non-SoundGrid applications. Using non-SoundGrid protocols on the same network that carries SoundGrid audio might result in audio drops, application freezes, and other unexpected results.
OS X users: For best performance of audio transport from the SoundGrid Core Audio Driver to the SoundGrid network, new Apple computers featuring Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C connectivity should use one of the following adapters:
- Sonnet Solo 10G Thunderbolt 3-to-Ethernet Adapter
- OWC Thunderbolt 3 10G Ethernet Adapter
Users on Mac OS 10.13 (High Sierra) and and up: After installing SoundGrid Studio application, restart your system, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General and click Allow within 30 minutes of installing Waves. To show the button again if 30 minutes have passed, restart your computer again.
Windows Users: For best performance of audio transport from the SoundGrid Core Audio Driver to the SoundGrid network, Windows computers featuring USB-C connectivity should use the following qualified adapter:
- Plugable USB Type-C Gigabit Ethernet Adapter USBC-E1000
VPN software can alter network settings to meet its requirements.
These changes can the affect the network ports used for SoundGrid and may compromise performance of the SoundGrid network.
We strongly advise that you remove, disable, or turn off all VPN software while working with SoundGrid.
Please note: The DiGiGrid DGS-XL server (not sold by Waves) has been tested and certified for use with SoundGrid Studio. However, we do not offer technical support for this unit.
Waves Plugins and applications are supported and tested on operating systems installed on the built-in system hard drive. Operating systems installed on external hard drives are not tested and may not be fully functional with our software.
We have found a compatibility issue where our SoundGrid applications (eMotion LV1, SuperRack, SoundGrid Studio) may not pass audio after updating to macOS 11.3 on systems running an application named ‘Cisco FireAMP’ (part of an enterprise IT management tool).
If you do not have ‘Cisco FireAMP’ installed, you may update to macOS 11.3 safely, without concern. If you do have this application and experience this issue in your SoundGrid application after updating to macOS 11.3, disabling the AMP network extension feature will resolve the issue.

Known Issues and Support Articles

View known issues & support notes for StudioRack and SoundGrid Studio

View all support articles for StudioRack and SoundGrid Studio

Supported Hosts

View all DAWs compatible with StudioRack

Sample Rate Support

44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz

Latency

SoundGrid Studio Application and its SoundGrid ASIO/Core Audio driver introduce different I/O latencies depending on SoundGrid Driver Network buffer settings and the WSG Processing buffer.

Supported Audio Interfaces

SoundGrid Studio is compatible with all SoundGrid audio interfaces.
If the outputs of a DiGiGrid D / Q / M interface are patched to a Soundgrid Driver, audio will not pass if the Driver Network Buffer is set to 1024 samples in the Soundgrid host application. Workaround: change the driver’s network buffer to 512 or lower.

Supported SoundGrid Servers

All SoundGrid servers are supported, except DiGiGrid DGS-XL (not sold by Waves), which is neither certified nor supported for use with SoundGrid Studio.
For best results we highly recommend to use SoundGrid Studio with the SoundGrid Extreme Server.
SoundGrid Impact Server and DiGiGrid IOS are supported by the SoundGrid Studio 16-channel configuration at sample rates of up to 48 kHz.
For detailed CPU consumption benchmarks, see our Compare Servers page.
SoundGrid v12 firmware required

Supported Cables

Cat 5e, Cat 6 and Cat 7 cables are supported. Tested and approved cable length: 100 meters from I/O box to switch; up to 4 hops/switches. Consult this page for further info.

Supported Plugins

Waves plugins: SoundGrid Studio v12 supports Waves v12 and v11 plugins. See our plugin compatibility chart and plugin latency chart.
Third-party plugins: SoundGrid Studio v12 supports 64-bit plugins only, and therefore does not currently support any third-party plugins. 32-bit SoundGrid-compatible plugins by other manufacturers will be supported in the future, pending the manufacturers’ schedule.

Record & Monitor with Plugins in Real Time

Plugins can help musicians find the right sounds and textures during rehearsals and recording sessions. But your computer adds latency; and running plugins adds even more, since you need to increase your DAW buffer size. All this makes it almost impossible to monitor with plugins and record tight takes.

With SoundGrid Studio, a SoundGrid audio interface and a SoundGrid server, the incoming audio signal completely bypasses your computer’s CPU, bringing real-time monitoring and recording to your sessions. Musicians can hear themselves, with plugins, and without any perceptible latency – helping them nail their best takes.

Supercharge Your Studio: More Processing Power

Producing and mixing large sessions with many channels and plugins is today the norm. But large plugin counts can overload your computer’s CPU and slow down your creative process.

SoundGrid Studio boosts your plugin processing power. It can receive up to 128 channels from your DAW (via the free StudioRack plugin chainer), and offloads all your plugin processing to a SoundGrid server. (You don’t even need a SoundGrid interface – use the audio interface you already have!) You are then free to focus on producing and mixing with as many of the industry’s best-sounding plugins as you want.

NEW: Custom Control Room to Cross-check Your Mixes

Not all monitors are created equal. To get your session ready for the outside world, you need to cross-check your mixes on multiple sets.

The new SoundGrid Studio introduces a customizable control room section that lets you toggle easily between 3 sets of studio monitors for quick comparison – without the need for a traditional hardware monitor management system.

NEW: Give Musicians Personalized Headphone Mixes

To nail their best takes, musicians often ask to hear specific tracks in their headphones. Adjusting their monitor mixes during a session can take time to route, and might kill the vibe.

SoundGrid Studio lets you create multiple custom headphone mixes, on the fly. You can send different headphone mixes to multiple musicians at a time – up to eight in the free 8-channel and the 16-channel mixer versions, or up to sixteen in the 32 and 64-channel versions. You can toggle tracks in and out of what the musicians hear – all with a click of a button.

NEW: Add 3D Headphone Monitoring (Sold Separately)

For an enhanced headphone monitoring experience, insert the SoundGrid-compatible Abbey Road Studio 3 or Nx Virtual Mix Room plugins (sold separately) directly on your SoundGrid Studio headphone and control room mixes.

These plugins provide spatial three-dimensional audio on headphones, giving musicians a more comfortable and natural monitoring experience while recording, and reducing ear fatigue during long recording and mixing sessions.

Collaborate Easily: Connect in Seconds

SoundGrid Studio lets you quickly set up and manage all the audio interfaces, drivers, and SoundGrid servers in your flexible SoundGrid network. Need to patch more computers, DAWs, synths, samplers and hardware processors? Configure them instantly in SoundGrid Studio’s all-new Patch section.

Collaborators can easily integrate their devices into your studio, using as little as one SoundGrid-compatible Ethernet cable. SoundGrid Studio’s new automatic device recognition and mapping will quickly configure your flexible network of devices, letting you set up faster than ever.

Expand Your Studio Flexibly as Your Needs Evolve

SoundGrid is easily scalable – from a single DAW with one SoundGrid audio interface, to a super-studio with multiple computers and up to 14 audio interfaces. Connectivity is a breeze, with single Ethernet cables connecting everything to anything – even when your studio is spread across multiple rooms.

NEW: SoundGrid Studio’s latest “I/O sharing” feature lets you share the same SoundGrid audio interface between multiple computers, for unprecedented flexibility in your studio.

Channel Count

	SoundGrid Studio + eMotion ST 8-Channel Mixer	SoundGrid Studio + eMotion ST 16-Channel Mixer	SoundGrid Studio + eMotion ST 32-Channel Mixer	SoundGrid Studio + eMotion ST 64-Channel Mixer
Channels (Stereo/Mono)	8	16	32	64
Total Auxes (Stereo/Mono)	8	8	24	24
Monitor Auxes	-	-	16	16
FX Auxes	8	8	8	8
Audio Groups	-	-	8	8

Key Features & New Additions

Real-time recording & monitoring with plugins
Run plugins at ultra-low latency, as low as 0.8 ms. SoundGrid audio interface and SoundGrid server required.

DSP offload
Mix with more plugins than ever by offloading plugin processing from your computer’s CPU to a SoundGrid server.

NEW: Waves V12 & V11 compatible
SoundGrid Studio is now compatible with the latest versions of all Waves plugins.

NEW: Updated SoundGrid Studio and eMotion ST graphic interface
Build studio sessions of any size quickly, via the all-new, easy-to-use layered interface.

NEW: Customizable control room section
Toggle easily between multiple sources and monitors, to cross-check your mixes on multiple sets of monitors.

NEW: Personalized headphone mixes
Give musicians individual headphone mixes: 8 auxes and 4 headphone matrixes.

NEW: I/O sharing
Share the same audio interface between different computers and DAWs.

NEW: Flexible Networking with up to 14 audio interfaces
Build a super-studio by adding up to 14 audio interfaces and networking audio between different rooms in your studio.

NEW: Full shortcut integration with your DAW
Use all your DAW shortcuts even when SoundGrid Studio and eMotion ST are in focus.

NEW: Custom layer
Create your own mixer layer for a quicker, more focused workflow.

NEW: Extended StudioRack integration
Stream 128 mono plugin channels from StudioRack.

Updated Patch section
Connect external processors, computers, and synths in seconds.

NEW: 8 user-assignable keys
Quickly access the features you need use the most.

NEW: Option to add 3D headphone monitoring
SoundGrid Studio is now compatible with the Nx Virtual Mix Room and Abbey Road Studio 3 plugins (sold separately) for spatial 3D headphone monitoring of your mixes.

NEW: Windows & Mac 64-bit compatible

NEW: Custom colors for channels
32 colors for customized track color coding.

Offload plugin processing from your computer’s CPU to a SoundGrid DSP server, using a non-SoundGrid audio interface

Setup 2

This is the most basic SoundGrid setup available. If you intend to use DSP offload for mixing purposes only (not for recording or monitoring in real time), this setup is for you. Simply offload plugin processing from your computer’s CPU to a SoundGrid DSP server, via the free StudioRack plugin chainer inserted in your DAW.

You can use this setup with the audio interface you already own (ASIO / Core Audio): a dedicated SoundGrid audio interface is not required. Consult this page to check if your non-SoundGrid audio interface is compatible.

Components:

A computer running the SoundGrid Studio application and a DAW with the StudioRack plugin chainer
Non-SoundGrid audio interface with an ASIO or Core Audio driver
SoundGrid DSP server

Record & play back audio using a SoundGrid audio interface and a DAW (without low latency or offloading capabilities)

Setup 1

In this setup, SoundGrid Studio is used simply to configure your SoundGrid audio interface to work with your DAW. You will use the ‘Patch’ page > Device to Device view within SoundGrid Studio to patch the inputs and outputs of your SoundGrid I/O and your DAW.

Components:

A computer running the SoundGrid Studio application, and a DAW with the Waves SoundGrid Driver (ASIO or Core Audio) selected as the playback engine
SoundGrid audio interface

Monitor, record, and mix with plugins at low latency, with a SoundGrid audio interface and a SoundGrid DSP server

Setup 3

This setup is similar to the first one (Diagram #1 above) – but a SoundGrid audio interface is added for real-time monitoring and recording. As before, plugin processing is offloaded from your computer’s CPU to a SoundGrid DSP server, via the free StudioRack plugin chainer inserted in your DAW.

Components:

A computer running the SoundGrid Studio application, and a DAW with StudioRack and the Waves SoundGrid Driver (ASIO/Core Audio) selected as the playback engine
SoundGrid-compatible 1GB Ethernet switch
SoundGrid audio interface
SoundGrid DSP server

Collaborate by adding more computers to your network, while monitoring, recording, and mixing with plugins at low latency

Setup 4

SoundGrid is a scalable, expandable network, which makes it easy to add more computers, DAWs, and hardware devices to your system. Devices (such as the secondary computer in the diagram below) can be connected to your SoundGrid network easily, using a compatible Ethernet cable. You can then stream audio channels from a DAW or a virtual instrument into the SoundGrid eMotion ST mixer or to another DAW in the network.

Components:

A computer running the SoundGrid Studio application, and a DAW with StudioRack and the Waves SoundGrid Driver (ASIO/Core Audio) selected as the playback engine
A 2nd computer running the SoundGrid driver and a DAW
SoundGrid-compatible 1GB Ethernet switch
SoundGrid audio interface
SoundGrid DSP server

Build a studio network to record, monitor, and mix in multiple rooms with plugins at low latency

Setup 5

SoundGrid’s scalable infrastructure and expandable design really shine in large setups that involve multiple rooms. You can deploy your devices across multiple rooms, share I/Os between DAWs and computers, and easily meet the most demanding studio design requirements. With support for up to 14 audio interfaces, you can rest assured that as your needs evolve, SoundGrid will be there to support them.

Components:

Computers running the SoundGrid Studio application
SoundGrid-compatible 1GB Ethernet switch
SoundGrid audio interface for the control rooms
SoundGrid audio interfaces (one or more) for the live room/s
SoundGrid DSP server: For simultaneous DSP offload in each control room, a DSP server is required for each control room station