@civilization 3 said:
I don't know what 'blocked' means there.
I agree "Audio input" mustn't be seen as an insert but as a send. And I also agree and understand to consider VEP as an outboard effect gear.
But, when you use a send in a DAW, the sent signal is a parallel path alongside the normal audio signal path. Here, the signal on the audio track is muted and there is nothing in the output of the audio track.
Also, I am using Pro Tools while you're using Cubase. Pro Tools handle objects in a different manner. A instrument plug-in is a insert plug-in like FX and so on. You can insert an instrument on any kind of track ie : Audio, Instrument, Aux (except MIDI tracks). So here, I am using a VEP plug-in instance as a FX on an Aux tracks to get FX return from one dedicated VEP mixer. So it is possible to use the mixer of VEP to make a wet/dry mix.
Anyway, I try to make a scheme so that you can understand things better :
Normal send/return setup :
Audio track (= audio file or input signal) ---> inserts ----> sends ---> Track output (dry signal)
L---> sent signal ---> FX ---> Aux track (Return / Wet signal)
VEP send/return setup :
** What I get with Pro Tools 11 **
Audio track (= audio file or input signal) ---> inserts [VEP Audio Input] -X-> sends (no signal) ---> Track output (no signal)
L> sent signal ---> VEP mixer (FX) ---> Aux track [VEP Instrument] (Return Dry/Wet signal)
( X = blocked/muted )
** What I would expect with a "thru" option **
Audio track (= audio file or input signal) ---> inserts [VEP Audio Input] ----> sends ---> Track output (Dry signal)
L> sent signal ---> VEP mixer (FX) ---> Aux track [VEP Instrument] (Return / Wet signal)
Another option is to use "normal" send / return setup of the DAW and insert "VEP Audio Input" on an Aux track (here on Pro Tools I would insert "VEP Audio Input" on a Master track) :
Audio track ---> inserts ----> sends ---> Track output (dry signal)
L--> Bus1-2 --> Master Bus1-2 [VEP Audio Input] --> VEP mixer (FX) ---> Aux [VEP Instr] (Return / Wet signal)
(Note : Master Fader track prevent from using 2 busses instead of 1)
In this case, it works fine, except when using Offline Bounce* while Online Bounce works fine.
*(I get a blank audio file, still because of a kind of blockus in signal path. But I will create another thread for that after doing further testing, and see if it is a Pro Tools only issue).