Setting Up Your SMART Pads in RØDE Central

To set up a SMART pad, open the ‘Customize SMART Pads’ menu in Central and click ‘Continue’ to place your Streamer X in Transfer Mode. There are four different SMART pad categories: ‘Sound’, ‘Effects’, ‘Mixer’ and 'MIDI’. Within each of these different categories there is a range of different functions that the pad can perform, which are covered in detail below.

Connecting to RØDE Central

While you can access most of the Streamer X’s settings from its convenient front-panel controls, using it with the RØDE Central companion software gives you even greater control, including the ability to configure powerful effects and processing for your input audio, fine control over your headphone and stream mix levels, and customising the SMART pads.

To access these settings, simply connect your Streamer X to your computer via USB and launch the RØDE Central app. Click the icon for the Streamer X on the left-hand side and choose one of the three options.

This screen also includes a quick setup section at the bottom to help you quickly select an audio configuration profile (learn more about profiles in this section), along with brief explanations of each profile and a table to show which headphone and stream outputs are muted in each profile.

Updating Streamer X Firmware

Connect your Streamer X to a computer and run RØDE Central. If a firmware update is available, a red arrow will appear beneath the ‘Streamer X’ icon, which you can click and follow the prompts to update to the latest firmware.

Audio Mixer

Each of the Streamer X’s audio channels feature two volume control faders – the stream mix and the monitor mix – allowing you to configure custom levels for your microphone/instrument, headset, wireless microphone, SMART pads, HDMI audio, and both USB channels.

Stream Mix: The fader on the left-hand side of each audio channel is the stream mix for that input. Adjusting this fader will let you customise the level of each audio input sent to the “Streamer X Primary” audio device. This allows you to set the perfect levels for your livestream, video call or recording.

Monitor Mix: The fader on the right-hand side of each audio channel is the monitor mix for that input. Adjusting this fader will let you customise the level of each audio input sent to the Streamer X’s 1/4-inch headphone output and 3.5mm headset output. This allows you to set up an entirely different mix for yourself and for your audience.

Audio Configuration Profiles

At the bottom of the Audio Setup page, there are a number of preset configuration profiles to help quickly configure your Streamer X in a way that is commonly used for that function, such as streaming, gaming or video calls.

Streaming: This profile features all mix and monitor faders up so, by default, your stream audio is exactly the same as what you hear in your headphones. From here, you can adjust certain levels up or down to taste.

Presentation: This profile lowers the SMART pad volume so you can instead use them for navigating your slideshow when in Presentation Mode, which you can also turn on in this menu (click here for more information on Presentation Mode).

Video Call: This profile lowers the stream and monitor mix of the HDMI input so your camera doesn’t send any audio to your headphones or the call itself – this is because you'll be using your connected microphone for your voice instead. The stream mix of USB 1 is lowered to avoid feedback on the call, while the monitor mix is up so you can still hear the call. USB 2 stream mix and monitor mix are both down

Gaming: This profile is perfect for when you’re gaming online and want to chat with your friends. Both HDMI and USB 1 are turned down in the stream mix so you don’t send your game audio to everyone you’re chatting with, but you’ll still be able to hear the game audio yourself, along with the chat audio.

Custom: This profile allows you to configure your own custom mix that is saved in RØDE Central.

Adjusting Audio Processing Using VoxLab™

VoxLab™ is a simple three-knob interface that's incredibly intuitive and allows you to achieve professional sound quality with ease. The three controls each adjust multiple parameters on multiple processors for a perfectly balanced sound.

Depth: Use this to subtly enhance the low end of your signal, giving it more richness and tighter bass articulation.

Sparkle: Use this to add brightness and detail to your signal, which is perfect for giving your voice more presence and clarity.

Punch: Use this to add subtle compression to your signal, making your voice sound more intelligible and natural. It will also adjust the noise gate to help reduce background noise.

High-pass Filter

Use this to help further reduce background noise in your recording or add some presence to a muddy voice or vocal track. This is achieved by cutting low-end frequencies below a certain cut-off frequency.

De-esser

Use this to tame sibilance in your voice. Sibilance is a “hissing” sound that occurs naturally in human speech and is caused by consonants, mainly ‘s’ (hence the name “de-esser”). This is essentially a compressor that targets a certain frequency to reduce its presence in a signal.

Noise Gate

Use this to help reduce background noise in your recording, such as air conditioners, chatter in another room or traffic outside. This is very handy if you are recording in a space that is not acoustically treated.

Compressor

Use the compressor to make your voice (or any other audio source) sound smooth and balanced. This is achieved by bringing down (or “compressing”) the loudest peaks in the signal, while boosting quieter parts so that it is more even.

Equaliser (EQ)

Use this to fine-tune the tonality of your voice or audio source. This is a three-band parametric EQ, which allows you to boost or cut bass, mid and treble frequencies at any frequency range that you choose.

Aural Exciter

Use this to bring out more detail and clarity in your voice or audio source. This is achieved by adding subtle harmonics to the higher frequencies in your signal, giving it more “sparkle”.

Big Bottom

Use this to give your voice or audio more depth without creating muddiness. This is achieved by adding subtle harmonics to the low-end frequencies in your signal, giving it more “punch”.

Panning

Use this to pan your audio across the stereo field.

Button Brightness

Under the ‘Device Configuration’ menu, you can adjust the maximum and minimum brightness of the LED lights on your Streamer X SMART pads and mute/cut switches. The minimum setting will adjust the brightness of these pads when inactive, while the maximum setting will adjust the brightness of these pads when activated.

Reset Device

If you wish to return your Streamer X to its default state without having to factory reset it to an earlier firmware version, you can use this ‘Reset Device’ option. You'll be warned before proceeding, but when you do, all mixer settings, SMART Pads and unit configurations will be cleared.

Connecting to RØDE Central to Load and Export Sounds

To allocate audio to a pad, you’ll need to load a sound file from your computer onto the unit, which you can do by using RØDE Central. To do this, connect your Streamer X to your computer via USB and launch the RØDE Central app. Click the icon for the Streamer X, then select ‘Customize SMART Pads’.

Loading an Audio File onto a Sound Pad

To load a sound onto a pad, click on the target pad. If it is blank or already has a sound loaded on it, you will see ‘Drag & Drop’ and ‘Export’ icons. If it has a different function allocated (Effects, Mixer or MIDI), you can change it to a sound pad by selecting ‘Sound’ in the top menu bar and then clicking “Yes! Overwrite the pad”. Then, simply drop the audio file from your computer file browser onto the ‘Drag & Drop’ icon to load a sound. The file will be transferred, and the sound allocated to the pad, replacing the existing sound if one was previously loaded.

Exporting an Audio File from a Sound Pad

You can also export a sound from a pad onto your computer. To do this, select the pad with the recording you want to save from the pad list on the right, then click ‘Export’. A dialog box will allow you to specify where to save the file.

Sound Pad Playback Modes

There are multiple audio playback modes for the sound pads. To access these using RØDE Central, go to the ‘Customize SMART Pads’ screen and click on the pad you want to edit.

There are three parameters you can adjust:

Toggle/One Shot/Hold: This setting affects how the audio triggers when you press the pad. ‘Toggle’ means one press will start the sound and a second press will stop it. ‘One Shot’ means pressing the pad will play the sound from the beginning – repeated presses will restart playback from the beginning (you cannot force stop playback in this mode – either let the sound play out or fade the sound out manually). ‘Hold’ will play the sound for as long as the pad is pressed.

Loop: In this mode, the audio will play repeatedly in a loop until playback is stopped (this mode is not available in ‘One Shot’ mode).

Replay/Continue: When in ‘Toggle’ mode, this sets whether playback starts from the beginning (if the pad is pressed after being stopped) or resumes from the pause position.

Setting up an FX Pad

To create or edit an effect pad using RØDE Central, go to the ‘Customize SMART Pads’ screen and either clear a pad and then select ‘FX’ as the type, or click ‘edit’ for an existing FX pad. If 'Latching' is selected at the top of the sceen, then pressing the pad will activate the effect, and it will stay activated until the pad is pressed again. If ‘Momentary’ is engaged, the pad will only trigger the effect whilst it is being pressed.

Reverb

The reverb effect has a range of controls that can be used to modify the effect to taste. Toggle the effect on and off using the switch on the left. The ‘Low Cut’ and ‘High Cut’ controls can be used to adjust the tonal balance of the reverb. And the type (or ‘size’) of reverb can be adjusted using the large control on the right.

Echo

The delay setting has a range of controls that can be used to modify the effect. Toggle the effect on and off using the switch on the left. The level function controls the amount of echo that will be heard in the mix. The ‘Low Cut’ and ‘High Cut’ controls can be used to adjust the tonal balance of the echo. The ‘Delay’ control determines the time between echoes, with a maximum of one second. The ‘Decay’ control sets how long it takes for the echoes to die away.

Megaphone

Toggle the effect on and off using the ‘Power’ switch on the right. The ‘Intensity’ control will adjust how dramatic the effect is.

Robot

This is a classic robot voice effect. Toggle the effect on and off using the I/O switch on the right of the screen. There are three different robot voice types available – small, medium and large – which you can select with the dial.

Voice Disguise

This effect changes your voice timbre to make it unrecognisable. It has a single on/off control.

Pitch Shifter

This effect adjusts the pitch of the incoming signal by a set amount. It is calibrated in semitones, meaning it can be used for musical effects, as well as for comedic voices. Toggle the effect on and off using the ‘On/Off’ switch on the left of the screen. Use the ‘Coarse’ and ‘Fine’ controls to set the range of the pitch shifting, up to a maximum of one octave (12 semitones) above or below the incoming signal.

Censor

In this mode, when a pad is pressed, a preset sound will play, and all channels will be muted. By default, it uses a classic ‘beep’ tone, but this can be replaced with any sound you want. To use your own sound, click ‘Custom’ and then the folder icon to select a sound file from your computer. You can preview the recording with the play button and clear the recording using the clear button. The trigger mode can be set at the top of the screen. In ‘Latching’ mode, the Censor effect will start when the pad is pressed and stop when the pad is pressed again. In ‘Momentary’ mode, the effect will only play whilst the pad is pressed.

Fade In/Out

The ‘Fade In/Out’ function allows you to fade your entire audio mix in or out at a predetermined rate. You can set the speed of both the fade in and the fade out by clicking-and-dragging the values up or down. Clicking ‘Exclude Host’ means microphone channel 1 will be excluded from the fade, meaning you can fade down the rest of the audio whilst the host continues to talk. In ‘Latching’ mode, tapping the pad will activate the fade. Tapping the fader again will cause the sound to fade back in. In ‘Momentary’ mode, tapping the pad will activate the fade out whilst the pad is being pressed; if it is released the audio will immediately fade back in again.

Ducking

‘Ducking’ is a function that lowers the volume of all the audio sources except the microphone when activated. This is useful for allowing your voice to allowing a host to get control of a discussion or talk over a music bed without having to adjust the fader levels. The pad mode can be set at the top of the screen. In ‘Latching’ mode, the ‘Ducking’ function will lower the volume of all other channels when the pad is pressed and raise them again when the pad is pressed again. In ‘Momentary’ mode, the function will only be enabled whilst the pad is pressed.

Configuring MIDI Triggers

By default, each pad sends an ‘On’ Control Change (CC) message to MIDI Channel 1: pad 1 on bank 1 sends CC #0, the one below CC #1, and so on down the first column, and then the second up to CC #3; this continues across the pad banks, with pad 1 of bank 2 activating CC #4, the pad below CC# 5, and so on.

Alternatively, you can set the pad to send any custom MIDI message by clicking ‘Custom’. You can then adjust the type of message (Control Change [CC] or Note), the control number or note, the MIDI channel the message is sent to, and the value. You can also set the pad to send just an ‘On’ message, just an ‘Off’ message or to send both ‘On’ and ‘Off’ messages – in which case the ‘On’ message is sent when the pad is pressed, and the ‘Off’ message is sent when the pad is released.

You can use MIDI messages to control a wide number of commands and settings in a wide range of programs. In order to convert MIDI messages to keyboard shortcuts, you will need to use third-party software, such as MIDI KEY2KEY for Windows or MIDI Shortcut for Mac.

Presentation Mode

You can toggle Presentation Mode on or off on the right-hand side of the SMART pads page. This mode is useful for when you’re presenting a slideshow as it gives you hands-on control of the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts for presentation software. Press the information ‘i’ button and click on the ‘Mode’ dropdown to select which presentation software you will be using and to see a visual representation of the button mapping.

This mode changes the functions of the SMART pads and bank-switching arrow buttons as follows:

Top-left SMART pad: Start your presentation

Top-right SMART pad: Start your presentation at the current slide

Bottom-left SMART pad: Blank white slide

Bottom-right SMART pad: Blank black slide

Bank-switching arrow (left): Previous slide

Bank-switching arrow (right): Next slide