Setting Up USB Connections
The RØDECaster Duo is an incredibly versatile audio production tool with a plethora of powerful features for improving workflows for podcasting, livestreaming, and music production. This includes two USB interfaces with three available USB audio devices, and a host of configurable options for mix-minus, sub-mixes and multitrack recording.
Whilst these features offer a lot of flexibility, they are quite unique. In this guide, we’ll explain how the RØDECaster Duo mixer and USB architecture works, the different features and uses for each USB interface, how multitrack recording works, routing audio for remote calls, sub-mixes, mix-minus, and more.
Understanding the RØDECaster Duo Mixer Architecture
The RØDECaster Duo is a powerful audio console for mixing multiple audio sources with complete control over levels, processing, and more. There are seven audio inputs in total: two XLR/TRS connections for connecting microphones, instrument and other devices, Bluetooth for connecting smartphones and other devices wirelessly, SMART pads for triggering audio, and three USB audio input devices. Each of these inputs will send audio to the fader it is assigned to on the RØDECaster Duo mixer, allowing you to control each audio source individually to create the perfect mix for your content.
The RØDECaster Duo also features a number of different audio outputs, including the headphone and speaker outputs, and the USB audio interfaces. However, it’s important to note that, by default, the main audio mix (meaning all of your audio inputs blended together) is sent to all of these audio outputs. This means that what you hear in your headphones, on speakers, and what is sent to each of the USB audio interfaces will be exactly the same.
You can, however, customise how the different audio inputs are routed to each of the eight possible outputs, including the USB outputs, as well as adjust the individual input levels and mutes for each using sub-mixes. You can learn more about sub-mixes on the Setting Up Channels and Outputs page, but we’ll cover the USB channels specifically below.
Understanding the Physical USB Interfaces
The RØDECaster Duo has two USB interfaces, labelled 1 and 2. Whilst they both offer audio connectivity, they have slightly different functionality as follows:
| USB 1 | USB 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| USB Audio Device(s) | RØDECaster Duo Main RØDECaster Duo Chat |
RØDECaster Duo Secondary |
| Data Transfer From microSD Card | Yes | No |
| iOS Connectivity (with RØDE SC15 or SC19 cable) | No | Yes |
| Android Connectivity | Yes | Yes |
| Multitrack Output | Yes (Main device only) | No |
| Mix-minus | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Routing | Yes | Yes |
| RØDE Central Connectivity | Yes | No |
| Connect USB storage device | Yes | Yes |
Understanding the capabilities of each interface can help determine the best setup for you. In general, USB 1 should be connected to your primary computer. USB 2 can then be connected to a secondary device (such as a smartphone, another computer, or the same computer).
In a dual-PC setup, you can use the appropriate USB port for each computer’s role in your setup, depending on which computer runs your stream, which runs your chat, and which runs your content or gameplay.
Pro Tip
If you are using the RØDECaster Duo with a single computer, connecting both the USB 1 and USB 2 interfaces simultaneously will give you access to all the above features without the need to disconnect and reconnect while creating content.
USB Main
The main output of the RØDECaster Duo is the device called ‘RØDECaster Duo Main’. To access this device on your computer, connect your computer to the USB 1 port on the back of the RØDECaster Duo.
You should then see an audio device labelled ‘RØDECaster Duo Main’ appear in the list of audio devices available.
Note
You will also see ‘RØDECaster Duo Chat’ appear, as this is also available via the USB 1 port (see below for more info on how to use USB Chat).
Pro Tip
If you use a Mac computer, sometimes the list of devices you can see when you click on the speaker icon in the Menu Bar does not update straight away when new devices are plugged in. If you have connected your RØDECaster Duo but can’t select it from the Menu Bar, go to your Audio Preferences, where all available devices will be listed.
If you set ‘RØDECaster Duo Main’ as the default audio device for your computer, audio from your computer will be sent to the RØDECaster Duo via the USB 1 audio input, which you can allocate to any fader you choose.
Your entire audio mix (unless otherwise specified using custom routing; see below) will also be sent from the RØDECaster Duo to your computer via the same audio interface and will be available on any software that you are using – for example, a digital audio workstation (DAW), streaming software, or a communications app.
By default, ‘RØDECaster Duo Main’ is a stereo USB output, but it can be set to multitrack by going to settings > ‘Outputs’ > ‘Multitrack’ > ‘USB’ and deselecting ‘Off’. When in multitrack mode, you will be able to record each track you have set up on your RØDECaster Duo individually in recording software such as a DAW.
There are 16 different audio channels available on the ‘RØDECaster Duo Main Multitrack’ audio device, which are organised as follows.
Note
When Multitrack mode is off, the ‘RØDECaster Duo Main’ audio device will appear as ‘RØDECaster Duo Main Stereo’; when it is on, it will appear as ‘RØDECaster Duo Main Multitrack’ (Mac) or just ‘RØDECaster Duo Main’ (Windows).
1Mix L
2Mix R
3XLR/TRS/Wireless 1
4XLR/TRS Wireless 2
5Bluetooth L
6Bluetooth R
7SMART Pads L
8SMART Pads R
9USB Main L
10USB Main R
11USB Chat L
12USB Chat R
13USB Secondary L
14USB Secondary R
15Headset Microphone
If you are using software or an application that does not allow you to select which channel(s) you want to use, we recommend turning off multitrack mode. This is because some software (such as Ecamm Live) automatically mixes all 16 channels together if it detects a multitrack audio device, which can cause unexpected results when muting or fading, or using voice effects.
We also recommend switching off multitrack mode when using a browser-based streaming platform (such as restream.io) on a Windows PC, as the streaming platform may not accept ‘RØDECaster Duo Main Multitrack’ as an audio source. This is a limitation of browser-based software due to multitrack audio devices not being properly recognised.
Check out the Recording and Exporting Audio section to find out more about setting up multitrack recording.
Pro Tip
If you are using a browser-based streaming platform (such as restream.io) on a Windows PC, the streaming platform will not accept ‘RØDECaster Duo Main’ as an audio source. This is a limitation of browser-based software due to multitrack audio devices not being properly recognised. If you are using an online streaming platform, connect your RØDECaster Duo to your computer using the USB 2 port instead of USB 1 and use the ‘RØDECaster Duo Secondary’ audio device as your input and output device (see below for more info).
USB Chat
When using USB 1 to connect the RØDECaster Duo to a computer, another audio device called ‘RØDECaster Duo Chat’ will be available alongside the ‘RØDECaster Duo Main’ device described above.
This is a completely independent audio device that can be allocated to its own fader on the RØDECaster Duo’s mixer and is optimised to be used with communications applications such as Skype and Discord. To set this up, simply select ‘RØDECaster Duo Chat’ as both the input (microphone) and output (speaker) device in your communications app’s audio preferences and allocate ‘USB 1 Chat’ to a fader on the RØDECaster Duo.
USB Secondary
The RØDECaster Duo has an additional USB audio device called ‘RØDECaster Duo Secondary’. This is accessed using the USB 2 port on the back of the RØDECaster Duo. You can use USB 1 and USB 2 with two different computers or connect them both to a single computer simultaneously (you will just need an additional cable and an extra USB port on your computer).
Pro Tip
If you are running out of USB ports on your computer, you can use a USB hub. We recommend using a high-quality USB3.0 hub for best results.
‘RØDECaster Duo Secondary’ is useful in a range of applications. For example, if you are using ‘RØDECaster Duo Chat’ for your communications application, you can route additional audio from an app such as Spotify to ‘RØDECaster Duo Secondary’ (simply select ‘RØDECaster Duo Secondary’ as the output device in the app settings), which will then be sent to the fader that USB 2 is allocated to.
Remember, if you are using the ‘RØDECaster Duo Secondary’ device to connect to a communications app, your caller will hear the main output mix – including any audio sources connected to the ‘RØDECaster Duo Main’ and ‘RØDECaster Duo Chat’ devices via the USB 1 port – unless you create a custom output mix (see below).
It is also important to note that the ‘RØDECaster Duo Secondary’ output device is not a multitrack output – only the full output mix will be sent to your computer. The USB 2 port should also be used for connecting smartphones and tablets to the RØDECaster Duo as it is MFi-certified, meaning it will interact seamlessly with iOS devices (you will need to connect iOS devices with a Lightning Accessory Cable such as the SC19; a standard charging cable will not work), and it has mix-minus available, which is important when making calls.
Connecting a RØDE USB Microphone
You can connect a RØDE USB microphone to the RØDECaster Duo's USB 2 port using a USB-C-to-C cable, allowing for an additional microphone input.
Once connected, simply assign the USB 2 channel to a fader and treat it as if it were any other microphone input channel. You can control the USB microphone's on-board processing in the channel setup screen, although the RØDECaster's own channel processing and effects will not apply. In the case of the PodMic USB, NT-USB Mini, XCM-50 and XDM-100, you can mute or un-mute the USB 2 channel by pressing the physical button on the microphone.
Compatible devices include:
Note
In order to achieve zero-latency monitoring with the USB microphone, you will need to connect headphones directly to the microphone. You can then adjust headphone monitoring levels with the microphone's on-board controls.
Mix-minus for the USB Outputs
If you are using a USB channel for making a remote call via either a mobile device or a communications app on a computer, we recommend activating mix-minus on that channel. This is a handy feature that means that the communications app will receive all of the audio that is coming into the RØDECaster Duo except its own. This prevents echo on your calls, as your caller will hear everything but their own voice being piped back to them, which is very distracting (especially as it will be somewhat delayed).
To activate this, either go to the channel set-up screen for the USB channel you want to configure and tap ‘Routing’ > ‘Mix-minus’, or go to settings then ‘Outputs’ > ‘Routing’ > ‘Mix-minus’.
Note
Mix-minus is activated by default on USB Chat and USB 2.
Custom Routing for the USB Outputs
As mentioned, by default, the main audio mix will be sent to all USB outputs on the RØDECaster Duo (with mix-minus applied for USB Chat and USB 2). However, this can be problematic in recording or streaming scenarios where you don’t want a particular audio input being sent to one of the USB outputs, or you want it sent at a different volume level – for example, if you don’t want your game sounds that are being sent to USB 1 being heard on your chat application on USB 2, or you just want them to be heard at a lower volume. To solve this, you can set up a custom sub-mix for USB 1, USB Chat and USB 2, giving you full control over what audio inputs are being sent to each USB outputs and at what levels.
To access this, either go to the channel set-up screen for the USB channel you want to configure and tap ‘Routing’ > ‘Custom’, or go to settings then ‘Outputs’ > ‘Routing’ > ‘Custom’. From the custom routing set-up screen, you can adjust levels, mutes and links for each input track – for more detail on this feature, read the Setting Up Channels and Outputs section of the user guide.
