Table of Contents
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Modules
In the Actor-Mixer Hierarchy, when an object is nested under other objects, all of its numeric properties, such as Voice Volume, are offset by the corresponding property of each of the objects it's nested under. For example, if the Voice Volume of a Sound SFX is set to -5, and it's nested under an Actor-Mixer that has a Voice Volume of -2, the Sound SFX will play at a volume of -7.
Similarly, the Voice Volume of each bus an object is routed to in the Master-Mixer Hierarchy can further offset these properties.
This concept can be difficult to visualize, and you can't see these offsets when looking at the child object. So you'll use the Voice Profiler to see it in action.
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From the menu bar, click Layouts > Voice Profiler (F11).
The Voice Profiler layout opens. If you haven't already, you must enable Voice Inspector Data.
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Click the gear button (Alt+G).
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In the Profiler Settings dialog that opens, select Voice Inspector Data and click OK.
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In the toolbar, click the Start Capture button.
A yellow cursor moves across the Voice Monitor graph at the bottom of the layout. In the Voice Explorer, the Teleporter is listed as an active voice.
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In the Voice Explorer, select Teleporter.
In the left pane of the Voice Inspector, a diagram shows the audio signal flow indicating that the Teleporter's audio is routed to the Master Audio Bus. In the right pane of the Voice Inspector, you can see all three objects that affect the Teleporter's final volume: the Teleporter Sound SFX, the Items Actor-Mixer, and the Master Audio Bus.
The "-" in the Volume column indicates that there is currently no offset. Now you'll see how the Final Volume in the top row changes as you adjust the Voice Volumes of these three objects.
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In the right pane of the Voice Inspector, double-click the Teleporter row.
A Teleporter object tab opens in a separate window.
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In the Teleporter object tab, select General, and then lower the Volume to -6. Close the object tab.
The Teleporter gets quieter. You can also see in the Voice Inspector that the Teleporter Voice Volume is now -6. At the top of the Volume column, the Final Value calculation also indicates -6 dB.
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In the right pane of the Voice Inspector, double-click the Items row.
An Items object tab opens in a separate window.
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In the Items object tab, select General, and then lower the Volume to -4. Close the object tab.
In the right pane of the Voice Inspector, the new Items value appears, and the Final Value is now -10 dB.
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Double-click the Master Audio Bus row.
A Master Audio Bus object tab opens in a separate window.
Now you'll adjust the General Volume property. Because all objects ultimately pass through the Master Audio Bus, adjusting any of these General properties is like adjusting every single object in your project, so be very careful with these.
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In the Master Audio Bus object tab, select General, and then lower the Volume to -3.
Now you'll adjust the Audio Bus Volume, which turns the summed signal coming from all sources feeding this bus up or down.
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Select Audio Bus and lower the Volume to -2. Close the object tab.
In the right pane of the Voice Inspector, the new Master Audio Bus values appear, and the Final Value is now -15 dB.
In the left pane, the Teleporter shows -13, while the Master Audio Bus shows -2. This is because all of the values you entered except the Audio Bus Volume are added together before being sent to the Master Audio Bus where the final adjustment of -2 dB is applied.
![[Note]](/images/wwise101/?source=wwise101&id=note.png)
If there were any Effects inserted on the Master Audio Bus, -2 dB would be applied after the Effects are processed. See Module 14: Working with Effects to learn how to add Effects to busses.
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Press Spacebar to stop playback of the Teleporter sound, and then click the Stop Capture button.
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From the menu bar, select Layouts > Designer (F5) so you're ready to start another module.
In this example, you saw how Voice Volumes are added together when a Sound SFX object is nested under an Actor-Mixer object. Keep in mind, the same thing happens when any type of object is nested under any other type of object that has numeric properties like Voice Volume or Low-pass filter. For example, a Random Container, Sequence Container, or Switch Container. And there is no limit to the depth of nesting.
Note this accumulation method doesn't apply to properties that have absolute settings, like Output Bus.
Congratulations, you finished module 12! In this module, you learned about mixing and the Master Audio Bus. Then you used the Voice Profiler layout to see how an object's final volume is determined, taking into consideration all of the objects it's nested under, as well as all of the busses it passes through.
Up next, Module 13: Submixing with Additional Audio Busses where you'll learn to create distinct busses for environmental sounds, sound effects, and music.