Drum MonitorLow-latency drum headphone mix app for Mac
Give the drummer a headphone mix with inserts and buses at a 32-sample buffer, even while your DAW runs at a huge buffer for a heavy session.
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When a session is heavy and the DAW buffer is at 1024 or 2048 samples, a drummer monitoring through the DAW hears every hit late.
Drum Monitor builds the drummer’s mix in its own app, beside the DAW, on the same interface. It runs at 32 samples where the interface allows it, so the gates, EQ, compression, tape, drive and reverb on the kit stay tight in the headphones whatever buffer the DAW is using. Plugins with latency are aligned so the kit stays in phase. The DAW records the dry mics straight from the interface as usual, and a 32-channel virtual device lets it record any channel or bus exactly as the drummer hears it.
How the
signal flows
- Step 01Kit micsYour interface’s inputs
- Step 02Drum MonitorIts own app beside the DAW, at 32 samples
- Step 03Channels and busesInserts, alignment, fader, pan, Drum Bus
- Step 04HeadphonesThe same tight mix at any DAW buffer
Built-in inserts at zero latency
Every strip has room for inserts: Gate, Comp (VCA, Opto or FET), EQ, Tape, Drive, Delay and two reverbs. All ten built-in inserts add zero latency, so the drummer can have a tight, compressed, gated kit in the cans while playing.
Your own plugins, with the kit kept in phase
Load your VST3 and AU plugins as inserts, like this 1176 on the snare. Drum Monitor delays the other strips to match, so the kit stays phase-aligned. You set a latency cap, and a plugin that would go over it is bypassed and flagged, keeping the mix tight.
See your latency
The Latency page shows the round trip the drummer hears, from input to headphones, worked out from what your interface reports and updated as you change the buffer or add plugins. A loopback check measures the real figure with a cable, and the strip latency cap sets how much a hosted plugin may add.
What it
does
32 samples, beside the DAW
Drum Monitor opens your interface with its own buffer: 32 samples, stepping up to 64 or 128 if the interface needs it. The header shows the round-trip latency the drummer hears, and a large DAW buffer adds nothing to it.
Ten zero-latency inserts
Gate, Comp (VCA, Opto or FET), Bus Comp, Crush Comp, EQ with high-pass, Tape, Drive, Delay, IR Reverb and Algo Reverb, on every channel and bus.
Your plugins, in phase
Put VST3 and AU plugins on any channel. Each insert shows its latency, and every other channel is delayed to match, up to a cap you set. A plugin that crashes on load is quarantined.
Parallel and aux buses
Inline crush buses sum back into the Drum Bus in phase. Add as many deferred aux buses as you like for heavy reverbs and delays, each running at 128, 256 or 512 samples.
Record what the drummer hears
The Drum Monitor virtual device has 32 taps. Record a channel with its inserts (Rec) or dry through the fader (Mon), with alignment on and the latency reported to the DAW.
Console or Sidecar
Console mode builds the whole mix. Sidecar leaves the dry kit on your interface’s own mixer and adds rooms, reverbs and delays as wet returns at 128 samples.
Works with
- Interfaces
- Any Core Audio interface, opened beside your DAW at 32 samples where it allows (64 or 128 otherwise)
- Your plugins
- VST3 and AU effects on channels and deferred aux buses
- Recording
- Any DAW, through the 32-channel Drum Monitor virtual input device
- DAW link
- Studio One / Studio Pro: follows the song and runs the transport via Mackie Control
- Backing tracks
- WAV, AIFF, MP3, M4A, FLAC and OGG
Drum Monitor goes silent. The app’s window is blurred behind a “No valid licence” card, and nothing is deleted. How trials and licences work
Common
questions
Does it work with my interface?
It works with any Core Audio interface. In Console mode, mute your interface’s direct monitoring for the drum inputs so the kit is heard once. Sidecar mode keeps the interface mixer on the dry kit.
Is it a plugin?
It’s a standalone app that runs beside your DAW, which is what lets it monitor at 32 samples while the DAW uses whatever buffer it needs. Inside it, you can use your VST3 and AU plugins as inserts.
Can the drummer hear a click and backing tracks?
Yes. The tempo chip has tap tempo and a zero-latency click (Beep, Wood or Stick), and the play-along deck plays backing tracks with markers and A–B looping. DAW playback reaches the drummer through your interface’s mixer as usual.
Does it run on Intel Macs?
Drum Monitor needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 13 or later.
How do I get rid of latency in the drummer’s headphones when the DAW buffer is high?
Monitor the kit through Drum Monitor and turn off your DAW’s input monitoring on the drum tracks. Drum Monitor opens the same interface at its own small buffer, so a large DAW buffer adds nothing to what the drummer hears, and the DAW still records the dry mics as usual.
Will a plugin on the snare make the kit sound phasey?
Not with Align monitoring on, which is the default. Drum Monitor delays every other channel to match the slowest plugin, up to a strip latency cap you set, and a plugin that would go over the cap is bypassed and flagged in red.
Can I use a big reverb plugin without delaying the kit?
Yes. Put it on a deferred aux bus, which runs on its own thread at a larger block size and returns only the effect. The dry kit stays at the small buffer, and only the reverb arrives a little later.
Can I do parallel compression on the drums in the headphone mix?
Yes. Add an Inline bus, put Crush Comp on it and choose which channels feed it. It sums back into the Drum Bus in phase, and the Comp insert also has a Mix knob for parallel compression on a single channel.
Can I record the drummer’s headphone mix in my DAW?
Yes. Send any channel or bus to one of the 32 taps on the Drum Monitor virtual device and record that input in your DAW. Choose Rec to record a channel with its inserts or Mon to record it dry, and the device reports its latency so the takes line up with the mics.
Do I need Drum Monitor if my interface has a DSP mixer like UAD Console or RME TotalMix FX?
Those mixers run monitoring effects on the interface’s own DSP for that maker’s hardware: UAD plug-ins on Apollo in UAD Console, and built-in EQ, dynamics, reverb and echo in TotalMix FX. Drum Monitor runs on your Mac with any Core Audio interface and lets you put your own VST3 and AU plugins on the kit. If you like your interface’s mix, Sidecar mode leaves the dry kit there and adds rooms and reverbs as wet returns.
Can I run Drum Monitor from a MIDI controller?
Yes. Right-click almost any fader, knob or button and choose MIDI Learn, then move a CC, note or program change on your controller. App controls such as tap tempo, the click and next or previous preset work in every preset.
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