What you need
- Windows 10 (22H2) or Windows 11, 64-bit.
- Soundweave installed. Virtual Cable Support is set up in step 1.
- OBS Studio.
- Three apps to separate. This guide uses Discord, a game and a music player.
- Cables: two for each app, one that the app plays into and one that carries its mix to OBS. Three apps need six. Four are free, which covers two apps. A third app needs a cable plan (plans for 6, 8, 15 or 30 cables start at €4).
What you will build
Each app gets its own strip, where you set its level. Each strip goes to its own bus, and each bus plays into its own cable. OBS captures that cable as a source, so every app is a separate source with its own fader in OBS as well.
- Gameapp
- Cable “Game in”app plays in
- Stripcable input
- Bus B1virtual
- Cable “Game out”bus in, OBS out
- OBS sourceAudio Input Capture
Repeat that path for Discord and for your music. Every app uses two cables: an “in” cable it plays into, and an “out” cable that OBS records from.
Never use one cable both ways. A cable is a loop: whatever plays into its speaker side comes out of its microphone side. If a strip reads a cable and a bus also plays into that same cable, the sound goes round in a circle and OBS hears it doubled. Every cable is either a way in (an app plays into it, a strip reads it) or a way out (a bus plays into it, OBS reads it), never both.
Set up Virtual Cable Support
Open Devices in the title bar. If the status card says Ready, skip to the next step. Otherwise choose Install Virtual Cable Support. Windows asks for administrator approval once. The install usually takes under a minute, and you can keep using the mixer meanwhile.
This is the only step that needs administrator rights. Adding and removing cables afterwards does not.
Add the cables
On the same page, choose Add Cable and name the first cable after the app and its direction: Game in. Then add Game out. Repeat for Discord with Chat in and Chat out, and for your music with Music in and Music out.
The “in” cable is where the app plays into. The “out” cable is the way out to OBS. The four free cables cover two apps, here Game and Chat. Add the Music pair once you have a plan with more cables.
Windows lists each cable twice, as a speaker and as a microphone, both with the name you chose followed by (Soundweave 1), (Soundweave 2) and so on. Names have to be unique. You can rename a cable at any time.
Added in this order, the cables get the numbers 1 to 6: Game in 1, Game out 2, Chat in 3, Chat out 4, Music in 5 and Music out 6. You will see these numbers in the device lists below.
Bring each app into the mixer
Tell each app to play into its “in” cable, then add the cable as a strip:
- Discord: User Settings › Voice & Video › Output Device, then pick Chat in.
- Games and players with an output device setting: pick the matching “in” cable in the app.
- Everything else: use Windows. On Windows 10 open Settings › System › Sound › Advanced sound options › App volume and device preferences. On Windows 11 open Settings › System › Sound › Volume mixer and expand the app. Choose the “in” cable as the output of the app.
If an app does not list the new cable straight away, close it and start it again.
In the Mixer, choose Add input. Under Virtual inputs pick Game in, then Stereo · in 1–2. Repeat for Chat in (and Music in if you have the cable), and rename the strips to Game, Chat and Music.
Play something in each app. The meter on its strip should move. If it does not, check this step for that app.
Do not add an “out” cable (Game out, Chat out, Music out) as a strip. Those cables are outputs, and a strip on them would hear the bus.
Add a bus for each source
Choose Add bus. Set Type to B · virtual, name it Game and keep the channels on stereo. Soundweave labels it B1, B2 and so on, depending on the buses you already have. Repeat for Chat and Music.
Now give each bus its output. Click the output button on the bus (it shows a microphone icon and Mic), and under Virtual outputs tick the “out” cable of the same app: Game out, not Game in.
A cable output can feed only one bus. That is why every app gets its own “out” cable.
Route each strip to its bus
On each strip, click its bus button: B1 on the Game strip, B2 on Chat, B3 on Music. Route a strip to its own bus only.
Open Routing to check the whole picture. Each lit cell is an active route, and the number in it is the send level for that route in decibels. Click a lit cell to switch it off.
Hearing the apps yourself. An app plays into its “in” cable, so it is silent until you click A1 on its strip and check that A1 has your headphones or speakers as its output.
Capture each source in OBS
In OBS Studio, add one source per cable:
- In Sources, click + and choose Audio Input Capture.
- Name it after the app, for example Game, and click OK.
- Under Device choose the “out” cable, for example Game out (Soundweave 2), and click OK. Do not pick the “in” cable.
- Repeat for Chat and Music.
The OBS Audio Mixer now has one fader and one mute button for each app.
Hearing everything twice? OBS’s own Desktop Audio source records the Windows default output. Apps that still play there, such as an app you have not pointed at its “in” cable yet, or A1 when it plays to the default output, come through on top of the separate sources. Mute or remove Desktop Audio in OBS.
Optional: put each source on its own track
In the OBS Audio Mixer, click the gear icon and choose Advanced Audio Properties. In the Tracks columns tick a different track for each source. A recording can save several tracks, so you can mix them again in an editor, or leave the music out. A live stream carries one track.
Troubleshooting
- The OBS source is silent
- Walk back along the path: is the app’s output set to its “in” cable, does the meter on the strip move, is the bus button on the strip lit, and does the bus output show the “out” cable you picked in OBS? On the Devices page every cable should say Active.
- The sound rings, echoes or doubles
- A cable is probably used both ways. Open Devices: a cable that lists both a strip and a bus under “In the mixer” is a loop. Give the bus a cable of its own, and use that cable in OBS.
- I cannot hear the app myself
- The app plays into its “in” cable, so it is silent until you click A1 on its strip. Check that the A1 bus has your headphones or speakers as its output.
- OBS does not list the cable
- Close and reopen the source properties, or restart OBS. Check that the cable is Active on the Devices page.
- Apps do not offer the cable in Windows sound settings
- Start the app again after you added the cable. Some apps only look for audio devices when they start.
- I only have four cables
- Two apps use all four. A third app needs a cable plan with more cables (plans for 6, 8, 15 or 30 cables start at €4).
Questions
How many cables do I need?
Two for every app you want on its own in OBS: an “in” cable the app plays into, and an “out” cable OBS records from. Two apps use four cables, which is the free amount. Three apps use six. Plans go up to 30.
Why can one cable not be both an input and an output?
A cable is a loop. What a bus plays into it comes straight out of its microphone side, where a strip on the same cable would read it again and send it back to the bus. Use one cable to bring an app in and another to send the result out.
Do I need a plugin for OBS?
No. OBS’s Audio Input Capture source works with any audio device, and Windows lists a Soundweave cable as a microphone.
Can I use my microphone through Soundweave as well?
Yes. Add it as a strip and send it to its own bus and cable. The microphone guide shows how to clean it up first.
Keep going
Set it up on your PC.
Soundweave is free to use on Windows 10 and 11. The first four virtual cables are included.