- Audio output device (interface + stereo channel pair)
- Input and output gain in dB (pre- and post-plugin trim)
- One optional AU plugin on the listen bus (room correction, headphone calibration, reference meter, etc.)
Where to find them
OpenSettings → Audio → Monitor, or use the Monitor section at the bottom of the Master track’s Inspector — the same fields, always expanded and edited in place. A System Default profile is created automatically on first run and follows the macOS system output device.
Switch outputs
When the profile activates, Gridshift mutes the listen bus, loads the profile’s plugin, applies the device and the channel pair, rebuilds the chain, and ramps the input gain back up — so the swap is click-free. The plugin loads before the device changes, so it comes up on the device it is meant for.
A profile bound to a device that isn’t plugged in can’t be activated. Its row is greyed out and inert in the Command Palette, its Activate button is disabled in settings, and the Inspector dropdown marks it “(not connected)”. The refusal is enforced centrally, so audio never lands on the system default with the wrong device’s gain applied.
Profile fields
In settings, click the info button (ⓘ) on a profile row for the detail sheet. In the Master track’s Inspector, the same fields sit in the Monitor section and are edited in place — there is no separate dialog.Profile order
Drag profiles into the order you want in settings, or use the Move Up / Move Down buttons. The order is not cosmetic: when Gridshift picks a profile for a device by itself, it takes the topmost one bound to that device.Multiple profiles on one interface
A common setup: Studio Monitors on channels 1-2 and Headphones on channels 3-4 of the same interface. Create two profiles, bind both to that interface, and set different Output Channels. Switching profiles re-routes the stereo pair without interrupting playback.When Gridshift picks a profile on its own — at launch, or when the interface is plugged back in — it goes by the profile order alone, not by output channels, so two profiles on one interface always resolve to whichever sits higher in the list. Drag the one you want as the default to the top.
The monitor plugin
Each profile has one optional plugin slot, designed for room / headphone correction:- Add a plugin with Add Plugin…, in the profile detail sheet or in the Master track’s Monitor section.
- Plugin state is saved back into the profile when you switch profiles, when you close the plugin’s window, and on app quit — your settings persist across sessions.
- The plugin stays loaded when you switch projects or undo an edit; neither unloads it.
- Press
⌘⇧P, or run Open Monitor Plugin from the Command Palette, to open the plugin’s AU window.
The plugin is audible through the listen bus, but a monitor profile is never rendered into a bounce — exported audio is not colored by a correction plugin, and the profile does not travel with the project file.
iCloud sync
Monitor Profiles sync via iCloud. Each profile is a.gsmonitor file in Documents/MonitorProfiles/ inside the iCloud container, so the setups you configure on one machine appear on every other Mac signed into the same Apple account.