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896mk3 Hybrid User Guide Mac

1. Using the CueMix FX app o oooooococncccccccco os Controlling CueMix FX from your audio software 49 MONITORING LIVE INPUT is routed directly to an output either with or There are two ways to monitor live audio input without Track16 based effects processing EQ with an Track16 1 through the computer or 2 via compression or reverb See CueMix FX hardware the Track16 CueMix FX hardware mixer monitoring later in this chapter for details on how Figure 8 1 shows method 1 which allows you to to use CueMix FX with your audio software or apply host based effects processing via plug ins in with the included CueMix FX software your audio software See the next section Adjusting the audio I O buffer for details about If the material you are recording is suitable there is how to reduce and possibly eliminate the a third way to monitor live input use both methods audible monitoring delay that the computer Figure 8 1 and Figure 8 2 at the same time For introduces example you could route guitar to both the computer for an amp model effect and mix that Figure 8 2 shows how to use CueMix FX hardware processed signal on the main outs with dry guitar based monitoring which lets you hear what you are from CueMix FX or perhaps with a touch of recording with no monitoring delay and no Track16 Classic Reverb computer based effects processing Instead input 4 Mic signal with plug in pro
2. Using the EQ Dynamics knobs Once you have chosen the desired EQ band or the compressor you can modify its settings using the two or three knobs below the graph The knobs match the color of the currently selected effect to help remind you of which effect you are currently editing Important before you can modify the settings of an EQ band using the three knobs below the graph the EQ band must be enabled This is done in the EQ tab Figure 9 10 as explained in Enabling EQ on page 66 EQ Dynamics enable disable buttons Click the EQ or Dynamics button at the bottom of the input channel Figure 9 3 to toggle the effect on or off Note that you can program EQ and compressor settings even when the effect is currently disabled You just won t hear the result until you enable it Reverb send The input reverb send Figure 9 3 feeds the input signal to the Track16 s global reverb processor where it is merged with any other signals being fed to the reverb The reverb s output can then be fed back into a mix or output pair The send occurs after all other settings in the input channel strip phase invert EQ compression etc THE OUTPUTS TAB The Outputs tab Figure 9 6 lets you apply EQ dynamics and reverb to any output pair just before the signal leaves the Track16 This is processing that occurs at the very end of the signal flow after everything else host based effects Track16 input or bus processing mi
3. MOTU SMPTE Console page 101 Samples Per Buffer The Samples Per Buffer setting lets you reduce the delay you hear when patching live audio through your audio software For example you might have a live guitar input that you would like to run through an amp simulation plug in that you are running in your host audio software When doing so you may hear or feel some sponginess delay between the source and the processed signal If so don t worry This effect only affects what you hear it is not present in what is actually recorded You can use Samples Per Buffer setting to reduce this monitoring delay and even make it completely inaudible If you don t need to process an incoming live signal with software plug ins you can monitor the signal with no delay at all using CueMix FX which routes the signal directly to your speakers via hardware For details see chapter 9 CueMix FX page 55 Adjusting the Samples Per Buffer setting impacts the following things a The strain on your computers CPU m The delay you hear when routing a live signal through your host audio software plug ins How responsive the transport controls are in your software This setting presents you with a trade off between the processing power of your computer and the delay of live audio as it is being processed by plug ins If you reduce the Samples Per Buffer you reduce patch thru latency but significantly increase the overa
4. Make sure the Master Clock Source setting in the MOTU Audio Console window is set to SMPTE Also make sure that you ve connected an LTC input signal to an Track16 analog input and that you ve specified that input in the SMPTE Source menu in SMPTE Console 103 MOTU SMPTE CONSOLE SETUP FOR SMPTE TIME CODE SYNC Here is the basic setup to resolve the Track16 system directly to SMPTE time code The Track16 can also generate time code under its own clock or while slaving to time code Therefore the Track16 can act both as an audio interface and as a SMPTE time code synchronizer to which you can slave other devices You can use the Track16 to slave your audio software to SMPTE as well via sample time code source audio cable bearing LIC Longitudinal Time Code Analog line input e rack16 interface FireWire USB cable Windows computer running Cubase or other sample accurate ASIO software Figure 10 3 Connections for synchronizing the Track16 directly to SMPTE time code Choose SMPTE as the clock source in MOTU Audio Setup This setting can also be made in SMPTE the MOTU SMPTE Console shown below accurate sync if your host software supports it To set up your host software refer to the following section that applies to you Use this setup if you have V A SMPTE time code source such as a multitrack tape deck Y An Track16 by itself OR with another slaved device such as a digital mi
5. Track16 is operating under bus power this is not recommended If you need to daisy chain the Track16 with other devices on the same FireWire bus power the Track16 with the included power adapter The other devices on the chain should also have their own power supply In general bus powered FireWire devices should not be daisy chained FireWire adapter products must be powered If you are using a FireWire adapter a third party product that supplies one or more FireWire ports to your computer it must have direct access to a power supply m PCI FireWire cards If you plan to connect the Track16 to a PCI card and run the Track16 under bus power the PCI card must have a direct connection to the power supply harness inside your computer This is the same power supply harness to which you connect internal hard drives CD DVD drives etc PCMCIA or ExpressCard slot adapters If you plan to connect the Track16 to a card adapter inserted in the card slot in your laptop it must provide a 6 pin or 9 pin connection and it must also have its own power supply Most commonly these types of products have a DC power adapter As you can see however this situation does not allow for remote battery operation as the PC card adapter requires AC Examples of bus powered operation Here are a few typical examples of bus powered Track16 operation Bus power from a desktop computer Your desktop computer is running off of its usual
6. near 1 Signal activity occurs in a seemingly random fashion throughout the grid What it indicates Left and right channels are pre dominantly in polarity the ste reo field is relatively narrow Left and right channels are pre dominantly out of polarity not in phase No phase relationship exists i e itis probably a wide stereo field If a stereo signal is out of phase it is not mono compatible because it can cancel itself out either partially or nearly completely when collapsed to mono In polarity 45 es as Out of polarity _ o oe 0 os oo oo as 05 14 as 0 05 10 18 as es es 18 No polarity Figure 9 47 Checking polarity in a stereo signal with the X Y Plot CUEMIX FX PHASE ANALYSIS The Phase Analysis window Figure 9 48 on page 92 graphs frequency versus phase difference versus amplitude of a stereo signal on either rectangular or polar coordinates In rectangular coordinates the vertical axis represents frequency and the horizontal axis represents the phase of the left channel minus the phase of the right channel measured in radians In polar coordinates the radius represents frequency and the angle theta from the y vertical axis represents the phase difference of left channel minus the right channel Correlation Meter The blue Correlation Meter to the right of the display shows the correlation between the two channels The higher the meter th
7. to gain access to The bus output Figure 9 2 indicates the Track16 the Track16 s eight stereo mix busses The Mixes stereo output pair to which the mix bus is routed tab displays one mix bus at a time Bus fader Viewing a mix The bus fader Figure 9 2 controls the overall level Choose the mix you wish to view from the mix bus of the mix its volume on its stereo output Use the menu in the Mixes tab itself as shown in individual input faders to the left to control Figure 9 2 The menu shows all mixes by name individual input levels followed by the Track16 output pair to which each Bus mute bus master fader is assigned If the optical output bank is either disabled or set to TOSLink see Optical input output on page 36 then bus 5 6 and 7 are disabled The bus mute button Figure 9 2 disables silences the mix Bus level meter The bus level meter which is post fader shows you Naming a mix je the output for the mix s output Click the mix name at the top of the mix bus master fader Figure 9 2 to edit the name Mixes Mixbus oe es Track16 Mix bus 1 tab menu Bus 3 Analog1 2 inputs master Bus 4 ADAT 1 2 Bus 5 ADAT 3 4 fader Bus 6 ADAT 5 6 Bus 7 ADAT 7 8 Input name Bus name Channel focus Bus output Input pan section oe Bus Reverb send return Input fad nee Bus fader Bus mute Input mute solo Bus level meter Input level meter Scroll bar for input channels Inputs spli
8. 40 64 Paste 80 Patch thru latency 35 52 Peak mode 73 Peak Hold Time 79 Pedal settings 9 Performance 52 Phantom power 7 13 23 40 64 Phase 61 Phase Analysis 92 Phones connecting 8 menu 97 meters 7 volume control 40 Phones 1 2 output 47 Phones Assign 9 36 3rd party software 42 Polarity 27 Power supply 27 bus power 21 23 jack 8 Pre post FX buttons 65 75 Precision Digital Trim 12 PreDelay 76 Pro Tools 41 43 Propellerhead Reason 44 Propellerhead Record 44 Q 68 Ratio compressor 73 Reaper 41 44 Reason 41 44 Record 41 44 Regenerate 103 Registration 17 Release Dynamics 73 Return Assign 9 37 46 Host audio software 42 Reverb 57 design section 77 early reflections 76 enabling disabling 75 input sends 62 mix bus send return 58 59 outputs send return 63 predelay 76 returns 76 routing to from 76 send channel tab 65 sends 76 shelf filter 76 tab 75 time 76 77 trim channel tab 65 width 77 Reverb return 76 OS X audio software 42 RMS mode 73 S S MUX 25 S PDIF optical 8 12 Sample rate 9 34 Samplers connecting 28 Samples per buffer 9 35 42 51 Save Hardware Preset 79 Share surfaces with other applications 98 Shelf Filter 76 Shortcuts 79 Show Band Response 81 FFT 81 no analysis 81 Spectrogram 81 Show EQ Controls 82 Show Hide Full Window Analysis 81 Signal flow CueMix FX mixer 60 SMPTE Console application 101 overview 101 source setting 102 sync 101 SMPTE sync 104 Soft
9. Audio I O reference Inputs at 2x sample rates When operating the Track16 at a 2x sample rate 88 2 or 96 kHz inputs are listed as follows Input 88 2 96 kHz Channels List position Comment Mic 2 1 2 Guitar 2 3 4 Line 4 5 8 Stereo 2 9 10 See Return Assign return on page 42 Reverb 2 11 12 See Reverb return return on page 42 Optical 4 ADAT 13 16 2 TOSLINK 13 14 Inputs at 4x sample rates When operating the Track16 at a 4x sample rate 176 4 or 192 kHz inputs are listed as follows Input 176 4 192 kHz Channels List position Comment Mic 2 1 2 Guitar 2 3 4 Line 4 5 8 Stereo 2 9 10 See Return return Assign on page 42 Reverb Not 5 a return available Optical Not available 107 Outputs at 1x sample rates Outputs are always listed in the same order as follows when operating the Track16 at 1x sample rates 44 1 or 48 kHz Output 44 1 48kHz Channels List position Comment Main out 2 1 2 Phones 2 3 4 Line 2 5 6 Optical 8 ADAT 7 14 2 TOSLINK 7 8 Outputs at 2x sample rates When operating the Track16 at a 2x sample rate 88 2 or 96 kHz outputs are listed as follows Output 88 2 96 kHz Channels List position Comment Main out 2 1 2 Phones 2 3 4 Line 2 5 6 Optical 8 ADAT 7 10 2 TOSLINK 7 8 Outputs at 4x sample rates When operating the Track16 at a 4x sample rate 176 4 or 192 kHz outputs are listed as follows Output 176 4 192 kHz Channels Li
10. EQ tab 66 CUEMIX FX feedback of the EQ curve being applied With 64 bit floating point processing the Track16 Vintage EQ has been carefully crafted and meticulously engineered to produce musical results in a wide variety of applications Enabling EQ Each input and output channel has a global EQ enable disable button Figure 9 3 and Figure 9 6 This button enables or disables all bands of EQ for the channel In addition each individual band of EQ has a Filter enable disable switch Figure 9 10 allowing you to enable as few or as many bands as needed for each individual channel Shortcut hold down the Option Alt key while clicking anywhere in the EQ graph that s not directly on an EQ filter handle to enable or bypass the EQ for that input or output Filter Composite Individual handle curve filter curve white line colored area Vertical scale Filter enable disable Low pass filter Vintage EQ Quick reference Filter response display Shows the response curve for the current settings Vertical scale Lets you zoom the vertical scale of the filter response display Parameter display Shows the precise numbers of the parameter you are adjusting or hovering over with the arrow cursor The labels frequency gain etc match the color of the filter being displayed When a filter handle is not selected and when the cursor is not hovering over the display the parameter display shows the name of the curre
11. Input pan section The input pan knob Figure 9 2 pans the input across the bus stereo outputs If the input itself is grouped as a stereo pair in the Inputs tab two forms of panning control are provided Balance Balance works like the balance knob on some radios turn it left and the right channel dims turn it right and left channel dims But the left channel always stays left and the right channel stays right Width Width spreads the left and right channels across the stereo image depending on the knob position Maximum value turning the pan knob all the way up maintains the original stereo image the left channel goes entirely left and right goes entirely right without attenuation The minimum value turning the knob all the way down creates a mono effect equal amounts of left and right are combined and sent to both outputs In between the left out is a mixture of the left input and some of the right input and vice versa with the effect of narrowing the field Input fader and mute solo To add an input to a mix or remove it click its Mute button To solo it use its Solo button Use the input fader Figure 9 2 to adjust the level for the input in the mix Note that an input can have different level pan mute and solo settings for different mixes Input channel level meters are post fader If any solo button on the current active bus is enabled the Solo Light Figure 9 1 will illuminate CUEMIX FX T
12. Out Display options Figure 9 32 View controls These settings are independent of the small graph display options Figure 9 10 on page 66 so you have the flexibility to display different combinations in each graph Show EQ Controls will be available only if the focused pair are a stereo input pair or stereo output pair Logarithmic or Linear X Axis Scale The x axis defaults to a logarithmic scale but can be changed to a linear scale if desired In the View controls Figure 9 32 click Logarithmic to access the x axis scale options menu With a linear scale selected frequency is constant but the width of each octave along the x axis is different With a logarithmic scale selected octaves are displayed with a constant width but frequency is displayed logarithmically within each octave Axes display The Axes control Figure 9 32 sets the opacity of the grid displayed in the graph from 100 fully visible down to 0 fully hidden Pausing the display The Pause button in the upper right corner of the View section Figure 9 32 allows you to freeze the display at any time To resume click the button again Horizontal controls frequency axis The Horizontal controls Figure 9 33 configure the value range of the x axis frequency Click and drag the values up or down to set them or double click to return to the default value There are two modes for the controls Zoom Offset and Min Max To change the
13. Source or to one of its own digital inputs or other sync sources The latter scenario is useful for externally resolving the interface with the interface chosen as the Master Clock Source Operating multiple FireWire interfaces at high sample rates Three MOTU FireWire interfaces can operate at 44 1 or 48kHz on a single FireWire bus although you may have to disable optical banks to conserve FireWire bus bandwidth At the 2x samples rates 88 2 or 96kHz and 4x sample rates 176 4 and 192kHz you can operate no more than two interfaces on a single FireWire bus 29 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 HARDWARE 30 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 HARDWARE Part 2 Using Irack16 CHAPTER 5 OVERVIEW MOTU Audio Console gives you access to basic Track16 hardware settings such as sample rate clock source optical format and more Accessing the Track16 settings 33 General tab settings oooooomomommomos o 34 Sample Rate sn cinica ce 34 Master Clock Source 6 00 0s000000ceesbereoere sevens 34 Samples Per Buffer ooooooomommmmomomo 35 Use stereo pairs for Windows audio 36 Use WaveRT for Windows audio 36 Enable Pedal variar rr 36 Track16 tab settings sissi 36 Phones ASSIN rra 36 Optical input output o ooooocomomommomos ooo 36 Main QUEASSIONI criticare 36 Return ASS eric 37 MOTU Audio Console ACCESSING THETRACK16 SETTINGS There are s
14. Track16 This meter gives you the most accurate reading of the actual signal level hitting the input regardless of any other settings The Bus Activity LEDs Figure 9 9 show you which mix busses the input signal is being fed to For example LED 6 will glow under the following conditions the input is unmuted in mix bus 6 its fader is up and there is signal activity from the input going into the mix bus 65 CUEMIX FX The EQ tab The EQ tab Figure 9 10 displays the EQ settings for the input or output channel that currently has the focus Click any focus button in the Inputs or Outputs tab to view the EQ tab settings for the channel Vintage EQ Inspired by legendary British large console EQs the Track16 Vintage EQ section Figure 9 10 gives you the look feel and sound of the most sought after classic equalizers Five bands of center frequency parametric EQ filtering are provided each with four EQ types that provide current popular EQ styles and vintage analog EQ styles alike Two bands include shelf filtering Two additional bands of variable slope low pass and high pass filtering are provided The filter response display provides comprehensive control and visual Q handles red lines Filter response display Filter display options menu Parameter display EQ tab En EQ Filter types gt iii Lw Shelf filter High pass frequency Figure 9 10 The
15. Windows to locate the drivers Clicks and pops under word clock sync Many problems result from incorrect word clocking It is essential that all digital devices in the system be word locked Consult Choosing a clock source for optical connections on page 25 for detailed information on how to sync with other Troubleshooting gear that is connected optically Whenever there is any weird noise or distortion suspect incorrect digital clocking Clicks and pops due to hard drive problems If you have checked your clock settings and you are still getting clicks and pops in your audio you may have a drive related problem Set your Master Clock Source to Internal and try recording just using the analog inputs and outputs of the Track 16 If you encounter the same artifacts you may want try using another drive in your computer Clicks and pops can also occur when the drive is severely fragmented or there are other drive related issues If you are using a FireWire drive on the same bus as the Track16 it could be that the FireWire bus is overloaded too many devices on the same bus Try removing all devices except the Track16 Connecting or powering gear during operation It is not recommended that you connect disconnect or power on off devices connected to the Track16 while recording or playing back audio Doing so may cause a brief glitch in the audio Track16 inputs and outputs are not available in host audio software Make s
16. bar below the number or by clicking the number and typing a value To reset the tuner to the default frequency double click the slider or click the number press the Delete key and press Enter Tuning stereo signals When tuning a stereo signal the tuner analyzes the sum of the two channels If the channels are not phase coherent the tuner may not be able to measure the frequency of the signal To tune only one channel of the channel pair disable one of the channels as described in Choosing a channel to tune on page 96 96 CUEMIX FX CONFIGURATIONS MENU A configuration is just like a hardware preset a snapshot of all settings in CueMix FX and therefore the Track16 hardware itself except that it can be created and managed using the CueMix FX software on your computer completely independently of the Track16 hardware The commands in the Configurations menu let you create save load import export and otherwise manage as many configurations as you wish Here is a summary of Configurations menu operations Configurations Menu item What it does Create New Lets you name and save a new configuration which appears at the bottom of the Configura tions menu Save Overwrites the current configuration checked in the list at the bottom of the menu with the current settings in CueMix FX Save To Same as Save above except that it lets you first choose the configuration you wish to save to instead of the curr
17. daisy chain MIDI devices but be sure to manage their MIDI channels so that they don t receive or transmit on the same channel 10 This is the second of two hi Z guitar inputs The first guitar input is on the front panel 1 11 18 OPTICAL OUT DB25 Breakout cable Optical 1 0 TT ey TTT Main out 1 2 Line out 1 2 DCPower 14V These two analog line level inputs are balanced quarter inch connectors They do not have preamps so they are best used for synthesizers drum machines effects processors and other instruments with line level signals either 10 dB or 4 dB These inputs are also equipped with the Track16 s Precision Digital Trim feature digitally controlled analog trims that let you adjust input level in 1 4 dB increments The trim can be adjusted over a range of 96 to 22 dB These two balanced TRS jacks serve as the Track16 s main analog outputs You can connect them to a set of powered studio monitors and then control the volume by pressing the MAIN button To hear disk tracks in your audio software on these main outs assign the disk tracks and master fader to these main outs Also make sure the Main Out Assign option is set to Main Out 1 2 See Main Out Assign on page 36 You can also use CueMix FX to monitor live Track16 inputs here as well These two analog line outputs are unbalanced quarter inch connectors referenced to 17 dBu 14 This jack accepts an
18. device with a control voltage CV input The CV signals output from Volta can be monitored in the Oscilloscope giving you visual feedback on LFOs envelopes ramps step sequencers and more For more information on Volta see www motu com X Y PLOT The X Y Plot window Figure 9 42 graphs the amplitude of a stereo audio signal on a two dimensional grid For each unit of time i e each sample the amplitude of the left channel is displayed on the x axis and the amplitude of the right channel is displayed on the y axis A thick white vertical line marks where left channel amplitude equals zero a thick white horizontal line marks where right channel amplitude equals zero Figure 9 42 below There are also thick white diagonal lines for y x and y x Figure 9 42 X Y Plot Metering Level meters are displayed above and to the right of the graph for the left green and right red channels respectively An additional Correlation meter blue is displayed on the right This meter displays the correlation between the two channels The higher the meter the higher the correlation between the two channels Below are a few examples Situation Meter level X YPlotgraph Mathematical relationship Perfect correla 1 Diagonal line y x tion going from lower left to upper right Zero correlation 0 No discern None ible pattern Perfectly out of 1 Diagonal line y x phase going from upper left to lower right
19. form of accurate clean shelving can sound harsh especially when compared to legacy analog EQs To soften the results the overshoot is increased as Q is increased as shown Figure 9 17 for Q values of 1 00 2 00 and 3 00 This overshoot region produces a boost in frequencies just above the cutoff which compensates in a smooth more pleasing fashion for the perceived drop in low frequencies being cut Conversely when shelving boost is being applied overshoot cuts frequencies just above the cutoff to again compensate in a smooth and pleasing fashion for the perceived boost in low frequencies SI FREQ 40 3 Hz GAIN 20 0 08 0 300 Figure 9 18 Overshoot when low shelf boost is applied Overshoot is also applied to high shelf boost and cut Figure 9 19 Overshoot when high shelf cut and boost is applied 71 CUEMIX FX Overshoot tends to produce more of what one would expect to hear when applying shelving and is therefore considered to be more musical than shelving without overshoot This effect which has gained tremendous popularity among audio engineers was first made popular in original Neve series EQs and later in the SSL G series At maximum the maximum Q setting of 3 00 the overshoot peaks at half the total boosted or cut gain For example with a maximum gain setting of 20dB the loss in the overshoot region is 10 dB Overshoot curves are symmetrical for both cut and boost Low pass and high pas
20. go to the Preferences window click the Audio tab and then choose MOTU Audio from the Audio device type menu Other audio software For other audio applications the procedure is similar to that shown above Consult your owner s manual for further information REDUCING LATENCY On Windows audio I O buffer size is handled by the audio driver rather than the host audio application In the MOTU Audio Console Samples Per Buffer provides an adjustable audio buffer setting that lets you control the amount of delay you ll hear when monitoring live inputs through your host audio software or processing them with software plug ins For information see the Adjusting the audio I O buffer section of chapter 8 Reducing Monitoring Latency page 49 WORKING WITH TRACK16 INPUTS AND OUTPUTS Once you ve enabled the Track16 s driver Track16 audio inputs and outputs will appear in your host software wherever audio inputs and outputs are listed If you don t see the optical inputs and or outputs check MOTU Audio Console to make sure they are enabled If you don t plan to use either optical bank turn it off to conserve computer bandwidth Remember that the main outs and headphone output can be configured in MOTU Audio Console to mirror other outputs In addition the Track16 optical banks can be disabled or configured as either ADAT optical or TOSLink This will affect how they appear and if they appear at all in your host s
21. horizontal position to center it in the display These settings are depicted in the example in Figure 9 41 You can also pause the display at any time and adjust the horizontal bounds to locate a transient Clip detection You can use the Oscilloscope to detect clipping in a digital audio signal To do so enable all criteria Figure 9 39 on page 85 choose Single Sweep from the trigger menu Figure 9 39 set the level to 0 999 and click the trigger indicator Figure 9 39 to arm it yellow As soon as the signal clips the trigger indicator will turn red and the display will show the offending clip at the line marking time equals zero Viewing timing pulses If you have two audio signals with recognizable timed pulses in them and you wish to compare their timing with respect to each other you can use Split Screen or Shared view to visually compare the timing of the two signals You can zoom in to the sample level for sample accurate viewing Building synthesizer patches If you are building a synth patch on a synthesizer or forming similar highly periodic audio material you can run the audio signal through the Oscilloscope as you adjust its sound to check in real time for undesirable and possibly inaudible characteristics which are easily seen in the Oscilloscope display A good example is DC offset If a signal develops DC offset the apparent vertical center of its overall waveform will drift above or below the line mar
22. inch TRS connectors a Two analog line level outputs on unbalanced quarter inch connectors About the Track16 Independent 48V phantom power and 20 dB pad for each mic input Independent Precision Digital Trim for each input a 24 bit operation on all analog I O at standard sample rates up to 192 kHz a One bank of optical digital I O that provide 8 channels of ADAT optical at 48 kHz 4 channels of S MUX optical I O at 96 kHz or stereo TOSLINK at rates up to 96 kHz On board SMPTE synchronization via any analog input and output Two phone jacks quarter inch and mini Programmable master volume knob a CueMix FX no latency mixing monitoring and effects processing m 7 segment LED level meters for all analog inputs m Dedicated 7 segment level meters for main outs m External international power supply m FireWire bus powered operation m Stand alone operation m Mac and Windows drivers for multi channel operation and across the board compatibility with any audio software on current Mac and Windows systems With a variety of I O formats mic preamps no latency mixing and processing of live input and synchronization capabilities the Track16 is a complete portable studio in a box when used with a Mac or Windows computer THE TRACK16 I O CONNECTIONS The Track16 has the following I O connections supplied either on the base unit itself or on the included DB25 breakout cable All Track16 inputs and ou
23. initial reflections without any subsequent reverb turn the reverb time down as far as it will go You ll hear interesting and unusual effects Reverb design The Reverb Design section allows you to independently control the reverb time for three separate frequency bands Low Mid and High with adjustable cross over points between them Low and High The reverb time for each band is specified in percent of the overall reverb time in the Primary Controls section at the top of the tab You can edit these parameters graphically by dragging the handles in the graphic display Figure 9 23 Width does what its name implies if you turn this control all the way up the result is maximum stereo imaging A position of 12 o clock produces essentially a mono image Turning the control all the way down completely swaps the stereo image OUTPUT VOLUME CONTROLS The Monitoring section Figure 9 1 provides independent volume control for each of the Track16 s analog outputs DSP METER The DSP meter Figure 9 1 shows how much of the available DSP processing power is currently being used by the Track16 for effects processing DSP resources are allocated in channel order from the first input to the last output If there aren t enough DSP resources for all effects to be enabled on a channel none of them are allocated on that channel or any following channel EQ on a stereo channel requires approximately twice the DSP resources as the same
24. instructions on configuring CueMix FX for operation with your control surface product 98 CUEMIX FX MOTU CueMix Mackie Control Surface Settings Control Surface None y MIDI input No inputs available y MIDI output No outputs available y Group 0 Group position 0 CueMix Control Surfaces Help Mozilla Firefox File Edit Yiew Go Bookmarks Tools Help gt v amp RI A D fle JJ1C WINDOWS system32 MOTU CueMixPlugIns MOTUMackiejCueMixiMackiesurfac co l _ CueMix Control Surfaces Help CueMix Control Surfaces Hel Mackie Control Surfaces with CueMix The MOTU CueMix Console is capable of being controlled remotely via one of the Mackie Control Surfaces Mackie Control HUI or Baby HUI connected to the computer thru a MIDI Port CueMix Console Control Surfaces menu Application follows control surface When this menu item is checked CueMix will always show the fader being moved This is helpful in setups with multiple control surfaces where you might be mixing two different buses and you always want to see on screen the fader being moved Share with other applications If you are planning to use your control surface together with another program this setting will unload the driver when the console is not the top most application so it can be used by another application that uses the control surface When this menu item is unchecked CueMix retains control over the control surface regardless of which appli
25. mode use the Horizontal control menu Figure 9 33 Horizontal gt S x Senn Y Zoom Offset Pos Pos SEG Min Max Vertical v Vertical Zoom ka zoom E pos ME Pos ME Figure 9 33 Horizontal control menu 82 CUEMIX FX In Zoom Offset mode Zoom sets the display zoom from 1x to 100x where the number represents the zoom factor relative to the entire frequency range For example when the horizontal zoom value is 1x the entire frequency range from 10 to 24000 Hertz is displayed when the horizontal zoom value is 2x one half of the entire frequency range is displayed Pos determines which frequency is displayed at the center of the graph In Min Max mode Min and Max set the lowest and highest displayed frequencies in Hertz Vertical controls amplitude axis The Vertical controls Figure 9 28 operate similarly to the Horizontal controls except that they configure the y axis amplitude In Zoom Offset mode Zoom sets the display zoom from 1x to 100x and Pos sets the center amplitude of the graph In Min Max mode Min and Max set the smallest and largest displayed amplitude Spectrogram controls The Floor control Figure 9 28 sets the amplitude threshold for the spectrogram display from 144 dB up to 0 dB The Alpha control Figure 9 28 sets the opacity of the spectrogram information displayed in the graph from 100 fully visible to 0 hidden The info box When any EQ f
26. s Horizontal Zoom MIC Pos Vertical F Zoom 1 1 10x Pos i Persistence 30000 Are Decay i Warp CUEMIX FX Opening the X Y Plot Each Track16 interface has its own X Y Plot window Choose the X Y Plot item from the Devices menu under the desired interface Choosing a channel pair to display The X Y Plot follows the currently focused audio input or output If you focus a mono channel e g Analog 3 its corresponding stereo pair will be displayed Analog 3 4 View controls The View controls Figure 9 43 provide several options for the X Y Plot display Pause button Gion REA Zoom Figure 9 43 View controls Pausing the display The Pause button in the upper right corner of the View section Figure 9 43 allows you to freeze the display at any time To resume click the button again The level meters will remain active while the display is paused Line Scatter Choose either Line or Scatter from the menu in the View section Figure 9 43 to plot each point sample as either a single pixel or as a continuous line that connects each plot point to the next as shown below in Figure 9 44 1 0 0 5 0 0 Figure 9 44 The same X Y Plot displayed in Line versus Scatter mode Line mode is significantly more CPU intensive than Scatter You can reduce Line mode CPU overhead on the X Y Plot by reducing the Length parameter described below Color Grayscale In C
27. surface when you switch to another application This allows you to control your other software with the control surface Here s a simple way to understand this mode the control surface will always control the front most application Just bring the desired application to the front make it the active application and your control surface will control it When youd like to make changes to CueMix FX from the control surface just bring CueMix FX to the front make it the active application When this menu item is unchecked your control surface will affect CueMix FX all the time even when CueMix FX is not the front most application In addition you will not be able to control other host audio software with the control surface at any time because CueMix FX retains control over it at all times This mode is useful when you do not need to use the control surface with any other software CueMix Control Surfaces CueMix FX includes support for the following control surface products a Mackie Control a Mackie HUI m Mackie Baby HUI Use the sub menu commands in the CueMix Control Surfaces menu item to turn on and configure control surface support as described briefly below Enabled Check this menu item to turn on control surface operation of CueMix FX Uncheck it to turn off control surface support Configure Choose this menu item to configure your control surface product Open the help files for specific detailed
28. the Track16 s CueMix FX on board mixer which provides no latency monitoring mixing and processing of live inputs through your Track16 MOTU SMPTE Console tures Provides access to the Track16 system s SMPTE time code sync fea chapter 10 MOTU SMPTE Con sole page 101 MOTU AUDIO DRIVERS ASIO ASIO is an acronym for Audio Streaming Input and Output The MOTU Audio ASIO driver provides multi channel audio input and output for applications that support ASIO audio drivers such as Ableton Live Avid Pro Tools Cakewalk SONAR Cockos Reaper Propellerhead Reason and Record Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo and others For details about using the Track16 with ASIO see chapter 7 Configuring Host Audio Software page 41 WDM WDM is an acronym for Windows Driver Model The MOTU Audio WDM driver provides multi channel audio input and output for applications that support WDM audio drivers For details about using the Track16 with WDM see chapter 7 Configuring Host Audio Software page 41 WaveRT Uncheck this option Figure 5 1 on page 34 if the Windows audio software you are using with your MOTU audio interface does not support Windows WaveRT drivers and instead only supports WDM drivers MOTU AUDIO CONSOLE MOTU Audio Console available in the Start menu gives you access to all of the settings in the Track16 such as the clock source and sample rate For complete details see chapter 5
29. will automatically switch to FireWire operation or USB operation accordingly Some FireWire or USB ports that do not provide bus power cannot be automatically detected by the Track16 and you may need to switch the device to FireWire mode or USB mode manually Toswitchto Do this FireWire Hold down the MIC 1 button while powering up USB Hold down the MIC 2 button while powering up When the Track16 switches to FireWire operation it displays F on its meter LEDs When it switches to USB operation it displays U on the meter LEDs 22 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 HARDWARE CONNECT AUDIO INPUTS AND OUTPUTS Track16 connectors are located on the front and rear of the base unit The DB25 connector on the rear panel connects to the Track16 s included breakout cable which provides further connections for audio MIDI and power The base unit Figure 4 1 provides the following connectors a Guitar In 1 a Line In 3 4 1 8th inch stereo mini Phones a Optical In and Out a FireWire m USB2 m DB25 The breakout cable Figure 4 3 provides the following connectors a Mic In 1 2 XLR with preamp 48V and pad a Guitar In 2 hi Z a Main Out 1 2 quarter inch balanced a Line Out 3 4 quarter inch unbalanced a Line In 1 2 quarter inch balanced m MIDI In and Out DC power for the included DC power adapter Here are a few things you should keep in mind as you are making these connections to other devices GUI
30. 4 View controls The View controls Figure 9 36 provide several options for the oscilloscope display Pause button View menu Lett Analog 1 Right Analog 2 E Show Ruler Axes RICCO Figure 9 36 View controls View menu The View menu Figure 9 36 lets you choose how you wish to display the audio channel s being displayed View menu settingWhat it displays Left Left channel only Right Right channel only Split screen Left channel on top right channel on the bot tom Shared Left and right on top of each other left is green right is red Add Left and right channels amplitudes are added together Subtract L R The right channel s amplitude is subtracted from the left channel s amplitude Display options The Axes control Figure 9 36 sets the opacity of the grid displayed in the graph from 100 fully visible down to 0 fully hidden The Show Ruler option toggles the measurement items see Measurement information on page 87 Pausing the display The Pause button in the upper right corner of the View section Figure 9 36 allows you to freeze the display at any time To resume click the button again The level meters will remain active while the display is paused Horizontal controls time axis The Horizontal controls Figure 9 37 configure the value range of the x axis time Click and drag the values up or down to set them or double click to return to the defaul
31. 44 Figure 9 50 The same Phase Analysis displayed in Line versus Scatter mode Line mode is significantly more CPU intensive than Scatter You can reduce Line mode CPU overhead for the Phase Analysis display by increasing the Floor filter and reducing the Max Delta Theta filters see Filters on page 94 Color Grayscale In Color mode Figure 9 49 signal amplitude is indicated by color as follows red is loud and blue is soft In grayscale mode white is loud and gray is soft Linear Logarithmic Choose either Linear or Logarithmic from the menu in the View section Figure 9 49 to change the scale of the frequency axis In rectangular coordinates the vertical axis represents frequency and in polar coordinates the radius from the center is frequency With a linear scale frequencies are spaced evenly in a logarithmic scale each octave is spaced evenly frequencies are scaled logarithmically within each octave Linear is better for viewing high frequencies logarithmic is better for viewing low frequencies Rectangular Polar Choose either Rectangular or Polar from the menu in the View section Figure 9 49 to control how audio is plotted on the Phase Analysis grid Rectangular plots the audio on an X Y grid with frequency along the vertical axis and phase difference on the horizontal axis Polar plots the data on a polar grid with zero Hertz at its center The length of the radius distance from the center repr
32. 56 Phones menu 97 Share surfaces with other applica tions 98 shortcuts 79 signal flow 60 stand alone operation 56 talkback menu 97 talkback settings 77 78 Customer support 110 D Daisy chaining 27 29 DAT connecting 28 DC power supply 27 Devices menu 80 Disc replacing 110 Drivers ASIO 20 audio channel numbers 107 installing USB drivers 19 Legacy MME Wave 9 20 DSP meter 57 77 resources 56 77 Dynamics enabling 62 72 graph 61 inputs 61 outputs 63 tab 72 E Early reflections 76 Edit Channel Names 37 Enable Pedal 9 36 EQ enabling 62 66 filter types 68 frequency 68 gain 68 graph 61 inputs 61 outputs 63 Q 68 tab 66 Expansion 29 F Factory settings 40 Feedback loops 42 47 FFT display 81 File menu Clear Peaks 80 Copy Paste 80 Hardware Follows CueMix Stereo Settings 79 Load Hardware Preset 79 Mix return includes computer 79 Peak Hold Time 79 Save Hardware Preset 79 undo redo 80 FireWire 13 6 pin vs 4 pin 26 connecting 21 22 connector 8 connector types 21 forcing FireWire operation 22 PC card adapters 27 PCI cards 27 versus USB 21 Focus 57 Inputs tab 61 Mixes tab 59 Outputs tab 63 Follow Active Mix 97 Foot switch 9 Freewheel address 102 clock 102 infinite 102 103 Frequency EQ 68 Front panel 7 G Gain EQ 68 reduction 73 reduction Leveler 74 GarageBand 111 index 112 clock source 41 Main Out Assign 42 optical I O 42 phones 42 Return Assign 42 reve
33. 6 components are properly installed in your system If you ve already connected the Track16 to your computer and powered it on Windows may issue an alert notifying you that the Track16 requires drivers followed by another window asking you to locate the drivers If this happens 1 Cancel the driver search Software component Purpose MOTU Audio and MIDI drivers Provides multi channel audio input and output for MOTU FireWire and USB Audio devices with host audio software Installing the Track16 Software 2 Poweroff and disconnect the Track16 3 Run the MOTU Audio Installer as instructed in the next section Run the MOTU Audio installer Install the Track16 software as follows 1 Insertthe MOTU Audio Installer disc or if you have downloaded the MOTU Audio installer locate the folder containing the download 2 Readthe Read Me file for installation assistance and other important information 3 Openthe Setup Audio application 4 Follow the directions that the installer gives you Drivers are installed along with MOTU Audio Console CueMix FX and other components summarized in the table below For more information MOTU Audio drivers on page 20 chapter 5 MOTU Audio Con sole page 33 chapter 9 CueMix FX page 55 MOTU Audio Console Provides access to all of the settings in the Track16 and other MOTU interfaces Required for Track16 operation CueMix FX Gives you complete control over
34. 6 kHz The banks operate indepen 12 ABOUT THE TRACK16 dently allowing you to mix and match any optical formats on input and output For example you could receive 4 channels of 96 kHz S MUX input while at the same time sending 96 kHz stereo optical S PDIF TOSLINK output MIDI I O The Track16 s standard MIDI IN and MIDI OUT jacks supply 16 channels of MIDI I O to and from the computer On board SMPTE synchronization The Track16 can resolve directly to SMPTE time code via any analog line input without a separate synchronizer The Track16 can also generate SMPTE time code via any analog output The Track16 provides a DSP driven phase lock engine with sophisticated filtering that provides fast lockup times and sub frame accuracy The included MOTU SMPTE Console software provides a complete set of tools for generating and regenerating SMPTE time code which allows you to slave other devices to the computer Like CueMix FX the synchronization features are cross platform and compatible with all audio sequencer software that supports the ASIO2 sample accurate sync protocol Hybrid FireWire USB2 connectivity FireWire has long been recognized as a reliable high performance connectivity standard for professional MOTU audio interfaces Meanwhile high speed USB2 has also developed into a widely adopted standard for connecting peripheral devices to personal computers To fully support both formats the Track16 audio inte
35. AC power connection and the Track16 draws power from the FireWire cable connected to the computer There are no limits to running time Bus power from an AC powered laptop This scenario is identical to the desktop situation described above the laptop is powered by AC the Track16 is powered via the FireWire bus and there are no limits to running time Bus power from a battery powered laptop The laptop is being powered by its own battery and the Track16 is being powered by its FireWire connection to the computer So the laptop battery is supplying power to both the laptop and the Track16 This is the most compact and portable operating scenario Running time is determined by the capacity of the laptop battery For extended recording sessions bring extra fully charged laptop batteries DC power supply If you do not want the Track16 to draw power from the computer and AC power is available you can power the Track16 from any standard 9 18 volt 5 watt DC power supply with any polarity tip positive or negative and amperage as shown below Voltage Amperage 9 volts 1 33 amps 12 volts l amp 18 volts 0 66 amps 27 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 HARDWARE A TYPICAL TRACK16 SETUP CueMix FX mixer to apply reverb EQ and Here is a typical Track16 studio setup This rig can compression to what you are recording and be operated without a conventional mixer All monitor it via the main outs headphone outs or mixing and proc
36. Choosing the MOTU Audio driver 42 Reducing latency ooooooocoococmocommomso 46 Working with Track16 inputs and outputs 46 Processing live inputs with host plug ins 47 Working with CueMix FX mixing and effects 47 Synchronization sia sisscenteretedesactuensvweweseeess 47 PREPARATION To make sure that everything is ready for your host audio software install your host audio software first if you haven t already done so and then see these chapters before proceeding a chapter 3 Installing the Track16 Software page 19 chapter 4 Installing the Track16 Hardware page 21 RUN MOTU AUDIO CONSOLE Before you run your host audio software launch MOTU Audio Console to configure your Track16 hardware MOTU Audio Console provides settings to configure your audio interface and enable the desired inputs and outputs Only enabled inputs Configuring Host Audio Software and outputs will be available to your software so this is an important step For complete details see chapter 5 MOTU Audio Console page 33 Genera Track16 General Track16 Sample Rate 96000 Phones Assign Phones 1 2 Samples Per Buffer 256 Optical Input A ADAT Optical Master Clock Source Internal Optical Output A TOSLINK Main Out Assign Main Outs 1 2 E Use Stereo Pairs for Windows Audio Retur
37. EQ on a mono channel The Compressor 2 5 x 1 EQ band and Leveler 4 x 1 EQ band require about the same DSP resources for a mono or stereo channel SOLO LIGHT The Solo light Figure 9 1 illuminates when any input in the current active mix bus is soloed even if it is currently scrolled off screen TALKBACK AND LISTENBACK CueMix FX provides Talkback and Listenback buttons Figure 9 1 Talkback allows an engineer in the control room to temporarily dim all audio and talk to musicians in the live room Conversely Listenback allows musicians to talk to the control room Hardware setup Figure 9 24 below shows a typical hardware setup for Talkback and Listenback For Talkback set up a dedicated mic in your control room and connect it to a mic input on your MOTU audio interface For Listenback set up a dedicated listenback mic in the live room for the musicians and connect it to another mic input or just use one of the mics you are recording from For talkback output set up a headphone distribution amp or set of speakers in the live room and connect it to any Track16 output as demonstrated below in Figure 9 24 77 CUEMIX FX Control room Talkback a Main outs RRA LE Line out 3 4 Live room Headphone distribution amp Dove Figure 9 24 Typical hardware setup for Talkback and Listenback Talkback Listenback Mic Input To configure the talkback mic in CueMix FX go to the Inputs tab F
38. File seconds 0 A Fade On Start milliseconds 0 Customization m Fade On Stop milliseconds 0 Display Colors Figure 7 7 Enabling the MOTU Audio ASIO driver in SONAR 4 Next in the Audio preferences section choose Devices 5 Check the Track16 inputs and outputs that you wish to use and uncheck the ones you don t Using the MOTU WDM driver 1 Go to SONAR Preferences 2 Inthe Audio preferences section choose Playback and Recording 3 Choose WDM KS as the Driver Mode as shown below Devices Driver Settings MIDI Share Drivers With Other Programs v Use Multiprocessing Engine V Use MMCSS Windows Vista Win 7 Devices Instruments Play Effect Tails After Stopping Control Surfaces Always Open All Devices Playback and Recording Remove DC Offset During Record File Disable Input Monitoring during Playback Folder Locations Command Audition Length seconds 3 Record Pre allocate File seconds 0 VST Settings Fade On Start milli js 0 a Customization m Fade On Stop milliseconds 0 E Display Colors Figure 7 8 Enabling the MOTU WDM driver in SONAR 4 Next in the Audio preferences section choose Devices 5 Check the Track16 inputs and outputs that you wish to use and uncheck the ones you dont as shown in Figure 7 7 on page 45 Other audio settings in SONAR There are a few other settings in S
39. HE INPUTS TAB The Track16 provides many features for managing analog and digital input signals Some of these features such as the Track16 s digitally controlled analog trims are implemented in the analog domain others are implemented in the digital domain as DSP applied to the digital signal after the A D converter on analog inputs Click the Inputs tab Figure 9 3 to access and control all of these input channel settings for each Track16 input or input pair Input tab settings are global Except for the reverb send all settings you make in the Input tab are applied to the input signal before it goes anywhere else to a mix bus or the computer For example if you apply EQ and compression to the input signal you will record the processed version of the signal in your host audio software running on the computer If you need to Input name Channel focus STEREO mm STEREO Tm STEREO Mono stereo paring Invert phase Input trim EQ dynamics graph EQ dynamics controls EQ dynamics enable disable OD yen Ora Reverb send Input scroll bar Figure 9 3 The Inputs tab record a completely unprocessed input signal do not apply any changes to it in the Input tab The only exception to this is the reverb send which simply splits the input signal and feeds a copy of it to the Track16 s reverb processor Signal flows from top to bottom Settings in each Input tab channel strip are generally applied to t
40. IMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE THE LIABILITY OF MOTU PURSUANT TO THIS LIMITED WARRANTY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE REPLACEMENT OF THE DEFECTIVE DISK S AND IN NO EVENT SHALL MOTU OR ITS SUPPLIERS LICENSORS OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF USE LOSS OF PROFITS LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY THIRD PARTIES EVEN IF MOTU HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS WHICH MAY VARY FROM STATE TO STATE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU Update Policy In order to be eligible to obtain updates of the program you must complete and return the attached Mark of the Unicorn Purchaser Registration Card to MOTU Copyright Notice Copyright 2012 by Mark of the Unicorn Inc All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced transmitted transcribed stored in a retrieval system or translated into any human or computer language in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission of Mark of the Unicorn Inc 1280 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02138 U S A Limited Warranty on Hardware Mark of the Unicorn Inc and S amp S Research MOTU S amp S warrant this equipment against defects in materials
41. IO CONSOLE menu when the optical input bank is enabled and set to the ADAT Optical format as explained in Optical input output on page 36 This setting can be used to resolve the Track16 directly to the optical input connection allowing you to resolve the Track16 to the other device This setting is useful if you just need to make a simple click free digital transfer between the Track16 and another device For further details about this setting see Choosing a clock source for optical connections on page 25 TOSLINK The TOSLINK clock source setting refers to the clock provided by the Track16 optical input when it is connected to another optical device This setting only appears in the Master Clock Source menu when the optical input bank is enabled and set to the TOSLINK format as explained in Optical input output on page 36 This setting can be used to resolve the Track16 directly to the optical input connection allowing you to resolve the Track16 to the other device This setting is useful if you just need to make a simple click free digital transfer between the Track16 and another device For further details see Choosing a clock source for optical connections on page 25 SMPTE Choose this setting to resolve the Track16 directly to SMPTE time code LTC being received via one of the Track16 s audio inputs For details see Setup for SMPTE time code sync on page 104 and chapter 10
42. IS PRODUCT THE WARRANTY AND REMEDIES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHERS ORAL OR WRITTEN EXPRESS OR IMPLIED No MOTU S amp S dealer agent or employee is authorized to make any modification extension or addition to this warranty MOTU S amp S ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SPECIAL INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ANY BREACH OF WARRANTY OR UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY INCLUDING LOST PROFITS DOWNTIME GOODWILL DAMAGE OR REPLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT AND PROPERTY AND COST OF RECOVERING REPROGRAMMING OR REPRODUCING ANY PROGRAM OR DATA STORED IN OR USED WITH MOTU S amp S PRODUCTS Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties or liability for incidental or consequential damages so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may have other rights which vary from state to state MOTU AudioDesk Mark of the Unicorn and the unicorn silhouette logo are trademarks of Mark of the Unicorn Inc This equipment has been type tested and found to comply with the limits for a class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual may cause harmful interference to radi
43. LE The included MOTU SMPTE Console software provides a complete set of tools to generate SMPTE for striping regenerating or slaving other devices to the computer CLOCK ADDRESS The Clock Address menu Figure 10 1 provides the same global Master Clock Source setting as in MOTU Audio Console Master Clock Source on page 34 but it includes additional information each setting shows both the clock and the address time code or sample location separated by a forward slash To resolve the Track16 to SMPTE time code choose the SMPTE SMPTE setting in the Clock Address menu This means that the system will use SMPTE as the clock time base and SMPTE as the address FRAME RATE This setting should be made to match the SMPTE time code frame rate of the time code that the system will be receiving The Track16 can auto The Generator section provides settings for striping SMPTE time code SMPTE Source Freewheel Address Freewheel Clock Stop Freewheel Stripe Regenerate Figure 10 1 SMPTE Console gives you access to your Track16 s on board SMPTE time code synchronization features 101 detect and switch to the incoming frame rate except that it cannot distinguish between 30 fps and 29 97 fps time code or 23 976 and 24 fps time code So if you are working with either of these rates make sure you choose the correct rate from this menu READER SECTION The Reader section on the left hand sid
44. LED turns off Figure 4 2 The phantom power V and pad P LEDs for the mic inputs Trim Each mic input is equipped with preamp that delivers 60 dB gain Push the MIC 1 or 2 button and then turn the knob to adjust the input level as needed for each input Use the mic level meters to monitor the current input level The Track16 s input trims are digitally controlled so they allow you to make fine tuned adjustments in approximately 1 dB increments You can also adjust trim in the MOTU CueMix FX software See Input trim on page 61 DC Line out 1 2 Main out 1 2 Power Line In 1 2 20 dB pad If the input signal is too hot with the trim turned all the way down engage the 20dB pad for the input To toggle the pad push the appropriate mic button and then quickly push the knob The amber P LED will turn on or off accordingly Muting mic inputs Mic inputs without a mic or terminator connected can pick up noise so keep them muted when not in use See Muting unmuting on page 40 Guitar inputs The Track16 s dedicated hi Z guitar inputs provide high impedance load characteristics suitable for passive and active pickups alike to produce authentic guitar tone and feel with your guitar processing software Line inputs The Track16 provides two stereo line inputs m Line In 1 2 quarter inch balanced on the breakout cable m Line In 3 4 1 8th inch stereo mini on the front panel of the base u
45. LEDs Figure 9 22 are present only for inputs See Input meter and bus activity LEDs on page 65 Pre post processing switch The pre post processing switch Figure 9 22 affects all input meters and the meter in the channel meter display above the tab if this area is displaying an input meter Click Pre to view levels before any input channel processing besides trim click Post to view levels after all channel processing EQ compression M S decoding L R swap etc The Reverb tab The Reverb tab Figure 9 23 provides access to the Track16 s single global reverb processor which provides high fidelity reverberation and graphic control over its parameters Low band Mid band reverb High band yellow time handle purple Crossover handle Reverb enable disable 9 O REVERB PRE DELAY FREQ E SHEL EARLY REFLECTIONS ROOMA Y EARLY REFLECTIONS y REVERE DESIGN A REVERS TIME CROSSOVER 000 de LOW MIO HIGH LOW HIGH SPLIT POINT mix JALALLA Doren 1 Figure 9 23 The Reverb tab Enabling reverb Use the enable disable button Figure 9 23 to turn the reverb processor on or off Since reverb uses considerable DSP resources it is best to leave it off when you are not using it CUEMIX FX Routing inputs busses and outputs to the reverb processor The reverb processor is a single independent unit that provides stereo reverb You can route multiple signals to it from various
46. MOTU Audio Console page 33 MOTU MIDI DRIVER This driver allows you to access the Track16 s MIDI input and output ports The ports are published in Windows and are available to all MIDI software CUEMIX FX CueMix FX available in the Start menu provides control over the Track16 s no latency CueMix FX on board mixing effects processing an instrument tuner a full featured oscilloscope and other audio analysis tools For details see chapter 9 CueMix FX page 55 MOTU SMPTE CONSOLE MOTU SMPTE Console available in the Start menu software provides a complete set of tools to resolve the Track16 to SMPTE time code and to generate SMPTE for striping regenerating or slaving other devices to the computer For details see chapter 10 MOTU SMPTE Console page 101 20 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 SOFTWARE CHAPTER 4 OVERVIEW Here s an overview for installing the Track16 Connect the Track16 interface 21 Connect the Track16 to the computer Connect audio inputs and outputs 23 Make optical and analog connections as desired Connect MIDI gear oooooooocccocorononososo 26 Connect a controller synth or control surface Power Options cccccccccececccscsescecececs 26 Choose from among several convenient options A typical Track16 Setup cette 28 An example setup for computer based mixing FX Connecting multiple MOTU FireW
47. Mac Windows manual One cross platform installer disc a Product registration card WINDOWS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS The Track16 system requires the following Windows system m A 1 GHz Pentium based PC compatible or faster equipped with at least one USB2 or FireWire port a 1 GB RAM 2 GB or more recommended a Windows 7 or Vista 32 or 64 bit Vista SP 2 or later required m Available FireWire or high speed USB 2 0 port a A large hard drive preferably at least 250 GB PLEASE REGISTER TODAY Please register your Track16 today There are two ways to register a Visit www motu com register OR a Fill out and mail the included product registration card As a registered user you will be eligible to receive technical support and announcements about product enhancements as soon as they become available Only registered users receive these special update notices so please register today Thank you for taking the time to register your new MOTU products 17 18 PACKING LIST AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW INstalbtion aa aaa 19 MOTU Audio drivers oooooooooomomomo o 20 MOTU Audio Console ooooooooomommmoo o 20 MOTU MIDI Driver o oooooooocooococommmo o 20 Merlin 20 MOTU SMPTE Console o oooooooooooomomo o 20 INSTALLATION Before you connect the Track16 to your computer and power it on run the Track16 software installer This ensures that all the Track1
48. ONAR that impact Track16 operation 1 In the Audio preferences section choose Driver Settings 2 Choose an Track16 input and output for recording and playback timing as shown below in Figure 7 9 It doesn t matter which input or output you choose CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE Devices MIDI Devices Instruments Control Surfaces Playback and Recording Playback and Recording Stereo Panning Law 0dB center sin cos taper constant power Default Settings for New Projects Sampling Rate 44100 v File Folder Locations i Buffers in Playback Queue 2 Audio Data a ne 92 9 msec VST Settings Buffer Size 4096 samples Fast Customization ancy at 44kHz stereo 92 9 msec Display Colors ok _ Cancer _ apo Basic Advanced Figure 7 9 Make sure you have chosen a Track16 input and output for the playback and recording timing master settings 3 Additionally if you are using the MOTU WDM driver click the Wave Profiler button and run the Wave Profiler This process chooses the optimum settings for the Track16 hardware Wave Profiler WDM Kernel i m GE We will now perform a series of profiling tests on your audio hardware E y to obtain all supported operating modes and buffer sizes Would you like to continue Figure 7 10 Running the Wave Profiler in Cakewalk s SONAR Sound Forge In Sony Sound Forge
49. Pei la Output Latency 21 625 ms Lu Time Display de Video o 28 Video Player VST Audio System Advanced Options Set to Defaults MOTU Audio ASIO VST System Link Audio Priority Multi Processing Disk Preload Adjust for Record Latency Figure 7 3 Enabling the MOTU Audio ASIO driver in Cubase CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE Live In Ableton Live access the preferences window and click the Audio tab Choose ASIO from the Driver Type menu Choose the MOTU Audio ASIO from the Input Audio Device and Output Audio Device menus as shown below in Figure 7 4 To enable or disable input or output channels click the Input Config or Output Config buttons G Preferences TT A MOTU Audio ASIO z Figure 7 4 Enabling the MOTU Audio ASIO driver in Live Reason and Record In Propellerhead Reason or Record go to the Preferences window choose Audio preferences from the menu and choose MOTU Audio ASIO from the Audio Card Driver menu as shown below in Figure 7 5 C Audio Card Driver ASIO MOTU Audio ASIO iv Extemal Sync Offset Active Input Channels 8 out of 32 Active Output Channels 2 out of 30 Clock Source Figure 7 5 Enabling the MOTU Audio ASIO driver in Reason Reaper In Cockos Reaper access the Preferences and click Devices under the Audio preferences Choose ASIO for the audio system and choose MOTU Audio ASIO from the ASIO d
50. S ETERS REVERE Figure 9 27 Filter Display options menu Filter display options The Filter display options menu Figure 9 27 provides several options for the EQ filter display What it does Turns off both the FFT and Spectrogram in the Filter display Menu option Show no analysis Show FFT Shows hides a real time FFT analysis of the current signal being EQ d post EQ filter Show Spectrogram Shows hides a real time spectro gram waterfall in the background of the filter display post EQ filter Shows hides the colored area below Show Band Response EQ filter points Show Hide Full Window Shows hides the enlarged filter dis Analysis play in the CueMix FX window Y axis labels for FFT display 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 1 Figure 9 28 Full window filter display FFT display Choose Show FFT from the Filter display options menu Figure 9 10 to superimpose a real time Fast Fourier Transform FFT frequency measurement curve over the EQ filter display as demonstrated in Figure 9 29 FFT curve na h A L ink fu Inputs Analog 1 2 Figure 9 29 FFT display The FFT curve is post filter Therefore the FFT shows the results of the EQ filter s being applied Use the global EQ button for the input or output channel Figure 9 3 and Figure 9 6 respectively to toggle between the EQU and non EQ d FFT display for an A B comparison Spectrogram Choose Sho
51. TAR LINE IN 1 3 4 Oe Figure 4 1 the Track16 front and rear panels Track16 breakout cable The breakout cable included in the Track16 package Figure 4 3 is a custom engineered cable with special shielding twisted pairs and other characteristics designed to ensure the best possible audio quality and performance Attach it to the DB25 connector on the Track16 base unit and fully tighten the screws to ensure a secure connection You can operate the Track16 without the breakout cable if both of these conditions are true a The Track16 is connected to a computer with a FireWire cable for bus powered operation and m you plan to use only the I O connectors on the base unit itself guitar phones and or optical Mic inputs 1 2 Using a standard mic cable connect microphones to the female XLR connectors on the breakout cable labeled Mic In 1 and Mic In 2 Phantom power If you are connecting a condenser mic or other device that requires phantom power you can enable or disable phantom power as follows 1 Make sure the microphone is plugged in first 2 Power on the Track16 3 Push the corresponding MIC 1 or MIC 2 button on the Track16 to select the input Figure 4 2 4 Push and hold the main knob for a few seconds OPTICAL 23 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 HARDWARE 5 The red V LED illuminates Figure 4 2 6 To disable phantom power simply repeat this procedure The red V
52. Track16 User Guide for Windows MOTU 1280 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02138 Business voice 617 576 2760 Business fax 617 576 3609 Web site www motu com Tech support www motu com support About the Mark of the Unicorn License Agreement and Limited Warranty on Software TO PERSONS WHO PURCHASE OR USE THIS PRODUCT carefully read all the terms and conditions of the click wrap license agreement presented to you when you install the software Using the software or this documentation indicates your acceptance of the terms and conditions of that license agreement Mark of the Unicorn Inc MOTU owns both this program and its documentation Both the program and the documentation are protected under applicable copyright trademark and trade secret laws Your right to use the program and the documentation are limited to the terms and conditions described in the license agreement Reminder of the terms of your license This summary is not your license agreement just a reminder of its terms The actual license can be read and printed by running the installation program for the software That license agreement is a contract and clicking Accept binds you and MOTU to all its terms and conditions In the event anything contained in this summary is incomplete or in conflict with the actual click wrap license agreement the terms of the click wrap agreement prevail YOU MAY a use the enclosed program on a singl
53. al meter bridge and reverb processor Channel DSP MIx bus Tabs for inputs Track16 focus resources menu mix busses and inputs meter outputs Global reverb processor The Track16 has a global reverb module Figure 9 23 on page 75 Once it has been activated you can feed signals to the reverb processor from various points in the Track16 mix matrix via input sends bus sends and output sends Stereo output from the reverb processor can then be fed back to mix busses or output pairs using reverb returns Other features CueMix offers many additional features discussed in this chapter such as talkback listenback extensive metering graphic editing of certain effects parameters and more Widening the CueMix FX window To view more input faders at once resize the window Mix bus Channel Output master settings volume fader controls 3050 BAL_OMDTH sat an STEREO mooe noamar D ws 1D O SWAP LR amp WIDTH Grow handle Inputs split Inputs grouped as Tabs for channel strip Monitoring into mono stereo pairs settings including EQ and talkback channels dynamics as well as global section settings such as the meter bridge and reverb processor Figure 9 1 CueMix FX is a virtual mixer that gives you control over the Track16 s on board mixing features CUEMIX FX THE MIXES TAB Mix bus output Click the Mixes tab Figure 9 2
54. al ports you need to be concerned with the synchronization of the Track16 s digital audio clock with other devices connected to it digitally if any For example if you have a digital mixer connected to the Track16 via an ADAT optical light pipe cable you need to make sure that their audio clocks are phase locked For details see Choosing a clock source for optical connections on page 25 If you don t have any digital audio devices connected to the Track16 digital audio phase lock does not apply to you Resolving directly to time code with no synchronizer If your host audio software supports ASIO2 or 3 s sample accurate positioning protocol then it can resolve to the Track16 s built in time code synchro nization feature To resolve your Track16 directly to SMPTE time code with no additional synchroni zation devices use the setup shown in Setup for SMPTE time code sync on page 104 47 CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE 48 CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE CHAPTER8 Reducing Monitoring Latency OVERVIEW Monitoring latency is that slight delay you hear when you run an input signal through your host audio software For example you might hear it when you drive a live guitar input signal through an amp modeling plug in running in your audio sequencer This delay is caused by the amount of time it takes for audio to make the entire round trip through your computer from when it first enters an Track16 in
55. all data with a 24 bit signal path regardless of the I O format You can record and play back 16 bit or 24 bit audio files at any supported sample rate via any of the Track16 s ABOUT THE TRACK16 analog or digital inputs and outputs 24 bit audio files can be recorded with any compatible host application that supports 24 bit recording CUEMIX FX 32 BIT FLOATING POINT MIXING AND EFFECTS All Track16 inputs and outputs can be routed to the on board CueMix FX 8 bus 4 stereo digital mixer driven by hardware based DSP with 32 bit floating point precision The mixer allows you to apply no latency effects processing to inputs outputs or busses directly in the Track16 hardware independent of the computer Effects can even be applied when the Track16 is operating stand alone without a computer as a complete rack mounted mixer Input signals to the computer can be recorded wet dry or dry with a wet monitor mix for musicians during recording for example Effects include reverb parametric EQ and compression limiting The Track16 s Classic Reverb provides five different room types three frequency bands with adjustable crossover points shelf filtering and reverb lengths up to 60 seconds Two forms of compression are supplied a standard compressor with conventional threshold ratio attack release gain controls and the Leveler an accurate model of the legendary LA 2A optical compressor which provides vintage musical
56. and Save Hardware Preset commands in the CueMix FX file menu let you name save and load presets in the Track16 Peak hold time In CueMix FX a peak indicator is a line representing a virtual LED displayed in a level meter that indicates the maximum signal level registered by the meter The Peak hold time setting File menu determines how long this indicator remains visible before it disappears or begins to drop To disable peak hold indicators altogether choose Off from this sub menu Mix1 Return Includes Computer The Mix1 return includes computer File menu item applies to other MOTU interfaces products and has no effect on the Track16 Hardware follows CueMix Stereo Settings This File menu item applies to other MOTU interfaces products and has no effect on the Track16 CUEMIX FX EDIT MENU Undo Redo CueMix FX supports multiple undo redo This allows you to step backwards and forwards through your actions in the software Copying amp pasting duplicating entire mixes To copy and paste the settings from one mix to another 1 Select the source mix Figure 9 1 and choose Copy from the Edit menu or press Control C 2 Choose the destination mix and choose Paste from the Edit menu or press Control V Clear Peaks Choose Clear Peaks from the Edit menu to clear all peak indicators in all CueMix FX meters DEVICES MENU If you are working with more than one MOTU audio interface product this menu dis
57. and workmanship for a period of TWO 2 YEARS from the date of original retail purchase This warranty applies only to hardware products MOTU software is licensed and warranted pursuant to separate written statements If you discover a defect first write or call Mark of the Unicorn at 617 576 2760 to obtain a Return Merchandise Authorization Number No service will be performed on any product returned without prior authorization MOTU will at its option repair or replace the product at no charge to you provided you return it during the warranty period with transportation charges prepaid to Mark of the Unicorn Inc 1280 Massachusetts Avenue MA 02138 You must use the products original packing material for in shipment and insure the shipment for the value of the product Please include your name address telephone number a description of the problem and the original dated bill of sale with the returned unit and print the Return Merchandise Authorization Number on the outside of the box below the shipping address This warranty does not apply if the equipment has been damaged by accident abuse misuse or misapplication has been modified without the written permission of MOTU or if the product serial number has been removed or defaced ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO TWO 2 YEARS FROM THE DATE OF THE ORIGINAL RETAIL PURCHASE OF TH
58. as the format for the Track16 s optical input and output Choose the format that matches the device connected If you are not using the optical connections it is recommended that you turn them off by choosing Disabled from the menu to reduce bandwidth and processing overhead Note that you can operate each optical port independently For example you could use the ADAT optical format on the input for a digital mixer and optical S PDIF on the output for a DAT deck Main Out Assign Choose Main Outs from the Main Out Assign menu to treat the Main Outs as their own independent output pair Choose any other output pair to cause the MAIN OUT jacks to mirror duplicate the output pair you choose 36 MOTU AUDIO CONSOLE Return Assign The Return Assign menu lets you choose any pair of Track16 audio outputs The audio signal from this output pair is then sent back to the computer via the Stereo Return 1 2 bus This stereo return bus from the Track16 appears in your host software alongside all other Track16 inputs wherever your host software lists them The Track16 stereo return bus can be used for a variety of purposes For example you could use it to send a final mix being played through the Track16 back to the computer where you could record it for mastering or archiving purposes As another example you could use the stereo return bus to capture tracks played from your host software along with live inputs being routed direc
59. automatic gain control CueMix FX also provides 7 band parametric EQ modeled after British analog console EQs featuring 4 filter styles gain Q profiles to effectively cover a wide range of audio material Low pass and high pass filters are also supplied with slopes that range from 6 to 36 dB The EQ employs extremely high precision 64 bit floating point processing The Track16 s flexible effects architecture allows you to apply EQ and compression on every input and output a total of 30 channels with enough DSP resources for at least one band of parametric EQ and compression on every channel at 48 kHz However DSP resources are allocated dynamically and a DSP meter in the CueMix FX software allows you to keep tabs on the Track16 s processing resources Each input output and mix bus provides a send to the Classic Reverb processor which then feeds reverb returns to mix busses and outputs with a selectable split point between them to prevent send return feedback loops INCLUDED SOFTWARE The Track16 software installer provides the following including cross platform software applications for Mac and Windows MOTU Audio Console MOTU Audio Console provides access to basic hardware settings such as sample rate optical I O format selection headphone output channel selection foot switch input programming and other settings MOTU SMPTE Console MOTU SMPTE Console provides access to the Track16 system s SMPTE time code s
60. be fed back into the mixer at various return points including the same output from which it was sent discussed below The output reverb Outputs tab our Main 1 2 Phones 1 2 Analog 1 2 Output name Channel focus EQ Dynamics graph EQ Dynamics controls ddddddddddddd ddddddddddddd EQ Dynamics i enable disable LS rn i VERB SND VERB SND Output reverb EDI send return Talkback listenback enable disable Figure 9 6 The Outputs tab D00000009000 DAS Q59595 send is disabled grayed out when the reverb Split Point is set to Mix to eliminate the possibility for feedback loops created by reverb send return loops See Split point on page 76 The output reverb return Figure 9 6 feeds the output of the Track16 s global reverb processor directly to the output This includes any other signals currently being fed to the reverb Both the send and return occur after EQ and dynamics processing but before listenback and talkback Talkback Listenback Click the Talkback or Listenback buttons Figure 9 6 to toggle whether the output pair is included in the Talkback or Listenback group See Talkback and listenback on page 77 EQ band selectors _ s LP HP filter selector seg Compressor selector didddddd dd EEP A daddddddd dd ee diddiddidddidid errs CUEMIX FX 64 THE CHANNEL SETTINGS SECTION The channel settings section in the CueMix FX window Figure 9 1 di
61. can be applied to many different situations from minor corrective tasks to highly creative applications Over the years many EQs have been engineered for specific applications or to achieve a certain sound The Vintage EQ has been designed to be flexible enough to cover a broad range of applications To that end several different filter types are supplied varying mostly in the way they handle the dynamic interaction between Gain and Q This crucial relationship has been modeled to emulate the smooth and musical character of classic analog EQ circuits in which the Gain Q dependency was dictated by the actual circuit design and electrical components used The following sections describe the character of each type of EQ filter and their suggested applications In the three example illustrations Figure 9 13 through Figure 9 16 the settings for the curves are the same for comparison purposes m Frequency 1 00 kHz m Q 1 a Gain 3 10 and 20 dB 68 CUEMIX FX Type I Type II Figure 9 13 Type EQ filter style The Type I EQ filter has the least amount of Gain Q interaction providing the most precision and control of all the EQ filter types Even small adjustments in gain or reduction produce relatively high Q This EQ style is best for situations that call for precise EQ adjustments requiring the maximum amount of individual parameter control For more general shaping e g full mixes or subtle control e g vocals th
62. cation is active Enabled Enables or disables the use of the control surfaces If you want to use a control surface with CueMix make sure this is checked Configure This window shows the configuration options for the control surfaces allowing the configuration of multiple surfaces running simultaneously Figure 9 57 Refer to the extensive on line help for details about configuring CueMix FX for operation with your control surface product CUEMIX FX 100 CUEMIX FX CHAPTER 10 MOTU SMPTE Console OVERVIEW The Track16 can resolve directly to SMPTE time code via any line input without a separate synchronizer The Track16 can also generate time code via its time code output The Track16 provides a DSP driven phase lock engine with sophisticated filtering that provides fast lockup times and sub frame accuracy Direct time code synchronization is supported by Cubase Nuendo and other audio sequencer software that supports the ASIO2 sample accurate sync protocol MOTU SMPTE Console oooooooocoomococ oo 101 Clock Address o5 5 2550025pecadeneasetagneasmesratecere 101 Frame Rate suisrrcintirariasa rare 101 Reader section ssssosessesesssssoosessesee 102 Generator section ssssssssocsoecesesssesoeo 103 Resolving Cubase or Nuendo to time code 103 Setup for SMPTE time code sync 104 The Reader section provides settings for resolving to SMPTE time code MOTU SMPTE CONSO
63. cessing if any is routed to the main outs or other outputs that you ve specified in the software eg Y 1 Live input from A mic guitar etc pany enters the MOTU interface ARA a 3 Mic signal is or ees patched thru back to the audio interface with reverb or other 1 plug in effects if any 2 Mic signal goes immediately to the computer Figure 8 1 There are two ways to monitor live audio inputs with an Track16 1 through the computer or 2 via CueMix FX hardware monitor ing This diagram shows method 1 through the computer When using this method use your host software s buffer setting to reduce the slight delay you hear when monitoring the live input but don t lower it too much or your computer might get sluggish 50 REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY ADJUSTING THE AUDIO I O BUFFER A buffer is a small amount of computer memory used to hold data For audio interfaces like the Track16 buffers are used for the process of transferring audio data in and out of the computer The size of the buffers determines how much delay you hear when monitoring live inputs through your audio software larger buffers produce more delay smaller buffers produce less Buffer size adjustment is made in MOTU Audio Console as shown in Figure 8 3 via the Samples Per Buffer setting 3 Mic signal is mixed with the main outs and you can control the volume AF relative to the rest ofthe mix with the mic s fad
64. ck16 hardware itself CueMix FX has two important benefits m First it completely eliminates the patch thru delay reducing it to a small number of samples the same amount as any digital mixer m Secondly CueMix FX imposes no strain on the computer The trade off however is that CueMix FX bypasses your host audio software Instead live audio inputs are patched directly through to outputs in the Track16 itself and are mixed with disk tracks playing back from your audio software This means that you cannot apply host based plug ins mix automation or other real time effects that your audio software provides But for inputs that don t need these types of features CueMix FX is the way to go On the other hand if you really need to use the mixing and processing provided by your audio software you should not use CueMix FX Instead reduce latency with the buffer setting as explained earlier in this chapter TWO METHODS FOR CONTROLLING CUEMIX FX There are two ways to control CueMix FX a With the Track16 s CueMix FX software From within your host audio software if it supports direct hardware monitoring You can even use both methods simultaneously Using the CueMix FX app If your host audio software does not support direct hardware monitoring you can run the CueMix FX software side by side with your audio software and manage your monitor mix in CueMix FX 52 REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY CueMix FX all
65. click the numbers Information about the measured area is displayed at the center of the top ruler the duration in seconds and samples the approximate frequency 00 Effects Seq 1 Audio 1 O Effects Seq 1 v Bypassor Auto y Audio 1 insert A v Dynamics y None Snapshot IDi n Input Level jar 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Gain 48 2 18 15 2 9 6 3 0 Control Signal Control Level IPTH s ya 72 a de 36 24 12 0 Attenuation Level Y 5 Output Level 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Gain 48 2 8 15 12 9 6 3 0 Dynamics Figure 9 41 Viewing transients in the Oscilloscope and the scientific note name If the measured area is long enough the approximate beats per minute bpm is displayed Ideas for using the Oscilloscope The Oscilloscope can be used in many useful ways during the routine operation of your recording studio Here are just a few examples Analyzing and comparing harmonic content The oscilloscope lets you see the nature of the harmonic profile in any audio material You can also view two signals side by side in stereo mode to compare their profiles and if necessary make adjustments to the source of each signal and view your changes in real time Viewing transients such as drum hits If you loop a snare hit or other similar transient audio clip and feed it through the oscilloscope you can more or less freeze the transient waveform in the oscilloscope f
66. devices then share the Track16 s MIDI OUT port This means that they share the same set of 16 MIDI channels too so try to do this with devices that receive on only one MIDI channel such as effects modules so their receive channels don t conflict with one another Track16 1 0 cable MIDI MIDI MIDI Device IN MIDI MIDI THRU cable MIDI IN Figure 4 5 Connecting additional devices with MIDI THRU ports POWER OPTIONS The Track16 can draw power from two possible sources 1 a computer connected by FireWire or 2 a DC power supply If you use USB to connect to your computer you must also use the DC power supply included with your Track16 Bus power requirements The Track16 draws all the power it needs from the FireWire bus connection to the computer However the FireWire connection to the computer must meet all of the requirements discussed below 9 pin and 6 pin FireWire connectors The Track16 can only draw power over the FireWire bus from a 9 pin to 9 pin cable or a 6 pin to 9 pin cable It cannot draw power from a FireWire cable with a 4 pin connector as shown below 26 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 HARDWARE 6 pin FireWire 4 pin FireWire Figure 4 6 4 pin FireWire connectors cannot be used for bus power When operating under bus power daisy chaining is not recommended The Track16 can be daisy chained with other FireWire devices from a single FireWire connection to the computer However if the
67. ding for a mid side microphone configu ration The Width knob Figure 9 8 provides control over the stereo imaging going from a full stereo image to mono both channels panned equally See Width on page 59 The Swap L R button Figure 9 8 lets you switch the left and right channels Talkback section Click the Talkback or Listenback button Figure 9 8 to toggle whether the input is the Talkback or Listenback input Only one input can be the talkback input and only one input can be the listenback input See Talkback and listenback on page 77 Reverb section The Send in the reverb section Figure 9 8 is the same control as the reverb send in the Input tab channel strip Figure 9 3 See Reverb send on page 62 If the input is currently not grouped as a stereo pair in the Input tab it is operating as a mono input use the reverb Pan knob Figure 9 8 to pan the mono signal for the stereo reverb processor Input meter and bus activity LEDs When the Channel tab is active Figure 9 8 the display above the tab provides a horizontal level meter and eight bus activity LEDs Figure 9 9 Bus activity LEDs Figure 9 9 Input meter and bus activity LEDs The input level meter Figure 9 9 is the same as the input meters in the Meters tab Figure 9 22 on page 75 with the Pre FX button engaged which shows the input level on the physical input itself before any processing of any kind occurs within the
68. dio as it is being patched through your software If you reduce the size you reduce patch thru latency but significantly increase the overall processing load on your computer leaving less CPU bandwidth for things like real time effects processing On the other hand if you increase the buffer size you reduce the load on your computer freeing up bandwidth for effects mixing and other real time operations If you are at a point in your recording project where you are not currently working with live patched thru material e g you re not recording vocals or if you have a way of externally processing inputs choose a higher buffer size Depending on your computer CPU speed you might find that settings in the middle work best 256 to 1024 Transport responsiveness Buffer size also impacts how quickly your audio software will respond when you begin playback although not by amounts that are very noticeable Lowering the buffer size will make your software respond faster raising the buffer size will make it a little bit slower but barely enough to notice Effects processing and automated mixing Reducing latency with the buffer size setting has another benefit it lets you route live inputs through the real time effects processing and mix automation of your audio software CUEMIX FX HARDWARE MONITORING The Track16 has a more direct method of patching audio through the system CueMix FX CueMix FX is a digital mixer in the Tra
69. do Other ASIO 2 0 compatible host software If your ASIO compatible host audio software supports ASIO s direct monitoring feature consult your software documentation to learn how to enable this feature Once enabled it should work similarly as described for Cubase as explained in the previous section Using CueMix FX with WDM or Wave compatible software Run CueMix Console chapter 9 CueMix FX page 55 and use it to route live inputs directly to outputs control their volume and panning etc If necessary you can save your CueMix Console setup with your project file REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY 54 REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY CHAPTER9 CueMix FX OVERVIEW CueMix FX is a cross platform software application that provides graphic on screen control for the Track16 s flexible CueMix FX on board mixer and effects processing CueMix FX also provides many advanced audio analysis tools including a tuner and oscilloscope CueMix FX can be used independently of host audio software or together with it CueMix dovetails with the direct monitoring features of your host audio software allowing you to seemlessly mix in both environments A 16 bus mixer with EQ compression and reverb 55 Advantages over host based mixing and processing 56 Opening CueMix FX oo ooooocoocccocccncnaccccco oo 56 CueMix FX basic operation oooooomomomoo 56 The Mixes Tab vs criteria 58 The lnputs Taurina 60 The O
70. e It can be found in the Start menu CUEMIX FX BASIC OPERATION The CueMix FX application is simple to operate once you know these basic concepts A separate mix bus for each output pair The Track16 provides a separate mix bus for each of its output pairs as follows Mix name Physical output Bus 1 Main Out 1 2 Bus 2 Phones 1 2 Bus 3 Analog 1 2 Bus 4 ADAT 1 2 TOSLink 1 2 or disabled See note below Bus 5 ADAT 3 4 or disabled Bus 6 ADAT 5 6 or disabled Bus 7 ADAT 7 8 or disabled Bus 8 Mix Return 1 2 If the Track16 s optical output is disabled in MOTU Audio Console Figure 5 1 on page 34 CueMix busses 4 through 7 are also disabled If the optical output bank is set to TOSLink bus 4 is enabled for TOSLink channels 1 2 If the optical output bank is set to ADAT then busses 4 through 7 are enabled for the four optical bus pairs indicated in the table above For details about configuring the optical output see Optical input output on page 36 Many inputs to one output pair It might be useful to think of each mix bus as some number of inputs all mixed down to a stereo output pair CueMix FX lets you choose which inputs to include in the mix and it lets you specify the level pan and other input specific mix controls for each input being fed into the mix Viewing one mix bus at a time CueMix FX displays one mix bus at a time in the Mixes tab Figure 9 2 on page 58 To select which mix you are view
71. e 64 The EQ Dynamics graph The EQ Dynamics graph for each input channel strip Figure 9 3 provides a thumbnail view of the EQ curves or Compressor graph for the channel This graphic is for display purposes only it cannot be edited directly To change the EQ settings in this graph use the two or three knobs below as explained in the following sections If however you would like to edit the EQ curves graphically you can do so in the EQ tab Figure 9 10 on page 66 EQ Dynamics selectors The EQ Dynamics selector buttons along the right hand edge of the EQ Dynamics section Figure 9 3 allow you to choose what you are viewing and editing in the EQ Dynamics section 61 CUEMIX FX Orange Green A Blue mi Red Yellow yyy White lt LP HP filter selector i m Black lt Compressor selector EQ band selectors olored knobs Figure 9 4 The EQ Dynamics selectors Click the selector Figure 9 4 for the desired EQ band low pass LP filter high pass HP filter or compressor to view it across all channels Compressor Compressor Compressor graph meter selector Figure 9 5 The Compressor controls Shortcut hold down the Option Alt key while clicking an EQ selector button to show just that band of EQ in the graphs Click any selector again to return to viewing all bands
72. e To to save it as a configuration TALKBACK MENU Choose the commands in the Talkback menu to engage or disengage Talkback or Listenback PHONES MENU The Phones menu allows you to choose what you will hear on the headphone output just like the Phones setting in MOTU Audio Console However this menu provides one extra option that is exclusive to CueMix FX Follow Active Mix This menu item when checked causes the headphone output to mirror the output of the current mix being viewed in CueMix FX For example if you are currently viewing mix bus 3 the headphones will mirror the mix bus 3 output whatever it is assigned to CUEMIX FX CONTROL SURFACES MENU CueMix FX can be controlled from an automated control surface such as the Mackie Control Use the commands in the Control Surfaces menu to enable and configure this feature Application follows control surface When checked the Application follows control surface menu command makes the CueMix FX window scroll to the channel you are currently adjusting with the control surface if the channel is not visible when you begin adjusting it The same is true for the bus tabs if you adjust a control in a bus that is not currently being displayed CueMix FX will jump to the appropriate tab to display the control you are adjusting Share surfaces with other applications When the Share surfaces with other applications menu command is checked CueMix FX releases the control
73. e computer b physically transfer the program from one computer to another provided that the program is used on only one computer at a time and that you remove any copies of the program from the computer from which the program is being transferred c make copies of the program solely for backup purposes You must reproduce and include the copyright notice on a label on any backup copy YOU MAY NOT a distribute copies of the program or the documentation to others b rent lease or grant sublicenses or other rights to the program c provide use of the program in a computer service business network time sharing multiple CPU or multiple user arrangement without the prior written consent of MOTU d translate adapt reverse engineer decompile disassemble or otherwise alter the program or related documentation without the prior written consent of MOTU MOTU warrants to the original licensee that the disk s on which the program is recorded be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of ninety 90 days from the date of purchase as evidenced by a copy of your receipt If failure of the disk has resulted from accident abuse or misapplication of the product then MOTU shall have no responsibility to replace the disk s under this Limited Warranty THIS LIMITED WARRANTY AND RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT IS IN LIEU OF AND YOU HEREBY WAIVE ANY AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES BOTH EXPRESS AND IMPLIED INCLUDING BUT NOT L
74. e higher the correlation between the two channels Opening the Phase Analysis Each MOTU audio interface has its own Phase Analysis window Choose the Phase Analysis item from the Devices menu under the desired interface Figure 9 26 on page 80 Choosing a channel pair to display The Phase Analysis window follows the currently focused audio input or output If you focus a mono channel e g Analog 3 its corresponding stereo pair will be displayed Analog 3 4 View controls The View controls Figure 9 49 provide several options for the Phase Analysis display Figure 9 49 View controls ae _ Pause button view A Analog 1 B Analog 2 Scatter Color Linear Rectangular Axes ME Pausing the display The Pause button in the upper right corner of the View section Figure 9 49 allows you to freeze the display at any time To resume click the button again The correlation meter will remain active while the display is paused Figure 9 48 Phase Analysis 92 CUEMIX FX A B stereo audio channels The View section Figure 9 49 displays the pair of input or output audio channels you are viewing See Choosing a channel pair to display above Line Scatter Choose either Line or Scatter from the menu in the View section Figure 9 49 to plot each data point as either a single pixel or as a continuous line that connects each frequency data point to the next as shown below in Figure 9
75. e of the window in Figure 10 1 provides settings for synchronizing the Track16 to SMPTE time code Status lights The four status lights Tach Clock Address and Freewheel give you feedback as follows Tach The Tach light blinks once per second when the Track16 has successfully achieved lockup to SMPTE time code and SMPTE frame locations are being read Clock The Clock light glows continuously when the Track16 has successfully achieved lockup to an external time base such as SMPTE time code or the optical input Address The Address light glows continuously when the Track16 has successfully achieved lockup to SMPTE time code Freewheel The Freewheel light illuminates when the Track16 is freewheeling address time code clock or both For details about Freewheeling see Freewheel Address and Freewheel clock below SMPTE source Choose the line input that is connected to the time code source This is the input that the Track16 listens to for time code Freewheel Address Freewheeling occurs when there is a glitch or drop out in the incoming time code for some reason The Track16 can freewheel past the drop out and then resume lockup again as soon as it receives readable time code Choose the amount of time you would like the Track16 to freewheel before it gives up and stops altogether The Track16 cannot freewheel address without clock Therefore the Freewheel Address setting will always be lowe
76. e other styles discussed in the following sections might be more appropriate This filter type is the most similar to a standard parametric EQ Figure 9 14 Type II EQ filter style The Type II EQ filter produces constant Q response during boost or cut The Type II style emulates several classic legacy EQs and produces good results for resonance control on drums and percussion because it provides relatively high Q values with more extreme gain or cut settings 69 CUEMIX FX Type II sade 1 02 E REID 990420008 01 02 Figure 9 15 Type III EQ filter style The Type III EQ filter increases Q as boost is applied Therefore lower amounts of boost provide a softer wider EQ effect since the affected frequency range widens while higher boost tends to sound louder and more up front due to the increase in Q as the gain is increased The more gentle Q curve at lower settings is well suited for overall EQ fills and more subtle corrections in instrument and vocal sources Boosting or cutting by small amounts will seem to produce the effect that your ear expects without the need to adjust Q As a result this filter style and similar EQs with this characteristic behavior are often referred to as being more musical More specifically this style emulates the classic Neve EQs their modern derivatives and later SSL G series EQs Many current popular outboard boutique EQs exhibit this same gain Q rela
77. early identify each one but some applications do not display these labels For information on how you can identify each input and output in a numbered list like this see Appendix A Audio I O reference page 107 PROCESSING LIVE INPUTS WITH HOST PLUG INS If you patch a live input such as a MIDI synthesizer through a plug in effect in your host software you might hear a slight delay There are several ways to reduce this delay For details see chapter 8 Reducing Monitoring Latency page 49 WORKING WITH CUEMIX FX MIXING AND EFFECTS The Track16 provides powerful external mixing EQ compression and reverb which you can operate hand in hand with your host s mixing environment For example the Track16 can serve as a monitor mixer routing channels to musicians or it can serve as an integrated extension of your host s mixing environment If you program an Track16 mixing and processing configuration that goes hand in hand with your host project be sure to use the file save features in CueMix FX to save the Track16 settings as a file in your host project folder for instant recall of all settings See chapter 9 CueMix FX page 55 for complete details SYNCHRONIZATION You may encounter situations in which you need to synchronize your audio software and the Track16 to the other components of your system Synchronizing digital audio connections If you have devices connected to the Track16 digital optic
78. ent one Delete Lets you choose a configuration to perma nently remove from the menu Import Loads all configurations from a configuration file on disk Export Saves all current configurations as a file on disk Configuration Choose any configuration to load it The cur list rent last loaded or saved configuration has a check mark next to it Modifying a configuration The name of the current configuration is displayed in the CueMix FX window title bar If you make any changes to the settings in CueMix FX an asterisk appears in front of the name to remind you that the current state of CueMix FX doesn t match the saved configuration If you wish to update the saved configuration with the new changes use the Save command To save the current state of CueMix FX to another configuration choose Save To To save as a new separate configuration choose Create New Saving a CueMix FX configuration as a hardware preset To save a CueMix FX configuration as a hardware preset 1 Choose the configuration from the Configurations menu to make it the current active configuration 2 Choose File menu gt Save Hardware Preset 3 Type ina name choose a preset slot and click OK Saving a hardware preset as a CueMix FX configuration To save a hardware preset as a CueMix FX configu ration 1 Choose File menu gt Load Hardware Preset to make it the current active preset 2 Choose Configuration menu gt Create New or Sav
79. er 4 0 4 6623 This menu lets you choose what you will hear from the PHONES jack To mirror the main outs choose Main Out 1 2 0r you can mirror any other output pair To hear the Click the Track16 tab to access these phones as their own independent output choose Phones 1 2 Phones Assign Optical Input A i Optical Output 4 Choose the output pair you would like the main outs to mirror or choose Main Outs 1 2 to operate them as their own independent pair Main Out Assign Return Assign settings TOSLINK z Each optical bank can be configured independently ADAT or TOSLINK Disable them when not in use to conserve DSP and FireWire USB bus bandwidth The Track16 driver provides a stereo return back to the computer This return feeds the signal on any Track16 output pair directly back to the computer where you can record process monitor or other wise use it This is a great way to bounce full mixes complete with live audio routed through the Track16 only back into the computer Driver 4 0 4 65623 How to access these settings There are several ways to access these settings m From the Windows Start menu choose Programs gt MOTU gt MOTU Audio Console m From within Cubase go to the Device Setup window click the MOTU Audio ASIO list item and and click the Control Panel button m From within other applications refer to their documentation Jo MIDI MOTU Audio C
80. er in CueMix FX Main out MALLA Master Clock Source O Use Stereo Pairs for Windows Audio Use WaveRT for Windows Audio Enable Pedal Pedal Down Driver 4 0 4 6623 Figure 8 3 Lowering the Samples Per Buffer setting in MOTU Audio Console reduces patch thru latency But doing so increases the processing load on your computer so keep an eye on the Perfor mance Monitor in your host audio software y 1 Live input from mic guitar etc enters the MOTU interface 2 CueMix FX immediately patches the live mic signal directly to the main outs or other output completely bypassing the computer This signal could be dry or with Track16 effects processing such as EQ compression or Classic Reverb Figure 8 2 This diagram shows the signal flow when using CueMix FX no latency monitoring Notice that this method does not process the live input with plug ins in your audio software Instead you can apply Track16 effects such as the reverb EQ and or compression 51 REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY Lower latency versus higher CPU overhead The buffer setting has a large impact on the following things m Patch thru latency a The load on your computers CPU Possible distortion at the smallest settings How responsive the transport controls are in your audio software The buffer setting presents you with a trade off between the processing power of your computer and the delay of live au
81. esents frequency and the angle theta measured from the y vertical axis represents the phase difference in degrees 2 1 0 1 2 Figure 9 51 Rectangular versus Polar display with a linear plot Above Figure 9 51 shows Rectangular versus Polar display with a Linear plot Below Figure 9 52 show s the same displays and the same data with a Logarithmic plot Figure 9 52 Rectangular versus Polar display with a logarithmic plot Axes The Axes control Figure 9 49 sets the opacity of the grid displayed in the graph from 100 fully visible down to 0 fully hidden 93 CUEMIX FX Horizontal and vertical controls The Horizontal and Vertical controls Figure 9 53 let you scale each axis of the grid and offset its zero point Click and drag the values up or down to set them or double click to return to the default value There are two modes for the controls Zoom Offset and Min Max To change the mode use the menu shown in Figure 9 53 Figure 9 53 Setting the Horizontal or Vertical control modes In Zoom Offset mode Zoom scales the axis Pos moves the zero line In Min Max mode Min and Max let you scale the grid by moving the end points along the axis Min Max mode lets you set the boundaries of the graph directly Filters The Filters section Figure 9 54 lets you control the density of the Phase Analysis display Figure 9 54 Filters Floor Floor Figure 9 54 determines the amp
82. esolve the Track16 to the optical device For 1 choose Internal or any other clock source except ADAT optical as the clock source for the Track16 in MOTU Audio Setup For 2 choose ADAT Optical as the Track16 s clock source 25 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 HARDWARE For details about using the clock source setting and the MOTU Audio Setup software in general see chapter 5 MOTU Audio Console page 33 CONNECT MIDI GEAR Connect your MIDI device s MIDI IN jack to the Track16 s breakout cable MIDI OUT jack Connection A below Conversely connect the MIDI device s MIDI OUT jack to the Track16 s MIDI IN jack Connection B MIDI cables Track16 1 0 cable MIDI OUT MIDI IN Connection A Connection B MIDI MIDI MIDI Device IN OUT Figure 4 4 Connecting a MIDI device to the Track 16 One way MIDI connections MIDI devices that do not receive MIDI data such as a dedicated keyboard controller guitar controller or drum pad only need Connection B shown in Figure 4 4 Similarly devices that never send data such as a sound module only need Connection A Make both connections for any device that needs to both send and receive MIDI data Connecting additional gear with MIDI THRUs If you need to connect several pieces of MIDI gear run a MIDI cable from the MIDI THRU of a device already connected to the Track16 to the MIDI IN on the additional device as shown below in Figure 4 5 The two
83. essing can be done either in the any other output pair You can control everything Track16 in the computer with audio software or from the included CueMix Console software both During recording you can use the Track16 s Main studio monitors synthesizer Secondary studio monitors Balanced MIDI MIDI quarter inch OUT IN analog outs IMITA 2 channel TOSLink FireWire or USB Breakout cable 8 channel Optical input Phones ADAT optical Home theater system MOTU 8pre Optical optical expander output iPad or iPod Figure 4 7 A typical Track16 studio setup 28 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 HARDWARE CONNECTING MULTIPLE MOTU FIREWIRE INTERFACES You can daisy chain up to three MOTU FireWire interfaces on a single FireWire bus but do not run the Track16 or other bus powered interfaces under bus power when doing so When connecting multiple MOTU interfaces MOTU Audio Console displays the settings for one interface at a time To view the settings for an interface click its tab Synchronizing multiple interfaces When multiple MOTU interfaces are connected choose a Master Clock Source from the menu in the General tab You can choose any available sync source from any connected interface giving you a great deal of flexibility in choosing a clock source A separate Clock menu is provided for any interfaces not chosen as the master clock source You can either resolve the interface to the Master Clock
84. everal ways to access Track16 settings Open MOTU Audio Console from the Windows Start menu gt Programs gt MOTU From within your host audio software s audio driver preferences For example in Cubase or Nuendo open the Device Setup window click VST Audio System and choose MOTU Audio ASIO from the ASIO Driver menu Then click the MOTU Audio ASIO item in the list and click the Control Panel button Most applications provide access only to basic settings such as sample rate and clock source For access to all settings open MOTU Audio Console using one of the techniques above General tab settings The General tab Figure 5 1 provides settings that apply to all connected MOTU FireWire and USB audio interfaces Track16 tab settings The Track16 tab Figure 5 1 provides settings that apply to a specific Track16 interface If you have several Track16 or other MOTU interfaces connected you ll see a separate tab for each one 33 GENERAL TAB SETTINGS Sample Rate Choose the desired Sample Rate for recording and playback The Track16 can operate at 44 1 the standard rate for compact disc audio 48 88 2 96 176 4 or 192KHz If you are operating at a sample rate between 44 1 and 96kHz make absolutely sure that all of the devices connected digitally to the Track16 optical connectors match the Track16 s sample rate At the 4x sample rates 176 4 or 192kHz optical I O is disabled Mismatched samp
85. fferent color combinations From the factory the currently selected button is green and the others are amber But you can choose other color combinations if you like To change the button LED color scheme 1 Hold the METERS button down for 2 seconds to enter Lockout mode The METERS button blinks 2 Press the METERS button repeatedly to cycle among the different LED color schemes 3 When you have chosen the desired scheme hold the METERS button again for 2 seconds to exit Lockout mode You can change the LED color scheme at any time FACTORY SETTINGS To restore these factory settings hold down the MAIN and LINE OUT buttons for 2 seconds a The MAIN button is active green and therefore the knob controls main out volume a The OUTPUT METERs button is inactive and therefore the meters display levels for MIC IN GUITAR IN and LINE IN On the mic inputs 48V phantom power and 20 dB pad are off 40 HARDWARE OPERATION CHAPTER 7 OVERVIEW The Track16 provides multi channel audio input and output for ASIO and WDM compatible audio applications including Ableton Live Avid Pro Tools Cockos Reaper Propellerhead Reason and Record Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo Cakewalk SONAR and others Additionally sample accurate synchronization is possible with applications that support ASIO 2 or 3 s sample accurate positioning protocol Preparation ci ra 41 Run MOTU Audio Console 41
86. g filters in the display Each filter has a handle displayed as shown below in Figure 9 12 in the filter s color for adjusting its boost cut and or frequency Filter handle Filter Q red line Figure 9 12 Drag the filter handle to adjust its frequency and or boost cut Drag the Filter Q handles to adjust the Q For the EQ filters when you click the handle you ll also see lines on either side for adjusting the Q parameter as shown above Shortcut hold down the Option Alt key while clicking an EQ filter handle to enable or bypass that EQ filter band EQ filters The EQ filters have three parameters Control unit range Gain dB 20 00 to 20 00 Frequency Hertz 20 Hz to 20 kHz Q n a seenotebelow 0 01 to 3 00 Q The Q setting does not have a unit of measurement Rather it is the ratio of the filter s center frequency to the bandwidth of the filter In addition the actual Q value for the EQ curve being applied is dependent on three factors the gain setting the filter style and the Q setting Filter types Each filter can be independently set to one of four different filter types I II lll and IV These and the additional shelf filters for the LMF and HMF band are discussed in the section EQ filter styles Returning to zero or nominal frequency To return a knob to zero or it s nominal frequency double click it EQ filter styles EQ is one of the most widely used processing tools and
87. gnal and the resistance of the photoresistor is in turn inversely proportional to the intensity of the light Photore sistors respond quite quickly to increases in light intensity yet return to their dark resistance very slowly Thus incorporation of the photoresistor into an attenuator followed by an amplifier which provides make up gain produces a signal which maintains a constant overall loudness Automatic gain control using light The the Automatic Gain Control AGC circuit of the LA 2A uses a vintage opto coupler known by its model number T4 The T4 contains an electroluminescent panel ELP and photoresistor 73 CUEMIX FX mounted so that the emission of the panel modulates the resistance An ELP consists of a thin layer of phosphorescent material sandwiched between two insulated electrodes to form a capacitor Making one of the electrodes transparent allows the light to escape These devices are essentially glow in the dark paint on a piece of foil covered by metalized glass or plastic and are the same devices used in low power night lights Unfortunately these devices need high voltages to operate and are best driven by tube circuits which can supply voltage swings of several hundred volts Response characteristics Once the light has faded away the photoresistor then decays back to its dark state The shape of the decay curve varies depending on how bright the light was and how long the light lasted A gene
88. h impedance load character istics suitable for passive and active pickups alike to produce authentic guitar tone and feel with your guitar processing software Line inputs and outputs All quarter inch analog connectors are balanced except for line outputs 3 4 Balanced connectors can accept either a balanced or unbalanced plug Balanced output connections protect audio signals from RF interference AC hum and other noise producing environmental factors The unbalanced line outputs are useful for home stereo components consumer speakers or other common unbalanced destinations The quarter inch outputs are referenced to a 4 dBu line level output signal The inputs have 22 dB of input gain and 96 dB of cut allowing them to accommodate both 10 dBu and 4 dBu level signals Precision Digital Trim All of the Track16 s analog inputs are equipped with digitally controlled analog trims adjustable in approximately 1 4 dB increments All analog inputs can be trimmed with the Track16 knob or with the Track16 s included CueMix FX control software for Mac and Windows This gives you finely tuned control of trim settings for a wide variety of analog inputs for optimum levels Different trim configurations can then be saved as preset configurations for instant recall Optical The optical connectors provide 8 channels of ADAT optical at 44 1 or 48 kHz 4 channels of S MUX optical I O at 96 kHz or stereo TOSLINK at rates up to 9
89. he filter on or off How the vintage EQ works The Vintage EQ operates like a standard EQ filter but with much more sophisticated processing algorithms under the hood There are five bands of EQ each with their own unique knob color plus additional low pass and high pass filters Each filter can be set to any center frequency you wish Each filter can be independently turned on or off with the enable disable button Figure 9 10 Each filter can be set to one of four different filter types I II III or IV The two top most filters orange and green provide an extra low and high shelf setting in addition to the four standard band settings The additional low pass and high pass filters lower left have gray cutoff frequency knobs and six settings for slope in octaves dB Frequency response display The frequency response display at the top of the window displays the response curve of the current settings in the window The horizontal frequency range is from 10 hertz to 20 KHz The vertical amplitude scale is in dB and is adjustable between 3 and 24 dB using the vertical scale buttons Figure 9 10 67 CUEMIX FX Showing and hiding filter curves To view a filter in the display turn on the filter The shape of the filter according to its current settings is shaded in the same color as the filter s knob s Use the filter display options menu Figure 9 10 to show or hide them in the display Adjustin
90. he signal in order from top to bottom Input channel signal flow is as follows trim overload protection phase stereo versus M S decoding width L R swap EQ dynamics and reverb send Input name The input name appears a the top of the input channel This name also appears in host audio software on the computer if the software supports channel names AA AAN Focus 411111111 Foc Focus 41111111 Foc ddddddddd ge A ddddddddd ddddddddd MONO STEREO MONO STEREO MONO E LP HP filter selector EQ band selectors Xr oe ye J vo 0 y 0 o lt Compressor selector Dia Ara dra 60 CUEMIX FX Input channel focus Click the channel focus button Figure 9 3 to view and edit parameters in the channel settings section of the CueMix FX window Figure 9 7 on page 64 Mono stereo pairing Click the Mono button Figure 9 3 if you would like an input to be treated as a mono channel If you would like to work with it as one channel of a linked stereo pair click the Stereo button Inputs are grouped in odd even pairs mic 1 2 Analog 1 2 3 4 etc Stereo pairs appear as a single channel strip in the CueMix FX mixer in all tabs Invert phase Click the Phase button Figure 9 3 to invert the phase of the input signal For stereo pairs you can invert the phase for the left and right channels independently Input trim All Track16 inputs both analog and digital offer continuously variab
91. he volume trim or bus level of the currently selected input or output channel or pair Use the buttons below to select the desired input or output When an output is selected push the knob to mute or unmute it You can do the same when controlling an input s CueMix bus volume as explained below To control an input s CueMix bus volume input fader hold the desired output bus MAIN PHONES or LINE OUT while pressing the desired input here so that both buttons turn green Then use the knob to adjust the CueMix input level Push to mute unmute eee Q Mic inputs 1 2 GUITAR gt J Quick Reference Track16 Connectors LINE IN 3 4 A Guitar Line ln 1 3 4 Phones MIDI IN OUT This is one of two hi Z guitar inputs The second guitar input is on the breakout cable 10 Line In 3 4 is a stereo eighth inch mini jack for connecting an iPod or other mobile audio device From the factory the headphone jack is a discrete output but it can mirror any other output pair digital or analog If your headphones have a stereo mini connector connect them here The signal on the two headphone jacks TRS and stereo mini is the same Connect the Track16 to the computer here via either FireWire or USB2 using either the standard 1394 FireWire B or USB cable provided with your Track16 There s not much difference except that FireWire offers bus powered operation without the DC power s
92. igh speed connection it must be connected to a USB 2 0 host controller or hub For the most reliable connection it is recommended that you connect the Track16 directly to one of your computer s USB 2 0 compatible ports However since USB 2 0 hubs are compatible with both types of devices the Track16 can be connected to a USB 2 0 hub along with USB 1 1 devices if necessary The Track16 will not operate properly if it is connected to a USB 1 1 hub Follow these instructions to determine whether your computer supports USB 1 1 or USB 2 0 1 Open the Windows Control Panel and choose Hardware and Sound 2 Inthe Devices and Printers section click Device Manager 3 In Device Manager open the Universal Serial Bus Controllers section 4 Look in the list of USB devices An Enhanced USB Host Controller Interface EHCI represents a USB 2 0 controller An Open USB Host Controller Interface OHCI or Universal USB Host Controller Interface UHCI represents a USB 1 1 controller If you are connecting via high speed USB 2 0 1 Before you begin make sure your computer and the Track16 are switched off 2 Plug the flat type A plug of the Track16 USB cable included into a USB2 equipped socket on the computer 3 Plug the squared type B plug of the USB cable into the Track16 I O Switching Between FireWire and USB Most of the time the Track16 can detect whether a FireWire or a USB cable is connected to it and it
93. igure 9 3 on page 60 and click the Focus button for the input that the talkback mic is connected to Click the Channel tab Figure 9 8 on page 64 and enable the Talk button Repeat this procedure for the Listenback mic except click the Listen button in the Channel tab Talk Listen output To configure the talkback and listen back outputs go to the Outputs tab Figure 9 6 on page 63 and enable the Talk button for any output pair on which youd like to hear the talkback mic Similarly enable the Listen button for any output pair on which youd like to hear the listenback mic Talkback Listenback Monitor Dim Use the knobs next to the Talk and Listen buttons Figure 9 25 to determine the amount of attenuation you would like to apply to all other audio signals besides the talkback listenback signal when Talkback and or Listenback is engaged To completely silence all other CueMix audio turn them all the way down attenuation only occurs when talkback or listenback is engaged Audio playing back from disk your host software is not affected Talk dim Listen dim Figure 9 25 The Talkback Listenback controls Engaging disengaging Talkback and Listenback To engage Talk back or Listenback press on the Talk or Listen buttons Figure 9 25 and then release to disengage Talkback and or Listenback is engaged for as long as you hold down the mouse button Alt click to make the buttons sticky stay engaged
94. ilter point is selected or dragged in the full window graph the info box is shown next to the point in the full graph display Figure 9 35 Figure 9 35 The Info Box The info box includes the industry standard scientific note pitch name when the control point is located at a frequency that resides within a prescribed note range where C4 is middle C The note number is accompanied by the number of cents 50 above or below the exact frequency for the note If the control point is dragged outside the note range only the frequency is shown OSCILLOSCOPE The Oscilloscope Figure 9 34 graphs the amplitude of an audio signal over time Amplitude is displayed on the y axis and time is displayed on the x axis A thick white vertical line marks where time equals zero a thick white horizontal line marks where amplitude equals zero Figure 9 34 below Figure 9 34 Oscilloscope 83 CUEMIX FX Level meters are displayed to the right of the graph One or two meters are shown depending on the current view mode see View controls Opening the oscilloscope Each Track16 has its own oscilloscope To open an oscilloscope choose the Oscilloscope item from the Devices menu under the desired interface Choosing a channel to display The oscilloscope follows the currently focused audio input or output If you focus a mono channel e g Analog 3 its corresponding stereo pair will be displayed Analog 3
95. ine marking time equals zero denoted by the extra vertical graph lines surrounding it There are two kinds of waveform recognition available Type I and Type II Wavelorm Recognition iw None Type Il Figure 9 38 Waveform Recognition menu Type I recognition provides the most stable display of the waveform It is the most resistant to change Louder transients such as those produced by a snare drum are not displayed inside of the waveform window Type I is best for observing the shape of a signal produced by a synthesizer or observing the tone of a guitar through a chain of pedals Type II recognition is less resistant to change It will include loud transients within the waveform recognition window Type II is better for observing percussive music where the beat itself is to be centered within the waveform window Trigger When the Trigger Figure 9 39 is not enabled the Trigger menu is set to None the graph updates based on time after every n samples of the monitored audio signal the most recent samples are displayed When the Trigger is enabled set to any mode other than None the graph updates in response to specific conditions in the signal The Trigger section defines that criteria and how the graph will display the events that match Trigger m4 Trigger indicator Trigger menu fm Lett mM Right m Pos m Neg E Magnitude Level Holdott Criteria check boxes Figure 9 39 Trigge
96. ing choose it from the mix bus menu Figure 9 2 The mix name appears above the mix bus master fader Figure 9 2 where you can click the name to change it Each mix bus is independent Each mix bus has its own settings Settings for one bus will not affect another For example if an input is used for one bus 1t will still be available for other busses In addition inputs can have a different volume pan mute and solo setting in each bus Input channels The Inputs tab Figure 9 3 on page 60 gives you access to settings for individual Track16 inputs or input pairs such as phase trim EQ and dynamics processing Each input also includes a send to the Track16 s global reverb processor These settings are applied to the signal before it goes anywhere else to a mix bus or the computer 56 CUEMIX FX Output channels The Outputs tab Figure 9 6 on page 63 gives you access to settings for each Track16 output pair including EQ dynamics processing and send return controls for feeding and returning the output signal to from the Track16 s global reverb processor These settings are applied to the signal just before it is sent to the output Channel focus and settings Click the focus button for a channel Figure 9 1 to view channel specific parameters in the Channel Settings section of the CueMix FX window Figure 9 1 Separate tabs are provided for channel specific settings channel strip EQ and dynamics plus the glob
97. io software audio input menus youll see an Track16 input called Return 1 2 This is a stereo feed from the Track16 that matches the signal of one of its output pairs Use the Return Assign menu in MOTU Audio Console to choose which output pair you would like to hear on this return This can be used for example to record back a final stereo mix that includes effects processing from the Track16 DSP such as the Leveler for reference and archiving purposes Warning the Return inputs can cause feedback loops DO NOT assign this input to a track that shares the same Track16 output pair as the returns Reverb return The Track16 also supplies a return to your host software that carries the output of its reverb processor This return can be used for any purpose you wish 42 CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE CHOOSING THE MOTU AUDIO DRIVER Once you ve made the preparations described so far in this chapter youre ready to run your audio software and enable the MOTU Audio driver Check the audio system or audio hardware configuration window in your software There will be a menu there that lets you choose among various drivers that may be in your system Choose the desired MOTU Audio driver from this menu Several driver options are available For a summary see MOTU Audio drivers on page 20 Pro Tools In Avid Pro Tools go to the Setup menu and choose Playback Engine as shown in Figure 7 2 Choose the MOTU Audio ASIO from the Cu
98. ire interfaces 29 CONNECT THE TRACK16 INTERFACE Your Track16 audio interface is equipped with both FireWire B connectors running at 400 Mbit sec and a high speed USB2 connector 480 Mbit sec and you can use either port to connect the Track16 to your computer This gives you maximum flexibility and compatibility with today s ever expanding universe of Mac and Windows computers Type B FireWire ports The Track16 has a FireWire 9 pin Type B port which provides the most reliable FireWire connection available The port operates at 400 Mbit s and it can be connected to any available FireWire port on your computer Type A 6 pin Type A mini 4 pin or Type B 9 pin If your computer has FireWire Type B ports use the included 9 pin to 9 pin FireWire cable If your computer has either standard Type A ports or Installing the Track16 Hardware miniature Type A ports use the appropriate 9 pin to 6 pin or 9 pin to 4 pin FireWire cable sold separately Which should use FireWire or USB2 If your computer does not have a FireWire port then obviously you will need to connect the Track16 to one of its high speed USB 2 0 ports If your computer has both FireWire and USB2 then it is your choice and your decision may depend mostly on other peripherals you may also have or bus power as explained below Bus powered operation requires FireWire There is only one significant difference between FireWire and USB2 ope
99. king amplitude equals zero Try setting Waveform Recognition to Type I and setting Trigger to None Another example is waveform polarity If you are combining several raw waveforms polarity is a critical yet not always obvious factor in determining the resulting sound You can use the Oscilloscope to easily view and compare polarities to see if they are inverted from one another or not The Add and Subtract L R View menu settings are particularly useful here You can also use the Oscilloscope to help you apply waveform modulation and keep it in bounds For example you could easily see if pulse width modulation is collapsing in on itself to choke the sound an effect that is readily seen in the Oscilloscope display but not necessarily easy to determine by ear when using multiple modulation sources Guitarists can also visually observe the effects of their pedals and processing while playing With the Trigger mode set to None and Waveform Recognition set to Type I the waveform will be tracks automatically When applying filters and filter resonance the visual effect on the waveform can be invaluable in reinforcing what you are hearing as you make adjustments 88 CUEMIX FX Monitoring control voltage output from Volta MOTU s Volta instrument plug in for Mac OS X turns your audio interface into a control voltage interface giving you precise digital control from your favorite audio workstation software of any hardware
100. le input trim In all cases trim level can be controlled digitally in 1 dB increments This includes the digitally controlled analog trims on the eight analog inputs Here is a summary of input trim ranges for each type of Track16 input Trim Trim Trim Input cut boost Range Mic inputs 0 dB 60 dB 60 dB Guitar inputs 0 dB 22 dB 22 dB Analog inputs 96 dB 22 dB 118 dB ADAT optical 0 dB 12 dB 12 dB S PDIF TOSLINK 0dB 12 dB 12 dB Once you adjust the trim levels you can save them asa file on disk for future instant recall See Saving and loading hardware presets on page 79 and Configurations menu on page 97 Input EQ and dynamics The Track16 lets you apply 7 band parametric EQ and dynamics processing DSP to any input analog or digital The controls in the EQ Compression section of the Inputs tab Figure 9 3 let you edit EQ and compression settings within the context of the channel strip This is ideal when you are comparing settings among neighboring channels or perhaps even applying the same setting across all inputs However for more detailed editing of EQ and compression settings for an input channel you can click its Focus button and view the settings in the Channel Section of the CueMix FX window Figure 9 1 This section even provides graphical editing of EQ curves and the compressor graph allowing you to click and drag directly on the graphic For details see The channel settings section on pag
101. le rates cause distortion and crackling If you hear this sort of thing check the sample rate settings in your hardware and here in MOTU Audio Console wT TL Auc Track16 Sample Rate 36000 Samples Per Buffer 256 Li Internal O Use Stereo Pairs for Windows Audio Master Clack Source Use WaveRT for Windows Audio Enable Pedal Pedal Dawn Pedal Up Driver 4 0 4 6623 Master Clock Source The Master Clock Source determines the digital audio clock that the Track16 will use as its time base The following sections briefly discuss each clock source setting Internal Use the Internal setting when you want the Track16 to operate under its own digital audio clock For example you may be in a situation where all you are doing is playing tracks off hard disk in your digital audio software on the computer In a situation like this you most often don t need to reference an external clock of any kind ADAT optical The ADAT optical clock source setting refers to the clock provided by the Track16 optical input when it is connected to another optical device This setting only appears in the Master Clock Source eT Au General Phones Assign Phones 1 2 Optical Input ADAT Optical Optical Output 4 TOSLINK Main Out Assign Main Cuts 1 2 Return Assign Analog 1 2 Driver 4 0 4 6623 Figure 5 1 MOTU Audio Console gives you access to all of the settings in the Track16 hardware 34 MOTU AUD
102. litude threshold for the display When the amplitude of both channels drops below this threshold the signal is not shown Max delta theta Max delta theta Figure 9 54 only affects Line view see Line Scatter on page 93 and sets the maximum difference in frequency between plot points in the line plot For two adjacent frequencies if the distance phase difference between the two frequencies is greater than the Max delta theta then the line is not drawn Using the Phase Analysis In the polar display top row of Figure 9 55 on page 95 stereo material that is predominantly phase aligned correlated appears along the vertical axis as demonstrated in the first column Perfectly in phase in Figure 9 55 If the vertical line tilts left or right this indicates general differences in phase the more the tilt delta theta the more the phase difference If the vertical line points downwards in the polar display this indicates that the stereo image is predominantly out of polarity as demonstrated by the fourth column Inverted in Figure 9 55 Delays appear as spirals in the polar display The rectangular display bottom row of Figure 9 55 also shows a predominantly phase aligned stereo image along the vertical axis and tilt or left right offset from the center vertical axis represents differences in phase If a signal is predominantly out of polarity it appears along the theta 1 0 or theta 1 0 lines in the rec
103. ll processing load on your computer leaving less CPU bandwidth for things like real time effects processing On the other hand if you increase the Samples Per Buffer you reduce the load on your computer freeing up bandwidth for 35 MOTU AUDIO CONSOLE effects mixing and other real time operations But don t set the Samples Per Buffer too low or it may cause distortion in your audio If you dont process live inputs with software plug ins leave this setting at its default value of 1024 samples If you do try settings of 256 samples or less if your computer seems to be able to handle them If your host audio software has a processor meter check it If it starts getting maxed out or if the computer seems sluggish raise the Samples Per Buffer until performance returns to normal If you are at a point in your recording project where you are not currently working with live patched thru material e g you re not recording vocals or if you have a way of externally monitoring input choose a higher Samples Per Buffer setting Depending on your computer s CPU speed you might find that settings in the middle work best The Samples Per Buffer setting also impacts how quickly your audio software will respond when you begin playback although not by amounts that are very noticeable Lowering the Samples Per Buffer will make your software respond faster raising the Samples Per Buffer will make it a little bit slower but bare
104. ly enough to notice Monitoring live inputs without plug in effects As mentioned earlier CueMix FX allows you to monitor dry unprocessed live inputs with no delay at all For complete details see chapter 8 Reducing Monitoring Latency page 49 Use stereo pairs for Windows audio Some legacy Windows audio applications require audio channels to be grouped in stereo pairs If you are using old Windows audio software and you are having issues accessing Audio Express channels from within the software try enabling the Use Stereo Pairs for Windows Audio option Use WaveRT for Windows audio If your host software supports WaveRT enable this option Consult your host application documentation for details Enable Pedal This setting applies to other MOTU audio interfaces but it does not apply to the Track16 TRACK16 TAB SETTINGS Phones Assign The Phones Assign setting lets you choose what you will hear from the headphone jack Choose Main Out 1 2 if youd like the headphone output to match the main outs Choose Phones 1 2 if you would like the headphones to serve as their own independent output which you can access as an independent output destination in your host audio software and as an output destination for the four on board CueMix FX mix busses Optical input output The Optical input and Optical output settings let you choose between 8 channel ADAT optical lightpipe and stereo S PDIF optical TOSLINK
105. n Assign Analog 1 2 4 Use WaveRT for Windows Audio E Enable Pedal river 4 0 4 6623 river 4 0 4 6623 Figure 7 1 MOTU Audio Console For complete details about the Track16 settings see chapter 5 MOTU Audio Console page 33 The following sections provide a brief explanation of each Track16 setting Sample rate Choose the desired overall sample rate for the Track16 system and your host audio software Newly recorded audio will have this sample rate Master Clock Source This setting is very important because it determines which audio clock the Track16 will follow If you do not have any digital audio connections to your Track16 you are using the analog inputs and outputs only and you will not be slaving your host software to external SMPTE time code choose Internal If you have devices connected to the Track16 optical ports see Choosing a clock source for optical connections on page 25 41 If you are slaving the Track16 and your host software to SMPTE time code follow the directions in chapter 10 MOTU SMPTE Console page 101 In order to use the Track16 s direct SMPTE sync and sample accurate sync feature the host audio software must support the ASIO 2 0 sample accurate positioning protocol Cubase and Nuendo support this protocol for other software check with its documentation Samples Per Buffer The Samples Per Buffer setting can be used to reduce
106. nit These inputs can be used with any line level source such as a keyboard drum machine outboard processor iPod or iPad Guitar MIDI IN OUT Mic In 1 2 In 2 A fe AA po TE LALA Figure 4 3 the Track16 breakout cable 24 INSTALLING THE TRACK16 HARDWARE Line input trims The line inputs are calibrated to accommodate either 4 dB or 10 dB signals and are equipped with digitally controlled analog trims that provide 96 dB of cut and 22 dB of gain You can use either the main volume knob or the included CueMix FX software to adjust the input trim To adjust these trims using CueMix FX see Input trim on page 61 To adjust the trims using the volume knob 1 Push the corresponding input button 2 Turn the volume knob Use the level meters to observe the current gain Main outs and line outs The stereo quarter inch main outputs are balanced line level outputs that also accept an unbalanced plug The line outputs are unbalanced All four outputs are calibrated to produce a 4 dBu line level output signal according to the EBU R68 specification as follows EBU R68 measurement dBVU dBu dBFS Meter alignment 0 0 18 Peak level 8 8 10 Headroom 10 dB typical peak to clip In a standard studio configuration the main outs are intended for a pair of studio monitors but they can also be used as additional outputs for any purpose Optical The Track16 rear panel provides one set of ADAT optical ligh
107. ns to 25 meters 7 volume control 40 Makeup gain 74 Master Clock Source 9 29 34 Master fader mix busses 58 Meters 13 39 Meters button choosing LED colors 40 Lockout mode 40 overview 7 troubleshooting 109 Meters tab 75 Mic inputs 23 connecting 8 23 28 meters 7 muting unmuting 40 trim 24 40 MIDI connecting 8 26 Windows driver installation 20 Mid side micing 65 Mix 1 Return 1 2 46 Mix bus activity LEDs 65 75 level meter 58 master fader 58 mute 58 Mix return includes computer 79 Mixes tab 58 MME driver 9 20 Monitor Level knob 7 Monitoring 50 thru main outs 25 Mono button 61 MOTU ASIO driver 20 MOTU Audio Console 33 launching 9 MOTU Audio Setup 19 MOTU SMPTE Console 101 MOTU SMPTE Setup 20 N Normal 65 Nuendo 15 33 41 clock source 41 Mac OS X 43 Main Out Assign 42 optical I O 42 phones 42 Return Assign 42 reverb return 42 sample rate 41 O Optical 2x mode 25 choosing format ADAT or TOSlink 9 36 clock source 25 connectors 8 25 overview 12 settings 9 Optical converter mode 25 Optimization 52 OS X audio software clock source 41 optical I O 42 phones 42 reverb return 42 sample rate 41 Oscilloscope 83 Output level meter in Dynamics plug in 73 Outputs analog 8 dynamics 63 EQ 63 meters 7 muting unmuting 40 name 62 optical 8 reverb send return 63 signal flow 62 tab 62 volume control 40 INDEX Over LEDs 7 P P LED pad 7 24 40 64 Packing list 17 Pad 7 13 24
108. nt channel being edited the channel that currently has the focus as shown below The name ofthe channel being EQU Figure 9 11 When a filter handle is not selected and when the cursor is not hovering over the display the parameter display shows the name of the current channel being edited the channel that currently has the focus EQ filter one of five center bands of EQ that can be independently enabled and programmed Filter type Lets you choose from one of four or five EQ styles for each independent band of EQ Low High Pass filter Both a low pass and high pass filter are supplied with six different slope settings Slope Lets you choose the slope fall off charac teristics of the low pass and high pass filter Q handle Drag the Q handle lines to graphically adjust the Q setting for the currently selected filter To select the filter click its filter handle Filter handle Drag this handle to graphically adjust the filter s boost cut and or frequency Composite curve white line shows the overall response curve of the current settings in the window Individual filter curve Each filter has a color indicated by its knobs When filter curves are being displayed the filter curve option is turned on each individual filter s response curve is displayed in the filter s color Filter display options menu Provides several options for controlling the filter display Filter enable disable Turns t
109. ntrol 7 40 77 VW Wave driver 9 20 WDM 20 Width 59 reverb 77 Width knob 65 113 index Windows Driver Model see WDM X X Y Plot 89 114 INDEX
110. o Console Hardware operation Configuring Host Audio Software Reducing Monitoring Latency CueMix FX MOTU SMPTE Console Part 3 Appendices 107 109 Audio I O reference Troubleshooting Part Getting Started Quick Reference Track16 Operation These 7 segment level meters have a range from 42 dB to 1 dB The top red LED illumi nates when the signal reaches 1 dB below full scale for even just one sample Push the METERS button below to toggle between the white labels and blue labels To toggle the 20dB pad P fora mic input push the MIC 1 or MIC2 button and then push the knob To toggle 48V phantom power V push and hold the knob To control the trim level for an input press its button to select it the button turns green and then use the knob to adjust input level Push the METERS button to toggle the meters between the channels labeled in white and those labeled in blue Level meters for the two mic inputs or the eighth inch stereo mini jack on the front METERS Level meters for Level meters the two guitar for the line inputs orthe inputs orthe phone jacks line outputs on the front TRACK16 GUITAR IN PHONES GUITAR 1 GUITAR 2 LINE OUT To control the volume for an output press its button to select it the button turns green and then use the knob to adjust level LINE IN Dedicated level meters for the main outs This multi function knob controls t
111. o communications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause interference to radio or television equipment reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by any combination of the following measures Relocate or reorient the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver Plug the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected If necessary you can consult a dealer or experienced radio television technician for additional assistance PLEASE NOTE only equipment certified to comply with Class B computer input output devices terminals printers etc should be attached to this equipment and it must have shielded interface cables in order to comply with the Class B FCC limits on RF emissions WARNING changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user s authority to operate the equipment Contents Part 1 Getting Started 21 Part 2 33 39 41 49 55 101 Quick Reference Track16 Operation Quick Reference Track16 Connectors Quick Reference MOTU Audio Console About the Track16 Packing List and System Requirements Installing the Track16 Software Installing the Track16 Hardware Using Track16 MOTU Audi
112. oftware audio input lists See Optical input output on page 36 Phones Assign on page 36 and Main Out Assign on page 36 Number of channels If your host audio software requires that you specify the number of audio voices or channels you will be using be sure to choose enough channels to cover the 16 inputs and 16 outputs provided by your Track16 46 CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE Mix1 1 2 return bus In your host audio software audio input menus youll see an Track16 input called Mix1 Return 1 2 This is a stereo feed from the Track16 that matches its main outs Mix 1 This can be used for example to record a final stereo mix for reference and archiving purposes Warning the Mix Return 1 2 return inputs can cause feedback loops DO NOT assign this input to a track assigned to the Track16 main outs For Mix1 Return 1 2 you can choose whether or not to include audio being sent to the main outs from the computer See Mix1 Return Includes Computer on page 79 The Phones 1 2 output Host audio tracks assigned to the Phones 1 2 output pair will be heard on the headphone jack only If the Phones are set to mirror another output such as the main outs the mirrored audio stream is mixed with the phones audio output For further explanation see Phones Assign on page 36 Audio Input and output names The Track16 audio driver supplies text string labels for its inputs and outputs to cl
113. olor mode Figure 9 43 the most recently displayed audio data is shown in red which fades to yellow green and then finally blue before disappearing In Grayscale mode data is first shown in white and then fades to gray To adjust the scale of this color brightness change see Decay on page 91 Axes The Axes control Figure 9 43 sets the opacity of the grid displayed in the graph from 100 fully visible down to 0 fully hidden Horizontal and vertical controls The Horizontal and Vertical controls Figure 9 45 configure the value range of the x axis left channel amplitude and y axis right channel amplitude respectively Click and drag the values up or down to set them or double click to return to the default value There are two modes for the controls Zoom Offset and Min Max To change the mode use the menu shown in Figure 9 45 Ef Y Zoom Offset Ti Min Max A n Figure 9 45 Setting the Horizontal or Vertical control modes In Zoom Offset mode Zoom scales the axis Pos moves the lines marking x 0 left and right or y 0 up and down 90 CUEMIX FX In Min Max mode Min and Max let you scale the grid by moving the 1 0 and 1 0 points along the axis Min Max mode lets you control the graph boundaries directly Persistence The Persistence controls Figure 9 46 affect the appearance of data from when it is first displayed until it disappears from the grid Figure 9 46 The Persis
114. on which mode is currently chosen Gain reduction GR meter The Gain reduction GR level meter Figure 9 21 displays the current amount of attenuation applied by the compressor Output level The Output Level meter Figure 9 21 displays the peaks of the output signal Trim is applied before the Output Level meter Peak RMS modes In RMS mode the compressor uses RMS values a computational method for determining overall loudness to measure the input level In Peak mode the compressor uses signal peaks to determine the input level RMS mode will let peaks through because the detector sidechain is only looking at the average signal level Peak mode will react to brief peaks Peak mode is generally used for drums percussion and other source material with strong transients while RMS mode is mostly used for everything else The input meters show either the peak level or the RMS level depending on the mode Leveler The Leveler Figure 9 21 provides an accurate model of the legendary Teletronix LA 2A optical compressor known for its unique and highly sought after Automatic Gain Control AGC characteristics The Track16 Leveler faithfully models the LA 2A using the on board DSP with 32 bit floating point precision A model of an optical compressor The simplest description of an optical leveling amplifier device is a light shining on a photore sistor The intensity of the light source is proportional to the audio si
115. onsole in Cubase MOTU Audio ASIO Input Laten Output Late i MIDI Port Setup z Clock Source i Remote Devices a aren sr E Extemaly Clocked i Quieke Controle HE Direct Monitoring 9 CHAPTER 1 OVGIVIEW espai 11 The Track16 I O connections 12 The Track16 Top panel oooooooooooomomooo 13 16 bit and 24 bitrecording 13 CueMix FX 32 bit floating point mixing and effects 14 Included software ooooooooooommmmmmmmmo 14 Host audio software ooooooooommmmmmmmmo 15 OVERVIEW The Track16 is a hybrid FireWire USB2 audio interface for Mac and Windows that provides 16 inputs and 16 outputs at 44 1 or 48kHz Both analog and digital I O are offered at sample rates up to 96 kHz and analog recording and playback is offered at rates up to 192 kHz All inputs and outputs can be accessed simultaneously The Track16 consists of a rugged aluminum alloy desktop unit that connects to a computer via a standard FireWire or USB cable The Track16 offers the following main features Universal computer connectivity via FireWire or high speed USB2 m Two analog mic inputs equipped with independent mic preamps a Two hi Z analog guitar inputs a Two balanced analog line inputs on quarter inch connectors m Stereo unbalanced analog line input on an 1 8th inch mini connector a Two analog main outputs on balanced quarter
116. ows you to create up to eight separate Track16 stereo mixes or any other desired routing configurations These routings are independent of your host audio software For complete details see chapter 9 CueMix FX page 55 Controlling CueMix FX from your audio software Some ASIO compatible audio applications such as Cubase and Nuendo allow you to control CueMix FX monitoring from within the application without the need to use CueMix FX In most cases this support consists of patching an Track16 input directly to an output when you record arm a track Exactly how this is handled depends on the application CueMix FX routings that are made via host applications are made under the hood which means that you won t see them in CueMix FX However CueMix FX connections made inside your host audio software dovetail with any other mixes you ve set up in CueMix FX For example if your host application routes audio to an output pair that is already being used in CueMix FX for an entirely separate mix bus both audio streams will simply be merged to the output Controlling CueMix FX from within Cubase or Nuendo To turn on CueMix in Cubase or Nuendo enable the Direct Monitoring check box in the Device Setup window Je MIDI MIDI Port Setup de Remote Devices n Video Player e VST Audio System MOTU Audio ASIO VST System Link Figure 8 4 Activating the Direct Monitoring option in Cubase or Nuen
117. plays all interfaces that are currently online Choose any device from the menu to edit its settings using the CueMix FX software Audio analysis tools Below each device are its signal analysis tools Choose one to open its window For details on these features see the following sections FFT and Spectrogram display 81 OSCINGSCODC iis cio darci n cdas 83 SAS 89 OA a 92 IU IN 96 J Y MOTU Trackl6 Ctrl 1 FFT Analysis Oscilloscope r X Y Plot Phase Analysis A Tuner Figure 9 26 Opening the signal analysis windows Choosing channels for audio analysis The audio analysis tools follow the currently focused audio input or output See Channel focus and settings on page 57 If you focus a mono channel e g Analog 3 its corresponding stereo pair will be displayed Analog 3 4 Scoping host software audio output If you want to scope audio output from your host software send your host s output to an Track16 output pair and then set the focus on that output pair 80 CUEMIX FX FFT AND SPECTROGRAM DISPLAY FFT and spectrogram information can be displayed in the Filter response display section in the EQ tab Figure 9 10 on page 66 or as a separate window Figure 9 28 on page 81 opened from the Devices menu Figure 9 26 7 til det Filter display options menu 17208 0108 ome FO OMWANNC
118. points sends in the CueMix FX mixer but all incoming signals to the reverb processor are merged and processed together The resulting stereo output from the reverb can then be inserted into a mix bus or output using stereo returns Reverb sends The following signals can be sent to the reverb processor via their corresponding sends discussed earlier in this chapter Mono or stereo inputs Figure 9 3 on page 60 a Mix bus output Figure 9 2 on page 58 a Outputs Figure 9 6 on page 63 Reverb returns The stereo output from the reverb processor can be sent to the following destinations via their corresponding returns discussed earlier in this chapter a Mix bus outputs m Outputs The computer via the Reverb Return bus Split point The Split Point Figure 9 23 prevents feedback loops that would be caused by a signal being sent to the reverb processor and then returned to the same signal path Mix When the Split Point is set to Mix the returns in the Mix bus tab become active and the sends in the Output tab gray out This allows you to send from inputs and mixes and return to mixes and outputs Output When the Split Point is set to Output the sends in Output tab become active and the returns in the Mix bus tab gray out This allows you to send from inputs mixes and outputs and return to outputs Primary controls The Primary Controls section Figure 9 23 in the Reverb tab provides the following ba
119. push the output bus MAIN PHONES LINE OUT and the desired input MIC GUITAR or LINE IN at the same time Both the input and output buttons illuminate green The input button illuminates green Turn the knob to adjust the bus volume Muting unmuting To mute or unmute an output push the desired output MAIN PHONES or LINE OUT to select it The button illuminates green Push the knob to mute or unmute the output While muted the button blinks To mute or unmute input bus volume CueMix input fader push the output bus MAIN PHONES LINE OUT and the desired input MIC GUITAR or LINE IN at the same time Both the input and output buttons illuminate green Push the knob once to mute or unmute the input on that bus When muted the button blinks unmuted it stops blinking Pad and 48V phantom power To toggle a 20dB pad push MIC 1 or MIC 2 and then push the knob once The yellow pad P LED turns on or off To toggle 48V phantom power push MIC 1 or MIC 2 and hold down the knob The red phantom power V LED turns on or off Lockout mode Hold the METERS button down for 2 seconds to enter Lockout mode In this mode the knob and buttons are temporarily disabled to prevent unwanted changes to any Track16 settings While in lockout mode the METERS button blinks Hold the METERS button for 2 seconds again to exit lockout mode Button LED color schemes The Track16 button LEDs have the ability to display several di
120. put passes through the Track16 hardware into the computer through your host audio software and then back out to an Track16 output If you don t need to process a live input with plug ins the easiest way to avoid monitoring latency is to use the Track16 s CueMix FX digital mixer to patch the input directly to your monitor outs via the Track16 audio hardware The Track16 even provides effects processing EQ compression and reverb which can be applied on input output or even at the bussing stage just like a conventional mixer For details see CueMix FX hardware monitoring on page 52 If you do need to process a live input with host software plug ins or if you are playing virtual instruments live through your Track16 audio hardware you can significantly reduce latency and even make it completely inaudible regardless of what host audio application software you use This chapter explains how It is important to note that monitoring delay has no effect on when audio data is recorded to disk or played back from disk Actual recording and playback is extremely precise Monitoring live input oooooooomoommmmo Adjusting the audio I O buffer Lower latency versus higher CPU overhead Transport responsivenesS ooocooocmommomsocsor o Effects processing and automated mixing CueMix FX hardware monitoring Two methods for controlling CueMix FX
121. r settings Criteria The criteria checkboxes Figure 9 39 determine the conditions that the trigger is looking for and where it will look for them The Left checkbox causes the condition to be looked for in the left channel of the signal likewise the Right checkbox looks for the condition in the right channel One or both of these can be enabled simultaneously If neither is enabled the criteria will not be found because the trigger is not looking at any audio signal The Pos and Neg checkboxes determine the slope of the event When the Pos checkbox is enabled the trigger will look for an event where amplitude is increasing likewise enabling the Neg checkbox tells the trigger to look for an event where amplitude is decreasing One or both of these can 85 CUEMIX FX be enabled simultaneously If neither is enabled the criteria will not be found because the trigger is not looking for any particular kind of event The Level setting defines the amplitude threshold that the trigger is looking for The Level is indicated on the graph by a blue horizontal line or two blue horizontal lines if Magnitude is enabled Events which cross this threshold using the enabled slope s in the enabled channel s will activate the trigger The response of the trigger is set by the Trigger mode see Trigger modes below Enabling the Magnitude checkbox tells the trigger to look for both positive and negative Level values rega
122. r than or equal to the Freewheel Clock setting and both menus will update as needed depending on what you choose Keep in mind that freewheeling causes the system to keep going for as long as the duration you choose from this menu even when you stop time code intentionally Therefore if you are starting and stopping time code frequently such as from the transports of a video deck shorter freewheel times are better On the other hand if you are doing a one pass transfer from tape that has bad time code longer freewheel times will help you get past the problems in the time code The Infinite freewheel setting The Infinite freewheel setting in the Freewheel Address menu causes the Track16 to freewheel indefinitely until it receives readable time code again To make it stop click the Stop Freewheeling button Freewheel clock Freewheeling occurs when there is glitch or drop out in the incoming SMPTE time code for some reason The Track16 can freewheel past the drop out and then resume lockup again as soon as it receives a stable readable clock signal 102 MOTU SMPTE CONSOLE The Track16 cannot freewheel address without clock Therefore the Freewheel Address setting will always be lower than or equal to the Freewheel Clock setting and both menus will update as needed depending on what you choose The Infinite freewheel setting The Infinite freewheel setting in the Freewheel Clock menu causes the Track16 to f
123. ral rule of thumb is that the louder the program the slower the release Typically the release can take up to and over one minute One thing to keep in mind when using these types of devices is that the typical concepts of compression ratio attack release and threshold do not apply The light intensity is determined by the highly non linear interactions of the input signal AGC circuit and ELP and thus exhibit a strong program dependence that is impossible to describe without the mind numbing mathematics of statistical mechanics The actual results however can be almost mystical even when you feed the same material a loop perhaps through the Leveler twice you ll often see a new response the second time through a loop complete with unique attack times release times and compression ratios Furthermore two different input signals with the same RMS levels may be leveled in a drastically different manner It is precisely this self adjusting behavior that makes optical compressors the tool of choice for smoothing out vocals bass guitar and full program mixes without destroying perceived dynamics Compressor Limit buttons The Comp and Limit buttons Figure 9 21 model the original LA 2A Limit Compress mode switch The effect is very subtle with the Limit option behaving only slightly more like a limiter than a compressor The switch increases the level of the input to the AGC model and runs the attenuator at a slightly lower le
124. rame This can be useful for example for viewing the results of real time compression that you are applying with an effects plug in as demonstrated in Figure 9 41 In this example a snare hit is being compressed by Digital Performer s Dynamics plug in As you make MOTU UltraLite mk3 Oscilloscope r Wi v Lett Left Main Out 1 Right Main Out 2 E Show Ruler Acs MT ew r Horizontal Y Zoom 1 327x Pos 108 12ms y Vertical ad Zoom MEC Pos Wavetorm Recognition Y Type Il r Trigger Y Normal a Lett Right Level Holdott CUEMIX FX adjustments to the compression plug in s settings you can see the transient waveform change the next time the Oscilloscope triggers For compression this can be particularly useful for balancing the effect of the attack on the transient relative to the decay portion of the waveform Conversely you can see the effect of the threshold setting directly on the decay portion relative to the attack In effect you can see as well as hear the results of your compression adjustments To view a transient waveform in the Oscilloscope display turn off Waveform Recognition and use the Normal Trigger mode Adjust the level high enough to encompass the vertical amplitude of most of the transient If the transient pulse sweeps across the screen try raising the Holdoff level Once the transient is settled in the display and fairly stable you may need to adjust the
125. ration bus power FireWire provides enough power on the FireWire bus that the Track16 can be powered solely by its FireWire connection to the computer For complete information see Bus power requirements on page 26 If you use USB2 you must also use the DC power supply included with your Track16 as USB2 does not supply enough power by itself If you are connecting via FireWire 1 Before youbegin make sure your computer and the Track16 are switched off 2 Plug one end of the Track16 FireWire cable included into the FireWire socket on the computer You can also connect the Track16 to a 400Mbit FireWire A port using a 9 pin to 6 pin FireWire B cable not included The Track16 will still operate at its specified 400Mbit FireWire A data rate 21 3 Plug the other end of the FireWire cable into the Track16 Make absolute sure to align the notched side of the FireWire plug properly with the notched side of the FireWire socket on the Track16 If you attempt to force the plug into the socket the wrong way you can damage the Track16 High Speed USB 2 0 versus USB 1 1 There are primarily two types of USB host controllers widely available on current personal computers USB 1 1 controllers support simple peripherals that don t require a high speed connection such as a computer keyboard a mouse or a printer USB 2 0 controllers support high speed devices such as the Track16 Since the Track16 requires a h
126. rb return 42 sample rate 41 General tab 33 GR gain reduction 73 Guitar connecting 8 24 28 input meters 7 input trim 40 muting unmuting 40 H Hardware Follows CueMix Stereo Settings 79 Headphones connecting 28 controlling output 36 Host audio software 3rd party software sync 47 Main Out Assign 42 Return Assign 42 HUI 98 I Infinite freewheel 102 103 Input gain 13 Input level meters 7 Inputs analog 8 muting unmuting 40 name 60 optical 8 pan 59 reverb send 62 tab 60 trim 24 25 40 61 Installation hardware 21 software 19 Installer disc replacing 110 Internal sync setting 34 Invert phase 61 K Keyboard connecting audio 24 Keyboard controller connecting 26 Knob muting unmuting 40 operation 39 overview 7 L Laptop operation 27 Latency 35 42 49 51 52 56 LEDs 13 Level meter bus 58 overview 7 Leveler 72 73 Lightpipe 36 2x mode 25 Limit button 74 Line inputs 24 connecting 8 meters 7 trim 25 40 Line outs connecting 8 volume control 40 Listenback button channel tab 65 button Outputs tab 63 explained 77 Live 44 Load Hardware Preset 79 Lockout mode 40 Logic Audio 15 Logic Pro Express clock source 41 Main Out Assign 42 optical I O 42 phones 42 Return Assign 42 reverb return 42 sample rate 41 M M S 65 Mac OS X 41 input and output names 47 107 Mackie Control 98 Main Out Assign 9 36 host audio software 42 Main outs connecting 8 jacks 8 making connectio
127. rdless of whether the Level value is positive or negative For example if Level is set to 0 500 and Magnitude is enabled the trigger will look for both 0 500 and 0 500 You will see a second blue line appear in the display when Magnitude is enabled to denote the second value Holdoff Holdoff defines a time interval during which the oscilloscope does not trigger The most recent trace will be displayed during that period When the period is over the trigger is re armed i e it will begin looking for the criteria again Click and drag this value up or down to set it or double click to return to the default value Trigger modes The Trigger menu Figure 9 39 on page 85 provides four modes Trigger modeWhat it does None The Trigger is not active this is the default mode The incoming audio signal will be displayed contin uously as audio is received Auto The display is always updating but when the condi tion is met the trigger event will be displayed cen tered around the line marking time equals zero Normal The display updates only when the condition is met the last trace will be displayed until the next match ing event is found Single Similar to Normal mode but the last trace will be Sweep displayed until you manually arm the trigger by clicking the Trigger indicator Figure 9 39 on page 85 or by pressing the spacebar Trigger indicator The Trigger indicator Figure 9 39 on page 85 displays the sta
128. reWire 26 6 pin FireWire 26 A Ableton Live 41 44 ADAT optical 8 12 36 clock source setting 25 34 35 connecting 25 SMUX Type 25 Analog input meters 7 input output summary 12 inputs outputs 8 metering 13 Analysis tools 80 Application follows control surface 98 ASIO 15 20 SONAR 44 Attack compressor 73 Audio Setup software 19 Avid Pro Tools 43 B Balance 59 Breakout cable 8 23 Buffer Size 35 Bus activity LEDs 65 75 fader 58 volume control 40 Bus power 26 examples 27 requirements 21 23 26 Buttons CueMix bus volume 7 operation 7 39 overview 7 C CakeWalk 15 Cakewalk SONAR 44 Channel names 37 numbers 107 Channel tab 64 reverb settings 65 Clear Peaks 80 Clipping 7 Clock Source 9 34 SMPTE setting 35 Cockos Reaper 44 Comp button 74 Compressor 72 73 enabling 72 Configurations menu 97 Control Surfaces menu 98 Controller connecting 26 Copy Paste 80 Correlation Meter 92 Cubase 15 33 41 clock source 41 enabling the 828 ASIO driver 45 Mac OS X 43 Main Out Assign 42 optical I O 42 phones 42 Return Assign 42 reverb return 42 sample rate 41 CueMix FX 52 55 99 adjusting bus levels 7 40 Application follows control surface 98 Configurations menu 97 control surfaces 98 Control Surfaces menu 98 CueMix control surfaces 98 Devices menu 80 Edit Channel Names 37 Edit menu 80 File menu 79 focus 57 installation 56 Listenback explained 77 listenback settings 78 output jacks 8 25 overview 55
129. reewheel indefinitely until it receives readable time code again To make it stop click the Stop Freewheeling button Stop Freewheeling The Stop Freewheeling button stops the system if it is currently freewheeling GENERATOR SECTION The Generator section on the right hand side of the window in Figure 10 1 provides settings for generating SMPTE time code Level Turn the level knob to adjust the volume of the SMPTE time code being generated by the Track16 The level knob disappears when the Destination is set to None Tach light The Tach light blinks once per second when the Track16 is generating SMPTE time code Destination In the Destination menu choose either SMPTE to generate time code or None to turn it off Stripe Click this button to start or stop time code To set the start time click directly on the SMPTE time code display in the Generator section and type in the desired start time Or drag vertically on the numbers Click here to edit the start time or drag vertically on the numbers Figure 10 2 Setting the time code start time Regenerate This option when enabled causes the generator to generate time code whenever the Track16 is receiving SMPTE time code RESOLVING CUBASE OR NUENDO TO TIME CODE To resolve your Track16 and Cubase or Nuendo directly to SMPTE time code with no additional synchronization devices use the setup shown in Setup for SMPTE time code sync on page 104
130. rent dynamics processors the Compressor and Leveler which can be individually enabled or disabled Figure 9 21 for the channel Compressor The Compressor Figure 9 21 lowers the level of the input when it is above the threshold The amount of attenuation is determined by the Ratio and the input level If the input is 6 dB above the Threshold and the Ratio is 3 1 then the output will be 2 dB above the Threshold When the input level goes above the threshold the attenuation is added gradually to reduce distortion The rate at which the attenuation is added is determined by the Attack parameter Likewise when the input level falls below the Threshold the attenuation is removed gradually The rate at which the attenuation is removed is determined by the Release parameter Long Release times may cause the audio to drop out briefly when a soft passage follows a loud passage Short Release times may cause the attenuation to pump when the average input level quickly fluctuates above and below the Threshold These sorts of issues can be addressed by applying the Leveler instead Graphic adjustment of the Threshold The Threshold can be adjusted by turning the Threshold knob or by dragging the Threshold line directly in the compressor graph Figure 9 21 Input level meter The Input Level meter Figure 9 21 shows the level of the input signal before it enters the compressor It shows either the peak level or the RMS level depending
131. rface is equipped with both FireWire B 400 Mbit sec connectors and a high speed USB2 480 Mbit sec connector and you can use either port to connect the Track16 to your computer This gives you maximum flexibility and compatibility with today s ever expanding universe of Mac and Windows computers Bus powered operation When connecting to the computer with FireWire the Track16 can draw power from the FireWire connection itself without the Track16 power adapter For more information about bus powered operation see Power options on page 26 THE TRACK16 TOP PANEL Metering The top panel of the Track16 displays four pairs of 7 segment ladder LEDs Push the METERS button to toggle between the channels indicated by the white labels and channels indicated by the blue labels The right hand meters are dedicated to the main outs Multifunction volume knob with buttons The multifunction volume knob controls the volume for the currently selected input or output as chosen by the buttons below Simply push the button for the input or output you wish to control The multifunction knob can also be pushed to mute and unmute the current channel For the two mic inputs it can toggle pad and 48V phantom power It is also possible to control input mix levels with the volume knob For a summary of all knob functions see Quick Reference Track16 Operation on page 7 16 BIT AND 24 BIT RECORDING The Track16 system handles
132. river menu as shown below in Figure 7 6 ASIO Driver MOTU Audio ASIO V Enable inputs 7 last 4 S PDIF 2 z Output range first 1 Main Out 1 2 X last 2 Main Out 1 2 E Request sample rate 44100 T Request block size 256 E Pre zero output buffers useful on some hardware higher CPU use E Ignore ASIO reset messages needed for some buggy drivers ASIO thread priority Driver Default recommended y Y Allow projects to override device sample rate Pi ox Lancet Foo _ Figure 7 6 Enabling the MOTU Audio ASIO driver in Reaper SONAR In Cakewalk SONAR you can use the MOTU ASIO driver or the MOTU WDM driver Note that when using ASIO only one audio interface may be selected for use in SONAR Using the MOTU ASIO driver 1 Go to SONAR Preferences 2 Inthe Audio preferences section choose Playback and Recording 3 Choose ASIO as the Driver Mode as shown below 44 CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE Specify audio playback and recording settings Devices Driver Settings MIDI Devices Vi Use M V Use MMCSS Windows Vista Win 7 Instruments Play Effect Tails After Stoppi Control Surfaces Always Open All Devices Playback and Recording E Remove DC Offset During Record File Disable Input Monitoring during Playback Folder Locations Command Audition Length seconds 3 sizione Record Pre allocate
133. rrent Engine menu For information about the H W Buffer Size setting see Adjusting the audio I O buffer on page 51 Pro Tools 9 or later is required for operation with the Track16 Playback Engine LX ron MOTU Audio ASIO v Current Engine Settings H W Buffer Size 512 Samples ly Host Processors 4Processors M CPU Usage Limit 85 M Host Engine V Ignore Errors During Playback Record may cause dicks and pops C Minimize Additional I O Latency Delay Compensation Engine None ly DAE Playback Buffer disk buffer Size Level 2 Cache Size Normal lv Lower values for the disk buffer reduce disk latency system more responsive Higher values improve disk performance system less responsive Requires OMB of system memory You currently have 32MB allocated 7 Minimize system memory allocation takes effect at next restart Figure 7 2 Enabling the MOTU Audio ASIO driver in Pro Tools Cubase and Nuendo In Cubase or Nuendo go to the Device Setup window Click the VST Audio System item in the Devices list and choose MOTU Audio ASIO from the ASIO Driver menu as shown below in Figure 7 3 Activate the inputs and outputs within Cubase or Nuendo as usual VST Audio System MOTU Audio ASIO 7 ASIO Driver k ye MIDI Port Setup MM Release Driver when Application is in Background de Remote Devices Input Latency 11 854 ms
134. s below zero in polar view will be canceled out when the signal is summed to mono Perfectly in phase 10000 100 sono 10 Polar view o so sc ae Rectangular view 1 0 0 5 0 0 One sample delay 100 10000 10000 100 0 100 10000 10000 100 0 5 1 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 5 1 0 Checking for phase issues in stereo tracks You can use the Phase Analysis window to check the overall polarity of a stereo mix Figure 9 56 is an example of a full stereo mix that has phase issues as indicated by the majority of the signal s energy which is predominantly skewed to the left side of the rectangular view left and spread along the y axis in the polar view right 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 1 05 Figure 9 56 A stereo mix with phase issues Twenty sample delay Inverted Figure 9 55 Two identical audio streams in the Phase Analysis CUEMIX FX TUNER The Tuner window is an accurate and easy to use tuner Detected frequency Meter Meter value 1000 05 Hz 21 4 cents Detected Arrow Reference note frequency Opening the Tuner Each MOTU audio interface has its own Tuner window Choose the Tuner item from the Devices menu under the desired interface Figure 9 26 on page 80 Choosing a channel to tune The Tuner window follows the currently focused audio input or output If you focus a mono channel e g Analog 3 its corresponding stereo pair will be displayed Analog 3 4 In the T
135. s filters The Vintage EQ low and high pass filters are similar to those found in most conventional parametric EQs which usually have a fixed slope of 12 dB per octave except that Vintage EQ provides six different slope roll off settings 6 12 18 24 30 and 36 dB per octave This control over the shape of the knee gives you a great deal flexibility and control for a wide variety of applications Figure 9 20 The low pass filter with three example slope settings 72 CUEMIX FX The Dynamics tab The Dynamics tab Figure 9 21 displays the Dynamics processing settings for the input or output channel that currently has the focus Click any focus button in the Inputs or Outputs tab to view the Dynamics tab settings for the channel Input Output Gain Threshold level level reduction meter meter meter Trim co 36 24 16 le THRESHOLD 17 3 dB input Analog 1 Dynamics tab CHANNEL En COMPRESSOR Compressor enable disable THRESHOLD RATO ATTACK RELEASE S TRIM MODE LEVEL _ Leveler enable disable MODE GAIN MAKEUP REDUCTION GAIN GAIN REDUCTION p Figure 9 21 The Dynamics tab Enabling Dynamics Each input and output channel has a global Dynamics enable disable button Figure 9 3 and Figure 9 6 This button enables or disables all dynamics processing for the channel In addition the Dynamics tab has two diffe
136. sic parameters for programming the reverb Reverb Time Reverb time determines the length of decay or tail of the reverb This is a global setting for the reverb processor You can further refine the tails by independently setting the reverb time of three separate frequency bands as discussed below in the Reverb Design section PreDelay PreDelay is the amount of time before you hear the very first reflections If you are in a large room it takes a while before the first reflections return PreDelay is useful for clarifying the original sound For example with vocals the reflections wont start until after the initial sound of a word has been sung Shelf Filter The Shelf Filter is a low pass filter that controls the high frequency characteristics of the overall effect Frequency sets the cutoff frequency for the filter and Cut sets the amount of signal attenuation applied by the filter Early reflections Initial reflections give a space its unique sound The shape of the room the angles of the walls even furniture in the room will produce a series of Initial Reflections Think of the early reflections and room type as the flavor of the reverb You can choose between several types of rooms These are acoustic models for simulating these different 76 CUEMIX FX types of spaces The Size and Level parameters let you control the size of the room and the strength of the initial reflections Here s a tip try using
137. sor with conventional threshold ratio attack release gain controls m The Leveler an accurate model of the legendary LA 2A optical compressor which provides vintage musical automatic gain control The Track16 s flexible effects architecture allows you to apply EQ and compression on every input and output a total of 32 channels with enough DSP resources for at least one band of parametric EQ and compression on every channel at 48 kHz DSP resources are allocated dynamically and a DSP meter in the CueMix FX software allows you to keep tabs on the Track16 processing resources Each input output and mix bus provides a send to the Classic Reverb processor which then feeds reverb returns to mix busses and outputs 55 ADVANTAGES OVER HOST BASED MIXING AND PROCESSING CueMix FX provides several major advantages over mixing and processing in your host audio software CueMix has no buffer latency Thanks to the Track16 s DSP chip CueMix provides the same throughput performance as a digital mixer CueMix mixing and effects processing imposes no processor drain on the computer s CPU a CueMix routing can be maintained independently of individual software applications or projects m CueMix routing can operate without the computer allowing the Track16 to operate as a portable stand alone mixer with effects OPENING CUEMIX FX CueMix FX is an application installed with the rest of your Track16 setup softwar
138. splays three tabs for Channel EQ and Dynamics settings for the channel with the current focus There are also two global tabs the Meter Bridge and the Reverb Processor as shown below Tabs for the channel that currently has the focus Tabs for the global meter bridge and reverb processor Figure 9 7 The Channel Settings section The Channel tab The Channel tab Figure 9 8 displays settings for input channels Click any focus button in the Inputs tab to view the Channel tab settings for the channel STERI mooe normar ws swar un E TALKBAGK Pers TALK III D O DN usen 1111111 SENO Figure 9 8 The Channel tab Signal flow Settings in the Channel tab occur just before the EQ dynamics and reverb sends in the Input tab channel strip Figure 9 3 on page 60 Input channel signal flow is as follows trim phase stereo versus M S decoding width L R swap EQ dynamics and reverb send Pad and phantom The Pad and phantom settings become active ungrayed when the focus is on a mic input or mic input pair These are the same 20 dB pad and 48V phantom power settings that you can also control from the Track16 hardware itself There are separate settings for each mic input CUEMIX FX Stereo settings Inputs that have been grouped as stereo pairs in the Inputs tab Figure 9 3 provide two stereo modes Figure 9 8 Normal and M S M S mode provides deco
139. st position Comment Main out 2 1 2 Phones 2 3 4 i Line 2 5 6 Optical Not available 108 APPENDIX A AUDIO 1 0 REFERENCE APPENDIX B When I press the METERS button all the other buttons change color What s going on You have accidentally put the Track16 in Lockout mode which lets you change the color scheme for the button LEDs To exit this mode hold down the METERS button for 2 seconds To learn more about this mode and how you can specify the color scheme you prefer see Lockout mode and Button LED color schemes on page 40 Why does the start sound not play through the Track16 The Track16 will only playback audio at a sampling rate of 44 1 48 88 2 or 96 kHz The computer freezes when it starts up If the computer is unable to boot up it may be a conflict with the WDM Driver As soon as the computer boots up Windows will try and initialize the WDM Driver If this fails your computer will hang To determine if the WDM Driver is the problem boot up in Safe Mode or remove the MOTU Audio software with the Add Remove Programs Control Panel then restart If that fixes the problem visit motu com to download the very latest drivers and then install them New hardware detected window If you connect your Track16 before running the MOTU Audio installer Windows will prompt you that new hardware has been detected Cancel this and run the Track16 Software Installer rather than allowing
140. t into Inputs grouped as mono channels stereo pairs Figure 9 2 The Mixes tab 58 CUEMIX FX Bus reverb send return The bus reverb send Figure 9 2 feeds the output of the mix bus pre fader to the Track16 s global reverb processor where it is merged with any other signals being fed to the reverb The reverb s output can then be fed back into the mixer at various return points including the bus return discussed below The bus reverb return Figure 9 2 feeds the output of the Track16 s global reverb processor into the mix bus pre fader This includes any other signals currently being fed to the reverb The bus reverb return is disabled grayed out when the reverb Split Point is set to Output to eliminate the possibility for feedback loops created by reverb send return loops See Split point on page 76 Input section The horizontally scrolling area in the Mix tab to the left of the master fader Figure 9 2 displays channel strips for all currently enabled Track16 inputs Input channel focus Click the channel focus button Figure 9 3 to view and edit parameters in the channel settings section of the CueMix FX window Figure 9 7 on page 64 Clicking the mix bus master fader focus button brings the assigned output into focus if there is one Channel focus also determines which channels are being scoped by CueMix s audio analysis tools as explained in Choosing channels for audio analysis on page 80
141. t value There are two modes for the controls Zoom Offset and Min Max To change the mode use the Horizontal control menu Figure 9 37 naua LA Zoom Offset Pos Min Max ton EN Time Units b Figure 9 37 Horizontal control menu In Zoom Offset mode Zoom sets the display zoom from 1 1000x to 10x where the number represents the number of pixels per sample For example when the horizontal zoom value is 10x 10 samples are displayed in 100 pixels when the horizontal zoom value is 1 10x 100 samples are displayed in 10 pixels Offset moves the line marking time equals zero left or right In Min Max mode Min and Max set the earliest and most recent displayed time 84 CUEMIX FX Time Units The Time Units sub menu Figure 9 37 provides the option to view the X axis in Seconds or Samples Vertical controls amplitude axis The Vertical controls Figure 9 37 operate similarly to the Horizontal controls except that they configure the y axis amplitude In Zoom Offset mode Zoom sets the display zoom from 1 2 to 100x and Offset moves the line marking amplitude equals zero line up or down In Min Max mode Min and Max set the smallest and largest displayed amplitude Waveform Recognition The Waveform Recognition option searches through new audio data looking for a waveform which most resembles that which was previously displayed The region where this takes place is a small window around the l
142. tangular display as demonstrated in the fourth column Inverted in Figure 9 55 on page 95 Using Phase Analysis for multiple mic placement The polar display can be very useful when recording drums or another instrument with multiple microphones The slight delays caused by the differences in distance to the source can often create a comb filtering delay effect between two mic signals due to phase cancellation These comb filter effects appear as spirals in the polar display If you arrange the mics so that the null points where the spiral pattern meets the negative y axis are 94 CUEMIX FX outside the critical frequency range of the instrument being recorded you can avoid phase problems among the mic signals Tuning PA systems The Phase Analysis window can also be used to troubleshoot and tune PAs and sound reinforcement systems by placing microphones in strategic locations comparing the two signals in the Phase Analysis grid and looking for phase issues at various locations Summing to mono The Phase Analysis window is ideal for checking stereo audio that needs to be summed to mono The Phase Analysis lets you see what frequencies will be canceled out when summed In the rectangular view any lines in the signal that touch the 1 0 or 1 0 vertical lines in the grid will be canceled out at the frequency where they touch when the signal is summed to mono In the polar view any signal that falls on the negative y axi
143. te of the trigger and also provides a way to manually interact with it The Trigger indicator always displays one of three colors Color Status Green When the current Trigger criteria has been met includ ing when the Trigger mode is None Yel When the Trigger is armed but has not yet found an low event which matches its criteria Yellow can also indi cate that the graph has been manually paused using the Pause button in the View section see Pausing the dis play on page 84 Red When the Trigger is being held off either because the Trigger mode is set to Single Sweep or the Holdoff time is not set to zero You can also click on the Trigger indicator to force certain actions depending on the Trigger mode In Auto and Normal modes clicking on the Trigger indicator causes the display to run freely you may click amp hold to force this to occur for as long as youd like In Single Sweep mode clicking on the 86 CUEMIX FX Trigger indicator re arms the trigger When the Trigger mode is None clicking on the Trigger indicator has no effect Measurement information You can view detailed information about a particular time range by using the measurement bars Figure 9 40 Measurement information To adjust the left and right edges of the measurement area click and drag the blue bars in the graph or click and drag the blue numbers in the upper left or right corners To reset them to the default value double
144. tence controls Length Length Figure 9 46 sets the number of recent samples to show on the plot For example when Length is set to 10 000 the 10 000 most recent samples are shown Decay The brightness in Grayscale mode or hue in Color mode of each sample on the plot is determined by a linear scale with the most recent sample displayed at the maximum value and the oldest sample displayed at the minimum value Decay Figure 9 46 on page 91 determines the brightness or hue of the minimum value When Decay is zero the oldest sample is black When Decay is 1 000 the oldest sample is fully opaque in Grayscale mode or red in Color mode Warp Warp Figure 9 46 determines the position of data points after they are first drawn When warp is zero data points remain in the same position When warp is positive they contract towards the origin center of the grid When warp is negative they expand away from the origin The further the warp value is from zero the greater the effect Using the X Y Plot The X Y Plot helps you see the width of the stereo field of a mix It also helps you determine if a mix has issues with polarity as follows Activity on the X Y Plot Signal activity occurs mostly along the x y axis lower left to upper right and the Corre lation meter reading is high Signal activity occurs mostly along the y x axis upper left to lower right and the Corre lation meter reading is low
145. ter with the Track16 system you may contact our technical support department in one of the following ways a Tech support hotline 617 576 3066 Monday through Friday 9 a m to 6 p m EST a Online support www motu com support Please provide the following information to help us solve your problem as quickly as possible m The serial number of the Track16 system This is printed on a label placed on the bottom of the Track16 rack unit You must be able to supply this number to receive technical support a A brief explanation of the problem including the exact sequence of actions which cause it and the contents of any error messages which appear on the screen The pages in the manual which refer to the parts of the Track16 or AudioDesk with which you are having trouble The version of your computer s operating system We re not able to solve every problem immediately but a quick call to us may yield a suggestion for a problem which you might otherwise spend hours trying to track down If you have features or ideas you would like to see implemented wed like to hear from you Please write to the Track16 Development Team MOTU Inc 1280 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02138 or send an email to customerservice motu com APPENDIX B TROUBLESHOOTING 1394 connector 8 13 21 22 192kHz multiple interfaces 29 20 dB pad 13 24 bit optical 8 12 recording 13 48V phantom power 7 13 23 40 64 4 pin Fi
146. the delay or monitoring latency that you hear when live audio is patched through your Track16 hardware and host audio software For example you might have MIDI instruments samplers microphones and so on connected to the analog inputs of the Track16 If so you will often be mixing their live input with audio material recorded in your audio software See chapter 8 Reducing Monitoring Latency page 49 for complete details Phones Assign This Track16 setting lets you choose what you ll hear from the headphone jack For example if you choose Main Out 1 2 the headphones will duplicate the main outs Or you can choose any other output pair If you choose Phones 1 2 this setting makes the headphone jack serve as its own independent output pair As a result you ll see Phones 1 2 as an additional audio destination in your host s audio output menus The 1 8th inch mini headphone jack always mirrors the 1 4 inch jack Optical input and output To make a Track16 optical input or output available in your host software choose the appropriate format ADAT optical or TOSLINK from the optical input and or output menu If you won t be using the optical connectors turn them off Main Outs Assign Use the Main Outs Assign setting to determine what audio you will hear on the main outs of the Track16 If you would like to treat them as their own separate output pair choose Main Out 1 2 Return Assign In your host aud
147. tionship Type IV 1 fi SS kHz Dae Figure 9 16 Type IV EQ filter style The Type IV EQ filter is a more extreme form of the Type III filter It exhibits a high degree of interaction between Q and gain in order to maintain as closely as possible an equal amount of area under the response curve as gain is adjusted Type IV is the most gentle of the four EQ styles and is ideal for large scale EQ adjustments especially on sub mixes and complete mixes This EQ style is also ideal for any applications where subtle changes in the overall character of the sound are desired For example it can be used for mastering applications such as the overall adjustments that must often be applied to entire tracks to match other tracks on the album 70 CUEMIX FX Shelf filters GAIN 20 00 dB 0 052 GAIN 20 00 dB 0 71 00 GAIN 20 00 dB 0 3 00 Figure 9 17 Shelf filter Q parameter overshoot When two top most bands in the EQ tab are set to their shelf filter setting Figure 9 10 the Q parameter controls the amount of overshoot applied to the response curve as illustrated in Figure 9 17 When Q 0 01 the lowest setting normal shelving is applied with no overshoot This produces the response provided by a first order shelf When Q 1 0 the default setting the response corresponds to a second order shelf still with no overshoot This is the same response as conventional parametric EQs In some situations this
148. tly through the Track16 hardware via CueMix FX with or without CueMix effects processing on the live inputs 37 MOTU AUDIO CONSOLE 38 MOTU AUDIO CONSOLE CHAPTER6 Hardware operation METERS The buttons let you quickly choose what the knob The first time you switch on the Track16 its LED does meters show signals indicated by the white labels below them Push the METERs button to toggle the BUTTONS meters to display the signals indicated by the blue The first time you switch on the Track16 the state labels The METERs button glows blue Push it of the buttons is as follows in to return to the white labels dim blue again to return to the white labels ue sition cas KNOB METERS Off At any time the knob controls one of three things POWER Blue ioe tput vol me Currently selected input or output Green Other inputs and outputs Amber 2 input trim Phantom power V and Pad P LEDs Off 3 input bus level TRACK16 GUITAR IN LINE IN Figure 6 1 Use the knob and buttons to control basic Track16 functions 39 Output volume control To control volume push the desired output MAIN PHONES or LINE OUT The button illuminates green Turn the knob to adjust the output volume Input trim To control input trim push the desired input MIC GUITAR or LINE IN The button illuminates green Turn the knob to adjust the input trim Input bus volume To control input bus level CueMix input fader
149. tpipe connectors Figure 4 1 These optical in out connectors can operate independently and offer two different optical formats ADAT optical or TOSLink optical S PDIF For example you could connect 8 channel ADAT optical input from your digital mixer and stereo TOSLink output to an effects processor Optical trim The Track16 supplies 12dB of digital trim boost for the optical input which can be adjusted from CueMix FX Input trim on page 61 Optical operation at 44 1 or 48 kHz When configured for ADAT lightpipe an optical connector provides 8 channels at 44 1 and 48 kHz ADAT optical operation at 88 2 or 96 kHz When configured for ADAT lightpipe an optical connector provides four channels at 88 2 or 96 kHz 2x sample rates using the industry standard SMUX high resolution optical format If you are connecting a MOTU interface with optical ports to the Track16 use the Type ISMUX setting in the other MOTU interface Refer to the documentation for your other MOTU interface for details on how to make this setting Below is a summary of optical formats Format 44 1 or 48 kHz 88 2 or 96 kHz ADAT optical 8 channels 4 channels of SMUX TOSLink stereo stereo Choosing a clock source for optical connections When connecting an optical device make sure that its digital audio clock is phase locked in sync with the Track16 There are two ways to do this 1 Resolve the optical device to the Track16 2 R
150. tputs can be used simultaneously for a total of 16 inputs and 16 outputs at 44 1 48kHz Connection Input Output Mic 24 bit 192 kHz on XLR with preamp 2 Guitar 24 bit 192 kHz on hi Z quarter inch 2 Analog 24 bit 192 kHz on bal unbal TRS 2 4 Analog 24 bit 192 kHz on unbal stereo mini 2 0 Headphone output 4 ADAT optical digital 8 8 Total 6 6 The two phone outputs quarter inch and mini are hard wired to mirror each other Their signal can be an independent output stream or it can mirror any other Track16 output pair such as the main outs t The Track16 optical connectors support several standard optical I O formats which provide varying channel counts See Optical input output on page 36 for details about optical bank operation With the exception of the phone jacks on the front panel all inputs and outputs are discrete independent Analog All analog inputs and outputs are equipped with 24 bit 192 kHz A D converters All audio is carried to the computer in a 24 bit data stream Mic inputs Both mic inputs are equipped with a separate preamp Individual 48V phantom power and 20 dB pad are supplied by the top panel switches Each input can be trimmed with the volume knob Guitar inputs Without proper impedance levels direct DI guitar input won t sound right when you run it through your guitar amp plug ins and virtual stomp boxes The Track16 s dedicated hi Z guitar inputs provide hig
151. uner window the displayed channel pair is shown in the lower left corner Each channel has a checkbox to enable or disable its input to the tuner Tuner controls Detected frequency fundamental frequency of the incoming signal in Hertz Hz Detected note note name and octave that correspond to the detected fundamental frequency Meter representation of the pitch difference between the detected note and the detected fundamental frequency The horizontal position of the illuminated segments indicates how far the detected frequency is from the detected note The number of illuminated segments indicates uncertainty or inharmonicity in the signal a greater number of illuminated segments represents greater uncertainty The color of the segments changes gradually from green in tune to yellow orange and red progressively further out of tune Meter value difference between the detected note and the detected frequency in cents Arrows the direction in which the detected frequency needs to move to match the frequency of the detected note The color of the arrows changes progressively in the same manner as the meter segments When the detected fundamental frequency matches the detected note within three cents both arrows will be illuminated Reference frequency sets the frequency reference for the pitch A4 between 400 and 480 Hz The default frequency is 440 Hz The reference frequency can be adjusted by dragging on the
152. until you click them again so you don t have to hold down the mouse Or use the Talkback menu items If you would like to engage both Talkback and Listenback at the same time enable the Link button Figure 9 25 Controlling Talkback and Listenback volume To control the volume of the Talkback and or Listenback mics adjust their input trim in CueMix EX 78 CUEMIX FX SHORTCUTS Hold down the following general modifier keys as shortcuts Shortcut Result Shift key Applies your action to all inputs or all out puts in the mix Control key Applies your action to the stereo input pair even when it is currently configured as mono Alt key Applies your action to all busses Shift Alt Applies your action to all inputs and mixes Double click Returns the control to its default value pan center unity gain etc Hold down the following modifier keys as shortcuts for the EQ tab and controls Shortcut Result Shift click Applies EQ button change to all input or out puts Alt click Applies EQ enable button changes to all bands in that input or output Shift Alt click Applies EQ enable button changes to all bands and all inputs or outputs FILE MENU Saving and loading hardware presets The Track16 can store up to 16 presets in its on board memory A preset includes of all CueMix FX settings for all for mix busses but it excludes global settings like clock source and sample rate The Load Hardware Preset
153. upply Important note it is best to turn off the Track16 when plugging in the FireWire cable as this avoids the possibility of static discharge which can harm the electrical compo nents in the Track16 or your computer Connect the breakout cable supplied with your Track16 here For optimum performance use only the supplied Track16 cable 7 8 9 FireWire USB2 Guitar 2 Line In 1 2 These optical digital 1 0 connectors can be connected either to an ADAT compatible lightpipe device such as a digital mixer or to a S PDIF optical TOSLINK compatible device such as an effects processor Be sure to set the format in the MOTU Audio Console software See Optical input output on page 36 for details ADAT optical supplies eight channels of 24 bit digital 1 0 per bank 4 channels per bank at 96kHz TOSLINK is stereo at sample rates up to 96 kHz 1 These XLR connectors accept a mic cable and are equipped with a preamp 48V phantom power and 20 dB pad can be applied via the controls on the top panel The knob provides 60 dB of gain Connect a MIDI device here using standard MIDI cables Connect the Track16 s MIDI OUT port to the MIDI IN port on the other device Conversely connect the Track16 s MIDI IN port to the MIDI OUT port on the other device You can connect different devices to each port such as a controller device to the IN port and a sound module to the OUT port You can also
154. ure that the inputs and outputs are enabled See Working with Track16 inputs and outputs on page 46 No optical inputs or outputs are available in host audio application Check to make sure you have the desired optical inputs and or outputs enabled in the MOTU Audio Console Monitoring How to monitor inputs Please refer to the documentation for the audio application that you are using If your application does not support input monitoring you will need 109 110 to use the Track16 s hardware based CueMix FX monitoring feature Please see chapter 8 Reducing Monitoring Latency page 49 Controlling monitoring latency See chapter 8 Reducing Monitoring Latency page 49 CUSTOMER SUPPORT We are happy to provide customer support to our registered users If you haven t already done so please take a moment to register online at MOTU com or fill out and mail the included registration card Doing so entitles you to technical support and notices about new products and software updates REPLACING DISCS If your installer disc becomes damaged our Customer Support Department will be glad to replace it You can request a replacement disc by calling our business office at 617 576 2760 and asking for the customer service department In the meantime you can download the latest drivers from www motu com TECHNICAL SUPPORT If you are unable with your dealer s help to solve problems you encoun
155. utputs tab escocia ios 62 The channel settings section ooooooo 64 Output volume controls oooooooooo 77 DSP MOEN parara rro tr 77 A iu TT 77 Talkback and listenback 77 SNOMCUES seso ds 79 PUG Melocos todas 79 EdILMEN Yi rana 80 Devices MENU cc cece cscs cc eeeceeeeescecececs 80 FFT and Spectrogram display 81 Oscilloscope vivir 83 Platani 89 PRASCANAVSIS criceti 92 A A 96 Configurations MenuU ooooocoococnccncccccc coo 97 Talkback menu ooooooooooocococmcmcmmmmooo 97 Phones menu ssssssssssssesseeeseeeoeososoeoo 97 Control Surfaces menu ssssssssscseesessessseo 98 A 16 BUS MIXER WITH EQ COMPRESSION AND REVERB All Track16 inputs can be routed to the on board CueMix FX 16 bus 8 stereo bus digital mixer driven by hardware based DSP with 32 bit floating point precision The CueMix FX mixer allows you to apply no latency effects processing to inputs outputs or busses directly in the Track16 hardware independent of the computer Effects can even be applied when the Track16 is operating stand alone without a computer Input signals to the computer can be recorded wet dry or dry with a wet monitor mix for musicians during recording for example Effects include m Classic Reverb with tail lengths up to 60 seconds a 7 band parametric EQ modeled after British analog console EQs m A standard compres
156. vel The Leveler then responds more strongly to transients but otherwise still behaves like a leveling amplifier Gain Reduction Gain Reduction Figure 9 21 sets the strength of the signal sent to the AGC model Makeup Gain Makeup gain Figure 9 21 amplifies the output signal to make up for gain reduction Enabling or disabling the Leveler The Leveler models the LA 2A so closely it also models the time it takes for an actual LA 2A to warm up after it is turned on Therefore when you enable the Leveler give it a moment to settle before you begin processing signals with it 74 CUEMIX FX The Meters tab The Meters tab Figure 9 22 serves as a comprehensive meter bridge for all inputs outputs and mix busses in the Track16 This tab gives you a bird s eye view of all signal activity in the Track16 it is ideal for confirming your signal routing programming and for troubleshooting Bus activity LEDs inputs only Channel meter display i Meters tab CHANNEL DYNAMICS METERS REVERB 1 hi5 Pre post processing switch MIC GUITAR AMNALOG OPTICAL MIX MIX MiX3 MiX4 MS MG MIX MIXG _____ams MAIN PHONES ANALOG OPTICAL Figure 9 22 The Meters tab Channel meter display The channel meter display Figure 9 22 provides a long throw meter for the input or output that currently has the focus in the Input Output tabs Bus activity LEDs inputs only The Bus activity
157. w Spectrogram from the Filter display options menu Figure 9 10 to superimpose a real time spectrogram waterfall display in the background of the EQ filter display as demonstrated in Figure 9 30 Y axis labels for EQ controls View controls View A Analog 1 Out B Analog 2 Out n Show EQ Controls E Show FFT E Show Spectrogram Y Logarithmic Axes Horizontal Max controls Vertical Y Max Vertical m E controls Spectrogram Floor Spectrogram Ngba j controls Grow handle CUEMIX FX Figure 9 30 FFT display The spectrogram scrolls from top to bottom where the top edge of the display represents what you are hearing now Color represents amplitude along the left right frequency spectrum The amplitude color scale runs from black silence to red full scale as follows Sil en ce _ HJJXXMN ll scale Black gt Blue gt Green Yellow Orange Red Figure 9 31 Spectrogram color to amplitude spectrum Opening the FFT Analysis window Choose FFT Analysis from the Devices menu Figure 9 26 to open a new window with the filter EQ display for detailed inspection and adjustment of the EQ filter as shown Figure 9 28 View controls You can show and hide the FFT display spectrogram or EQ band response curves as desired using the View controls Figure 9 32 View i Pause button A Analog 1 Out B Analog 2
158. ware installation 19 Solo light 59 77 SONAR 41 44 Sony Sound Forge 46 Sound Forge 46 Sound module connecting 26 Soundtrack Pro clock source 41 Main Out Assign 42 optical I O 42 phones 42 Return Assign 42 reverb return 42 sample rate 41 Spectrogram 81 Split Point 76 Stand alone operation 56 Stereo button 61 Stereo settings Channel tab 65 Stop Freewheeling 102 Stripe button 103 Studio setup example 28 Swap L R 65 Synchronization host software 47 multiple interfaces 29 Synths connecting 24 28 System requirements minimum 17 recommended computer 17 T TACH light SMPTE Console 102 Talkback button Channel tab 65 button Outputs tab 63 explained 77 menu 78 97 settings 78 Technical support 110 Threshold dynamics 73 Time code sync 101 104 Tip positive negative 27 TOSLink 8 12 36 clock source 25 clock source setting 35 connecting 25 Track16 channel numbers 107 expansion 29 input output summary 12 installing 21 rear panel overview 12 SMPTE setting 35 summary of features 11 tab 9 33 Trim 12 13 24 40 61 Troubleshooting EQ knobs don t work 62 feedback loop 42 47 meters button 109 Tuner 96 Type L II optical mode 25 U Undo Redo 80 USB 2 0 13 2 0 versus 1 1 22 connecting 22 forcing USB operation 22 installing drivers 19 versus FireWire 21 Use Stereo Pairs for Windows Audio 9 36 Use WaveRT for Windows Audio 9 36 V V LED phantom power 7 23 40 64 Video sync 101 Volume co
159. xer Y Host software that supports sample accurate sync General Track16 Sample Rate 44100 al 128 Samples Per Buffer Project Synchronization Setup Timecode Source internal Timecode MIDI Timecode E O ASIO Audio Device Application Master Machine Control Device MM MC Master Active In Cubase go to the Synchronization window and choose ASIO Audio Device as the Timecode Base MIDI Timecode Source __ Launch the MOTU SMPTE Console and specify the SMPTE Source which is the interface receiving the SMPTE time code Also confirm that the Clock Source Address is SMPTE SMPTE 104 MOTU SMPTE CONSOLE Part 3 Appendices APPENDIX A OVERVIEW The MOTU Audio drivers supply text string labels for the Track16 s audio inputs and outputs to clearly identify each one but some applications do not display these labels The following sections show how you can identify each input and output in a numbered list like this Inputs at 1x sample rates Inputs are always listed in the same order as follows when operating the Track16 at 1x sample rates 44 1 or 48 kHz Input 44 1 48kHz Channels List position Comment Mic 2 1 2 Guitar 2 3 4 Line 4 5 8 Stereo 2 9 10 See Return Assign return on page 42 Reverb 2 11 12 See Reverb return return on page 42 Optical 8 ADAT 13 20 2 TOSLINK 13 14
160. xing and so on Processing is done in the digital domain just before the signal goes analog through the D A converter Output tab processing is applied to the entire output mix all signals being mixed to the output from various sources Signal flows from top to bottom Settings in each Output tab channel strip are applied to the signal in order from top to bottom For example EQ occurs before Dynamics which is applied before the reverb send and return Output name The output name appears a the top of the input channel Output names are global and will also appear in host audio software on the computer if the software supports channel names 62 CUEMIX FX Output channel focus Click the channel focus button Figure 9 6 to view and edit parameters in the channel settings section of the CueMix FX window Figure 9 7 on page 64 Channel focus also determines which channels are being scoped by CueMix s audio analysis tools as explained in Choosing channels for audio analysis on page 80 Output EQ and Dynamics The EQ Dynamics section in the Outputs tab Figure 9 6 works identically to the EQ Dynamics section for the Inputs tab Figure 9 3 See Input EQ and dynamics on page 61 Output reverb send return The output reverb send Figure 9 6 feeds the signal for the output to the Track16 s global reverb processor where it is merged with any other signals being fed to the reverb The reverb s output can then
161. y standard 9 18V DC power supply with either tip positive or tip negative polarity Alternately you can use FireWire bus power Quick Reference MOTU Audio Console General Track16 Click the tabs to access general MOTU interface settings or settings specific to the Choosing a smaller setting here reduces the delay you may hear when listening to live input that you are running through effects plug ins in your software But lower settings also increase the strain on your computer For details see Samples Per Buffer on page 35 Sample Rate Samples Per Buffer Master Clock Source Uncheck this option if the Windows audio software you are using with the Track16 does not support Windows WaveRT drivers and instead only supports WDM drivers Enable Pedal These foot switch settings are for other MOTU audio interfaces and don t apply to the Track16 Use Stereo Pairs for Windows Audio Y Use WaveRT for Windows Audio Track16 or other connected interface Choose the global sample rate for the system here Determines the clock source for your Track16 If you re just using the analog ins and outs set this to Internal The other settings are for digital transfers via the optical ports or for resolving the Track16 to other clock sources This option should always be left on checked There are only a few rare cases in which you would want to turn it off Driv
162. ynchroni zation features including locking to time code generating time code displaying a time code read out and so on CueMix FX CueMix FX gives you complete control over the Track16 s CueMix FX on board mixer which provides no latency monitoring mixing and processing of live inputs through your Track16 CueMix FX provides attractive graphic mixing graphic editing of parametric EQ and a convenient tabbed interface for quick access to all mixing features digitally controlled trims and other settings in your MOTU audio interface 14 ABOUT THE TRACK16 CueMix FX provides many advanced features such as an accurate instrument tuner and an extensive arsenal of audio analysis tools including a real time FFT spectrogram waterfall display oscilloscope and phase analysis tools HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE The Track16 system ships with Windows drivers that allows you to record edit play back and mix your Track16 projects using your favorite Windows audio software ABOUT THE TRACK16 16 ABOUT THE TRACK16 CHAPTER 2 Packing List and System Requirements PACKING LIST The Track16 ships with the items listed below If any of these items are not present in your Track16 box when you first open it please immediately contact your dealer or MOTU One Track16 m One Track16 DB25 I O cable One 9 pin to 9 pin IEEE 1394 FireWire B cable m One USB cable m One universal DC power adapter One Track16

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