Apogee Element Series User’s Guide v1.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Contents Overview Introduction Legendary Sound Quality. The Power of Thunderbolt. Elegant Simplicity.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Overview Introduction Legendary Sound Quality. The Power of Thunderbolt. Elegant Simplicity. Apogee’s Element 24, 46 and 88 are Thunderbolt audio I/O boxes for Mac. The Element Series takes the best of cutting-edge Apogee gear like Symphony I/O Mk II, Ensemble Thunderbolt and Groove and puts it into simple form factors.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Package Contents The following items are included with your Element Series Interface Apogee Element 24 Apogee Element 46 Apogee Element 88 Universal Power Supply with standard 3 pin-IEC cable Quick Start Guide Warranty Booklet Universal Power Supply with standard 3 pin-IEC cable Quick Start Guide Warranty Booklet Rack mounting kit Universal Power Supply with standard 3 pin-IEC cable Quick Start Guide Warranty Booklet Register your product ● ● ● Access Apogee’s exp
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Element 24 Panel Tour Element 46 Panel Tour Element 88 Panel Tour 5
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Setup System Requirements ● ● ● Mac OS X 10.10 or greater Thunderbolt™-equipped Mac 4GB minimum RAM, 8GB Recommended Download and Install Element Software package Before Element will work with the computer, special software must be installed. Always get the latest version of the software from the apogee website: www.apogeedigital.com/support/element The download comes in the form of a .dmg file. Open it to view the contents.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Connect Element to Your Computer 1. Connect the Power Supply to Element. 2. Connect Element to your Mac using a Thunderbolt cable. If connecting a Second Element 1. 2. 3. Connect the Power Supply to Element Connect Element to a second Thunderbolt port on your Mac. Connect optical cables from the Optical Out of one Element, to the Optical In of the second Element.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Update Element’s Firmware When first connecting Element to your computer, you may be prompted to update the Firmware: 1. Click Update, or manually open the Element Firmware Updater.app from your computer’s Applications > Utilities folder. 2. Make sure only one Element is connected to the Mac. Then click Start Update. 3. Follow any prompts that may appear. 4. When it says Element is up to date, you can quit the updater.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Element Control Control of your Apogee Element Thunderbolt interface is available through a Mac software app, an iOS control app, or the Remote control surface. Each provides it’s own unique set of controls and features. Element Control Mac Software When Element Control for Mac software is opened, you are presented with a Snapshot Template chooser. Each Snapshot Template is a starting point that provides the most common feature set needed for various workflows.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Essentials Window This window provides simple and compact controls for Input Channels and Outputs. It’s orientation can be changed between vertical and horizontal so that it can be placed to the side or end of your recording software. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Orientation Button - Switches the Essentials window between horizontal and vertical view. Analog Input Channels - Provides settings for the analog inputs.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Tool Bar The Tool Bar is always visible at the top of the Primary window. It provides the ability to show/hide the System Sidebar, Device Sidebar, Essentials window, Remote window and Hover-Help window. It also has buttons for Clear Meters, Talkback and Mute All outputs. 1. 2. 3. 4. System Sidebar Button Device Sidebar Button Essentials Button Remote Button 5. 6. 7. 8.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Device Sidebar The Device Sidebar provides settings that are specific to the Element interface connected to the Mac. 5. - 1. Device ID - Identifies the hardware connected to the Mac system. ● Clicking this button causes the displayed hardware to flash it’s status light for three seconds. 2.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Channel Section This portion of the Primary Window displays Channels for Analog input, Digital input, and Playback from audio software. 1. Channel Top Label - Indicates the channels source. Can be renamed by clicking the label and typing a user-customized label. To restore to the default text, delete the text and press “Return” on your keyboard. *These labels are transmitted to your DAW 2.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide 7. Input Settings - Provides options for the various inputs: ● : Use this button to enable 48 volt phantom power on the corresponding Analog In channel. Condenser mics require 48 volt phantom power to operate. ● Group: The input gain controls of adjacent odd-even channels are adjusted simultaneously. Any level offsets that exists before inputs are grouped will be preserved after a group is chosen. ● Soft Limit: Select “On” to engage.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Mixer Section The mixer section provides several Direct Monitor mixers, and a special FX Send mixer for workflows that utilize the low-latency Direct Monitoring features of your Element Thunderbolt interface. 1. Mixer 1 - Signal from each channel can be sent through this mixer by raising the corresponding Mixer 1 Channel Fader.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide 9. Channel Solo button - Mute all channels that do not have this solo button engaged in this mixer. Command-click to solo all channels. Note: Engage Solo-Safe mode on a channel by Control-Clicking the Solo button on a channel. This prevents this channel from being muted when another channel in the mixer has solo engaged. A solo-safe engaged track will display a colored “S” within the Solo button 10.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Remote Window The Remote window provides settings to configure the optional Apogee Control hardware remote control. To open the Remote window, choose Window > Remote, type Command+4 or click on the Remote toolbar button. The nine buttons in the window - 1-4, A-D and Control Knob - are used to define the function of corresponding hardware Function buttons. The following functions are available for all buttons: None - When a button is assigned to None, it does nothing.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Clear Meters - Clear held peak and overs from Element Control software level meters. Toggle Talkback - Turn the Talkback function on indefinitely until the button is tapped a second time to turn it off. Momentary Talkback - Turn the Talkback function on only when the button is held down. Releasing the button turns Talkback off.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Hover Help Window For specific information about Element Control’s features, open the Help window and hover your Mac’s pointer above each setting to see a helpful summary. Menu Bar Menus Element Control Menu About Element Control - Choose this menu item to display version information for all hardware connected and software elements installed on your Mac.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide View Menu System Settings - Choose this menu item to open the System Settings sidebar Device Settings - Choose this menu item to open the Device Settings sidebar Enter Full Screen - Choose this menu item to expand Element Control to fill the display screen. Window Menu Selecting an item in the Window Menu switches to a view of that selection. Help Menu Use the Search Field to search for a specific menu item.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Apogee Control iOS App Many of the features and settings of the Apogee Element Thunderbolt interface can be controlled by the free Apogee Control iOS app. Here’s how it works: 1. Open the App Store app on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch and search for Apogee Control. 2. Download and open the Apogee Control app and the “Connect to Device” screen will appear. 3. 5.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide iOS App Toolbar Preferences - Opens the Preferences Menu Prevent Screen Lock - When engaged, the iOS device’s screen will not automatically turn off while the Control app is open. Devices - Opens the Connect to Device Menu. Clear meters - Clears any Peak Hold or Over Hold indicators on the level meters. Talkback - Tap and hold to engage Momentary Talkback; release to disengage Momentary Talkback; Double-tap to toggle Talkback on; tap again to toggle Talkback off.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Monitor Output Settings Provides option and controls related to the Main and Headphones outputs of your Apogee Element Thunderbolt interface. Output Source Selector - Selects the sound source for this output. The options are: Playback - Sends a playback channel stereo signal directly to this output, bypassing all mixers.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Snapshots & Examples When Element Control software is first opened, you are presented with a Snapshot Template chooser. The following section will explain and explore these default Snapshot Templates in depth, with use-cases demonstrating how each would be used in with a recording program (DAW) like Logic Pro X.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Getting Started Snapshot Template This Snapshot Template provides simple input settings in the Input Channel section, a single stereo playback channel for audio playing from audio software such as iTunes or your DAW, and output settings for dealing with your speaker and headphone outputs. This represents the most common and familiar use of an audio interface.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide How Element Control Input Channels appear in your Recording Program: The Analog Input Channels of Element Control allow you to select the type of input you are using: Mic, Instrument, or Line Level +4dBu/-10dBV. You may activate phantom power (48V) for condenser mics, Group (G) channels together in stereo pairs, turn on Soft-Limit (SL), or invert the polarity (⌀) of any of these input channels.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide How Element Control Outputs work with your Recording Program: Signal from the Stereo Output of Logic Pro X appears in Element Control’s Playback 1-2 channel. This Playback 1-2 signal will flow to the Element interface’s outputs because the audio source for the Headphone and Main speaker outputs is set to Playback 1-2. In this way, the same signal is played from all of the Element Thunderbolt analog audio outputs.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide How to get a separate mix to the headphones than from the speaker outputs: To do this, you first have to create an aux mix in your Recording Program. In Logic, create a Send to a Bus on one of your tracks This automatically creates an Aux track in your Logic Pro X Mixer In Pro Tools and other DAW’s you must manually create an Aux Track Set this Aux track to output via Playback 3-4 .
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Set the Headphones output to Playback 3-4 to send this signal to your headphones output. The Main monitor outputs are still set to Playback 1-2 and play audio from Logic’s Stereo Out master track.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Essentials Snapshot Template This Snapshot Template is the same as the Getting Started Snapshot Template but only the Essentials Window is displayed. This represents the simplest layout of the Element Control software. It provides controls for only Inputs and Outputs. All other settings are disabled or hidden: All Analog Input Channels and Monitor output controls are represented in the Essentials bar.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Direct Monitoring Snapshot Template This Snapshot Template is perfect for users who do not want to open a DAW in order to listen to their inputs. It does this by setting the headphones and speaker outputs to “Mix 1”. In this way, any channel that has the Mixer 1 fader raised will be heard. This snapshot is also for users who want the lowest latency monitoring possible, and can’t achieve a low enough buffer in their DAW for software monitoring to be acceptable.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Let’s analyze the signal flow: Any signal from the Input Channel Section must go through the Mixer 1 fader before it will be heard in the outputs that are set to “Mix 1”. This has a few benefits: ● An analog or digital input can be heard directly through the interface rather than having to setup an audio track with software monitoring in a recording program first. ● Provides a very low-latency monitoring path.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Using the Direct Monitor Snapshot Template with your Recording Program 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Setup an audio track in Logic. Make sure input monitoring on that track is turned off because you are direct monitoring through Element Control instead. Record to that track. Setup a second audio track in Logic that also has input monitoring turned off. Record the second track. You will be able to hear the first track as you record.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Full Functionality Snapshot Template For the user that wants a “god-view”, this Snapshot Template has all side-panels, mixers, and channels visible. Note: All outputs are set to “Mix 1” in this Snapshot like the Direct Monitoring Snapshot Template. Therefore you must raise the Mixer 1 channel faders to hear anything in the outputs.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Vocal Overdub Snapshot Template This Snapshot Template is conceived for an overdubbing recording session. At this stage in the recording process, a recording project is typically full of tracks and plugins which may require your I/O Buffer to be set to a large size.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Setup a standard reverb send and return for this audio track: 3. In the “Sends” section of the Audio track, create a Bus send. Set the Bus level to 0.0dB. When you create the Bus send, Logic will automatically create an Aux track with that bus selected as the input. Note: You will need to manually create the Aux track in other DAW’s like Pro Tools, Cubase, Live, etc. 4. In the new Aux input track, instantiate your favorite reverb plugin.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide 5. In the mixer view’s Option’s menu, create a New Auxiliary Channel Strip. 6. Set this new Aux 2 channel’s input to the FX Send L/R (Input 15-16 in this example) 7. Set the Aux 2 channel to “No Output” (or lower the fader), and create a bus send to the same bus as the Audio track. Set the Bus level to 0.0dB. 10. In Element Control, raise the FX Send fader for the Analog 1 channel to 0.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide At the end, your Logic Project will look like this: This creates a dual-path signal flow: ● Path 1 happens when Recording ● Path 2 happens when Playing back that recording Path 1: Audio from Element Control Analog 1 input is sent to Logic’s Audio 1 track for recording. This Analog 1 Input signal also goes via the FX Send to Logic Aux 2 input, which then Bus sends to the Aux with the Reverb plugin.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide A/D Expander Snapshot Template This Snapshot Template facilitates the use of your Element Firewire interface as a simple Analog to Digital Converter (A/D). This snapshot is useful when wanting to send digital audio to a Digital Mixer, or separate Audio Interface. In this way, you can utilize the excellent Apogee Preamps and Converters through another digital audio system. The Individual Analog inputs are sent directly to the ADAT optical outputs.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Working with a Multiple Element Interface Setup The connection of any two Element Series interfaces is supported in any desired order, for a system with up to 16 analog inputs, 8 line outputs, and 4 headphone outputs.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide The Multiple Element Interface System in Use When a Multiple Element Interface System is first powered up, one of the two interfaces is designated at random to be the Master interface. The Master’s front panel LED light will be green while the Slave’s front panel LED light will be blue (if the Slave interface LED is flashing red, check that optical cables are connected as shown above).
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Additional Support For more information ● ● ● ● Apogee KnowledgeBase and FAQs Informational Videos Apogee Product Registration How to contact Apogee Technical Support Please visit: www.apogeedigital.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Specifications System Requirements Mac OS: ● Computer: Thunderbolt™ equipped Mac (iMac, Mac Mini, Macbook, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, Mac Pro) ● Memory: 4GB RAM minimum, 8GB recommended ● OS: 10.
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide Warranty Information and Legal Notices APOGEE ELECTRONICS CORPORATION warrants this product to be free of defects in material and manufacture under normal use for a period of 12 months. The term of this warranty begins on the date of sale to the purchaser from an authorized Apogee dealer (proof of purchase in the form of a receipt may be required).
Apogee Element Series User’s Guide (EN50081-1/EN55022; 1995) and (EN50082-1/IEC 801-2, 3, 4; 1992) following the provisions of: (73/23/EEC – Low Voltage Directive) and (89/336/EEC – EMC Directive) Declaration of Conformity – Japan Apogee Electronics Corporation hereby declares that Element 24, Element 46, Element 88 and Apogee Control, to which this declaration relates, are in material conformity with the VCCI Class A standard.
