828es ™ User Guide Title Page 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.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE 828es (“PRODUCT”) CAUTION! READ THIS SAFETY GUIDE BEFORE YOU BEGIN INSTALLATION OR OPERATION. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS COULD RESULT IN BODILY INJURY OR EQUIPMENT DAMAGE. HAZARDOUS VOLAGES: CONTACT MAY CAUSE ELECTRIC SHOCK OR BURN. TURN OFF UNIT BEFORE SERVICING. WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR OTHER MOISTURE.
Contents Part 1: Getting Started 7 Quick Start Guide 9 828es Front Panel 10 828es Rear Panel 11 MOTU Pro Audio Control Web App 23 About the 828es 27 Packing List and System Requirements 29 Software Installation 33 Hardware Installation Part 2: Using the 828es 53 Presets 57 Front Panel Operation 63 Working with Host Audio Software 71 Mixer Effects 79 MOTU Audio Tools 95 Networking Part 3: Appendices 103 Troubleshooting 105 Audio Specifications 109 Mixer Schematics 113 Updat
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.
Part1 Getting Started
Quick Start Guide Thank you for purchasing an 828es! Follow these easy steps to get started quickly. 1 Download and run the MOTU Pro Audio Installer found here: http://www.motu.com/proaudio ■ You should now see the MOTU Pro Audio Control web app in your browser, as shown on page 12. If not, visit Appendix A, “Troubleshooting” page (103). ■ For advanced network options, and device discovery from any modern browser, see chapter 11, “Networking” (page 95).
828es Front Panel 1 2 3 4 5 6 15 1. These XLR/TRS combo jacks accept a mic cable or a quarter-inch cable, balanced or unbalanced, from a guitar or line input. Use the front panel controls to adjust individual preamp gain, 48V phantom power and optional -20 dB pad for each mic input. 2. Individual MIC INPUT preamp gain, switchable 48V phantom power, and optional -20 dB pad switches for each mic input. The Precision Digital Trim™ knob provides 63 dB of preamp gain.
828es Rear Panel 1 2 3 13 1. The 828es is equipped with an auto-switching international power supply. 2. These are standard BNC word clock jacks. Use them for a variety of applications, such as digital transfers with devices that cannot resolve to the clock supplied by their digital I/O connection with the 828es. 3. These two banks of ADAT optical “lightpipe” connectors each provide 8 channels of 24-bit ADAT optical digital I/O at 1x sample rates (44.1 or 48 kHz) and 4 channels at 2x sample rates (88.
CHAPTER 1 MOTU Pro Audio Control Web App OVERVIEW MOTU Pro Audio Control is a web app that gives you complete control over the 828es. If you have several MOTU interfaces networked together, such as the 828es, 1248 and 8M, you can control them all. If you are working with a large network of many MOTU interfaces, you can access any device on the network.
DEVICE TAB 6 7 8 9 10 5 11 12 4 3 2 13 14 1 15 16 Windows only 17 18 19 20 1. If you have two or more MOTU interfaces, the Devices list lets you choose the one you are currently controlling with the web app. 2. The Aux Mixing tab lets you view each Aux bus in the mixer, one at a time. 3. The Mixing tab gives you access to the mixing and DSP in the interface. 4.
DEVICE TAB (CONTINUED) 22 21 23 25 24 Scroll down to view these additional Device tab settings. 21. AVB is IEEE’s Audio Video Bridging Ethernet standard for highbandwidth, low-latency audio streaming over Ethernet. If your MOTU interface is connected to a 2nd MOTU interface through its network port, or to an AVB switch for access to an extended AVB network, you can stream audio channels to and from other devices on the network.
DEVICE TAB (CONTINUED) 26 27 35 34 33 28 32 29 31 30 Scroll down to view these additional Device tab settings. 26. In the Computer Setup section, you can specify how many audio channels you would like to be able to stream to and from your computer, up to 128 channels each way, simultaneously, over USB or Thunderbolt. Map them as desired in the Routing tab (page 15). 27.
ROUTING TAB 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 3 13 2 14 15 1 23 22 16 21 17 20 19 18 The Routing Tab lets you route inputs to outputs. Outputs are listed by row on the left; inputs are listed in columns across the top. Simply click in the grid to make a single connection. Click and drag to make multiple connections in one gesture. To route a single input to multiple outputs, make multiple connections vertically in the same column below the input.
MIXING TAB 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 2 1 18 33 19 32 20 31 21 30 22 23 24 29 28 25 27 26 The Mixing tab gives you full access to the 48-channel mixer in the 828es, which provides a main mix bus, monitor bus, three group buses, seven aux buses, and a dedicated reverb bus. Use the Device tab to configure how many inputs you wish to work with (up to 48). Use the Routing tab (page 15) to route channels to the mixer inputs.
AUX MIXING TAB 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 1 17 11 12 13 16 15 14 The Aux Mixing tab provides quick access to the 828es mix buses (aux buses, groups and reverb bus), viewed one at a time. Choose a bus in the Aux Mix Target section (3) and then use the faders to directly mix the send levels from all mixer inputs, groups, and the reverb bus. 1. Shows and hides the Mixer Setup sidebar (3), which lets you show and hide channels. 2.
MIXER INPUT CHANNEL STRIPS 1 32 6 7 31 2 8 9 10 2 3 3 4 5 To access a mixer input channel strip, go to the Mixing tab (page 16), reveal the side bar (item #3 on page 16), and show the input channel in the Mixer Inputs section (32). To show and hide sections of the channel strip, such as EQ or the compressor, use the Controls section of the side bar (item #3 in the Mixing tab on page 16). 15. The thumbnail Compressor Graph provides a graphic representation of the compressor, when enabled.
MAIN MIX AND MONITOR CHANNEL STRIPS 1 2 3 4 5 6 3 4 5 7 15 To access the Main Mix and Monitor bus channel strips, go to the Mixing tab (page 16) and scroll the display to the right, beyond the inputs and groups. To show and hide sections of the channel strip, such as EQ or the Leveler, use the Controls section of the side bar (item #3 in the Mixing tab on page 16). 8 9 1. By default, the Monitor bus serves as a solo bus.
AUX BUS CHANNEL STRIPS 1 12 2 3 11 4 Aux buses can be used to create sub-mixes. An aux bus can be assigned to any output in the Routing grid (page 15). To access an Aux bus channel strip, go to the Mixing tab (page 16), reveal the side bar (item #3 on page 16), and then show the aux buses you want in the Mixer Outputs section (29). To show and hide the four-band EQ section of the channel strip, use the Controls section of the side bar (item #3 in the Mixing tab on page 16). 1. A stereo aux bus. 2.
GROUP AND REVERB CHANNEL STRIPS 1 2 11 3 Group busses can be used to create a mix subgroup, which is a set of inputs you wish to control together as a group. Groups differ from aux busses in that they have aux sends, a reverb send, as well as a main mix send. In addition, group busses are equipped with the Leveler. The Reverb bus is a special group bus that provides a reverb processor. If you disable the reverb, the reverb bus functions as a (fourth) regular group bus.
M OT U P R O AUD I O CO N T R O L W E B A P P
CHAPTER 2 About the 828es The 828es is a 28 x 32 Thunderbolt/USB/AVB audio interface with console-style 48-channel mixing, DSP effects, wireless control, AVB audio networking and very high quality A/D/A conversion at sample rates up to 192 kHz for onthe-go mobile audio recording. Powerful DSP delivers large console style mixing with 48 channels, 12 stereo busses, and 32-bit floating point effects processing, including modeled analog EQ, vintage compression and classic reverb.
pad can be supplied independently to each mic input. The Precision Digital Trim™ knobs on the front panel for each mic/instrument input provide up to 63 dB of boost in precise 1 dB increments. As explained in “Mic/guitar sends” on page 24, the pre-amplified signal can be routed to external outboard gear before being routed back into the 828es.
With additional standard AVB switches (from MOTU or other brands) and standard Ethernet cabling, you can build an extensive AVB audio network. The entire network operates with nearzero network latency, even over very long cable runs. MOTU’s AVB implementation allows you to stream hundreds of audio channels among devices and computers on the network with guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS), prioritizing audio streams over less important traffic.
Foot switch input The quarter-inch foot switch input accepts a standard foot switch. When you push the foot switch, the 828es triggers a programmable keystroke on the computer keyboard. For example, with MOTU’s Digital Performer audio sequencer software, the foot switch could trigger the 3 key on the numeric keypad, which toggles recording in Digital Performer. Therefore, pressing the foot switch is the same as pressing the 3 key. The 828es web app software lets you program any keystroke you wish.
CHAPTER 3 Packing List and System Requirements PACKING LIST PLEASE REGISTER TODAY! the 828es ships with the items listed below. If any of these items are not present in the box when you first open it, please immediately contact your dealer or MOTU. Please register the 828es today. There are two ways to register. ■ One audio interface ■ USB cable ■ Power cord ■ User guide ■ Product registration card ■ Visit www.motu.
PAC K IN G LI S T A N D S YS T E M R E Q U IR E ME N TS
CHAPTER 4 Software Installation OVERVIEW USB audio class-compliant operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Software installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Audio drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 MOTU Discovery app . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 MOTU Pro Audio WebUI Setup for Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . .31 AudioDesk workstation software . . . . .
AUDIO DRIVERS The installer provides Thunderbolt and USB audio drivers for Mac (CoreAudio) and Windows (ASIO and Wave). MOTU Pro Audio ASIO Driver On Windows, to enable the 828es in your ASIO host software, choose the MOTU Pro Audio ASIO driver. Thunderbolt support for Mac and Windows You can connect your MOTU interface to a Thunderbolt-equipped PC and access up to 128 channels of simultaneous audio input and output using the MOTU Pro Audio ASIO driver.
Choose an interface to access its settings through the web app (“MOTU Pro Audio Control Web App” on page 11). MOTU PRO AUDIO WEBUI SETUP FOR WINDOWS Figure 4-2: Under Windows, access the ‘Host Buffer Size’ and ‘Host Safety Offset’ settings in the web app Device tab for your MOTU interface. Be careful with very small buffer sizes, as they can cause performance issues from your host software or PC. ☛ At sea level, audio travels approximately one foot (30 cm) per millisecond.
S O F T WA R E I N S TA L L AT I O N
CHAPTER 5 Hardware Installation OVERVIEW Thunderbolt audio interface setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 USB or iOS audio interface setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 AVB Ethernet audio interface setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Setup for two interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Setup for three to five interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Setup for a multi-switch network . . . . . . . . . . .
AVB ETHERNET AUDIO INTERFACE SETUP SETUP FOR TWO INTERFACES OR Use this setup if you want to use the 828es as an AVB Ethernet audio interface for a recentgeneration Mac (i.e. any Mac with a Thunderbolt port on it). OS X El Capitan (10.11) or later is required for AVB audio I/O. ■ Use a standard CAT-5e or CAT-6 cable. ■ Connect to the computer’s Ethernet port. See “Setup for AVB Ethernet audio interface operation” on page 40. Use this setup if you want to connect two MOTU interfaces to your computer.
SETUP FOR THREE TO FIVE INTERFACES Use this setup if you want to connect three to five MOTU interfaces to your computer using a MOTU AVB Switch™ (sold separately). ■ Network cable lengths can be long: 100 meters with standard copper wire cables; much longer with fiber-optic network cables. ■ See “About CAT-5e cables” on page 34. ■ The connection to the computer can be USB or Thunderbolt. Use Thunderbolt or USB 3.
■ You can daisy-chain switches in serial fashion, but don’t create loops. For example, switches A, B, and C below are chained properly, but don’t connect C back to A. Alternately, you could connect both Switches B and C to Switch A. SETUP FOR A MULTI-SWITCH NETWORK Use this setup if you want to connect more than five MOTU interfaces to an extended network that employs multiple AVB switches. AVB Ethernet is an industry standard, so you can use MOTU AVB Switches or 3rd-party AVB switches.
SETUP FOR MULTIPLE INTERFACES It is possible to connect multiple MOTU interfaces directly to your host computer through multiple USB (and Thunderbolt) ports. However, there are several disadvantages to using any of these direct connection schemes: The audio interfaces will not be clocked to one another and may be susceptible to drift, unless you use external word clock connections (if available). You are better off using the AVB network connections shown on pages 34-36.
The MOTU Pro Audio Control web app gives you access to all settings, routing, mixing, and effects processing in the 828es, and each interface on the AVB network, if applicable. For more info, see “MOTU Pro Audio Control Web App” on page 11. Mixing and matching web app control scenarios The web app connection scenarios shown in the following sections are not exclusive from one another. You can set up as many web app connections as you wish and control your MOTU device from many web app hosts simultaneously.
Ethernet cable A simple Ethernet cable connection can be used for web app control, even without a USB or Thunderbolt connection to your computer. For example, if you are using your MOTU device as a mixer or audio router, you could control the on-board routing, mixing and effects from the web app through a standard Ethernet connection. Wi-Fi When using standard Wi-Fi as shown, you can control the 828es from multiple Wi-Fi devices simultaneously.
SETUP FOR AVB ETHERNET AUDIO INTERFACE OPERATION Your MOTU hardware can serve as an Ethernet audio interface when connected to a recent generation AVB-equipped Mac. You can then use your MOTU interface as a standard multi-channel audio interface with any Core Audio compatible host software running on the Mac. 1 Launch the MOTU Discovery app.
☛ MOTU interfaces currently only support 8-channel streams (or less) so be sure to avoid configurations with streams that have more than eight channels. Figure 5-10: Routing Mac channels to physical outputs. Figure 5-8: Choosing an AVB configuration for the Mac. 4 From the Sample Rate menu (Figure 5-7), choose the desired sample rate. Currently, the Mac only supports 48, 96 and 192 kHz sample rates. 7 For Recording to the Mac, route desired physical inputs on your MOTU interface to output streams.
Figure 5-12: Routing streams from your MOTU interface to the Mac. AVB stream and channel counts Each AVB stream is a group of eight audio channels. While testing is on-going, OS X AVB performance varies with different Mac models. Models such as the Mac Pro (late 2013) are able to handle eight streams (64 channels) in and out simultaneously, for MOTU interface models that support eight streams. (Check motu.com/proaudio for a summary of supported stream counts for each MOTU interface model.
828es itself, controlled from your laptop, tablet, and smart phone — or several devices simultaneously. A TYPICAL 828ES SETUP Here is a typical 828es setup. This rig can be operated with or without a separate mixer.
AUDIO CONNECTIONS Here are a few things to keep in mind as you are making audio connections to your 828es interface. Mic/line/instrument inputs with preamps Connect a microphone, guitar or line-level analog input to the front panel XLR/quarter-inch combo jack with either a standard mic cable or a balanced cable with a quarter-inch plug. ☛ Do not connect a +4 (line level) XLR cable to the front-panel inputs (because of the preamps). Use a quarter-inch input instead.
Analog trims All analog inputs and outputs can be trimmed. This allows them to support a variety of standards, including EBU-R68, SMPTE RP-155, +4dBu, 10dBV, 2vRMS, 1vRMS. The 828es quarter-inch analog inputs are equipped with high-quality, digitally controlled analog trim that provides a range from -96 to +22 dB in 1dB steps. Quarter-inch outputs can be trimmed in the DAC itself. Range is 24 dB. The Main Outs and Phones provide full trim range from 0 dB to -∞ (-127).
CONNECT MIDI GEAR Connect your MIDI device’s MIDI IN jack to the 828es MIDI OUT jack (Connection A below). Conversely, connect the MIDI device’s MIDI OUT jack to the 828es MIDI IN jack (Connection B). 828es rear panel MIDI OUT MIDI IN MIDI Device MIDI THRU 828es rear panel MIDI OUT MIDI cables MIDI Device MIDI IN MIDI IN Connection A MIDI cable Figure 5-17: Connecting additional devices with MIDI THRU ports. MIDI MIDI IN OUT Connection B Figure 5-16: Connecting a MIDI device to the 828es.
■ Resolving your MOTU device to an external clock source ■ Networking multiple MOTU interfaces together Synchronization is critical for clean digital I/O Synchronization is critical in any audio system, but it is especially important when you are transferring audio between digital audio devices. Your success in using the digital I/O features on your MOTU device depends almost entirely on proper synchronization. The following sections guide you through several recommended scenarios.
For A, choose Internal (or anything other than Optical) as the clock mode in the Device tab (item #13 on page 12). Then configure the other device to resolve to its optical input. For B, choose Optical as the clock mode (item #13 on page 12), and configure the other device to resolve to its own internal clock. For C, choose Word Clock as the clock mode for the 828es (item #13 on page 12), and resolve the other device to its word clock input.
resolved to time code and won’t drift over time, as long as the audio is coming from other sources that are also resolved to the same time code. This also ensures that audio recorded by DAW host software on a connected computer, or audio playing back from the DAW, will remain resolved to time code and won’t drift over time, even when restarting or cuing the source time code. ☛ Depending on the stability of the incoming time code, it may take a few seconds for your interface to lock to the time code.
2 In the device list (item #1 on page 12), choose the MOTU interface you wish to use as the clock master. 3 Click the Become Clock Master button below the Clock Mode menu. Now, all other MOTU devices on the network are resolved to this device. may be in a situation where at least one MOTU device on the network must remain resolved to its own clock (or another clock source). Just know that in this case, audio cannot be streamed between MOTU devices that don’t share the same master clock.
Part2 Using the 828es
CHAPTER 6 Presets OVERVIEW AUDIO INTERFACE Because of its advanced, extensive feature set, the 828es can be used for many different purposes. This chapter discusses common use cases and their corresponding device presets, to help you use the hardware for your needs. Choose the Audio Interface preset to use your MOTU device as a standard Thunderbolt, USB or iOS audio interface.
STAND-ALONE MIXER INTERFACE + MIXER Choose the Stand-alone mixer preset to use 828es as a mixer. Doing so routes all physical inputs to the mixer, with the mixer’s main mix bus goes to the Main Outs and the monitor bus goes to the Headphone Outs. Choose the Interface + Mixer preset to use the 828es as both an audio interface and mixer, simultaneously.
LIVE RECORDING WITH MONITOR MIXING Choose the Live recording with monitor mixing preset when you are tracking in the studio. The setup is pretty much the same as for the “Interface + mixer” preset shown in Figure 6-3 on page 54, except that aux buses are routed to the 828es analog outs (in consecutive pairs) for independent monitor mixes. All physical inputs on the interface are routed to both the computer (for recording) and the Main Mix and Monitor buses in the mixer (for near-zero latency monitoring).
OPTICAL CONVERTER Choose the Optical converter preset if you would like the 828es to serve as a multi-channel digitalto-analog or analog-to-digital converter connected to another device equipped with an optical port. This preset sends optical inputs to the 828es analog outputs; conversely, analog inputs are routed to the optical outputs. For example, if you have another MOTU interface equipped with optical, you could connect its optical output banks to the 828es optical input banks.
CHAPTER 7 Front Panel Operation OVERVIEW THREE LCD SCREEN SETS This chapter explains how to use the features on the 828es front panel, including the two LCD displays, menu navigation, A/B monitor controls and talkback. Push the METERS button (Figure 7-1) repeatedly to cycle among the three different LCD screen sets shown below. Dual LCD displays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Three LCD screen sets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Screen set C Screen set C (Figure 7-4) shows metering for all optical and S/PDIF digital I/O, system settings and time code settings. Metering for optical and S/DIF digital I/O Sample rate, clock source, MIDI and network activity Turn the MENU knob to scroll through the menu. Push MENU to enter the selected sub-menu or to select the currently highlighted setting. A currently selected setting flashes.
Settings menu The Settings menu provides access to basic hardware settings. Setting What it does Clock Mode Sets the audio clock source for the device. Sample Rate Sets the sample rate for the device. Optical Specifies ADAT or TOSLink, or the SMUX format when operating at 88.2 or 96 kHz. See “Optical I/O” on page 45.
Monitor volume control Control the volume of both Monitor A and B pairs with the MONITOR knob (Figure 7-6). This knob controls both pairs. To adjust their volume relative to one another, use their trim controls in the Device tab (item #20 on page 12). Mute and Mono Push MUTE (Figure 7-6) to temporarily silence both Monitor output pairs (A and B). Push MONO (Figure 7-6) to temporarily sum each pair to mono.
Talkback settings The talkback settings (Figure 7-8) can be accessed by enabling the Legend in the Controls panel of the mixer. Legend Talk Press and hold the Talk button (Figure 7-8) to engage the talkback mic. This is the same as pressing the TALK button on the front panel of the 828es (item #10 on page 9).
Dim If you are feeding a monitor mix to the musicians on the same Aux bus as your talkback mic, use the Dim knob (Figure 7-8) to control how much the monitor mix will be attenuated when talkback is engaged. This gives you control over the relative volume between the talkback mic signal and all other audio on the mix bus. To control overall volume of everything, use the bus fader. NET ID Push NET ID (item #13 on page 9) to immediately view the 828es network information, including its IP Address.
CHAPTER 8 Working with Host Audio Software OVERVIEW The 828es provides multi-channel audio input and output for Core Audio compatible audio applications on the Mac and ASIO or Wave compatible applications on Windows, including MOTU’s Digital Performer and AudioDesk, Apple’s Logic Pro and GarageBand, and other third-party software applications such as Ableton Live, Avid Pro Tools, Cockos Reaper, Propellerhead Reason, Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo, Cakewalk SONAR, PreSonus Studio One, Bitwig, and others.
Audio Interface preset Click Launch Quick Setup (item #10 in the Device tab on page 12) and choose the Audio Interface preset. Your MOTU interface is now set up for operation as an audio interface with any host audio software. For details about customizing the audio routing to and from the computer, see “Working with the Routing grid” on page 67.
Monitoring through the 828es If you don’t need to process a live input with plug-ins, the easiest way to avoid monitoring latency is to disable your DAW’s live monitoring feature and instead use the digital mixer in the 828es to route the input directly to your outputs. For details, see “Mixing tab” on page 16. The mixer in the 828es even provides zero latency effects processing (EQ, compression and reverb), which can be applied to the signal.
Adjusting buffer size on Mac OS X Under Mac OS X, audio I/O buffer size is handled by the host audio application (not by the 828es Core Audio driver). Most audio software applications provide an adjustable audio buffer setting that lets you control the amount of delay you’ll hear when monitoring live inputs or processing them with software plug-ins. Here are a few examples. Figure 8-4: In Logic Pro, go to the Audio Driver preferences to access the Buffer Size option shown above.
Lowering the buffer size will make your software respond faster; raising the buffer size will make it a little bit slower. Figure 8-5: When adjusting the buffer size to reduce monitoring latency, watch the ‘processor’ meter in Digital Performer or AudioDesk’s Performance Monitor. If you hear distortion, or if the Performance meter is peaking, try raising the buffer size. If you are at a point in your recording project where you are not currently working with live, patched-thru material (e.g.
audio software. You can disable banks you are not using to simplify operation. Be sure to keep at least one input and output bank enabled, though. Specifying the number of computer channels In the web app Device tab (item 26 on page 14), in the Computer Setup section, you can specify the number of computer channels for streaming audio to and from your host audio software. You might want enough channels to cover the following: Physical inputs you want to record on your computer.
Naming computer input and output channels Click on any computer input or output name in the routing grid (Figure 8-6) to change its name. These names appear in your host audio software. Streaming computer audio to and from the on-board mixer In the Routing grid, you’ll see mixer inputs across the top of the grid, including Main, Monitor, Aux, etc. (item 11 on page 15). These are output buses from the 828es on-board mixer.
To set up LTC-to-MTC conversion: 1 Set the interface Clock Mode to Internal (or any other desired setting). 2 Set the other LTC settings as needed, as discussed in “Syncing to SMPTE time code (LTC)” on page 48, including the Computer Channel for LTC-to-MTC Conversion setting. 3 If you would like MIDI Time Code to continue to be generated, even after LTC stops being received, check Enable Jam Sync (Figure 5-22 on page 49). Otherwise, leave it unchecked.
CHAPTER 9 Mixer Effects OVERVIEW Leveler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 This chapter provides further information about the effects processors available in the DSP mixer in the 828es. For basic mixer operation, see: The Leveler™, an accurate model of the legendary LA-2A optical compressor, which provides vintage, musical automatic gain control Mixing tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GATE All input channel strips provide a Gate module. Enabling EQ Each band has an enable/disable button (Figure 9-3), allowing you to enable as few or as many bands as needed for the channel strip. Figure 9-2: The Gate module. Enable/disable The gate silences the signal when the input signal’s level drops below the Threshold. The rate at which the gate responds, (opens to let signal through) is determined by the Attack parameter.
be flexible enough to cover a broad range of applications. By adjusting Gain and Bandwidth together, you can emulate the smooth and musical character of classic analog EQ circuits, in which the Gain/Bandwidth dependency was dictated by the actual circuit design and electrical components used. COMPRESSOR All mixer input channel strips provide a compressor module. Low and high shelf filters The Low and High bands offer a shelf option that is similar to those found in most conventional parametric EQs.
the signal to 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.
Compressor graph The Compressor graph below the Compressor section (Figure 9-5) provides a thumbnail visual indication of the current compressor settings for the input channel. It is for visual reference only and cannot be edited directly. However, you can click it to open the full-size Compressor graph in a separate window (Figure 9-6), which provides graphic editing of the Ratio and Threshold controls.
It is precisely this self-adjusting behavior that makes optical compressors the tool of choice for smoothing out vocals, bass guitar and fullprogram mixes without destroying perceived dynamics. REVERB Use the enable/disable button (Figure 9-8) 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.
first reflections return to the listener. Predelay is useful for adding clarity, as it delays these reflections, before the onset of full reverberation. For example, with pre-delay added to vocals, the reflections won’t start until after the initial sound of a word has been sung. Spread Spread controls stereo imaging. A position of 12 o’clock produces essentially a mono image. Turning the control all the way to the left completely swaps the stereo image.
M IX E R E F F E C TS
CHAPTER 10 MOTU Audio Tools The MOTU Audio Tools application provides advanced audio analysis tools, which can be applied to a left channel input, right channel input, or both. Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Device menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Analysis menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Left/right input . . . . . .
ANALYSIS MENU Choose the desired form of audio analysis from the Analysis menu (Figure 10-1). For details on each analysis pane, see the following sections of this guide. LEFT/RIGHT INPUT Choose the desired channel(s) you wish to scope from the Left Input and Right Input menus (Figure 10-1). These menus display the To Computer channels configured in the MOTU Pro Audio Control web app. The number of channels shown is controlled by the From device to computer setting in the Device tab.
View controls You can show and hide the FFT display and spectrogram as desired using the View controls (Figure 10-5). Pause button View menu Display options Figure 10-5: FFT view controls. View menu This menu provides various options for displaying the two input channels. View menu setting What it does Left Displays the left channel only. Right Displays the right channel only. Split Screen H Shows both channels side by side, with the screen split horizontally.
OSCILLOSCOPE Vertical controls menu The Oscilloscope (Figure 10-9) graphs the amplitude of an audio signal over time. Figure 10-7: The Vertical controls. 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 10-8) sets the amplitude threshold for the spectrogram display, from -144 dB up to 0 dB.
View menu The View menu (Figure 10-10) lets you choose how to display the audio channel(s) being displayed.
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.
Trigger modes The Trigger menu (Figure 10-12) provides four modes: Measurement information You can view detailed information about a particular time range by using the measurement bars (Figure 10-9). Trigger mode What it does None The Trigger is not active; this is the default mode. The incoming audio signal will be displayed continuously as audio is received.
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.
X-Y PLOT The X-Y Plot window (Figure 10-13) graphs the amplitude of a stereo audio signal on a twodimensional 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 10-13).
Pause button Figure 10-14: View controls. Pausing the display The Pause button in the upper right corner of the View section (Figure 10-14) 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.
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. Figure 10-17: The Persistence controls. Length Length (Figure 10-17) 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.
PHASE ANALYSIS The Phase Analysis window (Figure 10-19) graphs frequency versus phase difference versus amplitude of a stereo signal on either rectangular or polar coordinates. View controls The View controls (Figure 10-20) provide several options for the Phase Analysis display. Pause button 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).
Line/Scatter Choose either Line or Scatter from the menu in the View section (Figure 10-20) 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 10-15. Rectangular/Polar Choose either Rectangular or Polar from the menu in the View section (Figure 10-20) to control how audio is plotted on the Phase Analysis grid.
Horizontal and vertical controls The Horizontal and Vertical controls (Figure 10-24) 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 10-24. Figure 10-24: Setting the Horizontal or Vertical control modes. In Zoom/Offset mode, Zoom scales the axis. Pos moves the zero line.
y axis) are 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.
M OT U AUD IO TO O LS
CHAPTER 11 Networking OVERVIEW The Audio Video Bridging (AVB) network port on the 828es opens up a world of possibilities for creating expanded, customized audio network systems. About AVB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 MOTU’s AVB implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 Networking examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 A quick guide to networking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
■ Support for existing network infrastructure — Replace your existing switches with standard AVB-compatible switches, and your CAT-5e or CAT-6 wired infrastructure now supports AVB. ■ Long cable runs —þa single AVB network connection can run up to 100 meters with a standard copper wire CAT-5e or CAT-6 cable. Fiber-optic cable runs can be much longer. With multiple switches, you can create a network that covers very large distances, if necessary. You can use up to seven “hops” (switch-to-switch connections).
NETWORKING EXAMPLES Networking comes into play as soon as you hook up a second MOTU interface to your first one, as explained in “Setup for two interfaces” on page 34, to add more I/O to your studio. Here are just a few examples of what is possible. Personal studio expansion Let’s say you have an 828es next to your computer. You could add an 8M interface and position it across the room, near your drum kit, for placing up to 8 mics on the drums.
systems. With MOTU AVB networking, these systems can be unified on the same network, opening up many possibilities for shared resources and mixing/routing responsibilities, especially from multiple sources (laptops, iPads, tablets, etc.) MOTU AVB networking handles audio in convenient 8-channel stems, making large-scale network management more manageable. MOTU AVB’s very low latency makes it particularly suitable for line arrays and sound reinforcement.
them. You just won’t be able to create point-topoint connects that span more than seven switches. Working with computers on a network ■ Computers are not required for network operation, as you can control the network from iPads, tablets and smart phones. ■ To add computers to the network, connect them to any interface using Thunderbolt (which offers the highest possible channel counts). If Thunderbolt is not available, use USB.
previous two sections. Simply enable AVB streams as desired, and map them to computer channels in the Routing grid. If, while mapping, you run out of computer channels, enable more in the Computer Setup section of the Device tab (item #26 on page 14). If the computer is connected with Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 (to a MOTU interface that supports it), you can enable a maximum of 128 channels in and out. If the computer is connected with USB 2.
Part3 Appendices
APPENDIX A Troubleshooting Some or all of my MOTU interface inputs and outputs are not available in my host audio software. Make sure that the inputs and outputs are enabled in the Device tab (“Device tab” on page 12) and routed to and from the computer in the Routing tab (“Routing tab” on page 15). For details, see “Making inputs and outputs available to your host software” on page 68. A quick and easy way to do this is to choose the Audio Interface preset from Quick Setup (item 10 on page 12).
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 Clock Source to Internal and try recording just using the analog inputs and outputs on the 828es. 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.
APPENDIX B Audio Specifications MIC in Connector Type Combo-style, XLR / TRS Pin 2 hot, tip hot XLR Impedance load 2.65 k ohm Pad -20 dB, Switchable per channel Phantom power +48 v, switchable per channel DIN 45596 / IEC 61938-P48 EIN -128 dBu XLR Terminated Dynamic Range 118 dB A-weighted THD+N -107 dB Unweighted Frequency Response +0 -0.1 dB, 20 Hz/20 kHz Ref.
Line In Connector Type 1/4” Female, TRS Balanced/unbalanced, Tip hot Specification Complies with EBU-R68 / SMPTE RP-155 Impedance Load 10 k ohm Dynamic Range 117 dB A-weighted THD+N -108 dB -2 dBFS, Unweighted Frequency Response +0, -0.1 dB, 20 Hz/20 kHz Ref.
Phones Connector Type 1/4” Female, TRS Stereo Tip Left, Ring Right Dynamic Range 108 dB A-Weighted THD+N -100 dB Unweighted Frequency Response +0 -0.15 dB, 22 Hz/20 kHz Ref. 1 kHz Drive Max. 80 mw 16/32/55 ohms Trim Range 128 dB 0 to -128 dB (muted) in 1 dB steps S/PDIF Connector Type RCA Termination 75 ohm I/O Lock Range 44.1k/48k, +/- 0.5% 1x, 2x Input Voltage Range 0.2 Vpp/1Vpp With termination Output Drive 0.5.
A P P E N DI X B : AUD I O S P E C I F I C AT IO N S
APPENDIX C Mixer Schematics MONO INPUT CHANNEL 109
STEREO INPUT CHANNEL + 110 A P P E N D IX C : M I X ER S C H E MAT IC S
GROUP BUS + 111 A P P E N D I X C : M IX E R S C HE M AT IC S
MONITOR BUS + 112 A P P E N D IX C : M I X ER S C H E MAT IC S
APPENDIX D Updating Firmware MOTU periodically posts firmware updates for the 828es. These updates may include bug fixes, enhancements and new features. Updates are posted on MOTU’s servers. If your computer or Wi-Fi device has access to the internet, the MOTU Pro Audio Control app notifies you as soon as an update is made available. Otherwise, you can check motu.com/proaudio periodically for the latest firmware update.
2 Transfer the file to a computer with a USB or network cable connection to the 828es. 2 Choose Firmware Updater > Open... 3 Launch the MOTU Pro Audio Control web app on the computer, as usual. 4 Go to the Device tab, scroll down to the bottom and click Update from File. 5 Locate the file on your hard drive and click OK to start the update. Figure D-3: Launching the Firmware Updater. 3 Connect Ethernet cables, if necessary, or click the Update from File option. 4 Click Update All Interfaces Now.
APPENDIX E OSC Support Open Sound Control (OSC) is a protocol for communication among computers and other multimedia devices that is optimized for modern networking technology. MOTU audio interfaces support OSC, which provides remote control of all device settings and mixer controls from any OSC-enabled controller. For further details about remote control through OSC, along with complete documentation for the MOTU AVB OSC API, visit: http://www.motu.
A P P E N D I X E : OS C S UP P O R T
Index Symbols +4dB analog input 44 , Numerics -10dB analog input 44 24-bit , optical 10 25 2x SMUX mode 13 45 5.1/7.
Thunderbolt interface 33 two interfaces networked 34 USB connection 33 Interface + mixer preset 54 iOS operation 29 33 IP address 11 14 58 iPad QuickStart 7 iPad/iPhone support 29 , , , JJam sync 14, 49 K Keyboard controller connecting 46 LLatency 12, 30, 64, 66 Launch Mac Virtual Entity 40 LCD menu 58 Leveler 16 75 Limit button 76 Live 64 Live recording with monitor mixing preset , 55 Lock button 15 Logic Pro 64 Logic Pro/Express 63 clock source 63 sample rate 63 LTC Input Source 14 Setup 48 to MTC co
– Reverb 76 77 design section 77 enabling/disabling 76 predelay 76 routing to/from 76 time 76 77 width 77 RMS mode 74 Routing tab 15 , SS/PDIF 25 connection 45 meters 58 optical 10 25 45 sync 47 , , Safari 11 Sample Rate 59 Sample rate 12 57 conversion 45 Samplers connecting 43 SC button 19 Schematics 109 Serial/UID 58 Set password 14 SMPTE sync 48 SMPTE time code 14 Software installation 29 Software installer 7 11 29 Solo bus 19 Solo Clear button 18 SONAR 63 Sound module connecting 46 Soundtrack Pro c
INDEX
