User Manual

ManualsBrandsMOTU ManualsAudio Interfaces & Systems8pre 16x12 USB Audio Interface with 8 Mic Inputs and Optical Expansion

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

MONITORING LIVE INPUT

There are two ways to monitor live audio input

with an 8pre: 1) through the computer or 2) via

CueMix™ DSP hardware monitoring. Figure 10-1

below shows method 1, which allows you to add

effects processing such as reverb and guitar amp

effects via plug-ins in your audio software. See the

next section, “Adjusting the audio I/O buffer” for

details about how to reduce — and possibly

eliminate — the audible monitoring delay that the

computer introduces.

Figure 10-2 on page 47 shows how to use CueMix™

DSP hardware-based monitoring, which lets you

hear what you are recording with no monitoring

delay and no computer-based effects processing.

(You can add effects later, after you’ve recorded the

live input as a disk track.) See “CueMix DSP

hardware monitoring” later in this chapter for

details on how to use CueMix DSP with your audio

software, or with the included MOTU CueMix

Console software.

If the material you are recording is suitable, there is

a third way to monitor live input: use both methods

(Figure 10-1 and Figure 10-2) at the same time. For

example, you could route vocals to both the

computer (for a bit of reverb) and mix that

processed signal on the main outs with dry vocals

from CueMix DSP.

1. Live input (from mic, guitar, etc.)

enters the MOTU interface.

Mac

2. Mic signal goes immedi-

ately to the computer (dry,

with no effects processing).

3. Mic signal is

‘patched thru’ back to

the audio interface

with reverb or other

plug-in effects, if any.

Figure 10-1: There are two ways to monitor live audio inputs with an 8pre: 1) through the computer or 2) via CueMix™ DSP 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.

4. Mic signal (with plug-in

processing, if any) is routed

to the main outs (or other

outputs that you’ve speciﬁed

in the software).

!8pre Manual/Mac Page 46 Tuesday, October 12, 2010 5:52 PM