8pre-es ™ 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 8pre-es (“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 8pre-es Front Panel 10 8pre-es Rear Panel 11 MOTU Pro Audio Control Web App 25 About the 8pre-es 29 Packing List and System Requirements 31 Software Installation 35 Hardware Installation Part 2: Using the 8pre-es 55 Presets 61 Front Panel Operation 67 Working with Host Audio Software 75 Mixer Effects 83 MOTU Discovery 87 MOTU Audio Tools 103 Networking Part 3: Appendices 111 Troubleshooting 115 Audio Specifications 117
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.
Part 1 Getting Started
Quick Start Guide Thank you for purchasing an 8pre-es! 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 (111). ■ For advanced network options, and device discovery from any modern browser, see chapter 12, “Networking” (page 103).
8pre-es Front Panel 1 2 3 4 5 6 15 1. Choose mic inputs 1-4 or 5-8, for the bank of controls to the right (2). push MENU a third time. Use the BACK button to return to the previous menu level. Push METERS to return directly to the main screen. 2. Individual preamp gain, switchable 48V phantom power, and optional -20 dB pad switches for each mic input. Use the bank buttons (1) to switch between inputs 1-4 and 5-8. The Precision Digital Trim™ knob provides 63 dB of preamp gain.
8pre-es Rear Panel 1 2 3 7 1. The 8pre-es 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 8pre-es. 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.
CHAPTER 1 MOTU Pro Audio Control Web App OVERVIEW MOTU Pro Audio Control is a web app that gives you complete control over the 8pre-es. If you have several MOTU interfaces networked together, such as the 8pre-es, 1248 and 16A, 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 7 8 9 10 11 6 5 4 3 2 12 13 14 15 16 1 17 Windows only 18 19 20 21 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. See “Touch Console” on page 22. 3. The Aux Mixing tab lets you view each aux bus, one at a time. 4. The Mixing tab gives you access to the mixing and DSP in the interface. 5.
DEVICE TAB (CONTINUED) 22 23 30 29 24 28 25 27 26 Scroll down to view these additional Device tab settings. 22. Configure the optical Bank A ports for either 8-channel ADAT or stereo TOSLink. At 88.2 or 96 kHz, the ADAT setting supports 4-channel SMUX format. See “Optical I/O” on page 47. 23. Your MOTU interface can resolve to SMPTE time code, also referred to as LTC (Longitudinal Time Code), by choosing LTC from the Clock Mode menu (item 14 on page 12).
ROUTING TAB 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 11 12 13 2 14 1 15 23 16 22 21 20 17 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.
ROUTING SETUP 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 24. Use the Routing Setup sidebar to show and hide inputs and outputs in the routing grid. You can also configure the number of audio channels to/from the computer and network. 25. Use the check boxes in this section to show/hide analog and digital inputs on your interface (item 8 on page 14). Hide banks you are not using to simplify the grid to conserve DSP resources. 26.
MIXING TAB 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 2 18 1 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 8pre-es, 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 14) to route channels to the mixer inputs.
AUX MIXING TAB 3 4 5 6 2 1 18 17 16 7 15 14 13 8 9 12 10 11 The Aux Mixing tab provides quick access to the 8pre-es mix buses (aux buses, groups and reverb bus), viewed one at a time. Choose a bus in the On Faders section (12) and then use the faders to directly mix the send levels from all mixer inputs, groups, and the reverb bus. The Aux Mixing tab provides touchscreen friendly operation. It is ideal for mixing on mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. It supports multitouch operation.
MIXER INPUT CHANNEL STRIPS 1 32 6 7 31 2 8 9 2 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 (item #32 on page 16). 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 on page 16). 1. Click the input channel name to change it. Delete the current name to restore the default name. 2.
MAIN MIX AND MONITOR CHANNEL STRIPS 1 2 3 4 5 6 3 4 5 16 7 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. 8 9 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). 1. By default, the Monitor bus serves as a solo bus.
AUX BUS CHANNEL STRIPS 1 12 2 3 11 Aux buses can be used to create sub-mixes. An aux bus can be assigned to any output in the Routing grid (page 14). 4 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 13 2 3 Group buses can be used to create a mix sub-group, which is a set of inputs you wish to control together as a group. Groups differ from aux buses in that they have aux sends, a reverb send, as well as a Main Mix send. In addition, group buses 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.
TOUCH CONSOLE 3 4 5 6 7 2 8 9 10 1 11 27 26 12 25 24 23 22 21 13 14 15 16 20 17 19 The Touch Console provides touchscreen friendly access to the mixer. It is ideal for mixing on mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. It supports multi-touch operation. For example, you can move multiple faders at the same time with two or more fingers. 1. The Touch Console tab opens the Touch Console shown on this page. 2. Shows and hides the sidebar (3). 3.
TOUCH CONSOLE CHANNEL SETTINGS 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 13 1 9 12 10 11 Touch any channel setting (items 8, 9 or 10 on page 22) to access the channel tab shown above. as explained in “Compressor” on page 77 and “Leveler” on page 79. 1. The channel tab provides touchfriendly control over every parameter on every channel. 6. The Sends tab (16) displays longthrow faders for all of the channel’s available sends, including aux sends, group sends, the reverb send and the send to the Main Mix bus. 2.
TOUCH CONSOLE CHANNEL STRIP 1 1. Tap to access the channel settings (item 14 on page 23). 2. Tap to access the multiband EQ settings (items 9 and 13 on page 23). 3. Tap to access the dynamics processing for the channel (item 15 on page 23). 2 4. This panel appears on the reverb channel only. Tap it to access the reverb settings (item 13 below). 5. Tap to access the sends tab for the channel (item 16 on page 23). 3 6. Channel mute. Swipe horizontally to toggle multiple channels in a single gesture. 7.
CHAPTER 2 About the 8pre-es The 8pre-es is a 24 x 28Thunderbolt/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 buses, 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. Flexible analog I/O with Precision Digital Trim™ All quarter-inch analog outputs can accept either a balanced or unbalanced plug. The quarter-inch outputs are DC-coupled, so they can be used for CV control output.
audio interface settings. Optional password protection prevents unauthorized access from the network. Stand-alone mixing with wireless control If you connect the 8pre-es to an Apple Airport or other Wi-Fi router with a standard Ethernet cable, you can control its powerful mixing and DSP effects from your smart phone or tablet, without a computer — great for live sound mixing from your iPad, tablet, or other wireless device. ADAT digital I/O The 8pre-es provides two 8-channel banks of optical digital I/O.
A B O U T T H E 8P R E- ES
CHAPTER 3 Packing List and System Requirements PACKING LIST PLEASE REGISTER TODAY! The 8pre-es 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 8pre-es today. There are two ways to register. ■ One audio interface ■ USB cable ■ Power cord ■ User guide ■ Product registration card ■ Visit www.motu.
PAC K I N G LI S T A N D S YS T EM R E Q U I R E M EN TS
CHAPTER 4 Software Installation OVERVIEW USB audio class-compliant operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Software installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Audio drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 MOTU Discovery app . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 MOTU Pro Audio WebUI Setup for Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . .33 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 8pre-es 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 LL AT I O N
CHAPTER 5 Hardware Installation OVERVIEW Thunderbolt audio interface setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 USB or iOS audio interface setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Audio channel counts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 AVB Ethernet audio interface setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Setup for two interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Setup for three to five interfaces . . . . . .
AUDIO CHANNEL COUNTS SETUP FOR TWO INTERFACES The number of audio channels provided by the Thunderbolt or USB connection to your computer depends on the operating sample rate. See “Maximum available computer channels” on page 72. AVB ETHERNET AUDIO INTERFACE SETUP Use this setup if you want to use the 8pre-es as an AVB Ethernet audio interface for a recentgeneration Mac (i.e. any Mac with a Thunderbolt port on it). macOS El Capitan (10.11) or later is required for AVB audio I/O.
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 36. ■ The connection to the computer can be USB or Thunderbolt. Use Thunderbolt or USB 3.
SETUP FOR A MULTI-SWITCH NETWORK ■ 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. 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 36-38.
SETUP FOR WEB APP CONTROL The MOTU Pro Audio Control web app gives you access to all settings, routing, mixing, and effects processing in the 8pre-es, 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.
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 8pre-es 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. For Ethernet audio interface operation, you need: ■ A recent Mac (any Mac that has a Thunderbolt port on it) ■ macOS El Capitan (10.11) Firmware version 1.2.
☛ 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 5-7: Choosing an AVB configuration for the Mac. 5 From the Sample Rate menu (Figure 5-6), choose the desired sample rate. Currently, the Mac only supports 48, 96 and 192 kHz sample rates.
8 For recording to the Mac, route desired physical inputs on your MOTU interface to output streams. Figure 5-10: Routing physical inputs to the Mac. 9 On the Mac’s Device tab, connect the Mac’s input streams to the MOTU interface’s output streams. Clocking In the example in Figure 5-11, the 1248 is the clock master and the Mac is clocking to the 1248’s Output Stream 1. You can also reverse this scenario, where the Mac becomes the master and the 1248 clocks to Mac’s Output Stream 1.
A TYPICAL 8PRE-ES SETUP Here is a typical 8pre-es setup. This rig can be operated with or without a separate mixer. All mixing and effects processing can be done in the 8pre-es itself, controlled from your laptop, tablet, and smart phone — or several devices simultaneously. Headphones 8pre-es front panel MOTU 8pre and/or other optical devices Microphones 8-channel ADAT optical Keyboard Ethernet cable to another MOTU AVB device, a MOTU AVB Switch, or WiFi router, etc.
AUDIO CONNECTIONS Here are a few things to keep in mind as you are making audio connections to your 8pre-es interface. Combo jack summary Use these guidelines for 48V phantom power, pad and trim settings on the two combo input jacks: Input 48V Pad Trim Mic/line/instrument inputs with preamps Connect a microphone, guitar or line-level analog input to the rear panel XLR/quarter-inch combo jacks with either a standard mic cable or a balanced cable with a quarter-inch plug.
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 8pre-es 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 Phones provide full trim range from 0 dB to -∞ (-127).
SYNCHRONIZATION If you connect devices digitally to your MOTU device, or if you need to synchronize your MOTU device with an outside time reference such as word clock, you must pay careful attention to the synchronization connections and clock source issues discussed in the next few sections.
For A, choose Internal as the clock mode in the Device tab (item #14 on page 12). Then configure the other device to resolve to its optical input. Alternately, the MOTU interface could be resolved to any other external clock source besides Optical. For B, choose Optical as the clock mode (item #14 on page 12), and configure the other device to resolve to its own internal clock.
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. from its Clock Mode menu (in the Device tab). Doing so effectively resolves the entire AVB network to the external clock source. 3 Click the Become Clock Master button below the Clock Mode menu. SYNCING MULTIPLE AVB AUDIO INTERFACES CONNECTED TO A MAC Now, all other MOTU devices on the network are resolved to this device.
HARDWARE INSTALL ATION
Part 2 Using the 8pre-es
CHAPTER 6 Presets OVERVIEW CREATE AND MANAGE PRESETS Because of its advanced, extensive feature set, the 8pre-es 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. You can create presets to suit your specific needs. The 8pre-es is highly capable and configurable, allowing it to perform many tasks simultaneously.
To do this: Do this: To apply a preset Choose it from the preset menu or preset list and click Apply. To Create a new preset Type in a name next to the Create button and click Create. To rename a preset Click it in the preset list, click Rename and edit its name in the list. AUDIO INTERFACE 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 8pre-es as a mixer. Doing so routes all physical inputs to the mixer, with the mixer’s main mix bus goes to analog outs 1-2 and the monitor bus goes to the headphone outputs. Choose the Interface + Mixer preset to use the 8pre-es as both an audio interface and mixer, simultaneously.
LIVE RECORDING WITH MONITOR MIXING AVB EXPANSION 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 6-4 on page 57, except that aux buses are routed to the 8pre-es analog outs (3-4, 5-6 and 7-8) for independent monitor mixes.
OPTICAL CONVERTER Choose the Optical converter preset if you would like the 8pre-es 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 8pre-es 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 8pre-es optical input banks.
P R E S E TS
CHAPTER 7 Front Panel Operation OVERVIEW THREE LCD SCREEN SETS This chapter explains how to use the features on the 8pre-es 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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Three LCD screen sets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Screen set C — Digital Meters + Settings Screen set C (Figure 7-4) shows metering for all optical digital I/O, system settings and time code settings. Metering for optical and S/DIF digital I/O Sample rate, clock source 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. the LCD to indicate that the focused metering will remain on screen until you push the knob again to dismiss it. 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 47.
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 #21 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 can be accessed by enabling the Legend in the Controls panel of the mixer (Figure 7-8). In Touch Console, tap the Talkback tab in the sidebar (Figure 7-10). 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 8pre-es (item #10 on page 9). Talkback section Talkback mic input Talkback Talkback settings source Figure 7-8: Mixer setup for the talkback mic.
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. Talkback settings in Touch Console Talkback settings can be accessed in the Touch Console sidebar.
CHAPTER 8 Working with Host Audio Software OVERVIEW The 8pre-es 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 #11 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 71.
Monitoring through the 8pre-es 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 8pre-es to route the input directly to your outputs. For details, see “Mixing tab” on page 16. The mixer in the 8pre-es even provides zero latency effects processing (EQ, compression and reverb), which can be applied to the signal.
Adjusting buffer size on macOS Under macOS, audio I/O buffer size is handled by the host audio application (not by the 8pre-es 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.
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. you’re not recording vocals), or if you have a way of externally processing inputs, choose a higher buffer size.
Enabling and disabling input/output banks In the web app Routing tab (page 15), you can enable all input and output banks on your MOTU device that you wish to make available to your host 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. ■ Any audio streams going to and from the on-board mixer in your MOTU device.
Making inputs and outputs available to your host software In the web app, use the Routing tab (page 14) to map inputs and outputs to computer channels, as demonstrated in Figure 8-6 and Figure 8-7. Configuration presets The presets menu (item #8 in the Devices tab on page 12) provides many useful presets for various host routing scenarios. These presets are a convenient shortcut for the routing grid setups discussed in the next few sections.
LTC-TO-MTC CONVERSION When connected to a Mac, your MOTU interface can convert SMPTE time code (LTC) to MIDI Time Code (MTC), allowing any MTCcompatible host audio software to resolve to MTC. LTC-to-MTC conversion can be done even when the Clock Mode setting for the MOTU interface is set to Internal (or any other setting). Note that the Clock Mode setting does NOT have to be set to LTC.
CHAPTER 9 Mixer Effects OVERVIEW Leveler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 This chapter provides further information about the effects processors available in the DSP mixer in the 8pre-es. 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 I XE R EF F E C TS
10 MOTU Discovery MOTU Discovery is an app installed on your Mac or Windows computer when you run the software installer for your MOTU interface. The Discovery app provides quick and convenient access to any MOTU devices connected to your computer through USB, Thunderbolt and/or AVB Ethernet. It can also assist with firmware updating and other tasks. Mac Windows To open the MOTU Pro Audio Control web app, do one of the following: Choose Open Discovery...
ALL DEVICES TAB 2 3 4 1 5 6 7 9 8 1. The All Devices tab displays all MOTU devices detected by the Discovery app. This includes devices connected directly to the computer via USB or Thunderbolt, plus any devices that are on line and connected to a shared Ethernet network, even if the network is standard (non-AVB) Ethernet. This tab also displays MOTU devices connected to other computers on the network, via either USB or Thunderbolt. It also displays any MOTU AVB switches on the network. 2.
FIRMWARE UPDATER TAB 3 4 2 5 6 7 1 4 1. Use the Firmware Updater tab to update the firmware of any device in the list. You can update the firmware of interfaces and switches. 2. Each device shows its current firmware version below its name. 3. If you wish to update the firmware of all devices shown in the list in one easy operation, simply click Update All interfaces. All devices in the list will be updated with the latest firmware, downloaded from MOTU’s servers.
ADVANCED TAB 2 3 1 1. The Advanced tab displays various special settings, with room for future enhancements. 2. The Virtual Audio Entity option (for macOS only) allows you to stream audio over an AVB Ethernet connection between your Mac and your MOTU device. For complete information, see “Setup for AVB Ethernet audio interface operation” on page 42. 3. Check Show MOTU Discovery in the menu bar if you would like to see the Discovery app icon in your menu bar or task bar (as shown on page 83).
CHAPTER 11 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Device menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Analysis menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Left/right input . . . . . .
ANALYSIS MENU Choose the desired form of audio analysis from the Analysis menu (Figure 11-1). 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 11-1). 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 To Computer setting in the Routing tab (item 30 on page 15).
View controls You can show and hide the FFT display and spectrogram as desired using the View controls (Figure 11-5). Pause button View menu Display options Figure 11-5: 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 11-9) graphs the amplitude of an audio signal over time. Figure 11-7: 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 11-8) sets the amplitude threshold for the spectrogram display, from -144 dB up to 0 dB.
View menu The View menu (Figure 11-10) 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 11-12) provides four modes: Measurement information You can view detailed information about a particular time range by using the measurement bars (Figure 11-9). 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 11-13) 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 11-13).
Pause button Figure 11-14: View controls. Pausing the display The Pause button in the upper right corner of the View section (Figure 11-14) 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 11-17: The Persistence controls. Length Length (Figure 11-17) 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 11-19) graphs frequency versus phase difference versus amplitude of a stereo signal on either rectangular or polar coordinates. View controls The View controls (Figure 11-20) 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 11-20) 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 11-15. Rectangular/Polar Choose either Rectangular or Polar from the menu in the View section (Figure 11-20) to control how audio is plotted on the Phase Analysis grid.
Horizontal and vertical controls The Horizontal and Vertical controls (Figure 11-24) 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 11-24. Figure 11-24: 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 AU D I O TO O LS
CHAPTER 12 Networking OVERVIEW The Audio Video Bridging (AVB) network port on the 8pre-es opens up a world of possibilities for creating expanded, customized audio network systems. About AVB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 MOTU’s AVB implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Networking examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 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 — A 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 36, 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 8pre-es next to your computer. You could add a Stage-B16 interface and position it across the room, near your drum kit, for placing up to 16 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. 2 Go to the AVB Configuration section (item #31 on page 15), and type in the number of 8-channel input and output streams you want for that device. 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.
If, while mapping, you run out of computer channels, enable more in the Routing tab (items 26 and 30 on page 15). 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. See “Maximum available computer channels” on page 72.
Part 3 Appendices
APPENDIX A Troubleshooting My MOTU interface isn’t showing up in the Discovery app or Audio MIDI Setup on my Mac. Due to the updated architecture of the new macOS High Sierra (10.13), the system extensions for all newly-installed third-party software will automatically be blocked from running. If your MOTU interface is not showing up in Audio MIDI Setup, the MOTU Discovery App, or your DAW on High Sierra, you might need to enable the driver in your System Preferences.
I'm getting a “Could not enable this effect because DSP is overloaded” error. What should I do? Disable other effects or reduce the number of mixer inputs to conserve DSP resources. If there are audio input and output banks on your interface that you are not using (such as the optical banks), disable them in the Device tab (page 12). I accidentally deleted my factory presets. How do I restore them? In the Device tab (page 12), click the Restore Factory Presets button to restore all factory presets.
If you have features or ideas you would like to see implemented, we’d like to hear from you. Please write to the Development Team, MOTU Inc., 1280 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, or use our online suggestion box at www.motu.com/ suggestions.
APPENDIX A: TROUBLESHOOTING
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 Out Connector Type 1/4” Female, TRS Balanced, tip hot Output Impedance 100 ohm Per leg Dynamic Range 123 dB A-weighted THD+N -108 dB -2 dBFS, Unweighted, 1 kHz Frequency Response +0, -0.1 dB, 20 Hz/20 kHz Ref. 1 kHz Max Level Out +20 dBu Trim Range 24 dB -4 dBu to +20 dBu in 1 dB steps 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.
APPENDIX C Mixer Schematics MONO INPUT CHANNEL 117
STEREO INPUT CHANNEL 118 APPENDIX C: MIXER SCHEMATICS
GROUP BUS 119 APPENDIX C: MIXER SCHEMATICS
MONITOR BUS 120 APPENDIX C: MIXER SCHEMATICS
APPENDIX D Updating Firmware MOTU periodically posts firmware updates for the 8pre-es. 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 that is connected to the 8pre-es with a USB or network cable. 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. 6 Follow the on-screen instructions.
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: O S C S U P P O R T
Index +4dB analog input 46 -10dB analog input 46 24-bit optical 10, 27 2x SMUX mode 13, 47 5.1/7.
iPad/iPhone support 31 JJam sync 13, 50 LLatency 12, 32, 68, 70 LCD brightness 63 menu 62 Leveler 16, 79 Limit button 80 Live 68 Live recording with monitor mixing preset 58 Lock button 14 Logic Pro 68 Logic Pro/Express 67 clock source 67 sample rate 67 LTC Input Source 13 Setup 49 to MTC conversion 74 M MacOS 67 audio software clock source 67 sample rate 67 input and output names 73 system requirements 29 Main outs front panel volume control 46 making connections to 46 Makeup Gain 78 Makeup gain 80 Mete
Sample rate 12, 61 Samplers connecting 45 SC button 19 Schematics 117 Serial/UID 62 Set password 13 Show MOTU Discovery 86 SMPTE sync 49 SMPTE time code 13 Software installation 31 Software installer 7, 11, 31 Solo bus 19 Solo Clear button 18 SONAR 67 Soundtrack Pro clock source 67 sample rate 67 Stage I/O preset 58 Stage monitors connecting 45 Stand-alone mixer preset 57 Stand-alone operation 61, 66 Standard (optical setting) 47 Steinberg Cubase 68 Nuendo 68 Sticky 65 Stop Jam Sync 13 Studio setup (example
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