FIRESTUDIO PROJECT 24-bit, 96 kHz Recording Interface with 8 Microphone Preamplifiers FIRESTUDIO™ 10X10 FireWire Interface | 8 XMAX Preamps | 96kHz | MIDI I/O | S/PDIF I/O | Digital Mixer 1 48V 2 1/ 2 0dB -6dB -40dB 3 48V 4 3/ 4 0dB -6dB -40dB 5 48V 6 5/ 6 0dB -6dB -40dB 7 48V 8 7/ 8 1 11 Phones 1 Mic 2 Inst r ument 3 4 5 6 Mic Line 7 8 -10 0 1 60+30 -10 0 2 60+30 -20 0 3 60+20 -20 0 4 60+20 -20 0 5 60+20 User’s Manual Version 2.
PRESONUS LIMITED WARRANTY PreSonus Audio Electronics Inc. warrants this product to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of original retail purchase. This warranty is enforceable only by the original retail purchaser. To be protected by this warranty, the purchaser must complete and return the enclosed warranty card within 14 days of purchase.
SAFE OPERATION GUIDELINES To avoid damage to your FireStudio Project and your other audio equipment, please review and adhere to the following safety guidelines: Follow the safety guidelines in the manual. Do not drop your FireStudio Project. Do not install the unit near a heat source (radiators, heat registers, amplifier heat sinks, etc.). Do not expose your FireStudio Project to liquids. Do not place containers filled with liquids near your FireStudio Project.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 OVERVIEW 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 1.2 Features .................................................................................................................................................................. 1.3 What is in the Box .............................................................................................................
OVERVIEW 1.
OVERVIEW 1.2 FEATURES The FireStudio Project is a powerful and affordable computer recording system. The FireStudio Project comes complete with eight high-quality PreSonus XMAX microphone preamps, S/PDIF and MIDI I/O, rock-solid drivers, expandability, and powerful music-recording and -production software.
OVERVIEW 1.
OVERVIEW 1.4 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Here are the computer-system requirements for FireStudio Project and Studio One Artist. Macintosh o Operating Systems: Mac OS X 10.4.11 or Mac OS X 10.5.2 or higher o Hardware: Minimum: PowerPC G4 1.25 GHz or Intel Core Solo 1.
GETTING STARTED 2.1 HARDWARE INSTALLATION This installer and driver can be used for any interface in the FireStudio Project family line (FireStudio Mobile, FireStudio Project, FireStudio Tube, FireStudio Lightpipe, FireStudio [26x26], and StudioLive 16.4.2). For more information on the Universal Control application and multiple interface integration, please review Sections 3.1 and 4.1. 2.1.
GETTING STARTED 2.2 STUDIO ONE ARTIST Every PreSonus interface comes complete with Studio One Artist recording software. Whether you are about to record your first album or your 50th, Studio One Artist provides you with all the tools necessary to capture and mix a great performance.
GETTING STARTED Activating Studio One Artist Offline Once you have created a user account, launch Studio One Artist. From the Activate Studio One Menu, click on the Activate Offline link. Follow the instructions to log in to your previously created user account, register the product, and obtain a license file. Next, copy the license file to the computer on which Studio One has been installed, and locate the license file as instructed in the Activate Studio One menu. The activation process is now complete.
GETTING STARTED Start Page: Setup Area Shows Active Audio Driver and Sample Rate and Provides Quick Links to Configure Audio and MIDI In the middle of the Start page, you will see the Setup area. Studio One Artist automatically scans your system for all available drivers and selects a driver. By default, it will choose a PreSonus driver if one is available.
GETTING STARTED 1) From the Setup area in the Start page, you can also set up your external MIDI devices. Before we set up a new Song for recording, let’s take a moment to configure external devices. Connect the MIDI Out of your external MIDI controller to the MIDI In of your FireStudio Project. 2) Click on the Configure External Devices link in the Setup area on the Start page to launch the External Devices window. Click the Add button. 3) The Add Device window will launch.
GETTING STARTED MIDI instrument controllers (keyboards, MIDI guitars, etc.) send musical information in the form of MIDI data to tone modules, which respond by generating sound, as instructed. Tone modules can be standalone sound devices or can be integrated into a controller, as with a keyboard synthesizer. Studio One Artist refers to all tone generators as Instruments. Once you have set up your MIDI keyboard controller, take a moment to configure your sound module.
GETTING STARTED 2.2.4 Configuring Audio I/O Now that you’ve configured your MIDI devices, let’s create a new Song and set up your default Audio I/O. 1) From the Start page, select “Create a new Song.” 2) In the browser window, name your Song and choose the directory in which you’d like it saved. You’ll notice a list of templates on the left. The FireStudio Project template will create a Song with a track for each of the available inputs.
GETTING STARTED 6) Click on the Inputs tab in the Audio I/O Setup window, and you will see all of the available inputs on your FireStudio Project. At this time, you can add the number and type of inputs you plan to use. We recommend that you create a mono input for each of the ten inputs on your FireStudio Project. If you plan on recording in stereo, you should also create a stereo bus and assign it to the appropriate set of inputs.
GETTING STARTED Once you have added your Tracks, you can assign the input by simply clicking on the input to which a Track is currently assigned. This will bring up your inputs list. You can also access the Audio I/O Setup from here. If you would like to add a Track for each of the available inputs and have the routing automatically assigned, simply go to Track | Add Tracks for All Inputs.
GETTING STARTED Please Note: MIDI data does not contain audio signals. To hear your sound module, you must connect the audio output of the sound module to a FireStudio Project audio input, then connect the FireStudio Project’s audio outputs to a sound system. (You also can listen on headphones, using the FireStudio Project’s headphone output.) When you are ready to mix your Song, you must convert the recorded MIDI data to an audio waveform by recording a new audio track.
GETTING STARTED 2.2.6 Cue Mix and the FireStudio Project In Studio One Artist, it is possible to quickly and easily create multiple cue mixes. A cue mix is separate from the main mix and is usually provided to musicians for monitoring purposes during recording. For instance, when recording vocals, the engineer and vocalist will probably want to hear different mixes.
GETTING STARTED Horizontal Level Fader Sets the Volume of the Channel for the Cue Mix By default this level will be identical to the level set on the channel’s fader. Once you move the Cue Mix level fader, the volume of that channel in the Cue Mix will be independent of the main mix or any other Cue Mix in the session. Horizontal Pan Fader Sets the Pan Position of the Channel for the Cue Mix By default, the pan position will be identical to the position set in the main mix.
GETTING STARTED With the Zero Latency button and Monitor Enable both engaged, you will hear the live zero-latency input straight from your FireStudio Project (as opposed to through software). As such, you will no longer hear the effects of any inserts on the channel. However, you will still hear the result of any sends on the channel, as Bus and FX Channels will still output normally.
GETTING STARTED 2.3 SAMPLE HOOKUP DIAGRAM With the FireStudio Project, you can simultaneously record and play back up to ten channels. Since it is loaded with eight preamplifiers, you can plug in eight microphones to the FireStudio Project along with S/PDIF digital input to record a full band. This makes recording extremely easy. All you need are microphones, cables, and monitor speakers. This is a typical rock-band setup.
GETTING STARTED 2.3.2 Using Multiple FireStudio Projects with the HP60 This hookup diagram shows two FireStudio Projects daisy-chained together. One FireStudio Project is dedicated to the microphones on the drum set. All other instruments are connected to the second FireStudio Project. The Main outputs of each unit are then connected to the two Mix inputs on an HP60. The General Purpose outputs are shown as connected to the External input on each channel of the HP60.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 3.1 UNIVERSAL CONTROL AND THE FIRESTUDIO PROJECT Like all members of the FireStudio family of interfaces, the FireStudio Project is compatible with Universal Control. Universal Control is a powerful, flexible, and easy to use control-panel application for creating mulitple mixes from your input and output signals for each of your FireStudio Project’s output pairs (mains, general purpose, and S/PDIF). This application also allows you to daisy-chain FireStudio-family interfaces.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 3.1.2 Launch Window From the Launch Window, you can set all the basic controls for your FireStudio Project. Sample Rate Selector Changes FireStudio Project Sample Rate You can set the sample rate to 44.1, 48, 88.2, or 96 kHz. A higher sample rate will increase the fidelity of the recording but will increase the file size and the amount of system resources necessary to process the audio.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS Device Window Button Opens the Device Window Click on this button to open the FireStudio Project Mixer. To give your FireStudio Project a custom name, double-click on the default label (FireStudio Project) to open a text field. When you have finished entering your custom name, hit the Enter key. File Menu Opens and Closes Launch and Device Windows From the File menu of the Launch Window, you can open and close both windows, as well as quit the Universal Control application.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS Settings: Meter Decay Sets the Response Time for the Meters in the Device Window The Universal Control gives you the option to set the response time for the meters in the Device Window. By default, this is set to Normal. Enable Slow Meter Decay for more accurately meter the peaks and falls of the signal. Enable Fast Metering to monitor your signal in real time.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 3.1.4 The Device Window: FireStudio Project Mixer The FireStudio Project’s Device window allows you to create five stereo monitor mixes. The mixes can be renamed and saved. You can also rename your inputs and playback streams. These mixes have no effect on what is being recorded in your host application. This has obvious advantages.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS Master Output Section Master Output Fader Changes the Selected Output’s Audio Level Move the Master Fader up and down to increase and decrease the level of the selected output’s audio. The amount of boost or attenuation, measured in decibels, is displayed below the Channel Fader. The range is from –∞ to 0 dB. Two virtual LED meters to the right of the Master Fader display the prefader levels of the audio signal.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS Channel Mutes and Solos Adds the Channel to the Mute or Solo Bus Muting a channel silences the channel’s audio. Soloing a channel mutes all other unsoloed channels. Input Selectors Changes the Source of the FireStudio Project Mixer Channels Choosing “No Input” will hide the channel. “Inputs” are your hardware inputs (Mic, Inst, Line, and S/PDIF). “Playback” are your software DAW outputs.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 3.2 FRONT PANEL LAYOUT FIRESTUDIO™ 10X10 FireWire Interface | 8 XMAX Preamps | 96kHz | MIDI I/O | S/PDIF I/O | Digital Mixer 1 2 Mic 3 4 5 Instr ument 6 Mic 7 8 Line Microphone Preamplifier. Your FireStudio Project is equipped with eight custom designed PreSonus XMAX microphone preamplifiers for use with all types of microphones (including dynamics, condensers, and ribbons). As well as instruments and line-level signals.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS FIRESTUDIO™ 1 2 Mic Instr ument Instrument Inputs (Channels 1 and 2). The ¼” TS connector on Channels 1 and 2 are for use with an instrument (guitar, bass, etc.). When an instrument is plugged into the ¼” input, a high impedance input buffer is switched into the preamp circuit and the FireStudio Project becomes an active instrument preamplifier. NOTE: Active instruments are those that have an internal preamp or a line-level output.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 1 11 Phones -80 10 Main Main. The Main knob controls the output level for the main outputs on the back of the FireStudio Project and have a range of -80 dB to +10 dB. Phones. The Phones knob controls the output level of the headphone output on the front of the unit. Notice that the volume indicator goes to 11; use this setting with extreme caution. ¼” Headphone Jack. This is where you connect your headphones to the FireStudio Project. Red-Blue Power/Sync Light.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 3.3 BACK PANEL LAYOUT Power Adapter Input. This is where you plug the provided IEC power cable into the FireStudio Project. Power Switch. Push the top part of the switch to turn your FireStudio Project on (|). Push the bottom part of the switch to turn your FireStudio Project off (O). FireWire Ports. There are two standard 6-pin FireWire ports on the back of the FireStudio Project.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS Main Output. The audio source for the Main outputs is identical to that of General Purpose outputs 1 and 2 (DAW Playback 1 and 2, by default). The difference is that the output level of the Main outputs is controlled by the FireStudio Project Main volume knob on the front of the unit. General Purpose Line Outputs (TRS Balanced). These are general-purpose line-level outputs. Line outputs 1 and 2 are typically your computer’s audio playback.
CASCADING UNITS 4.1 USING MULTIPLE FIRESTUDIO FAMILY INTERFACES Universal Control allows you to connect up to four FireStudio Projects or to connect any member of the FireStudio family of interfaces with any other. Once you have installed the Universal Control and FireStudiofamily driver on your computer, no further installation is required for any FireStudio product to connect to your system.
CASCADING UNITS How to Cascade Multiple FireStudio Interfaces: The first time you add any FireStudio-family interface to your system, please follow these guidelines: 1. Go to www.presonus.com and check for the latest build of the Universal Control application. 2. Connect and sync each of your FireStudio-family interfaces to your computer separately before cascading them. 3. Once a unit is individually connected, launch the Universal Control application.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION 5.1 TROUBLESHOOTING Many technical issues can arise when converting a standard computer into a digital audio workstation (DAW). PreSonus can only provide support for issues that directly relate to the FireStudio Project interface and Studio One Artist software. It may be necessary to contact the manufacturer of the computer, operating system, and third-party DAW software to obtain additional technical support.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION Recommended FireWire Chipsets The FireStudio Project will work with a wide range of FireWire cards and configurations. However, due to the plethora of FireWire chipsets currently on the market, it is not possible to thoroughly test each one for compatibility. Most users will not need to alter their current PC configuration to use their FireStudio Project.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION 5.2 SPECIFICATIONS Microphone Preamp Type .............................................................................................................................................. XLR Female Balanced Frequency Response (±0.5 dB) ................................................................................................................ 20 Hz to 50 kHz Frequency Response (±3.0 dB) ..................................................................................................
