W A R R A N T Y 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.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Overview 1.1 Introduction 4 2 Installation and Set up 2.1 Computer Requirements 4 2.2 Installation of FIREPOD Drivers 5 2.3 FIREPOD Control Panel (Windows XP only) 9 2.4 CUBASE LE – Quick Start Up 11 2.5 Testing your FIREPOD with Cubase LE 13 3 Controls & Connections 3.1 Front Panel Layout and Descriptions 15 3.2 Back Panel Layout and Descriptions 17 4 Application Notes 4.1 Microphones 18 4.2 Using the Preamp output and Line input as an Insert 18 4.
OVERVIEW 1. INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing the PreSonus FIREPOD. PreSonus Audio Electronics has designed the FIREPOD utilizing high-grade components to insure optimum performance that will last a lifetime. Loaded with 24-bit 96K converters, eight PreSonus microphone preamplifiers and Cubase LE 48track recording software, the FIREPOD is ready to go out of the box for professional quality computer recording.
INSTALL ATION AND SETUP Windows - OS: Microsoft Windows XP SP1 - Computer: Windows compatible computer with FireWire port. - CPU/Clock: Pentium, Celeron with 900Mhz or higher (Dual 1.2 GHz recommended) - Memory(RAM): 256 MB (512MB recommended) Note that the speed of your processor, amount of RAM and size and speed of your hard drive will greatly affect the overall performance of your recording system.
INSTALLATION AND SET UP WINDOWS XP INSTALLATION DETAILS Make sure FIREPOD is NOT connected to your system and click Next. Click Next to set up driver in selected Destination folder.
INSTALL ATION AND SETUP NOW CONNECT YOUR FIREPOD AND TURN IT ON. At this time the ”Found New Hardware Wizard”will automatically appear. Click Next to install FIREPOD ASIO Driver.
INSTALLATION AND SET UP Click Next to Install FIREPOD MIDI Driver Check Box and click Continue. Wait a few seconds for the final “Found New Hardware Wizard”to appear.
INSTALL ATION AND SETUP Click FINISH and you have successfully installed your FIREPOD DRIVERS. Note that you must install all three “Found New Hardware Wizard” Drivers for the FIREPOD to operate properly. Macintosh OSX The audio drivers for the FIREPOD are to be included in the CORE AUDIO of Macintosh OSX 10.3.5 and later. At the time of the printing of this sheet, the drivers had not yet been released by Apple Computers. Please visit www.apple.com to download an OSX update for your FIREPOD.
INSTALLATION AND SET UP FIREPOD HARDWARE CONTROL PANEL Sample Rate: Drop down menu to select sample rate of FIREPOD – 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96k. This must be set to the same sample rate in your recording software. Clock Source: Drop down menu to select FIREPOD digital sync source. INTERNAL SPDIF – Must be selected to use the SPDIF input. (Note that Control Panel settings will be saved upon power down.) Latency – Sets the amount of delay time of your FIREPOD. (1.5ms – 24ms).
INSTALL ATION AND SETUP 2.4 CUBASE LE – QUICK START UP Once you have installed your FIREPOD drivers, if you plan on using CUBASE LE included with your FIREPOD, install the CUBASE LE installation CD and run the installer. Make sure to keep your CD envelope sleeve handy to reference the serial number during installation. To select the FIREPOD in Cubase LE, go to Device -> Device Setup Select VST multi-track.
INSTALLATION AND SET UP ASIO Driver (pull down menu) – select PreSonus ASIO Driver then OK.
INSTALL ATION AND SETUP 2.5 TESTING YOUR FIREPOD WITH CUBASE LE In order to test your FIREPOD, do the following: Launch Cubase LE and make sure that you have selected the PreSonus FIREPOD ASIO driver as described above in Section 2.4.
INSTALLATION AND SET UP Record enable the track by pressing the Record Enable button. Plug a microphone into channel one and turn on 48V phantom power if needed for the microphone. Turn up the channel 1 trim control on the front panel of the FIREPD while speaking into the microphone. You should see the input meter react to your speaking. Adjust trim so that input level at maximum without clipping. Connect a set of headphones to the FIREPOD headphone output.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 3.1 FRONT PANEL LAYOUT AND DESCRIPTIONS Microphone Pre-Amplifier. Your FIREPOD is equipped with eight custom designed PreSonus microphone preamplifiers for use with all types of microphones including Dynamics, Condensers, and Ribbons as well as instruments and line level signals. The award winning PreSonus preamplifier design is a Class A input buffer followed by a dual servo gain stage.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS Input Gain/Trim Control. This knob provides the following gain structure for each channel: Microphone Input XLR: 45dB of variable gain (+14 dB to +55dB) Instrument HiZ Input TS ¼” (channels 1 and 2 only): 45 dB variable gain (+8dB to +50dB) Line Input ¼” TRS/TS Channels 3 thru 8: -10dB to +10dB trim adjustment Clip Indicator. The clip indicator will light up if your input signal from the XLR (Mic) or ¼” (line) reaches +18dBu (0dBfs).
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 1.2 BACK PANEL LAYOUT AND DESCRIPTIONS Power Adaptor Input. This is where you plug the provide power supply into the FIREPOD. Please check the power supply to ensure that it is the correct voltage and plug type for your country. Power Switch. Push the top part of the switch to turn the unit on. Push the bottom part of the switch to turn the unit off. FireWire Ports. There are two firewire ports on the back of the FIREPOD. Both FireWire ports are standard 6 pin firewire jacks.
APPLICATION NOTES 4.1 MICROPHONES The FIREPOD works great with all types of microphones including dynamic, ribbon and condenser microphones. Dynamic microphones and ribbon microphones are generally lower output devices and require no external power source. Condenser microphones are generally more sensitive than dynamic and ribbon microphones and typically require external 48V phantom power. NOTE: If you are using a ribbon microphone, please check the manual on the unit before applying phantom power.
APPLICATION NOTES 4.3 RECORDING ROCK BAND DIAGRAM With the FIREPOD you can simultaneously record and play back up to 10 channels. Since it is loaded with eight preamplifiers, you can have eight microphones plugged into the FIREPOD along with SPDIF for digital input to record a full band. This makes recording extremely easy. All you need are a few microphones and some cables and you are ready to go.
TECHNICAL 5.1 TROUBLE SHOOTING Please note that many technical issues can arise when converting a standard computer into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). PreSonus will only provide support for issues that directly relate to the FIREPOD interface. It may be necessary to contact the manufacturer of the computer, operating system and/or software to obtain additional technical support. PreSonus does not provide support for issues in regards to operating systems, additional hardware or software.
TECHNICAL Audio Drop Outs – Can occur when the speed of your processor cannot buffer audio fast enough. Windows XP – Try lowering your FIREPOD’s CPU to Low, by right clicking on the FIREPOD control panel icon in your system tray. Preamplifier Q: I have a microphone plugged into channel one (or two) but I am not getting any signal. Possible Solutions 1. Check your mic cable. 2. Make sure the microphone does not require phantom power. If it does press the 48v button. 3.
TECHNICAL 5.2 FIREPOD SPECIFICATIONS Preamp Bandwidth.............................................................................................10Hz to 50kHz Preamp Input Impedance.........................................................................................1.3k Ohms Instrument Input Impedance ......................................................................................1M Ohms Preamp THD ..................................................................................................
