Avid Technology Pro Tools S3 User Manual

Pro Tools | S3 Guide

and EuControl 3.3 with Pro Tools 12.1

Legal Notices

© 2015 Avid Technology, Inc., (“Avid”), all rights reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Avid. 003, 192 Digital I/O, 192 I/O, 96 I/O, 96i I/O, Adrenaline, AirSpeed, ALEX, Alienbrain, AME, AniMatte, Archive, Archive II, Assistant Station, AudioPages,

AudioStation, AutoLoop, AutoSync, Avid, AvidActive, AvidAdvanced Response, Avid DNA, Avid DNxcel, Avid DNxHD, Avid DS Assist Station, Avid Ignite, Avid Liquid, Avid Media Engine, Avid Media Processor, Avid MEDIArray, Avid Mojo, Avid Remote Response, Avid Unity, Avid Unity ISIS, Avid VideoRAID, AvidRAID, AvidShare, AVIDstripe, AVX, BeatDetective, BeautyWithoutTheBandwidth, Beyond Reality, BF Essentials, Bomb Factory, Bruno, C|24, CaptureManager, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, Cineractive Engine, CineractivePlayer, Cineractive Viewer, Color Conductor, Command|8, Control|24, Cosmonaut Voice, CountDown, d2, d3, DAE, D-Command, D-Control, Deko, DekoCast, D-Fi, D-fx, Digi002, Digi003, DigiBase, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Development Partners, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, Digidesign TDM Bus, DigiLink, DigiMeter, DigiPanner, DigiProNet, DigiRack, DigiSerial, DigiSnake, DigiSystem, Digital Choreography, DigitalNonlinear Accelerat or, DigiTest, DigiTranslator, DigiWear, DINR, DNxch ange, Do More, DPP-1, D-Show, DSP Manager, DS-StorageCalc, DV Toolkit, DVD Complete, D-Verb, Eleven, EM, Euphonix, EUCON, EveryPhase, Expander, ExpertRender, Fairchild, FastBreak, Fast Track, Film Cutter, FilmScribe, Flexevent, FluidMotion, Frame Chase, FXDeko, HD Core, HD Process, HDpack, Home-to-Hollywood, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, iKnowledge, Impact, Improv, iNEWS, iNEWS Assign, iNEWS Cont rolA ir, InGa me, Ins ta ntwr ite, In stinct, Intelligent Content Management, Intelligent Digital Actor Technology, IntelliRender, Intelli-Sat, Intelli-Sat Broadcasting Recording Manager, InterFX, Interplay, inTONE, Intraframe, iS Expander, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, ISIS , IsoSync, LaunchPad, LeaderPlus, LFX, Lightning, Link & Sync, List Sync, LKT-200, Lo-Fi, MachineControl, Magic Mask, Make Anything Hollywood, make manage move|media, Marquee, MassivePack, MassivePack Pro, Maxim, Mbox, Media Composer, MediaFlow, MediaLog, MediaMix, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaServer, MediaShare, MetaFuze, MetaSync, MIDI I/O, Mix Rack, Moviestar, MultiShell, NaturalMatch, NewsCutter, NewsView, NewsVision, Nitris, NL3D, NLP, NSDOS, NSWIN, OMF, OMFInterchang e, OMM, OnDVD, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, Painterly Effects, Palladium, PersonalQ, PET, PodcastFactory, PowerSwap, PRE, ProControl, ProEncode, Profiler, Pro Tools, Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Transfer, QuickPunch, QuietDrive, RealtimeMotionSyn thesis, Recti-Fi, Reel Tape Delay, Reel Tape Flanger, Reel Tape Saturation, Reprise, Res Rocket Surfer, Reso, RetroLoop, ReverbOne, ReVibe, Revolution, rS9, rS18, RTAS, Salesview, Sci-Fi, Scorch, ScriptSync, SecureProductionEnvironment, S hape-to-Shape, ShuttleCase, Sibelius, SimulPlay, SimulRecord, Sli ghtly Rude Compressor, Smack!, Soft SampleCell, Soft-Clip Limiter, SoundReplacer, SPACE, SPACEShift, SpectraGraph, Spectr aMatte, SteadyGlide, Streamfactory, Streamgenie, StreamRAID, SubCap, Sundance, Sundance Digital, SurroundScope, Symphony, SYNC HD, SYNC I/O, Synchronic, SynchroScope, Syntax, TDM FlexCable, TechFlix, Tel-Ray, Thunder, TimeLiner, Titansync, Titan, TLAggro, TLAutoPan, TLDrumRehab, TLEveryphase, TLFauxlder, TLInTune, TLMasterMeter, TL Metro, TL Space, TL Utilities, tools for storytellers, Transit, TransJammer, Trillium Lane Labs, TruTouch, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video the Web Way, VideoRAID, VideoSPACE, VTEM, Work-N-Play, Xdeck, X-Form, and XMON are either regi stered tra demarks or t rademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in th e United States and/ or other countries.

Bonjour, the Bonjour logo, and the Bonjour symbol are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation i n the U. S. and/or other countries. This product may be protected by one or more U.S. and non-U.S. patents. Details are available at www.avid.com/patents. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice.

Guide Part Number 9329-65597-00 REV A 8/15

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What’s Included . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Additional Required Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Optional Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

System Requirements and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Conventions Used in This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Hardware Switches on S3 Control Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

How to Use this PDF Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Installation and Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Connecting S3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Installing EuControl Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Updating S3 Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Enabling EUCON in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Confirming EUCON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Powering-On Your System After Initial Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Connecting a Second Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Connecting a Footswitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Optimizing EuControl After a Pro Tools Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

S3 Surface Controls Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Channel Strips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Channel Strip Displays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Assignable Channel Encoders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Channel Encoder Assignment Switches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Fader Banking Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Left Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Channel Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

View and Arrow Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Application/Workstation Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Solo Clear and Mix to Monitors Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Right Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Surface SHIFT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Modifier Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Touchstrip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Pro Tools | S3 Guide iii

Using S3 with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Track Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Banking Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Storing and Recalling Custom Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Working with Track Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Working with VCAs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Working with Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Working with Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Working with Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

S3 Audio I/O Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Enabling S3 Audio on the Workstation Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

S3 Audio Connections Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Accessing Audio Control on the S3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Connecting and Adjusting Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Connecting and Adjusting Outputs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Connecting Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Connecting and Adjusting Headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Saving S3 Monitor Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Soft Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Viewing Soft Key Assignments in the Soft Key Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Using the Soft Key Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

EuControl Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Accessing EuControl Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Assign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Soft Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Restart EUCON Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Audio Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

S3 Control Surface Audio Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Appendix A. Compliance Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Environmental Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

EMC (Electromagnetic Compliance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Safety Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Pro Tools | S3 Guide iv

Introduction

Welcome to the Pro Tools® | S3 studio controller and Ethernet AVB 4 in/6 out audio interface from Avid®. The S3 uses Avid’s high-speed EUCON CON-compatible audio and video applications via a 100 MB/s Ethernet connection. The same Ethernet connection also provides Ethernet AVB audio connections between the on-board audio I/O on the S3 and the workstation computer.

The S3, when connected to an E3 engine and up to four Stage 16 remote stage boxes, is also the central controller for the VENUE | S3L-X live digital mixing system.

See the VENUE | S3L-X System Guide for more information.

(Extended User Control) control protocol to enable fully integrated control of Pro Tools and other EU-

EuControl Software

EuControl lets your workstation computer find, link, and communicate with the S3 via the EUCON protocol. EuControl also lets you set preferences for and customize the controls on your S3. EuControl software must be installed on the workstation computer before you can use the S3 with your application.

Ethernet AVB Audio

(AVB-compatible Mac Running OS X 10.9.x and Higher Required)

Ethernet AVB audio is a high-fidelity, low-latency Ethernet audio protocol used to connect the on-board audio I/O on S3 to your Core Audio- and AVB-compatible workstation computer. AVB audio must be enabled on the workstation computer before you can use the I/O on the S3 with your applications. See

Introduction 1

S3 Audio I/O Connections for more information.

What’s Included

• S3 control surface

• Power supply with IEC cable

• Documentation pack, which includes the EuControl software Activation Card, S3 W elcome Letter, Health and Safety Guide and a warranty card

If you bought the S3 as part of a VENUE | S3L-X system, see the VENUE | S3L-X System Guide for information on what’s included.

Additional Required Equipment

• Shielded Cat 5e (350 MHz) or better Ethernet Crossover cable(s)

Optional Equipment

• A standard Ethernet router or switch (for control surface functionality only)

• A qualified AVB-compatible Ethernet switch (for audio I/O and control surface functionality)

System Requirements and Compatibility

One S3 control surface can be used with EuControl Software at a time. One S3 can be used in conjunction with one Artist Transport at a time. Avid can only assure compatibility and provide support for hardware and software it has tested and approved. For compatibility information and other resources, visit:

www.avid.com/S3-Surface-Support

Registration

Review the enclosed Registration Information Card and follow the instructions on it to quickly register your purchase online. By registering, you become eligible to receive the following:

• Technical support information

• Software update and upgrade notices

• Hardware warranty information

About This Guide

This guide covers using the S3 control surface with Pro Tools and other EUCON-compatible applications.

Introduction 2

Conventions Used in This Guide

All of our guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands:

Convention Action

File > Save Choose Save from the File menu Control+N Hold down the Control key and press the N key Control-click Hold down the Control key and click the mouse button Right-click Click with the right mouse button

The names of Commands, Options, and Settings that appear on-screen are in a different font. The following symbols are used to highlight important information:

User Tips are helpful hints for getting the most from your system.

Important Notices include information that could affect your data or the performance of your system.

Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or mouse shortcuts.

Cross References point to related sections in this guide and other Avid guides.

Hardware Switches on S3 Control Surface

The names of switches on the S3 control surface are in bold, such as Sel. The two Surface SHIFT switches on the S3 are indi cated by bold text, in all-caps to distinguish it from references to the your computer keyboard.

Surface SHIFT switch (left) and the Multi Select/SHIFT switch (right)

Accessing Secondary Functions Using Surface SHIFT

The Surface SHIFT switches on the S3 are used in conjunction with other switches to access a secondary layer of functions. The secondary functions of some switches are highlighted in gray above the primary function (such as is the secondary function). Other switches have secondary functions that are not labeled on the surface. Read this guide to learn how to access all secondary functions.

The following terminology is used to describe Example:

• “Press and hold the

Surface SHIFT switch then press the Bank/Home switch”

Surface SHIFT functions.:

Multi Select/SHIFT Global Modifier switch and the Shift key on

< Bank/Home, where Home

is written as

• “Press

Introduction 3

Surface SHIFT + Bank/Home”

How to Use this PDF Guide

These are some useful features of this PDF:

• The Bookmarks on the left serve as a continuously visible table of contents. Click a + symbol to expand that heading to show subheadings. Click the – symbol to collapse a subheading. Click on a subject heading to jump to that page.

• The Table of Contents provides active links to their pages. Select the hand cursor, allow it to hover over the heading until it turns into a finger. Then click to locate to that subject and page.

• Any text entry in

•Select

Find from the Edit menu to search for a subject.

blue is an active link. Click on the link to go to that section.

Resources

The Avid website (www.avid.com) is your best online source for information to help you get the most out of your Avid system. The following are just a few of the services and features available.

Account Activation and Product Registration

Activate your product to access downloads in your Avid account (or quickly create an account if you don’t have one). Register your purchase online, download software, updates, documentation, and other resources.

https://www.avid.com/US/account

Support and Downloads

Contact Avid Customer Success (technical support); download software updates and the latest online manuals; browse the Compatibility documents for system requirements; search the online Knowledge Base or join the worldwide Avid user community on the User Conference.

https://www.avid.com/US/Support/index.html

http://euphonix.avid.com/artist/ux/euphonix/artist-support.html

Products and Developers

Learn about Avid products; download demo software or learn about our Development Partners and their plug-ins, applications, and hardware.

https://www.avid.com/US/Products/index.html

Introduction 4

Installation and Setup

This chapter shows how to get your S3 set up as a studio controller, and consists of the following steps:

Connecting S3

•

• Installing EuControl Software

• Enabling EUCON in Pro Tools

• Confirming EUCON

Connecting S3

First, connect your S3 directly to your workstation computer (the computer running Pro Tools or other DAW), or connect to a router that is then connected to your workstation computer, then power on S3.

Standard routers and switches can be used if you are using the S3 only as a control surface. However, to use the built-in AVB audio I/O on the S3, the S3 must be connected directly to the computer or to an AVB-compatible Ethernet switch. Visit www.avid.com/compatibility for information on compatible peripherals.

To connect your S3 to your workstation computer:

1 Connect the female end of the AC power cord into the power adapter and the male end into a power outlet. Make sure the AC

power cord is pushed all the way into the adapter.

Connecting the AC power cable to the power adapter

2 Connect the DC output cable from the power adapter to the DC In jack on the back panel.

Connecting the DC power output cable to the DC In jack

Installation and Setup 5

3 Connect one end of an Ethernet Crossover cable into either of the Network ports on the back panel of the S3.

12V DC

Studio Mode

Network ports on the back panel of the S3

4 Connect the other end of the Ethernet cable to an available Ethernet port on your computer, or to the computer’s Thunderbolt

port using an Ethernet-to-Thunderbolt adapter.

An Ethernet-to-USB adapter may also be used, but audio I/O to and from the S3 is not supported.

S3 cannot connect to your workstation computer using a wireless connection. A hard-wired network connection is required.

5 If you want to connect the S3 to a local area network, or to connect an Artist Transport, connect the Ethernet cable to an Ethernet

router or switch, and make sure the router or switch is powered on before powering on the S3.

6 If you are connecting to a Mac with two Ethernet ports, we recommend you use Ethernet 1 rather than Ethernet 2. However, if

you want to use Ethernet 2, do the following on your computer:

• On the workstation computer, go to

• Click the

Network Interface pop-up menu and choose Ethernet 2.

System Preferences > EUCON.

7 Press the power switch on the back of the S3 to the “on” position. The faders jump and the LEDs blink during initialization.

8 When the S3 is finished initializing, confirm that the S3 is in Studio Mode, indicated by Studio Mode appearing in the 15th

top-row encoder display

Top-row encoders showing Studio Mode enabled

If the S3’s current mode does not appear in the two encoder displays after the S3 is powered on, the firmware on your S3 must be updated via VENUE Software 4.5 or higher. Connecting the S3 to an E3 engine with VENUE 4.5 or higher installed and powering on both devices automatically updates the firmware on the S3. See the What’s New in VENUE 4.5 Guide for more information.

9 Do one of the following depending on the S3’s current mode:

• If the S3 is in Studio Mode, proceed to

Live Mode is shown in the display instead of Studio Mode, proceed to Toggling Studio and Live Modes.

• If

Installation and Setup 6

Installing EuControl Software.

Toggling Studio and Live Modes

12V DC

...then press the S3 power switch to “On”Press and hold the Application/Workstation switch...

Top

Sel

Conﬁg

Back

Page

Expnd

Page

Live Mode

Studio

Studio Mode

Live

The S3 operates in one of the two following modes:

Studio Mode

Lets you use the S3 with your workstation computer after EuControl software has been installed. If the S3 is in Studio Mode and is connected to an E3 engine (for use in an S3L live mixing system), the S3 will not be recognized by any E3 engines in the network.

Live Mode

Lets you use the S3 with an E3 engine as part of an S3L live mixing system. If the S3 is in Live Mode and is connected to a workstation computer with EuControl software installed, the S3 will not be recognized by EuControl on the workstation computer.

You can toggle the S3 between modes using the

To toggle between Live and Studio modes:

1 Power off your S3. 2 Press and hold the Application/Workstation switch, then press the power switch on the back of the S3 to the “on” position.

3 Keep holding the Application/Workstation switch until the two rightmost top row encoder displays (encoders 15 and 16)

Live Mode/Studio and OK, respectively.

show

Application/Workstation switch.

Top-row encoder displays showing mode toggle controls

4 Press the encoder under the display showing Live Mode/Studio once, so that the desired mode appears above and in larger text

the other mode in the display.

than

Encoder display showing Studio Mode enabled

5 Press the encoder under the display showing OK. The S3 restarts automatically in the selected mode.

Installation and Setup 7

Installing EuControl Software

Next, install EuControl software on your workstation computer. An Internet connection is required to download EuControl.

To install EuControl software:

1 Visit www.avid.com/account and log into your A vid account (or create an account if you don’t already have one) to download

the EuControl installer for your workstation computer’s platform (Mac or Windows).

2 When download is complete, locate the EuControl installer on your computer and double-click it to mount it (DMG on Mac) or

uncompress it (ZIP for Windows).

3 In the resulting folder, locate and double-click the Install_EuControl file. 4 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. 5 When installation is complete, click Quit (Mac) or Finish (Windows). EuControl software on your computer launches automat-

ically and is running when its icon appears:

Mac

Wait up to 60 seconds. A lit EuControl icon in the menu bar indicates correct installation and your surface is attached in

EuControl.

Lit EuControl icon in the Mac menu bar

Windows

Wait up to 60 seconds. A lit EuControl icon appears in the system tray at the bottom of the screen. If you don't see the

EuControl icon, it could be automatically hidden by Windows. Click on the small white arrow to show hidden icons.

Lit EuControl icon in the hidden icons view of the Windows system tray

6 If the lit EuControl icon does not appear, do any of the following:

Add to add S3 manually.

•See

• Click the EuControl icon in the menu bar (Mac) or right-click the choose

Applications

for more information).

Restart EUCON Applications (see Restart EUCON

• Shut down S3 and your computer, then turn them on (S3 first, then the workstation computer).

www.avid.com/S3-Surface-Support for the most current troubleshooting information.

•See

7 Proceed to Updating S3 Firmware.

Installation and Setup 8

Updating S3 Firmware

After installing EuControl, make sure your S3 is running the latest firmware. The firmware is provided within EuControl, so an Internet connection is not required.

To update S3 firmware:

1 Click (Mac) or double-click (Windows) the EuControl icon and select EuControl Settings. 2 If necessary, click Surfaces to display the Surfaces tab.

Surfaces tab

3 Click Avid S3 in the My Surfaces list so it is highlighted.

If S3 does not appear in the My Surfaces list, add it manually. See Add.

4 Click Update Firmware. If the Update Firmware dialog shows a message that the surface is up to date, no further action is nec-

essary.

5 If the firmware needs to be updated, follow the instructions in the Update Firmware dialog box to proceed, and make sure to ob-

serve the following guidelines when updating firmware:

• Ensure that S3 is connected to a trustworthy power source.

• Do not power off the S3 during the update or attempt to interrupt the update. The status of the firmware update is shown on the S3 displays as well as in the EuControl dialog.

6 Click Done when the firmware update is complete, then proceed to Enabling EUCON in Pro Tools.

Installation and Setup 9

Enabling EUCON in Pro Tools

When you first connect your S3, you must enable EUCON in Pro Tools, EUCON subsequently remains enabled in Pro Tools unless you disable it. To enable EUCON in other DAWs, see the documentation provided by the manufacturer.

To enable EuControl in Pro Tools:

1 Launch Pro Tools. If the Quick Start dialog appears, close it. 2 Choose Setup > Peripherals, and click the Ethernet Controllers tab. 3 Select Enable EUCON.

Enable EUCON check box

4 Click OK. You do not need to configure any other Ethernet Controllers settings. These settings do not apply to EUCON.

Pro Tools scans your system until it identifies attached EUCON-compatible hardware. When Pro Tools finishes scanning your system, your controllers are ready to use with Pro Tools.

5 Proceed to Confirming EUCON.

If you have recently updated from an earlier version of Pro Tools, go to Optimizing EuControl After a Pro Tools Update.

Installation and Setup 10

Confirming EUCON

Kick

Pan

Snare

Pan

Hats

Pan

Rack 1

Pan

Rack 2

Pan

Floor

Pan

Bass DI

Pan

Bass Mic

Pan

To confirm installation and communication:

1 Make sure you have enabled EUCON. 2 Open a session if one is not already open. 3 Verify that the channel strip displays above the bottom row of 16 encoders (the Channel Encoders) on the S3 show the track

names for the first 16 tracks in the Pro Tools session.

Channel Encoder displays showing track names (first eight tracks shown)

4 In the Pro Tools Mix window, verify that the names of the tracks currently banked to the channel strips on S3 are highlighted

with blue-green borders.

Pro Tools Mix window showing tracks currently banked to the S3 channel strips

5 Proceed to any of the following:

• For instructions on using your S3 after initial installation, see

• To connect a second workstation computer, go to

• To connect a footswitch, go to

Connecting a Footswitch.

Connecting a Second Workstation.

Powering-On Your System After Initial Setup.

Powering-On Your System After Initial Setup

After the initial installation and setup, your system must be powered on in a specific order, as follows:

1 If connecting to a router, connect S3 to the router, connect the router to the workstation computer, and power on the router. 2 If connecting directly, connect S3 to the workstation computer. 3 Power on the S3. 4 Confirm that S3 is in Studio Mode. Enable S tudio Mode if Studio Mode is not enabled (see Toggling Studio and Live Modes). 5 Once S3 is finished initializing, power on the workstation computer.

If the S3 is not recognized by EuControl on your workstation computer (for example, because you powered S3 on after powering on the workstation computer), click the unlit EuControl icon in the menu bar (Mac) or System tray (Win) and choose Restart EUCON Applications...to relaunch EuControl and re-initiate the connection.

Installation and Setup 11

Connecting a Second Workstation

The S3 can control applications running on a second computer that is connected to the same network as the primary network, referred to in this guide as a workstation. If EuControl is running on the same workstation as all your audio/video applications you can skip these instructions.

To be able to control a second workstation:

1 Transfer the EuControl installer onto the second computer. After downloading, make sure the installer is mounted (DMG on

Mac) or uncompressed (ZIP for Windows).

2 In the Extras folder, double-click the Install EuCon Workstation installer and follow the instructions to install the EuControl

Workstation software.

3 When installation has finished, go to Spotlight (Mac) or Search (Windows), type “MC Client.” 4 Launch MC Client, and proceed to Workstations for information on attaching and detaching workstations.

Connecting a Footswitch

The S3 has a 1/4-inch footswitch input on the back panel, which can be used to punch in and out of recording in your DAW. See

Footswitch for more information on configuring the footswitch.

Footswitch input on the back of S3

Installation and Setup 12

Optimizing EuControl After a Pro Tools Update

If you have recently updated Pro Tools (for example, from Pro Tools to 11.3.1 to Pro Tools 12.x) and were using S3 or other Artist series devices with the previous version of Pro Tools, perform the tasks in this section to make sure you get the latest Appset functionality when using S3 with Pro Tools.

To optimize EuControl after an update:

1 On your computer, go to the following locations:

• On Mac, go to:

• On Windows, make sure “Show hidden files and folders” is enabled, and go to:

C:\Users\<enter your username here>\AppData\Roaming\Euphonix\UserSets\MC2User\MC_USER_SET_Root\

2 If an XML file is located in this folder, do one of the following:

• If you did not modify the XML file, move the file to the Trash (Mac) or delete it (Windows).

• If you modified XML file and want to retain the edits, move the file to a different location.

3 On your computer, go to the following locations:

• On Mac, go to:

• On Windows, make sure “Show hidden files and folders” is enabled, and go to:

C:\Users\<enter your username here>\AppData\Roaming\Euphonix\DYN_APPSETS

4 Locate the file called Pro Tools xxMac.xml, and move the file to the Trash (Mac) or delete it (Windows). 5 In Pro Tools, do the following:

• Go to

Setup > Peripherals and click the Ethernet Controllers tab.

•Disable

• Reenable Enable EUCON, making sure it is enabled before you close this window.

/Library/Application Support/Euphonix/UserSets/MC2User/MC_USER_SET_Root

/Library/Application Support/Euphonix/DYN_APPSETS

Enable EUCON.

Installation and Setup 13

S3 Surface Controls Overview

1212

This section provides an overview of the surface controls on the S3 when using S3 with EUCON-compatible applications. For specific S3 workflows, see

Using S3 with Pro Tools.

S3 top panel

1 – Channel Strips

2 – Channel Strip Displays

3 – Assignable Channel Encoders

4 – Channel Encoder Assignment Switches

5 – Fader Banking Controls

6 – Left Control

7 – Channel Control

8 – View and Arrow Switches

9 – Application/Workstation Switch

10 – Right Control

11 – Solo Clear and Mix to Monitors Switches

12 – Surface SHIFT

13 – Modifier Switches

14 – Touchstrip

S3 Surface Controls Overview 14

Channel Strips

S3 provides 16 channel strips, each with a display, an Assignable Channel Encoder (each with its own encoder

Sel and In switches), a Solo switch, a Mute switch, a 100mm motorized touch-sensitive fader, a channel select

Sel) switch, a record engage (Rec)/Automation Mode (A) switch, and a level meter.

(

Channel Strip Display

See Channel Strip Displays.

Assignable Channel Encoder

See Assignable Channel Encoders.

Solo

The Solo switch lights yellow when that track is soloed.

Mute

The track is muted (off) when the strip Mute switch is lit, and is on (unmuted) when not lit.

Fader

The fader controls the level for the track assigned to the channel strip, or the parameter assigned to the Channel Encoder if Flip to Faders is engaged. It is motorized so it reflects changes made in the application, such as automation. It is also touch sensitive, which some applications use for automation.

 When the Select by Touch General preference is selected in the EuControl Settings application (see Select

by Touch

as pressing the fader

 Holding down the Default/ALT switch and touching a fader sets it to unity gain.

), touching a fader selects that track in the application and attentions it on that strip. This is the same

Sel switch.

Channel Sel and Rec Switches

Each channel strip features a channel Sel, a channel Rec switch, and an automation mode switch (A), which operate as follows:

Sel

Selects that track in the application, and attentions it for editing in the Channel Encoders when Channel Mode is enabled (see

Channel Encoder Modes), and in Channel Control (see Channel Control). A line under the track name in a channel strip display

indicates the track is attentioned.

In Pro Tools and other applications, multiple tracks can be selected, but only one channel can be attentioned. In this case, the attentioned track is the last one selected.

Rec

Record-enables a track in the application.

• In Pro Tool s, the is in progress.

• Pressing a lit

A (Surface SHIFT + Rec)

right-hand corner of the channel strip display or on-screen.

You can also use the Function (F1–F16) switches to change track automation modes. See

Rec switch flashes red to indicate that track is enabled (armed) for recording, and is lit solid when recording

Rec switch disables that track for recording.

Changes the automation mode for a track.The desired automation mode appears in the bottom

Working with Automation.

S3 Surface Controls Overview 15

Channel Strip Displays

Kick

Pan

Snare

Pan

At the top of each channel strip is an Or ganic Light Emitting Diode (OL ED) display. When S3 is fi rst powered on, the Channel Encoders are in Normal Mode (see

Channel strip display in Normal Mode

Channel Encoder Modes), and each display shows track information as follows:

1 – Meter

2 – Track Name

ter releasing the fader it reverts to showing the track name.

3 – Track Number

4 – Parameter Name

coder is touched, it shows the value of the parameter. After releasing the encoder it reverts to showing the parameter name.

5 – Encoder Position

6 – Automation Mode

• blank = automation is off

•r = read

•w = write

• rw = read/write

7 – Attention Indicator

Encoders in Channel Mode (see

Control

Display Sleep

Shows clip, peak, and normal values. It can show mono, stereo, or surround tracks.

Shows the track name as it appears in the application. When a fader is touched, it shows the value of the fader. Af-

Shows the track number relative to its position in the application.

Shows the name of the parameter currently assigned to the corresponding Channel Encoder. When an en-

Shows the relative setting of the control for the currently assigned parameter.

Shows the track’s current automation mode setting, as follows:

For more information on working with automation on the S3, see Working with Automation.

Indicates that the corresponding track is the attentioned track. Any parameters adjusted using the Channel

Channel Encoder Modes) and using Channel Control apply to the attentioned track (see Channel

To preserve display life, the channel displays enter sleep mode when not in use.

S3 Surface Controls Overview 16

Assignable Channel Encoders

Kick

Pan

Snare

Pan

Hats

Pan

Hats

LF Gain

Snare

Kick

LF Q

Each channel strip has one touch-sensitive, continuously rotating encoder for adjusting parameters as assigned by the Channel Encoder Assignment switches (see used to access sub-menus. Each encoder also has corresponding

• A Channel Encoder coder. For example, engaging the

• A Channel Encoder

Channel Encoder Modes

The Channel Encoders operate in either Normal Mode or Channel Mode. The channel displays shows the current channel mode.

Normal Mode

In Normal Mode, each Channel Encoder controls the same parameter for every track on the channel strips. A line appears under the attentioned track’s name in the display.

Channel displays in Normal Mode, showing “Snare” as the attentioned track

Channel Mode

Channel Encoder Assignment Switches). Each encoder can also be pressed, which is typically

Sel and In switches.

Sel switch assigns a secondary function of the displayed parameter to the corresponding Channel En-

Sel switch for an encoder controlling EQ frequency assigns Q (bandwidth) to that encoder.

In switch toggles two-state parameters, such as turning an individual EQ Band on/off.

In Channel Mode, the 16 Channel Encoders control up to 16 different parameters for the attentioned track. In Channel Mode parameter names and value are highlight in each channel display. For the attentioned track, track name as well as parameter and value are highlighted.

Channel displays in Channel Mode, showing “Snare” as the attentioned track

Channel Mode is useful for editing EQs and plug-ins that have many parameters.

Basic Channel Encoder Use

When S3 is first powered on, the Channel Encoders are in Normal Mo de and Pan is assigned to the Channel Encoders by default. Each Channel Encoder controls pan for its corresponding track on the strip.

To quickly access pan control on the Channel Encoders in Normal Mode:

 Press the Pan Channel Encoder Assignment switch.

To enable Channel Mode:

1 Press a Channel Sel switch to attention that track, then press SHIFT + Flip. 2 Press the desired channel Encoder Assignment switch 3 To exit Channel Mode, press Shift + Flip again.

Pressing the EQ Channel Encoder Assign Switch automatically enables Channel Mode as well.

S3 Surface Controls Overview 17

Channel Encoder Assignment Switches

Group Channel

Dyn

Mix

Insert Pan

Aux Flip

Input EQ

Gain

HPF

Comp

Pan

Aux

Flip

Dyn

Insert

Comp

The Channel Encoder Assignment switches assign sets of adjustable parameters, called Knob Sets, to the Channel Encoders. A Knob Set is an array of controls used by EuControl-compatible applications to control plug-ins, EQs, dynamics, aux sends, and other processing functions using the controls on the S3. Some of these Knob Sets also have sub-menus.

One of the switches is always selected, and the associated parameters are assigned to the Channel Encoders until another Channel Encoder Assignment switch is pressed. When S3 is first powered on,

Channel Encoder Assign switches

The labels next to each Channel Encoder Assignment switch indicate the parameters that can be assigned to the Channel Encoders. The text in white represents a switch’s primary function, and the text in black represents a switch’s secondary function. Secondary functions are accessed by pressing and holding the Surface

SHIFT switch (see Surface SHIFT) then pressing the desired Channel

Navigation switch.

Pan is selected by default.

Primary function (Insert) and the secondary function (Dyn)

The text on the switch itself indicates the parameter that can be assigned to the Channel Encoders when using S3 as part on an S3L live system.

The following switches are provided:

Input

Assigns hardware input parameters such as input routing, mic gains, phantom power, and other application-specific param-

eters to the Channel Encoders.

Use the Audio Control Encoders to control the S3’s built-in I/O. See

Insert

Assigns the top-level Insert Knob Set to the Channel Encoders. When Insert is pressed, in each channel display for all currently banked tracks the first insert slot ( display showing the plug-in you want to adjust enables Channel Mode on the Channel Encoders, and the Knob Set for the selected plug-in is assigned to the 16 Channel Encoders for editing.

In the Insert Knob Set, parameters are mapped to the Channel Encoders according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Parameter mapping can vary between plug-ins, even of the same type.

 Press the Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch to access the next plug-in.  Press the Back Channel Encoder Navigation Switch to return to the Channel Encoders to the top-level Inserts Knob Set. Or, you

can simply press another Channel Encoder Assignment switch to navigate directly to another Knob Set.

Dyn

Assigns the top-level Dynamics Knob Set to the Channel Encoders. Operation is similar to the Inserts Knob Set, except only

the first inserted Dynamics plug-in on the channel is displayed and accessed.

In the Dyn Knob Set, parameter mappings to the Channel Encoders are standardized across dynamics plug-ins. For example, the threshold controls for two compressor plug-ins from different manufacturers appear on the same encoder.

S3 Surface Controls Overview 18

S3 Audio I/O Connections for more information.

a) is shown, or a plug-in is shown if one is inserted. Pressing a Channel Encoder under the

Aux

Pan

Kick

Source

Back

Page Page

Top

Assigns sends on the Channel Encoders.

 In Normal Mode, the first send is displayed, and pressing the Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch assigns the next set

of sends to the encoders.

 In Channel Mode, up to 16 sends for the currently selected channel can be accessed at once.

Group

Displays the Group Knob Set to configure group or control group (VCA) membership.

 In Normal Mode, the first group is displayed, and pressing the Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch displays the next

group if applicable.

 In Channel Mode, up to 16 groups for the currently selected channel can be accessed at once.

Assigns the top-level EQ Knob Set to the Channel Encoders. Operation is similar to the Inserts Knob Set, except only the first

inserted EQ plug-in on the channel is displayed and accessed.

In the EQ Knob Set, parameter mappings to the Channel Encoders are standardized across EQ plug-ins. For example, high band gain controls for two EQ plug-ins from different manufacturers appear on the same encoder.

Pan

Displays the Pan Knob Set to configure stereo or surround panning. Pan controls are not available for tracks with mono or no

output path assignments.

Mix (Surface SHIFT + Pan/Mix)

Flip

Toggles what is currently assigned to the knobs (such as pan or send parameters) to the faders. A vertical double arrow appears

in the channel strip display when the faders and knobs are flipped. Press

Displays the Mix Knob Set to configure track output routing.

Flip again to toggle the faders and knobs back to normal.

You can use Flip mode with Aux sends, for example, to quickly set up headphone mixes using the faders.

Flip indicator in OLED display

Channel (Surface SHIFT + Flip/Channel)

Channel Mode (lit

Channel switch). In Normal Mode, the attentioned track name is underlined to show which track’s parameters

Toggles the Channel Encoders between Normal Mode (unlit Channel switch) and

will be expanded in Channel Mode.

Channel Encoder Navigation Switches

Since a Knob Set may have more parameters than encoders, use these switches to navigate through available parameters.

Channel Navigation Switches

Back

Returns to the previous Knob Set. Press Back repeatedly to back out of all sub-menus and display the top of the current Knob

Set.

Source

< Page, Page >

Shows the input sources for the currently banked channels in the channel strip displays.

Assigns the previous or next set of parameters to the Channel Encoders. The switches light when there is a previous or next set to go to. For example, if Send A is assigned to the Channel Encoders, pressing Encoders.

S3 Surface Controls Overview 19

Page > assigns Send B to the Channel

Fader Banking Controls

Mixer Close

Home End

Nudge Nudge

Bank Bank

Bank tracks to the channel strips using the Bank and Nudge switches. Home and End are shortcuts to the first and last banks, re- spectively.

Fader Navigation controls

Bank and Nudge

The Bank and Nudge switches change which tracks are assigned to the channel strips, as follows:

< Nudge

Banks tracks one track to the left. If tracks 2–17 were banked to channel strips 1–16, tracks 1–16 are now banked to strips

1–16.

Nudge >

Banks tracks one track to the right. If tracks 1–16 were banked to channel strips 1–16, tracks 2–17 are now banked to strips

1–16.

< Bank

the switch

Bank >

Banks 16 tracks to the left. If tracks 17–32 were banked to strips 1–16, tracks 1–16 are now banked to strips 1–16. Pressing

again does nothing because the first bank is already shown.

Banks 16 tracks to the right. If tracks 1–16 were banked to strips 1–16, tracks 17–32 are now banked to strips 1–16.

Mixer and Close

Not all applications support these switches.

Mixer (Surface SHIFT+ < Nudge/Mixer)

Close (SHIFT + Nudge >/Close)

Home and End

Home (Surface SHIFT + < Bank/Home)

End (Surface SHIFT + Bank >/End)

Closes any open window in the application.

Banks the last set of tracks to the strips.

Toggles Mix and Edit windows in Pro Tools.

Banks tracks 1–16 to the channel strips.

S3 Surface Controls Overview 20

Left Control

Multi

Assign

User

Cancel

Left Control

Switches A–F

By default, these switches let you recall custom fader banks and layouts, as created and stored using the Layouts and Assign tabs of the EuControl Settings application. You can r ecall up t o 12 custom fader layouts using switches 1–6. The Shift layer (

Surface SHIFT + Bank A–F) recalls layouts 7–12. See Storing and Recalling Custom Layouts for more

information.

A–F. A–F recall mixer layouts

You can also customize these switches in EuControl. See

Soft Keys for more information.

OK and Cancel Switches

Multi Assign

Assigning Sends for an example.

See

Pressing and holding Surface SHIFT + Multi Assign performs the Do to All command. Use this to create a send or insert a plug-in on all tracks in the session.

Confirms and closes dialogs, and is the equivalent of pressing the Enter key on a computer keyboard.

Cancel

User

Saves the current session.

To save the current session:

1 Press User. 2 Press User again to confirm, or press Cancel to not save.

Performs the Do to Selected command. For example, use this to create a send or insert a plug-in on all selected tracks.

Closes dialogs without making any changes, and is the equivalent of pressing the Escape key on a computer keyboard.

S3 Surface Controls Overview 21

Channel Control

Inserts

Kick

Input Dyn

EQ Sends Pan Groups Mix

Top

Conﬁg

Back

Page

Expnd

Page

Expnd

Top

Back

Page

The top row of 16 encoders and associated navigation switches is called Channel Control. Channel Control lets you adjust a variety of parameters for the currently attentioned track. Channel Control and the bottom-row Channel Encoders operate independently, so you can adjust two sets of parameters for a single channel. You can also access controls for the S3’s built-in I/O using Channel Control (see

S3 Audio I/O Connections for more information).

Each Channel Control Encoder features a corresponding display, a select (

Sel) switch, an In switch, and a color-by-function LED.

Four Channel Control Navigation switches are provided for navigating through parameters.

Channel Control showing the top-level Channel Control Knob Set (I/O controls are hidden)

Channel Control Navigation Switches (Left)

These switches let you navigate through the available pages of Channel Control parame ter s . An In (enable/bypass) switch is also provided.

Channel Control Navigation switches

The following switches are provided:

Back/Top

Surface SHIFT + Back/Top returns Channel Control to the top-level Channel Control Knob Set.

Toggles in/out whatever is assigned to the Channel Control Encoders, such as sends and plug-ins. A lit switch indicates that the

send or plug-in is in.

< Page, Page >

Backs out of the currently assigned Knob Set.

Assigns the previous or next page of parameters. These switches light when there is a previous or next set to go to.

S3 Surface Controls Overview 22

Channel Control Navigation Switches (Right)

Top

Conﬁg

Back

Page

Expnd

Page

Inserts

Kick

Input Dyn

EQ Sends Pan Groups Mix

Attentioned track

These switches provide access to Config mode and the controls for the built-in I/O in Channel Control.

Config switch and I/O Controls

Config Enables Config mode on the Channel Control Encoders, letting you assign plug-ins to tracks, and assign track and send in-

put and output paths. See

Routing Track Input/Output and Assigning Plug-Ins for more information.

< Page, Page >

pressed simultaneously. I/O controls are hidden by default. See

Lets you show/hide the Audio Control (controls for the built-in I/O) on the Channel Control Encoders when

Accessing Audio Control on the S3 for more information.

Basic Channel Control Use

When S3 is first connected to a session in your DAW, the top-level Knob Set for the currently selected channel is shown in the Channel Control displays. The types of parameters that can be spilled to the Channel Control Encoders vary depending on the type of channel selected (audio track, instrument track, etc.).

To adjust parameters using Channel Control:

1 Select a track. If multiple channels are selected, the last selected track is the attentioned track, and is the targeted channel for any

changes made in Channel Control. The name of the attentioned track and its track number is shown in the leftmost Channel Control display.

Channel Control top-level Knob Set, showing the attentioned track in the leftmost display

2 Press a Channel Control Encoder under the display showing the parameters you want to adjust. For example, to adjust an EQ

plug-in inserted on the currently selected channel, press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing

The parameters are spilled across the top 16 encoders, and the LEDs light to reflect the currently assigned function .

3 To go to a dif ferent Knob Set, press the Back Channel Control Navigation switch to return to the top-level Knob Set, then press

another Channel Control Encoder.

Channel Control LED Color-Coding

Channel Control LEDs are color-coded by function, as follows:

Channel Control Functions and Corresponding LED Colors

Function Color Function Color

Insert

Input

Dyn

S3 Surface Controls Overview 23

Turquoise (blue/green) Red Green Purple

Sends

Pan

Groups

Mix

Yellow Blue Orange Amber

EQ.

View and Arrow Switches

View 1 View 2

Solo

Clear

Mix to Mons

By default, these switches provide recall of Memory Locations, and zoom controls. You can also customize these switches in EuControl. See

Window Navigation controls

Soft Keys for more information.

View 1 and View 2

▲ ▼

Adjust vertical zoom (track height) of all tracks in the Timeline display of the Edit window.

◄ ►

Adjust horizontal zoom (zoom in/out) of all tracks in the Timeline display of the Edit window.

Recall Memory Locations 1 and 2 respectively. If no Memory Locations exist, these switches do nothing.

Application/Workstation Switch

This switch lets you cycle through the available applications and workstations.

Application/Workstation switch

Application

through all open applications. Hold down the rection.

Workstation (Surface SHIFT + Application/Workstation)

trol applications running on a second computer, referred to in this guide as a workstation. You must first use EuControl to create a list of workstations that this key switches between. See

Toggles between the two most recently used open applications. Hold down Application and press Bank > to cycle

Application key and press < Bank to cycle through applications in the opposite di-

Attaches the S3 to another workstation, where applicable. S3 can con-

Workstations for more information.

Solo Clear and Mix to Monitors Switches

Solo Clear and Mix to Monitors switches

These switches provide the following functions:

Solo Clear

Mix to Mons

S3 Surface Controls Overview 24

Clears any currently soloed channels.

Is not currently implemented for DAW use.

Right Control

9-16

By default, switches F1–F8 (F9–F16) provide control over the automation mode for one or more selected tracks in two banks of switches. For more information on working with automation on the S3, see

Working with Automation.

You can also customize these switches in EuControl. See

Soft Keys for more information.

Automation Controls

The following table shows the default function of each switch in this section.

Switch Automation Function Switch Automation Function

Write F2 Read F3 Touch F4 Automation Off F5 Latch F6 Automation Match F7 Trim F8 Automation Window F9 Preview F10 Write to All/Selected F11 Punch Preview F12 Write to Start F13 Capture F14 Write to End F15 Punch Capture F16 Write to Next

9–16

Toggles switches between banks

F1-F8 and F9-F16

Show Me (Eye Icon)

Opens EuControl Settings > Soft Keys > Right Control section

To set the automation mode on a single track:

 Press and hold the Function switch for the desired Automation Mode, then select a channel.

To set the automation mode on multiple tracks:

1 Select multiple channels. 2 Press and hold Multi-Select/SHIFT+ ALT, then press the switch for the desired Automation Mode.

The Function Switch LED lights whenever its respective automation mode is selected. In certain automation modes such as Write, the LED flashes.

S3 Surface Controls Overview 25

Surface SHIFT

SHIFT

Multi Select SHIFT

Default ALT

Fine CTRL

Command

1234

Some switches have secondary functions, highlighted in gray above the primary function (such as < Bank/Home, where Home is the secondary function). To access these secondary functions, use either of the two Surface SHIFT switches located at the lower-left and lower-right sides of the console surface.

Surface SHIFT switch

To engage Surface SHIFT momentarily:

 Press and hold the Surface SHIFT switch.

To latch SHIFT on:

 Press and release either Surface SHIFT switch. Surface SHIFT is lit when engaged; press either Surface SHIFT switch to un-

SHIFT can be engaged momentarily or latched on.

latch.

Modifier Switches

The Modifier switches provide frequently used shortcuts that can be applied to console actions and software screen interactions. In Pro Tools, these switches duplicate the function of the Pro Tools computer keyboard modifiers.

Global Modifier switches

Multi Select/SHIFT

Default/ALT

Fine/CTRL

Command

Duplicates the function of the Control key (Mac) or the Windows key (or Start) on the computer keyboard.

Duplicates the function of the Command key (Mac) or the Control key (Windows) on the computer keyboard.

Duplicates the function of the Shift key on the computer keyboard.

Duplicates the function or the Option key (Mac) or the Alt key (Windows) on the computer keyboard.

Touchstrip

By default, the four Touch strip Zones provide transport controls. You can also customize these switches in EuControl. See Soft

Keys

for more information.

Transport controls

To use the Transport:

1 Press and hold Surface SHIFT. 2 Press the following Zones for the various transport functions:

1 (Rewind)

2 (Fast Forward)

Rewinds until released.

Fast forwards until released.

3 (Play/Stop)

4 (Record Arm)

S3 Surface Controls Overview 26

Engages play when the transport is stopped; stops the transport when play is engaged.

Arms the transport for recording.

Using S3 with Pro Tools

Kick

Pan

Snare

Pan

Solo

Mute

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Rec

Sel

This section provides information on the latest Appset functionality when using S3 with the latest version of Pro Tools. If you have updated from a previous version of Pro Tools, see

Track Basics

This section shows how to select, attention, and route tracks to outputs.

Selecting and Attentioning Tracks

You can select and attention tracks using channel Sel switches. You can use the Modifier switches to select multiple channels. When multiple channels are selected, the last selected track is the attentioned track.

To select a track:

 Press any channel Sel switch. The track is selected in Pro Tools, and that track is attentioned on the S3.

Optimizing EuControl After a Pro Tools Update

Channel Sel switch (left) and a channel display showing that the corresponding track is attentioned (right)

To select all tracks:

 Hold the Default/ALT Modifier switch and press any unlit channel Sel switch.

To deselect a track:

 Hold Command and press a lit channel Sel switch.

To deselect all selected tracks:

 Hold Default/ALT switch and press any lit channel Sel switch.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 27

To select a range of tracks (multi-select):

Multi Select SHIFT

Default ALT

Fine CTRL

Command

Group Channel

Dyn

Mix

Insert Pan

Aux Flip

Input EQ

Gain

HPF

Comp

Pan

Aux

Flip

Source

Back

Page Page

Top

1 Press the first track’s channel Sel switch (usually the leftmost track you want to include in the selection). 2 Hold Multi Select/SHIFT and press Sel on the last (right-most) track. All tracks between the two are selected.

To select non-adjacent tracks (add to a selection):

1 Press the channel Sel switch to select any track. 2 Hold Command and press an unlit channel Sel switch.

Modifier switches

Adjusting Trac k Volume and Pan

To adjust track volume:

 Adjust the fader for that track.

To adjust track pan:

1 If unlit, press Pan so that it stays lit.

2 Rotate the encoder below the name of the track you want to pan. Stereo tracks default to left pan. 3 To adjust right side pan on stereo tracks, press the lit Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch and rotate the encoder for the

desired track. The display shows

4 To return to left side pan, press the lit < Page switch.

To reset pan to 0 (center):

1 If unlit, press Pan so that it stays lit. 2 Press the Channel Encoder below the name of the track you want to reset to center.

The standard Pro Tools modifier for parameter reset by holding Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) can also be used to reset controls. For example, holding Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and touching a fader resets the fader to 0/unity.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 28

R Pan above stereo tracks and the < Page key lights.

Surround Panning on S3

Use the Channel Encoders or Channel Control to control multichannel pan para m eter s .

To pan in surround using the Channel Encoders:

1 Select a track assigned to a multichannel output path (such as a 5.1 or 7.1 output path). 2 Press Pan. The first Multichannel pan parameters such as Front Left/Right (for 5.1 outputs) appear on the Channel Encoders. 3 Press the lit Page > switch to show other available pan parameters. 4 Rotate an Encoder to adjust the selected parameter. 5 To reset a parameter to its default setting, press the Encoder for that parameter.

To pan in surround using Channel Control:

1 Select a track assigned to a multichannel output path (such as a 5.1 or 7.1 output path). 2 Press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing Pan. Multichannel pan parameters appear across

Channel Control.

Record Enabling Tracks

This section explains how to use track and deck record enable commands.

To record enable a track:

 Press the channel Rec switch. The switch flashes red.

To record enable additional tracks:

 Hold SHIFT/Multi Select and press additional channel Rec switches.

You can set Pro Tools Preferences for latching record enable, so you don’t have to hold the Shift key to record enable additional tracks. For more information, see the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

To record enable all tracks:

 Hold Alt then press a channel Rec switch.

To use the Touchstrip to control the transport for recording:

1 Press Surface SHIFT + Touch Strip Zone 4 to arm the transport. The Record icon in Pro Tools flashes red. 2 Press Surface SHIFT + Touch Strip Zone 3 to commence recording. 3 To stop recording, press Surface SHIFT + Touch Strip Zone 3 again. 4 To disarm the transport, press Surface SHIFT + Touch Strip Zone 4.

Flipping Encoder Parameters to Faders

S3 lets you “flip” parameters mapped to the Channel Encoders to the faders and the track level control to the Channel Encoder. The following example shows how to flip pan to faders. Flip also works with sends and plug-ins.

To flip sends to faders:

1 Select a track that has one or more sends assigned to it. 2 Press Pan. 3 Press Flip. 4 Adjust a fader to adjust pan for the corresponding track. 5 Adjust the Channel Encoder to adjust track level for the corresponding track. 6 Press Flip again to flip parameters back to the Channel Encoders.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 29

Routing Track Input/Output

Group Channel

Dyn

Mix

Insert Pan

Aux Flip

Input EQ

Gain

HPF

Comp

Pan

Aux

Flip

Group Channel

Dyn

Mix

Insert Pan

Aux Flip

Input EQ

Gain

HPF

Comp

Pan

Aux

Flip

SHIFT

Press Surface SHIFT (left) plus Pan/Mix (right) Input Switch

Kick

no input

Snare

no input

Hats

no input

Kick

no out

Snare

no out

Hats

no out

Hats

plug-ins

Snare

Kick

interface

Input types for the selected track in the channel displays Output types for the selected track in the channel displays

You can route track I/O using the Channel Encoders or Channel Control.

Using the Channel Encoders

To route track input or output using the Channel Encoders:

1 Select a track. If several tracks are selected, make sure the track you want to ad just is attentioned. 2 Do either of the following:

• To assign track input, press

• To assign track output, press

The channel displays show the current input or output assignments for the banked tracks.

Input.

Surface SHIFT + Pan/Mix.

Current input assignments (left) and output assignments (right) in the channel displays

3 Press the Channel Encoder for the track you want to assign. Channel Mode is enabled, and the leftmost channel displays show

the available types of input sources (

4 Under the display showing the desired input or output type, rotate the corresponding Channel Encoder until the desired input or

output appears in the display.

5 Press the corresponding Channel Encoder In switch to assign the selected input or output. A lit Channel Encoder In switch in-

dicates assignment.

6 To reassign, rotate the Channel Encoder until the desired input or output appears and press the Channel Encoder In switch. 7 To exit assign mode, press Surface SHIFT + Flip/Channel.

A track can be assigned to multiple outputs. See Multiple Output Path Assignments.

interface, bus, or plug-ins) or output destinations (output or bus) for the selected track.

Kick

output

Snare

Hats

Using S3 with Pro Tools 30

Using Channel Control

Inserts

Kick

Input Dyn

EQ Sends Pan Groups Mix

no input

Kick

interface

no inputno input

Kick

bus plug-in

To route track input or track output using Channel Control:

1 Select a track. If several tracks are selected, make sure the track you want to ad just is attentioned. 2 Make sure the top-level Channel Control Knob Set is displayed. Press the Back Channel Control Navigation switch until it is

displayed.

Channel Control top-level Knob Set

3 Do either of the following:

• To assign track input, press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing

• To assign track output, press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing

Input.

Mix.

A Channel Control display shows the current input or output assignment for the selected track.

Channel Control display showing current input assignment (no input) for the attentioned track

4 Press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing the current assignment. The leftmost Channel Control displays

show the available types of input sources (

interface, bus, or plug-ins) or output destinations (output or bus) for the selected

track.

Channel Controls displays showing available input types

5 Rotate the Channel Control Encoder under the display until the desired input or output appears in the display. 6 Press the corresponding Channel Control Encoder In switch to assign the selected input or output. A lit Channel Encoder In

switch indicates assignment.

7 To reassign, rotate the Channel Control Encoder until the desired input or output appears and press the Channel Encoder In

switch.

8 To exit assign mode, press Surface SHIFT + Flip/Channel.

To assign a track to multiple outputs, see Multiple Output Path Assignments.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 31

Multiple Output Path Assignments

Kick

+Out 1-2

Mixer Close

Home End

Sel

Nudge Nudge

Bank Bank

You can assign a Pro Tools track to multiple output paths.

To assign another track output:

1 Repeat the previous instructions to assign a track output using the Channel Encoders or Channel Control. 2 Rotate the encoder to select the desired output type. 3 Press the corresponding Channel Encoder Sel switch to assign the selected output. The new assignment is ad ded to the current

assignments, and is indicated by a lit Channel Encoder

Sel switch. When a track has multiple output assignments, a plus (+) sign

appears next to the current track output assignment in the channel display (after exiting the Input Knob Set) and on-screen.

Channel display showing a track with multiple output assignments

4 To clear all other assignments and assign the c urrently selected output, rotate the encoder to the desired output and press the en-

In switch.

coder

Banking Tracks

Bank tracks to the channel strips using the Bank, Nudge, Home, and End switches. You can also bank tracks to channel strips using the Bank

To bank tracks to fader strips:

1 Press the Bank > switch to bank the next set of 16 tracks. If tracks 1–16 were assigned to fader strips 1–16, tracks 17–24 are now

A–F switches by creating custom Layouts. p-o-[=

assigned to the 16 fader strips.

2 Press the Nudge > switch to bank tracks one channel to right. If tracks 1–16 were assigned to fader strips 1–16, tracks 2–17 are

now assigned to the 16 fader strips.

Nudge and Bank switches

3 Press Home (Surface SHIFT + < Bank) to restore tracks 1–16 to the channel strips. 4 Press End (SHIFT + Bank >)

to bank the last set of tracks to the channel strips.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 32

Storing and Recalling Custom Lay outs

Layouts let you assign specific tracks to specific channel strips on the S3, and have those channel strips ignore banking and nudging (ensuring that the specific tracks remain available for as long as the La yout is active). You can store Layouts using the

Layouts tabs of the EuControl Settings application. Once stored, you can then recall Layouts using the Bank switches A–F. Bank

switches

A–F correspond to Layouts 1–6 respectively. Shift + A–F correspond to Layouts 7–12 respectively. Layouts are saved

with your Pro Tools session.

Creating a Default Layout

Before creating a custom Layout, we recommend saving one default “home” Layout so you can quickly return fader strips to standard banking.

To create a “home” Layout and save it to Bank switch A:

1 Launch Pro Tools (or another application) and open your session. 2 Click the EuControl icon on the taskbar (Mac) or the System tray (Windows), and select EuControl Settings to open the

EuControl Settings application.

3 Click the Assign tab and make sure Pro Tools (or your other targeted applicatio n) app ears next to Application. The 16 S3 chan-

nel strips appear in the

You can also press Surface SHIFT + a channel Sel switch to automatically open the Assign tab of EuControl Settings.

4 Make sure all strips say <auto assigned> in the Assigned To column. If any are not, click the displayed name in the Assigned

To column and choose <auto assigned>.

Strip column, and tracks assigned to each channel strip appear in the Assigned To column.

Assign and

Assign tab sowing all Strips are auto-assigned

5 Click the Layouts tab, and double-click the first layout in the list, type in a name, then press Enter.

Enter a name for a Layout

6 Making sure row 1 is still highlighted, click Store. You can recall your “home” Layout by pressing Bank switch A.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 33

Creating a Custom Layout

To create a custom Layout on Bank switch B:

1 Click the Layouts tab, double-click row 2, type in a name, and press Enter. 2 Be sure the Layout you have named is highlighted, then click the Assign tab. 3 Click in the Assigned To column and select a track from the pop-up to assign (lock) that track to the corresponding channel strip.

Repeat for each available strip.

Assigning a track to a channel strip

4 Return to the Layouts tab and click Store. The Layout is saved with your Pro Tools session. 5 On the S3, press Bank switch B to recall the first custom Layout.

Layouts and Banking/Nudging

Once you recall a Layout, banking or nudging only moves focus by the number of available (<auto assigned>) channel strips. For example, if a Layout includes three tracks assigned to strips 1–3, pressing

Bank > only banks one strip at a time (since only one

fader, number 4, is <auto assigned> or “not locked” to a specific track). Note also that it is possible to end up with one track appearing on and being controllable by more than one strip. In this case, changes made to one strip are reflected in the other.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 34

Working with Track Groups

Group Channel

Dyn

Mix

Insert Pan

Aux Flip

Input EQ

Gain

HPF

Comp

Pan

Aux

Flip

SHIFT

Kick

!: <All>

Snare

!: <All>

Hats

!: <All>

You can add and remove tracks to Pro Tools track Groups, and suspend or enable Groups using the Channel Encoders or Channel Control on S3. Groups must be created in Pro Tools before they can be accessed and modified on the S3.

Using the Channel Encoders

To add or remove tracks from a Group using the Channel Encoders:

1 Press Surface SHIFT + Aux/Group.

The display shows

<All> above each encoder (or the letter designation of the last edited group). All tracks are members of the <All>

group by default.

2 Press the lit Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch to show other available Groups across the display. As you navigate to

other Groups, Channel Encoder

3 To add a track to the currently displayed Group, press the Channel Encoder under the displayed Group name. The corresponding

Channel Encoder

4 To remove a track from a Group, press the Channel Encoder again so that the Channel Encoder In switch is unlit.

To enable or suspend a track Group:

1 Press Surface SHIFT + Aux/Group. The display shows <All> in every fader display (or, the letter designation of the last edited

In switch lights green showing that track is now a member of the currently displayed Group.

In switches light to indicate track membership in the currently displayed Group.

group).

2 Press the lit Page > switches to show other available Groups across the display. As you navigate to other Groups, the Channel

Encoder

3 To enable a Group, press any unlit Channel Encoder Sel switch so it is lit.

Sel switches (in the encoder row) light to indicate an active (enabled) Group.

4 To suspend a Group, press any lit Channel Encoder Sel switch so it is unlit.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 35

Using Channel Control

Inserts

Kick

Input Dyn

EQ Sends Pan Groups Mix

To work with track Groups using Channel Control:

1 Select a track, and make sure it is attentioned. 2 From the Channel Control top-level Knob Set, press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing Groups. The

Channel Control displays show the available Groups.

If the top-level Channel Control Knob Set is not shown, press the Back Channel Control Navigation switch until it is shown.

3 To add the track to a Group, press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing the desired Group so the correspond-

ing Encoder

• To remove the track, press the Channel Control Encoder so the

4 To enable a Group, press any unlit Channel Control Encoder Sel switch so that it is lit.

• To suspend a Group, press any lit Channel Encoder

In switch is lit.

In switch is unlit.

Sel switch.

5 To edit another track’s Group properties with out returning to th e top-level Channel Control Knob Set, just select the channel.

Working with VCAs

VCA Spill lets the you quickly access (spill) only those channels assigned to the selected VCA Master track to the S3 channel strips. S3 provides two VCA Spill modes, Single-Master mode and Multi-Master mode.

Mix groups are assigned to VCA Master tracks in Pro Tools. See Pro Tools Help for instructions on creating VCA Masters.

Spilling VCAs in Single-Master Mode

In Single-Master mode, spilling a VCA Master track spills the VCA’s member tracks and the VCA Master track to the channel strips.

To spill a VCA Master track in Single-Master mode:

1 Bank a VCA Master to the channel strips. 2 Double-press the Sel switch on a VCA Master track.

VCA members 1–15 are spilled to channels 1-15 on the control surface, and channel LEDs light solid dark green. The VCA Master is assigned to channel 16 on the control surface, and the corresponding channel LED lights solid dark green.

The VCA Master remains on that channel strip while VCA Spill is active.

3 If the VCA has more than 15 members, do either of the followings:

• Press

•Press

Bank > or < Bank to access the next or previous bank of channels.

Nudge > or < Nudge to advance or return one track at a time.

4 To exit VCA Spill, double-press the Sel switch on VCA Master track (channel 16). The previous track assignments are restored

to the channel strips. – or –

• Press a switch, such as a

Using S3 with Pro Tools 36

Bank A–F switch, that is assigned to recall a custom Layout.

Spilling VCAs in Multi-Master Mode

In Multi-Master mode, you can spill up to 12 member tracks of a selected VCA Master, while also spilling up to eight VCA Master tracks to the channel strips. This lets you have access to multiple VCA Masters and a selected VCA’s member tracks simultaneously. EuControl provides a preference setting that lets you set the number of channel strips VCA member tracks are spilled t o in Multi-Master mode (the VCA Spill Zone).

To set the size of the Multi-Master mode VCA Spill Zone:

1 Click the EuControl icon on the taskbar (Mac) or the System tray (Windows), and select EuControl Settings to open the

EuControl Settings application.

2 Click Preferences, and under VCA Spill Zone, select one of the following:

Channel Strips 1–8

When selected, up to eight VCA Masters are assigned to S3 channel strips 9–16. Members of the selected

VCA Master are spilled to channel strips 1–8 in banks of eight channels.

Channel Strips 1–12

When selected, up to four VCA Masters are assigned to S3 channel strips 13–16. Members of the selected

VCA Master are spilled to channel strips 1–12 in banks of 12 channels.

To spill a VCA Master track in Multi-Master mode:

1 Press the < Bank and Bank > switches simultaneously.

Bank switch LEDs light green to indicate Multi-Mode is active. Channel strips 1–8 or 1–12 show the first eight or 12 tracks of the current session, depending on the VCA Spill Zone preference

setting. Channel strips 9–16 or 13–16 show VCA Masters, depending on the VCA Spill Zone preference setting.

2 Double-press a VCA Master Sel switch.

VCA Members 1–8 or 1–12 are spilled to channels strips, and the channel LEDs on those channel strips light solid green. VCA Masters remain on the channel strips, and the spilled VCA Master channel LED lights solid dark green.

3 To bank to the next or previous bank of the currently spilled VCA members, press Bank > or < Bank. 4 To access additional VCA Masters, press Nudge > or < Nudge. 5 To exit Multi-Master mode, press the < Bank and Bank > switches simultaneously . The previous track assignments are restored

to the channel strips. – or –

• Press a switch, such as a

Bank A–F switch, that is assigned to recall a custom Layout.

Recalling the Last Spilled VCA

You can quickly recall the last spilled VCA without having to bank through channels to find it.

To recall the last spilled VCA:

1 Press < Nudge and Nudge > simultaneously.

The last-spilled VCA and its member tracks are spilled to the S3 channels strips.

2 To exit VCA Spill, press < Nudge and Nudge > simultaneously. The previous track assignments are restored to the channel

strips. – or –

• Double-press the

Using S3 with Pro Tools 37

Sel switch on the VCA Master track (channel 16).

Working with Plug-Ins

Inserts

Kick

Input Dyn

EQ Sends Pan Groups Mix

EQ37-Bnd

Kick

Dyn3CmpL c

CFG CFG

CFG

You can assign plug-ins to tracks using Channel Control, and adjust them using the Channel Encoders or Channel Control.

Assigning Plug-Ins

Assign plug-ins to tracks using Channel Control and the Config swit ch .

To assign a plug-in to a track using Channel Control:

1 Select a track, and make sure it is attentioned. 2 From the Channel Control top-level Knob Set, press the Inserts Channel Control Encoder.

The Channel Control displays now show the available Inserts slots. If no plug-in is inserted in a slot, the slot letter appears in lower-case ( the corresponding display. Plug-in names are abbreviated as necessary.

a, b, c, and so on) in the corresponding display. If a plug-in is inserted in a slot, the name of the plug-in is shown in

If the top-level Channel Control Knob Set is not shown, press the Back Channel Control Navigation switch until it is shown.

3 Press the Config switch so it is lit. CFG appears in each Channel Control display.

Insert slots a–c (left-to-right) in Config mode in Channel Control

4 Press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing the Inserts slot you want to populate. 5 Press the Encoder under the display showing Plug-In. 6 Press the Encoder under the display showing the plug-in type you want to insert, such as EQ, Dynamics, or Reverb.

Choices shown on your system will vary depending on which plug-ins you have installed, and the Pro Tools setting that organizes plug-ins by Category or Manufacturer.

7 Press the Encoder under the display showing the desired plug-in to assign the plug-in.

Adjusting Plug-Ins

Plug-Ins can be accessed and adjusting using the Channel Encoders and Channel Control. You can also access only EQ plug-ins or only dynamics plug-ins. Plug-in parameter mapping to the Channel Encoders and the Channel Control Encoders depends on the selected Knob Set, as follows:

Inserts Knob Set

In the Inserts Knob Set, parameters are mapped according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Parameter map-

ping can vary between plug-ins, even of the same type.

EQ and Dyn Knob Sets

In the EQ and Dyn Knob Sets, parameter mappings are standardized across types of plug-ins. For exam-

ple, the threshold controls for two compressor plug-ins from different manufacturers appear on the same encoder.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 38

Adjusting Plug-Ins Using the Channel Encoders

Group Channel

Dyn

Mix

Insert Pan

Aux Flip

Input EQ

Gain

HPF

Comp

Pan

Aux

Flip

Kick

EQ3-7Bnd

Snare

Dyn3CmpL

Hats

LF Gain

Snare

Kick

LF Q

To adjust plug-ins on the Channel Encoders using the Inserts Knob Set:

1 Press Insert. Plug-ins assigned to first Inserts slots (a) for the currently banked channels are shown in the channel displays. If

no plug-in is inserted in that slot for the corresponding track, the Inserts slot letter is shown.

Insert switch (left); Channel displays showing the first Inserts slots for tracks 1–3

2 Press the Channel Encoder under the display showing the plug-in you want to access. Channel mode is enabled on the Channel

Encoders, and the parameters for the selected plug-in on the attentioned track are spilled across the 16 Channel Encoders.

Channel displays in Channel Mode showing EQ parameters, with the attentioned track at the left (“Kick”)

3 Do any of the following to adjust parameters:

• Rotate the Channel Encoder below the desired parameter to adjust its value.

• Press the Channel Encoder

4 Press the lit < Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switches to access more parameters. 5 Press the Back Channel Encoder Navigation switch to exit that plug-in and Channel mode. 6 Press the lit Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch to access the next Inserts slots.

To adjust an EQ plug-in on the Channel Encoders using the EQ Knob Set:

1 Select a track, and make sure it is attentioned. 2 Press EQ. Channel mode is enabled on the Channel Encoders, and the parameters for the first EQ plug-in on the attentioned track

In switch to toggle the corresponding parameter on/off, where applicable. Sel switch to toggle a secondary parameter on the Channel Encoder, where applicable.

are spilled across the 16 Channel Encoders.

3 Press Pan to exit the plug-in and Channel mode.

To adjust a Dynamics plug-in on the Channel Encoders using the Dyn Knob Set:

1 Select a track, and make sure it is attentioned. 2 Press SHIFT + Inserts/Dyn. Channel mode is enabled on the Channel Encoders, and the parameters for the first dynamics

plug-in on the attentioned track are spilled across the 16 Channel Encoders.

3 Press Pan to exit the plug-in and Channel mode.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 39

Adjusting Plug-Ins Using Channel Control

EQ3-7Bnd

Kick

Dyn3CmpL PrExpndr

Expnd

Top

Back

Page

To adjust plug-ins in Channel Control using the Inserts Knob Set:

1 Select a track and make sure it is attentioned. 2 Press the Channel Control Encoder und er the display showi ng Inserts. The Channel Control displays show the plug-ins that are

inserted on the attentioned track. If no plug-in is inserted in that slot, the Inserts slot letter is shown.

If the top-level Channel Control Knob Set is not shown, press the Back Channel Control Navigation switch until it is shown.

3 Press the Channel Encoder under the display showing the plug-in you want to access. The parameters for that plug-in are spilled

across the entire top row of 16 Channel Control Encoders.

4 Do any of the following to adjust parameters:

• Rotate the Channel Control Encoder below the desired parameter to adjust its value.

• Press the Channel Control Encoder

• Press the

5 Press the lit < Page > Channel Control Encoder Navigation switches to access more parameters. 6 Press the Back Channel Control Encoder Navigation switch to exit that plug-in and return to the previous menu, or press

In Channel Control Navigation switch to bypass the entire plug-in.

In switch to toggle the corresponding parameter on/off, where applicable. Sel switch to toggle a secondary parameter on the Channel Encoder, where applicable.

SHIFT + Back/Top to return to the top-level Channel Control Knob Set.

To adjust an EQ plug-in using the Channel Control EQ Knob Set:

1 Press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing EQ. The parameters for the first EQ plug-in are spilled across the

entire top row of 16 Channel Control Encoders.

2 Press the lit < Page > Channel Control Encoder Navigation switches to access more parameters. 3 Press the Back Channel Control Encoder Navigation switch to exit that plug-in and return to the previous menu, or press

SHIFT + Back/Top to return to the top-level Channel Control Knob Set.

To adjust a dynamics plug-in using the Channel Control Dyn Knob Set:

1 Press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing Dyn. The parameters for the first dynamics plug-in are spilled

across the entire top row of 16 Channel Control Encoders.

SHIFT + Back/Top to return to the top-level Channel Control Knob Set.

To bypass all plug-ins on a track:

1 Select a track. 2 Press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing Inserts. 3 Press the In Channel Control Navigation switch so it is unlit to bypass all the plug-ins for the selected track.

Channel Control Navigation In switch

Using S3 with Pro Tools 40

Working with Sends

Inserts

Kick

Input Dyn

EQ Sends Pan Groups Mix

Kick

b c

CFG CFG

CFG

output

Kick

bus

CFG CFG

CFG

This section shows how you can assign and adjust Pro Tools sends.

Assigning Sends

Use Channel Control to assign sends. You can assign a send to multiple tracks at once using the Multi Assign switch (Do to Selected and Do to All).

To assign sends using Channel Control:

1 Select one or more tracks. 2 From the Channel Control top-level Knob Set, press the Sends Channel Control Encoder.

The Channel Control displays now show available Sends slots

a–j.

If the top-level Channel Control Knob Set is not shown, press the Back Channel Control Navigation switch until it is shown.

3 Press Config so it is lit. CFG appears in the Channel Control displays.

Sends top-level Knob Set in Config mode

4 Press a Channel Control Encoder under the display showing the send you want to assign. The leftmost Channel Control Encod-

ers now display the available send types (

Available send types in Channel Control

output or bus).

5 Under the display showing the type of send you want to assign, rotate the Channel Control Encoder until the desired send ap-

Bus1-2).

pears in the display (such as

6 To assign the same send to multiple selected tracks (Do to Selected), press Multi Assign so it is lit. 7 To assign the same send to all tracks in the session (Do to All), press and hold Surface SHIFT + Multi Assign. 8 Press the corresponding Channel Control Encoder In switch so it is lit to assign the send to the selected track(s). 9 Press Config so it is unlit to exit Config mode.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 41

Adjusting Sends

You can access and adjust sends using the Channel Encoders or Channel Control.

To access a send using the Channel Encoders:

1 Bank to the desired track. 2 Press the Aux Channel Encoder Assign switch. Send assignments in slot a are displayed in the Channel Encoder displays for the

currently banked channels.

3 To view other sends, press Page > until the desired sends are displayed (such as Bus 1–2).

To access sends using Channel Control:

1 Select a track. 2 From the top-level Channel Control Knob Set, press the Channel Control Encoder under the display showing Sends. The Chan-

nel Control displays show the send assignments for the send slots on that channel. If a send is not assigned in that slot for the selected track, the Sends slot letter is shown.

To adjust send level:

 Rotate the en cod er und er the display showing the send you want to adjust.

To mute the send:

 Press the encoder In switch under the display showing the send you want to mute. When muted, the In switch is unlit; when the

send is on, the

In switch is lit.

To mute all sends on a track:

 From the top-level Channel Control Knob Set, press the In switch under the displays showing Sends.

-or-

 With Sends spilled to the Channel Control Encoders, press the Channel Control Navigation In switch.

To toggle the send between pre- and post-fader:

 Press the encoder Sel switch under the display showing the send you want to adjust. When the send is post-fader, the Sel switch

is unlit. When the send is pre-fader, the

Sel switch is lit. Sends are post-fader by default.

To adjust send pan:

1 Press the encoder under the display showing the send you want to adjust. If the send is stereo, a single encoder will be mapped

to send pan (usually encoder eight). If the send is three or more channels (such as LCR, or a 5.1 send), additional send pan parameters become available in the encoders (such as divergence, center percentage, and other multichannel pan parameters).

2 Rotate the appropriate encoder.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 42

Muting/Unmuting Sends

You can mute/unmute individual sends using the Channel Encoders and Channel Control.

To mute/unmute a send:

1 Bank to the desired track. 2 Using the Channel Encoders, do the following:

• Press

•Use the

3 Using Channel Control, do the following:

Aux.

< Page and Page > keys to navigate the displays until the desired send is shown.

• Select a track and make sure it is attentioned.

• Press the

4 Hold the Command + Control Modifier switches and press the encoder Sel switch for the desired send.

Sends Channel Control encoder.

Working with Automation

This section shows many of the ways you can control automation settings using the S3.

Selecting Track Automation Modes

You can select track Automation Modes using the channel strip REC/AUTO switches and the Function switches. The current Automation Mode is shown in the corresponding channel display on the S3, and on-screen.

Using the REC/AUTO Switches

REC/AUTO (Surface SHIFT + Rec) lets you cycle through the following automation modes:

To select the automation mode using the REC/AUTO switches:

1 Hold Surface SHIFT + REC/AUTO on a track. 2 Press Surface SHIFT + REC/AUTO again to cycle through the following automation modes

• blank = automation is off

r = read

•

w = write

•

rw = read/write

•

3 To change the automation mode on all tracks, hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while pressing SHIFT + REC/AUTO. 4 To change the automation mode on all selected tracks, hold Option + Shift (Mac) or Alt + Shift (Windows) while pressing

SHIFT+REC/AUTO.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 43

Using the Function Switches

The following table shows the available automation modes on the Function switches.

Switch Automation Function Switch Automation Function

9–16

To select the Automation Mode using the Function switches:

 Press and hold the Function switch for the desired Automation Mode, then select a channel.

To select the automation mode on multiple tracks using the Function switches:

1 Select multiple channels. 2 Press and hold Multi-Select/SHIFT+ ALT, then press the switch for the desired Automation Mode.

Toggles switches between banks

F1-F8 and F9-F16

Show Me (Eye Icon)

Opens EuControl Settings > Soft Keys > Right Control section

The Function Switch LED lights whenever its respective automation mode is enabled. In certain automation modes (such as Write) the LED flashes.

Shortcuts to Display Automation Playlists

The following shortcuts let you quickly display the breakpoint automation playlist for a control by clicking it in combination with modifier keys on your computer keyboard.

Waveform View

To show the waveform for a track in the Edit window:

 Hold Control + Command (Mac) or Control + Start (Windows) and press the channel Sel switch.

Track Volume View

To show volume automation for a track in the Edit window:

 Hold Command + Control (Mac) or Control + Start (Windows) and touch the track fader.

Track Pan View

To show track pan automation in the Edit window:

1 Press PAN to assign pan to the Channel Encoders. 2 Hold Control + Command (Mac) or Ctrl + Start (Windows) and touch the Pan encoder on a track.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 44

Send Level View

To show Send level automation in the Edit window:

1 Press AUX to assign sends to the Channel Encoders. 2 If necessary, press the Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch until the desired Sends slot is displayed. 3 Hold Control + Command (Mac) or Ctrl + Start (Windows) and touch the Send encoder in the desired track.

Send Pan View

To show Send pan automation in the Edit window:

1 Press AUX to assign sends to the Channel Encoders. 2 If necessary, press the Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch until the desired Sends slot is displayed. 3 Press the encoder for the desired send. 4 Hold Control + Command (Mac) or Ctrl + Start (Windows) and touch the Send pan encoder on a track.

Plug-In Automation

Plug-In Parameters can be enabled for automation from the S3.

Pro Tools provides a preference setting for newly inserted plug-ins to default to all parameters enabled for automation. Go to Pro Tools > Preferences > Mixing, and under Automation, select Plug-In Controls Default to Auto-Enabled.

Enabling All Plug-in Parameters for Autom ation

To enable all plug-in controls for automation on Artist Mix:

1 Press INSERT. 2 If necessary, press the Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch until the desired Inserts slot is displayed. 3 Hold Control + Command + Option (Mac) or Control + Start + Alt (Windows) and press the Channel Encoder In switch under

the display showing the plug-in for which you want to enable automation.

Enabling an Individual Plug-In Parameter for Automa tion

To enable automation for a plug-in parameter:

1 Press INSERT. 2 If necessary, press the Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch until the desired Inserts slot is displayed, and press the Chan-

nel Encoder under the display showing the plug-in you want to access.

3 If necessary, press the Page > Channel Encoder Navigation switch until the desired parameter is displayed. 4 Hold Control + Command + Option (Mac) or Control + Start + Alt (Windows) and do one of the following:

• For a continuous plug-in parameter such as a level control, touch the encoder for the desired parameter. – or –

• For a switch-type parameter such as an In/Out switch, press the Channel Encoder

In switch for the desired parameter.

Suspending the Faders

You can suspend the faders so they do not follow any underlying automation for quieter operation during editing or mixdown. This does not affect automation, it merely parks the faders so they do not move during playback.

To suspend the faders:

 Hold Surface SHIFT while pressing Solo on the first (leftmost) channel strip.  Repeat to re-enable the faders.

Using S3 with Pro Tools 45

S3 Audio I/O Connections

This chapter shows how to use the built-in audio I/O on the S3, including:

•

Enabling S3 Audio on the Workstation Computer

• S3 Audio Connections Overview

• Accessing Audio Control on the S3

• Connecting and Adjusting Inputs

Enabling S3 Audio on the Workstation Computer

To use the audio I/O on your S3 with your workstation computer, you must first enable the audio connection on the workstation computer. This connection only needs to be enabled the first time you connect the S3 to a particular computer.

To enable S3 audio on your workstation computer:

1 Connect S3 to your workstation computer. 2 Power on S3, and make sure the S3 is in Studio mode.

Display number 15 on the top row of encoders on the S3 shows the current mode (“Studio” or “Live”) when the S3 is initializing after being powered on. See

Connecting a Second Workstation for more information.

• Connecting and Adjusting Outputs

• Connecting Hardware Inserts

• Connecting and Adjusting Headphones

• Saving S3 Monitor Settings

3 Power on your workstation computer. 4 On your computer, go to Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup. 5 Fro the Window menu, choose Show Network Device Browser. 6 Click the checkbox next to Avid S3. If more than one device appears and both are checked, deselect the other device. Once

checked, the S3 appears in the list of available audio devices in the Audio Devices Window of the Audio MIDI Setup.

S3 Surface shown in the Network Device Browser (left) and the Audio Devices Window (right) of the Audio MIDI Setup

7 Launch Pro Tools, and from the Setup menu choose Playback Engine.

For other DAWs, see the documentation for the application to configure its I/O settings.

8 From the Playback Engine pop-up, choose Avid S3:AVB.

Choosing the S3 as the Playback Engine for Pro Tools

9 Choose Setup > IO Setup. Click Default on both the Input and Output tabs, then click OK to close IO Setup.

S3 Audio I/O Connections 46

S3 Audio Connections Overview

S3 provides four channels of analog inputs to Pro Tools or other Core Audio-compatible applications that support sample rates of 48 kHz, and four channels of analog outputs for connecting monitors and other outboard audio devices.

S3 control surface back panel audio connections

1 – Inputs 1–2 (2 x XLR)

Inputs 1–2 are balanced microphone inputs, and are adj usted using the In 1 and In 2 Channel Control Encoders. Phantom power (48 Volts) and a 20 dB pad are provided on each input. Inputs 1–2 can be linked. See formation.

2 – Inputs 3–4 (2 x 1/4-inch TRS)

Connecting and Adjusting Inputs for more in-

Inputs 3–4 are line-level inputs that accept balanced TRS and unbalanced TS connections. Inputs 3–4 operate at a nominal level of +4 dBu, and are adjusted using the

Line 3 and Line 4 Global Control Encoders. A 20 dB pad is provided on each input. Inputs 3–4

can be linked.

3 – Outputs 1–2 (2 x XLR)

MAIN

Outputs 1–2 are the main monitoring output pair for your audio/video application, and operate at a nominal level of +4 dBu. Controls for Outputs 1–2 are linked and are adjusted using the puts 1–2 are trol Encoder display. See

Out 1–2 from Pro Tools or other DAWs. Outputs 1–2 are active when Select is highlighted in the MAIN Channel Con-

Connecting and Adjusting Outputs for more information.

The monitor source for the MAIN and ALT outputs can be changed using the Mon Prefs encoder. See Changing the Monitor

Source

for more information.

Main Channel Control Encoder. By default the monitor source for Out-

4 – Outputs 3–4 (2 x 1/4-inch TRS)

ALT

Outputs 3–4 are an alternate monitoring output pair and operate at a nominal level of +4 dBu. Outputs 3–4 accept balanced TRS and unbalanced TS connections. Outputs 3–4 are linked and are adjusted using the monitor source for Outputs 1–2 are

Alt Channel Control Encoder display. Track outputs can also be routed to Outputs 3–4 independently in Pro Tools.

the

Out 1–2 from Pro Tools or other DAWs. Outputs 3–4 are active when Select is highlighted in

ALT Global Control Encoder. By default the

5 – Headphone Output (1 x 1/4-inch Stereo TRS)

Headphone volume is adjusted using the volume wheel along the front edge of the S3. When the Mon to HP monitor preference is enabled, the headphone output mirrors Outputs 1–4 on the S3. Track outputs can also be routed to the Headphone output independently, and correspond to

S3 Audio I/O Connections 47

Out 5–6 in Pro Tools. See Connecting and Adjusting Headphones for more information

Accessing Audio Control on the S3

Top

Sel

Conﬁg

Back

Page

Expnd

Page

48v

Pad

48v

Pad

48v

Pad

48v

Pad

In 1

10dB

In 2

10dB

In 3

10dB

In 4

10dB

Select

Cut

ALT

-65dB

MON

Prefs

AVB 1-2

MON to HP

Cut

MAIN

-65dB

Select

Audio Control–the S3’s built-in I/O controls–are adjusted using Channel Control Encoders 9–16. Audio Control is hidden by default.

To access Audio Control:

 Simultaneously press the right-side < Page and Page > Channel Control Navigation switches.

Right-side < Page > switches

Controls for the built-in I/O are assigned to Channel Control Encoders 9–16.

I/O controls in Channel Control

Connecting and Adjusting Inputs

You can adjust inputs using the Channel Control Encoders. You can also lin k Inputs 1–2 and 3–4 and control each pair using a single Encoder and associated switches.

To connect and route a mic or line input:

1 Connect a microphone to Inputs 1–2; connect a line-level device to Inputs 1–4. 2 In your audio/video application, assign S3 hardware inputs to the desired track(s). In Pro Tools, inputs on the S3 are called In

1–4

in the Input Path selector.

Choosing an S3 Input in Pro Tools

To adjust outputs:

1 If necessary, access Audio Control by simultaneously pressing the < Page and Page > Channel Control Navigation switches. 2 Do any of the following under the display showing the input you want to adjust:

• To adjust input gain, rotate the encoder.

• To engage the 20 dB pad, press the corresponding encoder

sponding display.

• T o engage 48v (phantom power) on Mic/Line Inputs 1–2, press the corresponding encoder

highlighted in the corresponding display.

Sel button so it is lit green. Pad is also highlighted in the corre-

In switch so it is lit red. 48v is also

S3 Audio I/O Connections 48

To link and unlink input pairs:

48v

Pad

In 1-2

10dB

48v

Pad

In 3-4

10dB

1 To link input pairs 1–2 or 3–4, press and hold Multi-Select/SHIFT 2 Press the Encoder under the display showing In 1 or In 2 to link 1–2, or In 3 or In 4 to link 3–4.

Encoder displays showing linked Input controls

3 To unlink an input pair, press Multi-Select/SHIFT + the encoder under the display showing In 1-2 or In 3-4.

Connecting and Adjusting Outputs

You can toggle the monitor source between Outputs 1–2 (MAIN) and Outputs 3–4 (ALT), adjust the monitor level, and dim and mute (Cut) the outputs using the Channel Control Encoders. The default source for S3 Outputs 1–4 (and the Headphone output if

MON to HP is selected) is Out 1–2. However, you can also assign tracks to S3 outputs independently.

You can also sum an output pair to mono and change the monitor source for the outputs.

To connect and route and outputs

1 Connect an audio destination such as audio monitors to Outputs 1–2 (Main) or Outputs 3–4 (Alt). 2 In your audio/video application, assign track outputs to the desired S3 hardware output(s). In the Pro Tools Output Path selector,

Out 1–2 corresponds to S3 Outputs 1–2 (MAIN), Out 3-4 corresponds to S3 Outputs 3–4 (ALT), and Outs 5–6 correspond to

the S3 Headphone output

Choosing S3 Outputs in Pro Tools

To adjust outputs:

1 If necessary, access Audio Control by simultaneously pressing the < Page and Page > Channel Control Navigation switches. 2 To adjust an output pair, do any of the following under the display showing the output you want to adjust:

• To make an output pair (

Main or Alt) active, press the corresponding encoder Sel button so it is lit. Select is highlighted in

the corresponding display, and the LED above the display is lit green for the currently selected output pair.

• T o toggle an output pair on/off, press the corresponding encoder

Cut is highlighted in the corresponding display, and the LED above the display is flashes red.

In switch. The output pair is off (Cut) when the button is lit.

• To adjust the output level, rotate the encoder. The relative level in dB is indicated in the display.

• To dim the output, press the encoder.

Dim is shown in the display, and the LED above the display is lit orange.

To make both output pairs active, press Multi Select/SHIFT + Encoder Sel of the un selected pair. To make only one output pair active, press the desired output pair's Sel switch.

S3 Audio I/O Connections 49

To sum an output to mono:

MON

Prefs

AVB 1-2

MON to HP

1 Press and hold Multi-Select/SHIFT. 2 Press the Encoder for the output pair you want to sum to mono. Mono appears in the corresponding display. Mono signals are

sent equally to each physical output in the pair.

3 Repeat to return to stereo operation.

Changing the Monitor Source

You can change the monitor source for the outputs on the S3 using the Monitor Preferences (Mon Prefs) encoder.

To change the monitor source:

1 If necessary, access Audio Control. 2 Under the display showing Mon Prefs, press the encoder Sel switch to select an available monitor source as follows:

AVB 1–2

on the S3 (and the Headphone output if

In 1–2

phone output if

In 3–4

phone output if

Mon Prefs encoder and display

When AVB 1–2 is selected and appears in the display, Out 1-2 from Pro Tools and Core Audio are routed to Outputs 1–4

MON to HP is selected). This is the default monitor source setting for the S3.

When In 1–2 is selected and appears in the display, Inputs 1–2 on the S3 are routed to Outputs 1–4 on the S3 (and the Head-

MON to HP is selected). Use this to monitor an external source such as an audio interface or other playback device.

When In 3–4 is selected and appears in the display, Inputs 3–4 on the S3 are routed to Outputs 1–4 on the S3 (and the Head-

MON to HP is selected). Use this to monitor an external source such as an audio interface or other playback device.

Connecting Hardware Inserts

Inputs 3–4 and Outputs 3–4 can be used to insert external hardware on tracks in your application. When inserting hardware, be sure to connect the device to matching inputs and outputs on S3. For example, to insert a mono device, connect the input of the device to Output 3 on S3, then connect the output of the device to Input 3 on S3.

In Pro Tools, inserts are defined in the IO Setup. Go to Setup > IO..., then click the Insert tab to define the session insert p aths. See the Pro Tools Reference Guide for more information.

Connecting and Adjusting Headphones

Use the front panel Headphone volume control to control overall Headphone volume. By default the stereo Headphone output mirrors the other outputs on the S3, but this can be disabled.

To toggle Headphone output mirroring:

1 If necessary, assign I/O controls to Channel Control. 2 Under the display showing Mon Prefs, press the corresponding encoder In switch. When Mon to HP is unlit, the Headphone out-

put no longer mirrors Outputs 1–4.

S3 Audio I/O Connections 50

Saving S3 Monitor Settings

48v

Save

Pad

In 4

10dB

MON

Prefs

AVB 1-2

MON to HP

You can save the current monitor settings on your S3, including monito r preference settings, and MAIN (Outputs 1–2) and ALT (Outputs 1–2) settings.

To save the current monitor settings:

1 Make any desired adjustments to the monitor settings on the S3. 2 Under the display showing Save (the 13th Channel Control display), press the lit Encoder Sel switch.

Audio Control display showing Save

Saving Settings...appears in the display until saving is complete. Settings are saved until the next time you save.

S3 Audio I/O Connections 51

Soft Keys

Mixer Close

Top

Home End

Top

Expnd

Top

Group

Channel

Dyn

Mix

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Multi Select SHIFT

Default ALT

Fine CTRL

Command

Rec

Sel

Back

Application

Insert Pan

Aux Flip

Input EQ

9210

11412

13614

15816

9-16

1234

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Solo

Mute

Sel

+20/Clip

+15

-3

-9

-15

-21

-30

Sel

Rec

RecARec

Rec

Page

Back

Source

Page

Gain

HPF

Comp

Pan

Aux

Flip

User

Cancel

Multi Assign

Conﬁg

Back

Page

Expnd

Page

Nudge Nudge

View 1 View 2

Workstation

Bank Bank

Solo

Clear

Mix to Mons

SHIFT

When using Pro Tools | S3 with Pro Tools and other selected DAWs, an Appset is installed providing default functionality for S3 surface controls. You can customize select switches on S3 using the Soft Key Editor provided in EuControl software.

Overview

You can customize the functions of the switches in the following sections on the S3:

1 – Left Control

2 – Right Control

3 – View and Arrow Switches

4 – Touchstrip

S3 top panel

Soft Keys 52

Viewing Soft Key Assignments in the Soft Key Editor

9-16

Show Me switch

Right Control Soft Key assignments

To view assignments in the Soft Key Editor:

1 Launch Pro Tools and confirm that EuControl is connected to the S3, indicated by a lit EuControl icon in the Menu Bar (Mac)

or the System Tray (Windows).

2 On S3, press the Show Me switch. The Soft Keys currently assigned to the Right Control switches are shown on-screen.

3 To view the second page of switches for the Right Control section, click the Page selector and choose Page 2 from the pop-up

menu.

4 To view assignments for the other sections of switches, click the Section selector and choose one of the following:

• Left Control

•Views/Arrows

• Touchstrip

Other options such as Surface and Touchscreen are not applicable to S3.

Section selector pop-up menu

5 To view switches assigned to the Shift lay er (functions accessed by pres sing the Surface SHIFT switch plus the relevant switch)

of the Left Control, Views/Arrow, or Touchstrip sections, click to enable the

Soft Keys 53

Shift checkbox.

Using the Soft Key Editor

The Soft Key Editor lets you reassign a switch from its default Soft Key assignment (if applicable), add a new command to an unassigned switch, revert (undo) all recent assignment, and restore to factory default assignments. You can also add a key comman d to a switch to invoke a keyboard shortcut.

To reassign a Soft Key for Pro Tools:

1 Launch Pro Tools and confirm that EuControl is connected to the S3, indicated by a lit EuControl icon in the Menu Bar (Mac)

or the System Tray (Windows).

2 Press the Show Me switch. 3 Click the Section selector and choose the section of switches containing the switch you want to reassign. 4 On-screen double-click the switch you want to reassign. The Soft Key Command Editor window opens, showing the switch’s

current assignment.

Soft Key Command Editor

5 To reassign the currently selected switch, click a different command. For example, click Off in the third (right-most) list in the

Details area. You can also click to make a new selection in the first (left-most) or middle Details list (such as File Menu, Edit Menu

, and so on) to access other choices, as available.

A new assignment shown in the Command Editor

6 Close the Soft Key Command Editor and return to the EuControl Settings window. 7 If desired, click the Save button in the Soft Keys tab to save the assignments. The next time you launch EuControl, your custom

assignments are recalled.

If you do not save assignments, EuControl software retains your assignments until you Quit (Mac) or Exit (Windows) the EuControl application. EuControl then recalls the default Appset the next time you launch EuControl.

Soft Keys 54

To add a new assignment:

1 Launch Pro Tools and confirm the EuControl is connected to the S3, indicated by a lit EuControl icon in the Menu Bar (Mac)

or the System Tray (Windows).

2 Press the Show Me switch. 3 Click the Section selector and choose the section of switches containing the switch you want to assign. 4 On-screen. double-click the switch you want to assign. The Soft Key Command Editor window opens. 5 In the Command area, click Add and choose EUCON.

Adding a new EUCON command

After you add a EUCON command, choices appear in the

Details area.

The Details area showing commands

6 Click an item in the left-most list (level 1) within the Details area to reveal associated commands in the middle column.

An item selected in Level 1 (the first column) of the Details area

7 Click a command to assign a command, or click an item with an arrow to reveal more commands in the third column and assign

as necessary.

8 Close the Soft Key Command Editor and return to the EuControl Settings window. 9 If desired, click the Save button in the Soft Keys tab to save the assignments.

Soft Keys 55

To revert (undo) all assignments since the last time you saved changes:

 Click the Revert button in the Soft Keys tab.

To restore assignments to their factory defaults:

 Click the Restore button in the Soft Keys tab.

Adding a Custom Key Command

You can invoke a keyboard shortcut that has no predefined function in the EuControl using the Soft Key Editor. The following workflow shows how to assign the Pro Tools shortcut for halving the length of an Edit selection (Command + Control + Option + Shift + L on Mac, and Ctrl + Alt + Start + Shift + L on Windows) to a switch on the S3.

You can use the Pro Tools Shortcut Guide to find the relevant Pro Tools shortcuts for your operating system.

To assign a custom key command:

1 Launch Pro Tools and confirm EuControl is connected to the S3, indicated by a lit EuControl icon in the Menu Bar (Mac) or the

System Tray (Windows).

2 Press the Show Me switch on S3. 3 Click the Section selector and choose the section of switches containing the switch you want to assign. 4 On-screen, double-click the switch you want to assign. The Soft Key Command Editor window opens. 5 In the Soft Key Editor, do the following:

• If the switch already has an assignment, select the assignment in the Command list then press

•Click

Add and choose Key.

Delete.

Choosing Key from the Add pop-up menu

6 In the Details area, select Control, Shift, Alt/Opt, and Win/Cmd, then enter “L” in the field below.

Details area of the Soft Key Command Editor

To insert special keyboard characters in the field such as a Function key or an arrow key, use the Insert Special menu.

7 Close the Soft Key Command Editor and return to the EuControl Settings window. Now, pressing the assigned switch halves the

length of the current Edit selection in the Pro Tools Edit window.

8 If desired, do any of the following:

• Click in the Soft Key Label field and enter a name for the Soft Key assignment.

• Click the

Save button in the Soft Keys tab to save the assignment.

Soft Keys 56

EuControl Software

EuControl is launched automatically upon starting your computer and runs in the background. EuControl is responsible for finding, linking, and communicating with all Avid media controllers on the network.

Accessing EuControl Settings

To open the EuControl Settings window, do one of the following:

• On Mac, click the EuControl icon on the taskbar and select EuControl Settings.

• On Windows, double-click the EuControl icon in the system tray and select

ntrol icon, it could be automatically hidden by Windows. Click on the small white arrow to show hidden icons, then double-click the EuControl icon.

Only one instance of EuControl can run on a workstation. However, multiple workstations on a single network can each run EuControl. Each EuControl-equipped workstation can connect one S3 on the network.

In this chapter, the tabs in the EuControl software are discussed in the order (left to right) as they appear at the top of the EuControl Settings dialog.

Surfaces

EuControl Settings. If you don't see the EuCo-

The Surfaces tab shows all EUCON controllers on your network and those connected to your instance of EuControl.

Surfaces tab

All Surfaces

All Surfaces shows all Avid media controllers on the network. A device shown in light gray is already connected either to your own or another instance of EuControl running on a different workstation. In both cases, it is not selectable.

EuControl Software 57

My Surfaces

My Surfaces shows the media controllers connected to your instance of EuControl. The top-to-bottom order corresponds to the left-to-right order of the surfaces, respectively. The leftmost surface is assigned to fader

strip 1. Use the Each media controller can be renamed by double-clicking the existing name and typing a new name.

If you changed the name of the S3 in VENUE software, that name will appear in the My Surfaces list. Likewise, if you changed the name in the My Surfaces list, it will appear as such in VENUE software.

+ and – buttons to reorder the list.

Add

Click Add to add the selected All Surfaces entry to My Surfaces. This connects the selected Avid media controller to your instance of EuControl. You can also click and drag an Avid media controller from All Surfaces to My Surfaces.

Add is disabled if all media controllers in All Surfaces are connected to any instance of EuControl.

One S3 and one Artist Transport can be added to My Surfaces and used simultaneously with ProTools or other EUCONenabled DAWs.

Remove

Click Remove to remove the selected surface from My Surfaces and make it available to other instances of EuControl.

Remove is disabled if no surface is selected.

Automatically Add

The Automatically Add menu has two settings that control what happens to stored Surfaces between shutdown and startup.

All Surfaces (Default)

This setting is best used when you are the only person running EuControl in your home or studio. It provides an easy plug-and-play experience by automatically adding your All Surfaces list to your My Surfaces list so you never have to manually edit the My Surfaces list.

My Surfaces Only

This setting is useful in facilities where other EuControl users are on your network. When EuControl starts, only the surfaces from your My Surfaces list are added. Because a surface can only be claimed by one user at a time, this avoids claiming another user’s surfaces.

Update Firmware

Each time a new version of EuControl is installed, it checks each media controller in your system to determine if any firmware updates are required. The firmware is embedded in EuControl so an Internet connection is not required.

Select each media controller in the My Surfaces list. Click sage that the firmware is up to date, no further action is necessary.

Follow the instructions in the EuControl dialog box.

• The media controllers must be plugged into a working power source.

• Do not power off any media controllers during the update or attempt to interrupt the update.

• The status for each media controller being updated is displayed on that device as well as in the EuControl dialog.

Update Firmware to update their firmware. If a dialog displays a mes-

Show Info

Select a media controller and click Show Info to display the name of the unit, and hardware and software information.

EuControl Software 58

Workstations

A media controller can control applications running on a second computer, referred to in this guide as a workstation. The Workstations tab establishes the list of workstations that the software can be in this list.

Workstations tab

Workstation switch cycles through. Any workstation running EuControl

All Workstations

All Workstations lists all EUCON-enabled workstations on the network. If the workstation is already in the My Workstations list,

it is shown in gray and cannot be selected.

My Workstations

My Workstations lists the workstations that can be attached to by pressing the Workstation switch (Surface SHIFT + Applica-

tion/Workstation)

It is possible to put a workstation in the My Workstations list that is already attached to another instance of EuControl running on another computer. It cannot be attached here until it is unattached from the other instance of Eu Control. This allows multiple users to share workstations without having to frequently edit their

My Workstation list.

Add

Click Add to add the selected workstat ion from the All Workstations l ist to the My Workstations list. If the workstation is already in the My Workstations list, it is grayed out and cannot be selected.

Remove

Click Remove to remove the selected workstation from the My Workstations list.

EuControl Software 59

Attach/Detach

Select a workstation in the My Workstations list and click Attach. A check mark appears in the Attach column next to that workstation. This workstation is now communicating with the media controller(s) connected to your instance of EuControl.

If the selected workstation is already attached, the button displays

Redirect Keyboard and Mouse Control to Attached External Workstation

Your computer keyboard and mouse can control a second external workstation, if desired. Select this option before addi ng a workstation to the My Workstations list to redirect keyboard and mouse control to the attached workstation. Note that the keyboard and mouse will no longer control your primary workstation. If this option is not selected (default setting), your keyboard and mouse control your primary computer.

You can manually toggle control back and forth between your primary workstation and the attached external workstation by pressing Control + Option + \ (Mac) or Control+Alt+\ (Windows).

Redirect Keyboard and Mouse Control to Attached External Workstation option must be checked before adding the work-

The station to the My Workstations list. If it is toggled ON afte r adding the workstation it wil l have no affect. Only workstations added with the option checked will respond.

Detach. Click it to detach the workstation.

General

The General tab lets you control how the S3 and application software work together.

General tab

Workstation Tracks Knob Set Changes

This command lets supported workstations follow selection of knob sets on S3.

Open Plug-ins on Workstation When Editing

This command lets supported workstations open plug-in windows on-screen when a plug-in is selected for editing on S3.

Close Plug-ins on Workstation When Exiting

This command lets supported workstations close plug-in windows on-screen when you press BACK or exit Inserts mode on an S3.

EuControl Software 60

Select by Touch

This command lets supported workstations attention (focus) tracks on-screen when their fader is touched on the S3.

Auto-bank to Selected Track

When this is selected, S3 banks to tracks when the tracks are selected on-screen. The surface will auto-bank such that the selected track appears on the leftmost fader of the surface as long as the selected track is not currently visible on the surface.

Display Track Numbers on Surface

When this is selected, S3 shows track numbers as assigned by the current workstation (if supported) in the channel displays.

Solo Mode

These setting let you configure S3 for the following Solo modes as (if) available in the current workstation:

• Solo-in-Place

• After-Fader Listen (AFL)

• Pre-Fader Listen (PFL) See the documentation for your specific workstation for details on Solo modes.

Wheel Sen s itivity

These options are not applicable for S3.

EuControl Software 61

Preferences

Preferences tab

Footswitch

You can connect a footswitch to S3 for hand s-free punch in/out. Connect a footswtich to the 1/4-inch footswitch input on the back panel.

To configure the Footswitch in EuControl:

 In the Footswitch section of the Preferences tab, click to select the desired Punch In and Punch Out assignments:

Record | Record

When the application is rolling, pressing the footswitch once punches into recording on record enabled tracks. Pressing the footswitch again takes the track(s) out of record but does not stop the transport.

Record | Play

Pressing the footswitch once punches into recording on record enabled tracks. Pressing the footswitch again stops the record pass (your DAW may or may not automatically take the track out of record on stop; see the documentation for your application).

Status

Shows whether the footswitch state is currently on or off.

S3 VCA Spill Zone

(Pro Tools | S3 Only)

These options determine VCA Spill behavior in Multi-Master Mode, as follows:

Channel Strips 1–8

VCA Master are spilled to channel strips 1–8 in banks of eight channels.

Channel Strips 1–12

VCA Master are spilled to channel strips 1–12 in banks of 12 channels.

When selected, up to eight VCA Masters are assigned to S3 channel strips 9–16. Members of the selected

When selected, up to four VCA members are assigned to S3 channel strips 13–16. Members of the selected

Shift + Fader Sets Level to 0dB

When enabled, holding SHIFT and touching a fader sets the fader to 0dB. Surface SHIFT-lock does not apply (Surface SHIFT must be pressed).

EuControl Software 62

Artist Control Display

This feature does not apply to S3.

Display Screen Dim Time

This feature does not apply to S3.

Assign

The Assign tab manages how tracks are assigned to S3 channel strips. By default, tracks are automatically assigned in banks of 16.

Assign tab

Display Application’s Track Numbers

Enabling this option lets EuControl display track numbers as assigned by the currently selected (in focus) application (if that application supports track numbers).

Clear All Assignments

Clears all currently displayed assignments.

Lock to Application

This feature does not apply to S3.

EuControl Software 63

Layouts

Use the Layouts tab to store and recall custom fader layouts. For example, you can use the Assign tab to assign tracks to specific S3 channel strips. You can then save those assignments as part of a fader layout on the the Bank

A–F switches. See Storing and Recalling Custom Layouts.

Layouts tab, which you can then recall using

Layouts tab

Layouts are created and temporarily stored in EuControl as long as the current session or project is open. To be able to recall your layouts, be sure to save your session or project in your workstation application.

Soft Keys

This tab controls assignments and programming for the switches in the Left Control, Right Control, Views/Arrows, and Touchstrip sections. See

Soft Keys for more information.

Restart EUCON Applications

If you are having trouble connecting your surface to your DAW, use the Restart EUCON Applications command.

To restart all EUCON applications (including EuControl software):

 On Mac, click the EuControl icon on the taskbar and select Restart EUCON Applications, then click Yes.  On Windows, click the EuControl icon in the Task or System tray (Windows) and select Restart EUCON Applications, then

Yes. Unused icons will be shown in the Hidden icons view.

click

All EUCON applications are restarted, including EuControl.

EuControl Software 64

Audio Specifications

All specifications subject to change.

S3 Control Surface Audio Specifications

S3 Analog Mic Inputs, Pad Disabled

Parameter Conditions

Phantom Power Input Sensitivity @ 997 Hz, Gain = 10 dB (min.) Equivalent Input Noise (EIN) Gain = 60 dB, 150  source impedance Frequency Response V

= -12.035 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz relative to

INPUT

1 kHz, Gain = 10 dB (min.)

Value

Min. Typ. Max.

48 Volts

+7.979 dBu

-126.1 dB

-0.021 0 -0.236 dB

Units

Dynamic Range Unweighted 150  source impedance, Gain = 10 dB (min.) Dynamic Range A weighted 150 source impedance, Gain = 10 dB (min.) THD+N Amp @ 997Hz, Gain = 40 dB THD+N Freq measured at -25.242 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz,

Gain = 40 dB

Common Mode Rejection Ratio

Inter-channel Crosstalk V

Input Impedance @1 kHz

= -21.560 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz,

INPUT

Gain = 10 dB (min.)

= -12.150 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz,

INPUT

Gain = 10 dB (min)

-111.2 dB

-113.8 dB

0.0014 %

0.0007 0.0014 0.0045 %

-71.7 -80.8 -81.4 dB

-120.4 -109.6 -99.2 dB

3.5K ohms

Audio Specifications 65

S3 Analog Mic Inputs, Pad Enabled

Parameter Conditions

Phantom Power

Value

Min. Typ. Max.

48 Volts

Units

Input Sensitivity Frequency Response V

@ 997Hz, Gain = 10 dB (min.)

=+8.225 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz relative to

INPUT

1 kHz, Gain = 10 dB (min.)

Dynamic Range Unweighted Dynamic Range A Weighted

150  source impedance, Gain = 10 dB (min.) 150  source impedance, Gain = 10 dB (min.)

THD+N Amp @ 997 Hz, Gain =40 dB THD+N Freq measured at -3.808 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz,

Gain = 40 dB

Common Mode Rejection Ratio V

= -1.276 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz,

INPUT

Gain = 20 dB

Inter-Channel Crosstalk V

= +8.233 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz,

INPUT

Gain = 10 dB (min.)

Input Impedance @1 kHz

S3 Analog Line Inputs

Parameter Conditions

Input Sensitivity @ 997Hz, Gain = 10 dB (min.) Equivalent Input Noise (EIN) Frequency Response V

Gain = 18 dB, 150source impedance

=-1.520 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz relative to

INPUT

1 kHz, Gain = 10 dB (min.)

Dynamic Range Unweighted Dynamic Range A weighted

150  source impedance, Gain = 10 dB (min.) 150  source impedance, Gain = 10 dB (min.)

THD+N Amp @ 997Hz, Gain =40 dB THD+N Freq measured at +12.193 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz,

Gain = 40 dB

Common Mode Rejection Ratio V

= -1.523 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz,

INPUT

Gain = 0 dB

Inter-Channel Crosstalk V

= -1.520 dBu, 20 Hz – 20 kHz,

INPUT

Gain = 0 dB (min.)

Input Impedance @1 kHz

+28.322 dBu

-0.016 0 -0.235 dB

-111.2 dB

-113.9 dB

0.0018 %

0.0012 0.0018 0.0064 %

-59.3 -63.8 -63.9 dB

-122.1 -109.1 -98.2 dB

3.7k ohms

Value

Min. Typ. Max.

Units

+18.471 dBu

-93.9 dB

-0.018 0 -0.233 dB

-110.4 dB

-113 dB

0.0010 %

0.0005 0.0010 0.0016 %

-64.4 -66.8 -67.0 dB

-117.8 -110.1 -98.3 dB

5.1k ohms

Audio Specifications 66

S3 Analog Outputs

Parameter Conditions

Output Sensitivity @ 997 Hz Output Impedance @1 kHz Residual Output Noise 20 Hz – 20 kHz Round Trip Latency Console input to Console output

S3 Headphone Output

Parameter Conditions

Output Impedance @1 kHz Output Sensitivity

32 load @ 997 Hz, max output

Value

Min. Typ. Max.

+24.201 dBu

103.5 ohms

-88 dBu

3.2 ms

Value

Min. Typ. Max.

+17.932

Units

ohms

dBV

Max RMS Power Output

+20.157 dBu 32 ohm headphones +19 dBu 600 ohm headphones

1.940

163.1

Audio Specifications 67

Appendix A: Compliance Information

Environmental Compliance

Disposal of Waste Equipment by Users in the European Union

This symbol on the product or its packaging indicates that this product must not be disposed of with other waste. Instead, it is your responsibility to dispose of your waste equipment by handing it over to a designated collection point for the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment. The separate collection and recycling of your waste equipment at the time of disposal will help conserve natural resources and ensure that it is recycled in a manner that protects human health and the environment. For more information about where you can drop off your waste equipment for recycling, please contact your local city recycling office or the dealer from whom you purchased the product.

Proposition 65 Warning

This product contains chemicals, including lead, known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.

Perchlorate Notice

This product may contain a lithium coin battery. The State of California requires the following disclosure statement: “Perchlorate Material – special handling may apply, See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate.”

Recycling Notice

EMC (Electromagnetic Compliance)

This model Artist Mix complies with the following standards regulating interference and EMC:

• FCC Part 15 Class B

• EN 55022 Class B

• EN 55024 Class B

• AS/NZS CISPR 22 Class B

• CISPR 22 Class B

Appendix A: Compliance Information 68

FCC Compliance for United States

Radio and Television Interference

Communication Statement

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try and correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technici an for help.

Any modifications to the unit, unless expressly approved by Avid, could void the user's authority to operate the equipment.

Australian Compliance

Canadian Compliance

This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada.

CE Compliance

(EMC, Safety, and ROHS)

Avid is authorized to apply the CE (Conformite Europenne) mark on this compliant equipment thereby declaring conformity to EMC Directive 2004/108/EC, Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC and RoHS Directive 2011/65/EC..

Korean EMC Compliance

이 기기는 가정용 (B 급 ) 전자파적합기기로서 주 로 가정에서 사용하는 것을 목적으로 하며 , 모 든 지역에서 사용할 수 있습니다 .

Appendix A: Compliance Information 69

Safety Compliance

Safety Statement

This equipment has been tested to comply with USA and Canadian safety certifications in accordance with the specifications of UL Standards: UL60950-1:2007, 2nd Edition and canadian CAN/CSA C22.2 60950-1-07, 2nd Edition. Avid Inc. has been authorized to apply the appropriate UL and CUL mark on its compliant equipment.

Warning

Important Safety Instructions

1) Read these instructions.

2) Keep these instructions.

3) Heed all warnings.

4) Follow all instructions.

5) Do not use this equipment near water.

6) Clean only with dry cloth.

7) Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8) Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other equipment (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

9) Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.

10) Protect power cords from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the equipment.

11) Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

12) For products that are not rack-mountable: Use only with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the equipment. When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/equipment combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

13) Unplug this equipment during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.

14) Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the equipment has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the equipment, the equipment has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

15) For products that are a Mains powered device: The equipment shall not be exposed to dripping or splashing and no objects filled with liquids (such as vases) shall be placed on the equipment.

Warning! To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this equipment to rain or moisture.

16) For products containing a lithium battery: CAUTION! Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced. Replace only with the same or equivalent type.

17) For products with a power switch: The main power switch is located on the back panel of S3. It should remain accessible after installation.

18) The equipment shall be used at a maximum ambient temperature of 40° C.

Appendix A: Compliance Information 70

Avid

280 N Bernardo Avenue Mountain View, CA 94043 USA

Technical Support (USA)

Visit the Online Support Center at www.avid.com/support

Product Information

For company and product information, visit us on the web at www.avid.com

Avid Technology Pro Tools S3 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual