Setting Up a Dangerous Music D-Box with a Focusrite
Safre (56 or 40)
Physical Connections:
1. Plug the analog outputs 3-10 of the Safre into the Sum Input of the D-Box. This is so that you
bypass the Safre volume control. More info on this in the “Other Settings” section.
• For this you will need a Male DB25 to TRS snake. Buy a good quality snake (from a place like
www.redco.com or www.mogamicable.com)
2. Plug the Sum Output of the D-Box into any 2 line inputs of the Safre. Be sure not to use the mic
inputs, or you will clip. We usually suggest to use inputs 7 and 8 because they are generally used the
least, allowing you to keep those lines plugged in most of the time, but you can use any line inputs
that work for you.
• For this you will use 2 Female XLR to TRS audio cables.
3. Plug the SPDIF out of the Safre into the DAW input of the D-Box.
• For this you will need a digital audio cable with RCA on one end and Male XLR on the other end.
Please double check that it is a 75 ohm digital audio cable. In order to maintain signal integrity, it
should be kept under 10 feet.
• You can purchase this cable from places like Redco (Part # NC3MX/RCA-6D)
Connections between the Safre and the D-Box are now complete. The other D-Box connections are:
• Speaker Outputs/Alt Speaker Outputs – This is where you connect your studio monitors, which are
Male XLR outputs on the back of the D-Box.
• Analog Input – This is a stereo analog audio input that can be used for any analog source you
choose to audition via the D-Box. (i.e. iPods, CD Players, Sample Libraries, Computer Audio
Output, etc...)
• NOTE: If you plan on hooking up an iPod, iPhone, MP3 player, etc, please rst read this document:
“Read This First” Document
• CD Input – This is a stereo digital input that can be used for any digital source you choose to
monitor via the D-Box. (i.e. digital iPod docks, Digital CD Players, Digital Audio Feeds from the
Computer, etc...)
Other Settings/Routing:
1. This is very important- in your Safre software, you must set up your routing so that DAW outputs
1-8 correspond with Safre outputs 3-10. Click here to see a screen shot. Follow the routing of this
screen shot exactly. DAW 11 and 12 will feed the Safre SPDIF out, and will also feed Safre Monitor
Outputs 1-2, which shouldn’t be plugged into anything. All of the faders for paths that you are using
should be at unity.
2. Set up your i/o in your DAW. Go into your i/o setup window in your DAW of choice and make sure
that your DAW outputs 1-12 correspond with outputs 1-12 of the Safre, and DAW output 11-12 is
labeled SPDIF (If it’s not already, you can just rename it). Make sure the analog inputs all have paths
s e t u p a s w e l l ( t h i s i s a l l m o s t l i k e l y a l r e a d y t h e r e i n y o u r d e f a u l t , b u t i t ’ s g o o d t o c h e c k ) .
1.
2.
3. Set up your track outputs to create stems across outputs 1-8. You can split them up any way
that works for you, but generally the guideline is to split up tracks that have the most transient
information, such as vocals, drums, bass, etc...
• Take note of the fact that the D-Box has panning knobs on channels 7 and 8, allowing you to
utlilize those channels for mono tracks. See the example below:
4. At this point the mix is going out all 8 analog outputs and then being summed to stereo in analog in
the D-Box, and now it has to be recorded back into the DAW. If you have any outboard gear that you
like to put across the whole mix, this is where you would put it- between the D-Box Sum Output and
the Safre line input. Once the cables are plugged in properly, all you need to do is:
• Create a stereo Aux Track to receive the mix in the DAW. This allows you to put plugins across the
whole mix, and record them to the nal print track.
• Set the input of this Aux Track to 7-8 (or whichever line inputs you chose for your mix return), and
the output to an internal buss that you aren’t already using.
• Create a new stereo audio track in your DAW to monitor and record the mix.
• Set the input of this track to the buss that you used for the output of the Aux.
• Put that track on input monitor mode so that you can hear the mix even when you’re not recording
it. Set the output of that track to be the SPDIF out of the Safre (11-12), which will be sent back out
to the D-Box.
5. Select DAW on the front of the D-Box in order to monitor through the D-Box D/A, which will allow you
to hear the very last step in the mix process. This completes the full round trip of the mix, going from
DAW to D-Box, back to DAW, and again out to the D-Box for nal monitoring.
© Copyright 2012, Dangerous Music, Inc.
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