ESI M8U User Manual

M8U ESI

INDEX

1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2

Key Features.................................................................................................................................2

2. Description of M8U......................................................................................................................3

Front Panel ................................................................................................................................... 3

3. System Requirements .................................................................................................................. 5

PC.................................................................................................................................................5

Mac...............................................................................................................................................5

4. Installation.................................................................................................................................... 6

Hardware Installation...................................................................................................................6

Driver Installation under Windows XP........................................................................................ 6

Driver Installation under Mac OS X ............................................................................................ 8

Exclusive driver Installation under Windows ME, 2000 or XP...................................................8

5. Application Setup.......................................................................................................................12

PC...............................................................................................................................................12

Cubase SX................................................................................................................................ 12

Giga Studio .............................................................................................................................. 13

Reason......................................................................................................................................13

Sonar........................................................................................................................................14

Mac.............................................................................................................................................14

Cubase SX................................................................................................................................ 14

Nuendo..................................................................................................................................... 16

Logic........................................................................................................................................17

Reason......................................................................................................................................17

END USER WARRANTY ............................................................................................................18

v2 November 2005

* All specifications are subject to change without prior notice.

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M8U ESI

1. Introduction

Thank you for choosing ESI M8U.
The M8U is a convenient 8 in 8 out, 128 channels USB MIDI Interface for PC and Mac computers,

offering maximum MIDI connectivity.
M8U can even act as a stand-alone MIDI patch bay when it is not connected to a computer and

offers various MIDI Thru functions.
With ESI’s hardware based MIDI timing technology, M8U guarantees that your music will play

back exactly the way you played it.
M8U supports Plug-n-Play for easy installation.

Key Features

· 8 in 8 out MIDI (128 MIDI channels)

· perfect MIDI timing

· MIDI activity indicators for each port

· USB-powered; requires no external power supply (if you use a Notebook or USB hub, you may

need an external power power supply, depending on the situation)

· high-speed connection to USB-equipped PC or Apple computers

· several thru functions

· when disconnected from the PC, the unit operates as a stand-alone MIDI patch bay

· professional 19”single height rack mount

· optimized for Windows XP and Mac OS X, special drivers for Windows ME, 2000 and XP

available

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M8U ESI

2. Description of M8U

Front Panel

Rear Panel

1. Power LED

2. USB/THRU switch
This is where you select USB mode or three kind of MIDI Thru mode(*).
USB mode: When you select this mode, M8U will be working as a basic MIDI interface. It’s the

normal mode. You can control MIDI in/ouput from your sequencer application. In addition, the
Power LED will be turned to red color. If you push the button again, you can go to the Thru
mode. If you want go back to the normal mode, always push to pull out the button.

Thru mode 1: Input and Output ports will be matched by 1:1. For example, MIDI data from
Input 2 directly goes to Output 2. All LED display will be turned on. After 2~3 seconds, LED
will be turned off again. Power LED will become green color.

Thru mode 2: The MIDI data from Input 8 goes to Output 1~8. LED Display Input 8 and Output
1~8 would be turned on. After 2~3 seconds, Output 1~8 will turned off (Input 8 remains to be
turned on). Output LED will be lit by signal. Power LED will become green color.

Thru mode 3: The MIDI data from Input 1 goes to Output 1~8. LED Display Input 1 and Output
1~8 would be turned on. After 2~3 seconds, Output 1~8 will be turned off (Input 1 remains to
be turned on). Output LED will be light by signal. In addition, Power LED will become green
color.

* The three Thru modes are changed in sequence whenever the button is pushed.

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M8U ESI

Normal

Thru 1

Thru 2

Thru 3

Function LED signal display

Basic MIDI interface
I/O port matching (1:1)

In 8 -> All MIDI Outputs

In 1 -> All MIDI Outputs In 1, Out 1~8 display will be turned on

All LED display will be turned on
After 2~3 seconds, LED will be turn off again
Flickering according to the signal
In 8, Out 1~8 display will be turned on
After 2~3 seconds, Out 1~8 LED will be turn off

again (In 8 will be remains to be turned on)
Flickering according to the signal

After 2~3 seconds, Out 1~8 LED will be turn off
again (In 1 will be remains to be turned on)

Flickering according to the signal

Caution: The Thru Mode works whether your computer is turned on or off.

3. MIDI IN LED display indicator

4. MIDI OUT LED display indicator

5. MIDI IN 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ports

6. MIDI OUT 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ports

7. USB connector

8. External power supply connector
When your computer does not supply enough power via USB or if you want to use M8U as

stand-alone device, you need to use an optional external power supply adapter (DC 9 ~ 15 V,
300mA) which is not included and connect it here.

(Output 8 is located both on front and rear side)

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M8U ESI

3. System Requirements

PC

· Windows XP, 2000 and ME,Windows XP operating system recommended

· Intel Pentium III CPU or equivalent AMD or compatible CPU

· motherboard with Intel or VIA chipset or compatible

· one available USB port

· UDMA66/100 7200rpm hard disk drive

· more than 256MB of RAM

· note that the system requirements depend more on your choice of audio software

Mac

· Mac OS X v10.2 or later only

· Macintosh with G3 or better processor (except the original PowerBook G3)

· one available USB port

· more than 256MB of RAM

note that the system requirem· ents depend more on your choice of audio software

* Caution

1. We don’t recommend using many USB devices with the M8U via USB hub at the same

time. It may cause Input data lose sometimes.

2. Some old mainboard that using OHCI (open host controller interface) may cause problem.

3. Check our web site http://www.esi-pro.com occasionally for the most recent update

information or technical issues.

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M8U ESI

4. Installation

If you use a Macintosh with Mac OS X or a PC with Windows XP, you can install the hardware
before you install or setup any drivers or applications. If you use a PC with Windows 2000 or ME,
you need to install the driver first (see below) and the the hardware.

Hardware Installation

Before you begin, make sure you have read your computer’s manual on installing USB devices.
Your computer’s manual should describe the precautions you should take.

Shutting down computer wouldn’t need for installing an USB device to the computer. However, we
will take it from the start to make sure you can follow every detail of installation.

1. Find the USB port on your computer. The USB port looks like shown below. You can usually

find it close to the PS/2 or serial ports on the back of a desktop computer system.

USB port on computer

2. Plug in the appropriate plug of the USB cable (so-called Series A plug) to the USB port of

computer. You will notice that USB ports on computer and M8U are different.

Series A plug

3. Connect the other end of the USB cable (the Series B plug) to the USB port of M8U.

Series B plug

Turn on the computer. You will see that the LED displays of M8U are lit. M8U gets power from the
computer via USB cable so you don’t need to attach any external power supply normally.

 Series A Plug is used for those devices on which the external cable is permanently attached like
Mouse, Keyboard and USB hubs, etc.

 Series B Plug is for devices that require detachable external cables and so is used for devices
like Printers, Scanners, Modems, Stand alone Hubs.

Driver Installation under Windows XP

After the hardware installation has been done properly, your PC with Windows XP or newer
versions of Windows will automatically detect the M8U and install a default driver. You don’t need
to install an additional driver for basic operation.

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