Hercules 16-12 FW User Manual
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................2
1.1. Overview............................................................................................................................................................. 2
1.2. System requirements .......................................................................................................................................... 2
1.3. Box contents ....................................................................................................................................................... 2
2. INSTALLING THE HERCULES 16/12 FW RACK................................................................................ 3
2.1. Installing the drivers in Windows .........................................................................................................................3
2.2. Installing the applications ....................................................................................................................................4
3. OPTIMIZING YOUR SYSTEM ..............................................................................................................5
3.1. Preparing to store your audio data ......................................................................................................................5
3.2. Freeing up system resources.............................................................................................................................. 5
3.3. Recovering resources from the desktop.............................................................................................................. 6
3.4. Optimization........................................................................................................................................................ 7
4. A LOOK AT THE HERCULES 16/12 FW RACK..................................................................................8
5. FUNCTIONALITY OVERVIEW ...........................................................................................................10
5.1. The analog inputs/outputs................................................................................................................................. 10
5.1.1. General points..................................................................................................................................... 10
5.1.2. Switching from +4dBu to -10dBV ........................................................................................................ 10
5.1.3. Balanced/unbalanced signals.............................................................................................................. 10
5.1.4. The Neutrik inputs............................................................................................................................... 11
5.2. The digital inputs/outputs .................................................................................................................................. 12
5.3. The MIDI inputs/outputs .................................................................................................................................... 12
5.4. Monitoring......................................................................................................................................................... 13
5.4.1. Hardware ............................................................................................................................................ 13
5.4.2. With headphones................................................................................................................................ 13
5.5. Synchronization................................................................................................................................................. 14
5.6. Multi-client......................................................................................................................................................... 14
5.7. Firmware updating ............................................................................................................................................ 15
6. THE HERCULES 16/12 FW CONTROL PANEL INTERFACE.......................................................... 16
6.1. General points................................................................................................................................................... 16
6.2. Managing presets.............................................................................................................................................. 16
6.3. Advanced options.............................................................................................................................................. 16
6.4. Selecting the synchronization mode.................................................................................................................. 17
6.5. Configuring hardware monitoring ...................................................................................................................... 18
6.6. Configuring the analog inputs............................................................................................................................ 18
6.7. Configuring the analog outputs ......................................................................................................................... 18
7. USING THE RACK WITH AUDIO SOFTWARE.................................................................................19
7.1. General points................................................................................................................................................... 19
7.2. Selecting the drivers to be used........................................................................................................................ 19
7.3. Configuring the audio resolution........................................................................................................................ 20
7.4. Configuring the monitoring mode ...................................................................................................................... 20
8. TUTORIALS ........................................................................................................................................20
8.1. Recording an instrument................................................................................................................................... 20
8.2. Recording a MIDI sequence.............................................................................................................................. 23
8.3. Recording a guitar-bass-drums type of group................................................................................................... 23
8.4. Recording a piece onto a DAT or MiniDisc........................................................................................................ 26
9. FUNCTIONAL DIAGRAM ...................................................................................................................27
10. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.........................................................................................................28
11. TECHNICAL SUPPORT......................................................................................................................29
11.1. Warranty information......................................................................................................................................... 29
11.2. Additional warranty provisions........................................................................................................................... 29
ITALIANO DEUTSCH ESPAÑOL NEDERLANDS ENGLISH FRANÇAIS
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Overview
Hercules 16/12 FW is a high-quality FireWire audio and MIDI interface for PCs running Windows
and for Macintosh computers.
It offers 16 inputs and 12 outputs for a total of 28 simultaneous audio channels at an audio
resolution of up to 24 bits and 96kHz.
16 independent inputs:
10 gold-plated balanced or unbalanced jack plugs, +4dBu and –10dBV compatible
2 Neutrik combo connectors (XLR/TRS)
1 optical stereo S/PDIF I/O
1 coaxial stereo S/PDIF I/O
12 independent outputs:
8 gold-plated balanced or unbalanced jack plugs, +4dBu and –10dBV compatible
1 optical stereo S/PDIF I/O
1 coaxial stereo S/PDIF I/O
Hercules 16/12 FW is a rack with multiple inputs and outputs that can be connected to any
computer’s FireWire port using the supplied FireWire cable.
1.2. System requirements
PC
Microsoft Windows 2000 (SP4), XP (SP1A)
Intel Pentium III/AMD Athlon 800MHz or compatible
128MB RAM (256MB recommended)
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
10GB free hard disk space (UDMA compatibility recommended)
Macintosh
Macintosh OS X 10.3
G4/Power Macintosh 1GHz equipped with a FireWire port
256MB RAM (512MB recommended)
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
10GB free hard disk space
1.3. Box contents
Hercules 16/12 FW rack
FireWire cable
FireWire/mini DV adapter
2 brackets for attachment to a 19” 1U rack unit
4 rubber supports for stability and 6 screws to attach the brackets to the rack
Power supply
CD-ROM including drivers, electronic documentation and software suite
User Manual
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2. INSTALLING THE HERCULES 16/12 FW RACK
Install the Hercules 16/12 FW drivers BEFORE connecting the rack to your
computer’s FireWire port for the first time. If you have already connected the rack without first
having installed the drivers, switch off the rack and disconnect it, restart your computer and
then follow the software installation procedure. Note: the screens and installation procedure
may vary noticeably in relation to the procedure described in this manual.
Since drivers and software are in a constant state of evolution, those provided on your installation
CD-ROM may have been updated. Please visit our website now (www.hercules.com) to check
whether this is the case and download the latest driver and software versions if necessary.
2.1. Installing the drivers in Windows
- Insert the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
The installation menu appears automatically, displaying all of
the options available.
If the installation menu does not launch
automatically:
- Double-click My Computer.
- Double-click the Hercules 16/12 FW CD-ROM icon.
- Double-click Setup.exe, if necessary.
- Click the Drivers button and follow the on-screen instructions.
- Connect one end of the FireWire cable to your computer’s FireWire port.
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If your computer has a mini DV FireWire port:
- Connect the FireWire cable to the included FireWire/mini DV adapter.
- Connect the other end of the FireWire cable to the FireWire 1394 port on the back face of the Hercules
16/12 FW rack.
- Connect the 15V DC power supply’s cable to the power plug on the back face of the Hercules 16/12 FW rack
and plug the power supply into an electrical outlet.
- Switch on the rack by pressing the Power switch on the front face.
Windows will detect each of the 6 devices that make up your Hercules 16/12 FW rack in succession
(Hercules 16/12 FW, Hercules 16/12 FW WDM Analog Audio Device, Hercules 16/12 FW WDM Optical
S/PDIF Audio Device, Hercules 16/12 FW WDM Coax S/PDIF Audio Device, Hercules 16/12 FW GSIF,
Hercules 16/12 FW MIDI). Repeat the procedure described below for each device.
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The Found New Hardware Wizard dialog box appears and
informs you that the system has detected a new device.
- Click Next as many times as is necessary to launch the
installation.
A message regarding driver certification may appear onscreen.
- Click Yes (Windows 2000) or Continue Anyway (Windows
XP).
- Click Finish to complete the installation.
2.2. Installing the applications
- Insert the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
The installation menu appears automatically, displaying all of
the options available.
If the installation menu does not launch
automatically:
- Double-click My Computer.
- Double-click the Hercules 16/12 FW CD-ROM icon.
- Double-click Setup.exe, if necessary.
- Select each of the elements you wish to install, and then follow the on-screen instructions.
If you have interrupted the installation procedure, you can launch it again as
follows:
- Double-click My Computer.
- Double-click the Hercules 16/12 FW CD-ROM icon.
- Double-click Setup.exe, if necessary.
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3. OPTIMIZING YOUR SYSTEM
Digital audio processing takes up a good deal of your computer’s resources. Your computer must
therefore be perfectly optimized in order to record audio signals without any losses in quality.
This section will help you to configure your Windows environment for optimal performance.
3.1. Preparing to store your audio data
Before modifying any software options, it is a good idea to first have a look at your hardware
configuration. In order to achieve optimal performance, your computer must obviously at least
meet the minimum system requirements, but there are also other elements to consider, including
your hard disk drive in particular. Much will be demanded of it during both recording and audio
playback, so it is therefore important that you have a fast hard disk drive with minimal access
time. Ultra DMA (or UDMA)-compatible hard disk drives allow for an optimal data transfer rate.
Moreover, the ideal configuration would consist of having two hard disk drives: a “System” hard
disk, which would hold the operating system and applications, and an “Audio” hard disk, dedicated
exclusively to audio recording. Please note that we are referring here to two separate physical
hard disk units. Simply allocating a partition on your hard drive to audio will not do anything to
improve performance.
Finally, you should defragment your hard disk drive(s) regularly in order to ensure that you are
getting the best performance. You should also make sure that your system is up-to-date (the
latest drivers, updates, etc.).
3.2. Freeing up system resources
When your computer is switched on, a variety of applications may be running as background
tasks and thus taking up system resources, even though their functions are not crucial to audio
recording. You can modify the launch settings for these applications and disable them from
launching automatically when Windows starts up. The applications currently running in the
background are represented by an icon in the taskbar. These may include your multimedia
player, antivirus software, screensaver or even Windows Messenger, an element of Windows XP
that launches automatically, taking up significant resources. Here, too, the application’s options
will allow you to disable automatic launching.
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User Manual – 5/30
3.3. Recovering resources from the desktop
For audio processing purposes, some Windows desktop options are unnecessary. Removing or
modifying them will allow you to free up resources.
First off, as far as graphics are concerned you can limit your
display to 16 bit quality, which is more than sufficient for
displaying audio software interfaces.
- Click Start/Settings/Control Panel.
- Double-click the Display icon.
- Select the Settings tab.
- Select Medium (16 bit) in the Color quality drop-down list.
- Click Apply.
You can also disable transition effects when opening windows and
menus.
- Select the Effects tab (Appearance in Windows XP).
- In Windows XP, click Effects….
- Disable the Use the following transition effect for menus and
tooltips option.
- Click OK.
You can also optimize the audio component of the Windows desktop
by disabling system sounds. These can cause problems in terms of
the sample rate used by your audio software.
- In the Control Panel, double-click the Sounds and Multimedia icon.
- Select the Sounds tab.
- Select No Sounds in the Sound scheme drop-down list.
- Click OK.
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3.4. Optimization
ASIO drivers, which provide minimal latency, can be optimized. These drivers are categorized as
background services, and as such do not benefit from all of the system resources available.
However, you can redefine Windows’ priorities.
- Click Start/Settings/Control Panel.
- Double-click the System icon.
- Select the Advanced tab.
In Windows 2000:
- Click Performance Options….
In Windows XP:
- Click Settings in the Performance zone.
- Select the Advanced tab.
- Enable the Background services option.
This window also allows you to adjust virtual memory. This is a file on your hard disk drive that Windows uses
to store data when RAM is inaccessible. It therefore has the same function as your computer’s RAM
(although it takes longer to access data). Windows automatically defines the virtual memory size, and it may
be necessary to adjust this value in order to obtain optimal performance during audio processing operations.
- Click Change in the Virtual memory zone.
Virtual memory is defined by the values found in the Initial size and
Maximum size fields. We recommend that you apply the same value
to both fields. The size that you specify will depend on how much
RAM your computer is equipped with: enter a file size corresponding
to approximately 1.5 times the amount of RAM (example: enter the
value 200 for 128MB of RAM), without exceeding 512MB.
- Enter the values in the two fields referred to above.
- Click Set.
- Click OK.
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DEUTSCH ESPAÑOL NEDERLANDS ENGLISH FRANÇAIS ITALIANO
4. A LOOK AT THE HERCULES 16/12 FW RACK
Brackets
To install the
rack in a
standard 19”
1U unit
MIDI IN/OUT 2
To connect a “Guest”
MIDI controller (can be
used at the same time as
On/Off switch
Allows you to
switch the rack on
LEDs (Inputs)
Orange = signal or data presence on the inputs
Red = risk of saturation on the 12 analog inputs
LEDs (Outputs)
Green = signal or data presence on the outputs
the MIDI 1 port on the
or off without
back face) for a total of
32 channels
restarting your
computer
Front face view
Mic/Line 12 input
with preamp
Mic/Line 11 input
with preamp
Balanced Neutrik (XLR/TRS)
combo connector
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Gain 1 control
To adjust
microphone
amplification
Headphone
volume control
Gain 2 control
Instrument 2
Instrument 1
For high
impedance inputs
+48V Phantom Power
Allows you to apply phantom power to the
Mic/Line 11 & 12 inputs
(guitar, bass, etc.)
¼” jack (6.35mm)
Headphone output
Analog outputs 1-8
1/4” TRS (balanced) or TS
(unbalanced) outputs
Level can be set at –10dBV or
+4dBu via software
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Analog inputs 1-10
1/4” TRS (balanced) or TS
(unbalanced) inputs
Level can be set at –10dBV or
+4dBu via software.
Use these inputs for line level
instruments such as keyboards,
drum machines, etc.
Rear face view
Coaxial I/O and
optical I/O
2 independent stereo
S/PDIF I/Os for data
MIDI IN/OUT 1
For a permanent
“Master” MIDI
keyboard
FireWire 1394
To connect the rack
to your computer’s
FireWire port with the
transfer to and from
devices equipped with
S/PDIF I/Os (DAT/
included standard
FireWire cable
(length: 4.5m)
MiniDisc players, etc.)
Word Clock I/O
To generate or adjust to a clock
signal in order to synchronize
your Hercules 16/12 FW with
other professional digital audio
devices
Power plug (15V)
To connect the included 15V
DC power supply
Since your Hercules 16/12 FW
is not powered by the FireWire
port, you must connect the
power supply to an electrical
outlet.
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