Mackie HUI User Manual

TM

HUI

Human User Interface
for Digital Audio Workstations

Reference Guide

TALKBACK

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT

UTILISE UN FUSIBLE DE RECHANGE DE MÊME TYPE.
DEBRANCHER AVANT DE REMPLACER LE FUSIBLE

FOOTSWITCH

IN

1 2

RELAY

1 2

OUT

SERIAL NUMBER

MONITOR INPUTS

L/MONO

1

2

3

WARNING:

CAUTION

EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. DO NOT REMOVE COVER.
NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

AVIS:

RISQUE DE CHOC ÉLECTRIQUE — NE PAS OUVRIR

REPLACE WITH THE SAME TYPE FUSE AND RATING.
DISCONNECT SUPPLY CORD BEFORE CHANGING FUSE

CONCEIVED, DESIGNED, AND MANUFACTURED BY MACKIE DESIGNS INC • WOODINVILLE • WA • 98072 • USA • MADE IN USA • FABRIQUE AU USA • PATENTS PENDING

COPYRIGHT ©1997 • THE FOLLOWING ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF MACKIE DESIGN INC.: "MACKIE", HUI, AND THE "RUNNING MAN" FIGURE •

MIDI IN

KEYBOARD

MIDI OUT

IN THRU

MOUSE

IN

THRU

120V, 60Hz, .85A

FUSE 1.25A, 250V SLOW

POWER

ON

OFF

MACKIE DESIGNS THIS DEVICE COMPLIES WITH PART 15 OF THE FCC RULES. OPERATION IS SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TWO CONDITIONS: 1) THIS DE VICE MAY NOT CAUSE HARMFUL INTERFERENCE AND 2) THIS DEVICE MUST ACCEPT ANY INTERFERENCE R ECEIVED THAT MAY CAUSE UNDESIRED OPERATION

SERIAL PORT

EXPANSION

RS232
RS422

MANUFACTURING DATE

MONITOR OUTPUTS

L

R

R

1

2

3

PHONES

N

I

A

G

TRIM

0 60 dB 60 dB 60 dB0

+48V

PHANTOM

INPUT

INTERNAL

MIC

EXTERNAL

REMOTE
TALKBK
TRIGGER

MIC 2

N

I

A

G

TRIM

+48V

PHANTOM

MIC

MIC

INPUT

INSERT

IN

OUT

OUT
BAL /

UNBAL

MIC 1

N

I

A

G

TRIM

0

+48V

PHANTOM

MIC

INPUT

INSERT

IN

OUT

OUT
BAL /

UNBAL

SEND A

SEND B

SEND C

SEND D

SELECT-ASSIGN

SEND E

PAN

ASSIGN

INPUT

OUTPUT

BANK

CHANNEL

WINDOW

TRANSPORT

EDIT

MIX

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

UNDO SAVE

EDIT MODE EDIT TOOL

SHIFT/ADD

CTRL/CLUTCH

REC/RDY ALL

BYPASS

SUSPEND

DEFAULT

ASSIGN

STATUS

MEM-LOC

OPTION/ALL

ALT/FINE

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

2

2

2

4

4

6

8

10

14

20

30

40

50

60

REC/RDY

INSERT

V-SEL

MUTE

PAN/SEND

SHIFT

AUTO

SOLO

MUTE

SELECT

ALT

4

6

6

8

8

10

10

14

14

20

20

30

30

40

40

50

50

60

60

REC/RDY

REC/RDY

INSERT

INSERT

V-SEL V-SEL V-SEL V-SEL V-SEL V-SEL V-SEL

AUTO AUTO AUTO

MUTE MUTE MUTE MUTE

SELECT

SELECT SELECT SELECT

2

4

4

6

6

8

8

10

10

14

14

20

20

30

30

40

40

50

50

60

60

REC/RDY

REC/RDY

INSERT

INSERT

SOLOSOLOSOLOSOLO

2

4

6

8

10

14

20

30

40

50

60

REC/RDY

INSERT

AUTO AUTOAUTO

MUTE MUTE

SELECT

0

2

4

6

8

10

14

20

30

40

50

60

REC/RDY

REC/RDY

INSERT

INSERT

PAN/SEND

PAN/SENDPAN/SENDPAN/SENDPAN/SENDPAN/SENDPAN/SEND

AUTO

SOLO

SOLOSOLO

MUTE

SELECT

SELECT

SELECT

SELECT SELECT

ASSIGN

COMPARE

BYPASS

F2

F1

FADER

PAN

PLUG IN SEND MUTE

TIME CODE

FEET

BEATS

INPUT 1

INPUT 2

INPUT 3

F3 F4 F5

AUTO ENABLE AUTO MODE

READ TOUCH

MUTE

LATCH

SEND

TRIM

CONTROL ROOM

CONTROL ROOM

1:1 DISCRETE MONO

OO

MAX

MASTER
VOLUME

MUTE

DIM

LEVEL

MIC

TALKBACK

MODE

SELECT

DSP EDIT/ASSIGN

WRITE

OFF

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

AUDITION

RTZ

FAST FWD STOP PLAY

REWIND

SELECT

AUTO

MONITOR

PHASE SUSPEND

RUDE
SOLO
LIGHT

OUTPUT 1

OUTPUT 2

OUTPUT 3/

PHONES

PRE

ENDINON LINE

F6

GROUP

CREATE

LOCATE/NUMERIC S

CLR

7 8 9

4 5 6

1 2 3

0

OUT

LOOP

INSERT
PARAM

SCROLL

F7

F8/ESC

EDITSTATUS/GROUP

CAPTURE

SEPARATE

COPY

CUT

DELETE

PASTE

=

/

*

-

+

E
N
T
E
R

.

POST

QUICKPUNCH

RECORD

SCRUB

SHUTTLE

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

SAFETY INFORMATION

1. Read Instructions — Read all the safety and operation
instructions before operating HUI.

2. Retain Instructions — Keep the safety and operating
instructions for future reference.

3. Heed Warnings — Follow all warnings on HUI and in these
operating instructions.

4. Follow Instructions — Follow all operating and other
instructions.

5. Water and Moisture — Do not use HUI near water — for
example, near a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, laundry tub,
in a wet basement, in the rain, near a swimming pool, or next to
a sweat-gushing, 300-lb. drummer, etc.

6. Heat — Locate HUI away from heat sources such as radiators,
compost pits, or other devices that produce heat.

7. Power Sources — Connect HUI only to a power supply of the
type described in these operation instructions or as marked on
HUI.

8. Power Cord Protection — Route power supply cords so that
they are not likely to be walked upon or pinched by items placed
upon or against them, paying particular attention to cords at
plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit HUI.

9. Object and Liquid Entry — Do not drop objects or spill liquids
into HUI.

10. Damage Requiring Service — HUI should be serviced only by
qualified service personnel when:

A. HUI power-supply cord or the plug has been damaged; or
B. Objects have fallen onto, or liquid has spilled into HUI; or
C. HUI has been exposed to rain; or
D. HUI does not appear to operate or exhibits a marked

change in performance; or
E. HUI has been dropped, or its chassis damaged.

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

11. Servicing — Do not attempt to service HUI beyond those
means described in this operating manual. All other servicing
should be referred to the Mackie Tech Support Department.

12. To prevent electric shock, do not use HUI polarized plug with
an extension cord, receptacle or other outlet unless the blades can
be fully inserted to prevent blade exposure.

Pour préevenir les chocs électriques ne pas utiliser cette fiche
polariseé avec un prolongateur, un prise de courant ou une autre
sortie de courant, sauf si les lames peuvent être insérées à fond
sans laisser aucune pariie à découvert.

13. Grounding or Polarization — Do not defeat the grounding or
polarization of HUI.

This apparatus does not exceed the Class A/Class B (whichever is
applicable) limits for radio noise emissions from digital
apparatus as set out in the radio interference regulations of the
Canadian Department of Communications.

ATTENTION —Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits
radioélectriques dépassant las limites applicables aux appareils
numériques de class A/de class B (selon le cas) prescrites dans le
règlement sur le brouillage radioélectrique édicté par les ministere
des communications du Canada.

FCC Information

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply

with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15
of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the
equipment is operated in a commercial installation. This
equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the
instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential
area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the
user will be required to correct the interference at his own
expense.

This product has been tested and complies with the following
standards and directives as set forth by the European Union:

• EN 55022 Radiated and Conducted Emissions

• EN 61000-4-2 Electrostatic Discharge Immunity

• EN 61000-4-3 RF Electromagnetic Fields Immunity

• EN 61000-4-4 Electrical Fast Transient/Burst Immunity

• EN 60950/IEC 950 Electrical Safety Requirements

WARNING — To reduce the risk of fire or electric

shock, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.

2

INTRODUCTION

Welcome!

Of course we know what you want to do
now. You want to bypass this reference
guide completely and get right into the
business of firing up your new
HUI™. And who wouldn’t? So,
congratulations. You bought
yourself a HUI!

Mackie Designs’ HUI
— Human User Interface
— will make life with
your digital audio
workstation (DAW)
the sweet dream it
was always meant to be.
You’ve always imagined being able to
use your digital audio workstation the way you
use those old analog mixing consoles, but with
the modern enhancements of digital technology.
Now you can.

But before we break on through to the other
side of this page we’d like you to do a few
things:

1. Write down the serial number of your HUI
in the box prepared especially for you on this
page. Keep in mind one of the corollaries to
Murphy’s Law: The very act of writing down the
serial number means you’ll never need to use it.
See? We’re doing you a favor.

2. Check out the “Read Me” file with your
DAW software disks, or any additional inserts
that come with HUI. They’ll contain the lat­est information about using your HUI,
including software updates, tips and tricks to
help you use it more efficiently, and any other
last-minute changes or addenda to this refer­ence guide.

3. Save the box and all the foam innards.
Though we expect you’ll never have to send in
your HUI for service (see #1 above), should the
occasion arise you don’t want to be caught with
your pants down. Likewise, we don’t want to
have to sell you new pants (that is, a new box
and innards) to get you through the ordeal.

4. If you can’t force yourself to read this
blessedly short reference guide before digging
in, at least read through the Quick Start section
on pages 8 and 9. This shows you how to con­nect HUI into your system, so you’re ready to
boldly go where your DAW has only hinted.

Now there’s just one more thing before we

begin…

What This Manual Will Do For You —
And What It Won’t

This reference guide is designed to help you
understand the specific features and controls of
Mackie’s HUI. Since HUI is designed to control
a wide variety of DAWs, including Digidesign
Pro Tools®, you will want to consult the proper
manual from your particular DAW manufacturer
to understand what each command and control
can do. For example, Pro Tools users should look

in Digidesign’s MIDI Controller’s Guide, or their
Pro Tools owner’s manual for specific information
on how HUI works with Pro Tools.

See the diagram on the next page — it de­scribes which manual to use and when.

®

Please write your serial number here for future
reference (i.e., insurance claims, tech support,
return authorization, etc.):

Purchased at:

®

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

Part No. 820-069-03 Rev. B 3/98

©1998 Mackie Designs Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A.

Date of purchase:

INTRODUCTION

3

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

Here’s a flowchart that shows when to use
your DAW manufacturer’s software manual,
when to use their “combination” manual

(Digidesign calls theirs the MIDI Controller’s
Guide), and when to use this HUI Reference
Guide.

Questions

about using DAW

software, DAW commands,

software troubleshooting

DAW

software

manual

From DAW Company

about using DAW

with HUI, HUI-specific

software manual +

DAW's HUI “combo”

QUICK START ALERT!

Can’t wait to get started? If you’re one of
those people who just can’t wait to plug in
and turn on that new electronic thingie, at
least turn to page 8 and read the Quick Start
Section first! We trust you’ll get to the rest of
the manual in due time.

Questions

commands

DAW

manual

Questions

about HUI-specific
usage and features,
HUI troubleshooting

Mackie

HUI Reference

Guide

®

4

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

SAFETY INFORMATION .................................................. 2

INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 3

Welcome! ................................................................... 3

What This Manual Will Do For You ..................... 3

Manual Flowchart .................................................... 4

CONTENTS ......................................................................... 5

INTENDED USE — WHY HUI? ......................................... 6

HUI Does What Your DAW Does .......................... 7

HUI SELF-DEMO ................................................................. 7

An Installation Note ................................................ 7

QUICK START .....................................................................8

Quick Start Audio Test ........................................... 8

Quick Start DAW Controller Test ........................ 9

HUI FEATURES AND CONTROLS ................................. 10

Front Panel (Control Surface) ............................. 10

Channel Strip ................................................. 10

Left Control Strip .......................................... 10

DSP Edit/Assign Section .............................. 11

Switch Matrix Section.................................. 12

Control Room Section ................................. 12

Talkback Section ............................................ 13

Transport Section ......................................... 14

Rear Panel ................................................................. 15

Controller Input/Output Section ............. 15

Analog Audio Input/Output Section ........15

Talkback and Mic Preamp Section ............ 16

AUDIO INPUT AND OUTPUT ....................................... 17

Signal Flow Primer ................................................. 17

Stereo Monitor Mode ........................................... 17

1:1 Discrete Monitor Mode ................................... 17

Stereo & Discrete Mode Diagram.............. 17

Analog Audio Connections .................................. 18

Microphones .................................................. 18

Adjusting the Mic Trim Control ................. 18

Talkback Mic .................................................. 18

Monitor Outputs ........................................... 18

DIGITAL CONNECTIONS ............................................... 19

MIDI ........................................................................... 19

RS-232/RS-422 Serial Port ................................... 19

Keyboard (computer) ............................................ 19

Mouse ....................................................................... 19

Expansion Port ........................................................ 19

Typical System Hookup ....................................... 20

APPLICATION HOOKUPS .............................................. 21

Some Application Basics ...................................... 21

TV/Radio Production Hookup and Diagram ... 21

Tracking/Mixing Hookup and Diagram ............ 22

Surround-Sound Hookup and Diagram ............. 23

Full-On Major League Hookup and Diagram ... 24

TROUBLESHOOTING ..................................................... 25

Troubleshooting Flowchart ................................. 25

Perform a HUI Hardware Self-Test .................... 25

Audio ......................................................................... 25

Fader Touch-Circuits ............................................. 26

Digital/MIDI ........................................................... 26

SERVICE ............................................................................. 27

SPECIFICATIONS .............................................................28

HUI MIDI Implementation Chart ........................28

RS-232 Connection Diagram ................................ 28

HUI Audio Section Gain Structure Diagram .... 29

HUI Block Diagram - Audio Section ................... 30

Footswitch In Block Diagram................................31

Relay Out Block Diagram ...................................... 31

Remote Talkback Trigger Block Diagram .......... 31

Function Key Table ................................................. 31

Serial Port Pin-Out Chart ...................................... 31

Expansion Port Pin-Out Chart .............................. 31

HUI Audio Specifications ..................................... 32

GLOSSARY ........................................................................ 33

COLOPHON ......................................................................34

HUI LIMITED WARRANTY ............................................. 35

The following are trademarks or registered trade­marks of Mackie Designs Inc.: “MACKIE.”, the
“Running Man” figure, HUI.

This manual also contains trademarks or regis­tered trademarks of other companies, that belong
to those respective companies, and are hereby
acknowledged.

HUI design patents pending.

CONTENTS

5

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

INTENDED USE — WHY HUI?

Take a look at HUI. Lots of buttons, a few
funny-looking knobs, some faders, and a big ol’
jog wheel. If you didn’t know any better you’d
think you’d run across some sort of supersonic
audio mixer. You have — sort of. But HUI is
more than that.

First of all, HUI was designed to work with
digital audio workstations (or DAWs). For pur­poses of illustration we’re using the Digidesign
Pro Tools® 4.1 audio hardware/software pack­age (eventually other DAWs will be compatible
with HUI). As you may well be aware, Pro Tools
allows you to record, edit, mix, and play back
audio in the digital realm. You can make seam­less electronic edits, EQ changes — basically
anything you’d do in a recording studio — without
affecting the original source material. With your
DAW you can try out infinite possibilities, save
practically infinite versions, and then spend the
rest of your known existence trying to decide

take multiple mouse-clicks and key combinations
can now be accomplished with the push of a
button or two. You can use HUI’s hands-on
controls to do everything from recording a single
track to grouping multiple tracks, assigning in­serts and aux sends/returns, automating mixes,
and mixing programs for surround-sound.

Touch-updatable moving faders, V-Pots, elec-

tronic “scribble strips,” a 40 by two-character

®

display, built-in meter bridge, and an ergonomi­cally laid-out control surface make HUI the
logical choice for returning analog-style control
to your digital world.

The built-in control room section provides a
convenient way to monitor your mixes without
having to use a separate mixer. It has three
stereo inputs and three stereo outputs, plus a
headphone output. The monitor inputs can be
mixed together, or they can remain discrete,
direct assigned to their corresponding monitor
outputs.

which one was the best. If you make your living
recording and mixing audio for CD, major motion
picture soundtracks, TV/radio audio soundtracks,
or multimedia, a DAW is manna from heaven.

But — and this is a big but — using a mouse
and computer keyboard to do things you used to
do on an analog mixer can be very strange.
Clicking on a visual representation of a fader
and trying to drag the mouse smoothly in order
to achieve an amazing fade-out is difficult, if not
impossible, for many of us. Likewise, turning a
“virtual knob” on a computer screen just doesn’t
cut it for some folks. And that’s why Mackie De­signs teamed up with Digidesign to create HUI.

HUI gives you hands-on control of all of your
DAW’s parameters. Now you can create a fade
with a real fader. Move a HUI fader and your
DAW “makes note” of your action and mirrors it
on the computer screen. Similarly, when you
make a fader move on your screen, HUI’s fader
moves, too. Adjust EQ by turning one of HUI’s
V-Pot
rest. In fact, mouse-clicking is practically a
thing of the past — with HUI, what used to

INTENDED USE — WHY HUI?

6

™

knobs and the DAW takes care of the

For additional tracking capability, we added
two of our handy studio grade microphone
preamps for direct analog connection to your
digital audio interface’s A/D converters. These
mic pre’s are the same design as those on our
large format recording consoles, and offer
plenty of gain, insert patching, and phantom
power for condenser mics. You can use them for
recording any sound source with low noise, low
distortion, and wide frequency response. To top
it off, we added a third mic preamp for a remote
producer talkback mic or slating capabilities.

You can do so much with HUI. It’s a mix con­trol surface that sets new levels of interactivity
within today’s and tomorrow’s DAW environ­ments — it will grow with your system, DAW
software upgrades, etc. HUI can greatly improve
your creativity while diminishing your workload
and the repetitive grind of multiple sessions.

HUI Does What Your DAW Does

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

An Installation Note

Though HUI can do many things, there are
some things it cannot do. If your DAW software
can’t do a particular magic audio trick you’ve
always wished for, neither can HUI*. Because
HUI works along with your DAW — thanks to
the software and MIDI instructions that go
back and forth between HUI and your computer
— it is at your software’s mercy. This is a good
thing, though. If your DAW software is updated
with new features or what have you, HUI can
keep up with the technology. So, though your
software may change, HUI will stay the same.
It’ll let you control your DAW with the hands­on ease and intuition you expect. It lets you be
as creative as you want to be.

One caveat: Some DAW software packages
accept third party plug-ins. It’s up to the plug-in
designer to insure that their plug-in works cor­rectly with external controllers like HUI.

HUI SELF-DEMO

Perform the Self-Demo (Optional)

Before you go all the way and connect HUI in
your studio, you can perform this self-demo to
make sure it lights up and works properly, and
to get an idea of what HUI can do.

We’re new-technology fiends just like you are
— we know you want to impress people with
your wise purchase. So set up your HUI on a
tabletop or other such eye-level resting place and
call in the kids, the other studio engineers, or
anyone within shouting distance. We’re going to
plug it in, turn it on, and MAKE IT LIGHT UP!

Just follow these simple directions, okay?

1. With HUI out of the box and propped up
for all to admire, grab the power cord and plug
it in. (Don’t turn it on yet.) We recommend us­ing a UPS or circuit-protected outlet strip like
the kind you use with your computer or other
audio hardware.

2. Turn on HUI by pressing the rocker

POWER

power, simultaneously press the
buttons (located in the “Keyboard Shortcuts”
section at the lower left area of HUI’s front
panel). The self-demo begins, and will continue
as long as HUI is powered up.

by simply turning off HUI’s

switch on the rear panel.

3. Within three seconds after turning on the

CTRL

and

ALT

Note: You can quit the self-demo at any time

POWER

switch.

HUI has conductive knobs on the faders that
can “sense” when you touch them and toggle
the “Write” mode for those channels automati­cally. Furthermore, as soon as you let go of the
knob, the channel goes back into playback
mode, playing back whatever automation had
been previously recorded.

The touch circuits operate by sensing the
stray capacitance your body provides between
the fader knobs and ground. There are a num­ber of variables that can affect the operation of
this circuit, including temperature, humidity,
and the number of fader knobs touched.

Reliable operation of the touch circuits de­pends on providing a good earth ground for the
HUI. Be sure the power cord is plugged into a
3-prong outlet with the third pin (safety pin)
connected to earth ground. If you’re not sure
whether the third pin is grounded, use an AC
outlet circuit tester to verify that the outlet is
properly configured (available from Radio
Shack and many fine hardware stores).

DO NOT BYPASS THE SAFETY PIN ON
THE PLUG.

* That’s why we didn’t name it “Harry HUIdini.”

HUI SELF-DEMO

7

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

QUICK START

Okay, okay… let’s run some audio through
HUI’s monitor section. If you already performed
the self-demo, then you know the faders work.
The next logical stage is to make sure that HUI
works with audio connected, and with your DAW.

Quick Start Audio Test

The diagram below shows the simple audio
connections you’ll need to make for the audio
quick start.

1. With HUI’s power turned off, plug in one of

the following:

• A pair of powered studio monitors to

TOR OUTPUTS 1

• A pair of speakers (via a power amp) to

MONITOR OUTPUTS 1

or…

• At the very least, a pair of headphones. You’ll

plug these into — wonder of all wonders —
the

HEADPHONES

Now you can hear what’s happening.

2. Connect the output of a stereo audio

source (e.g., tape deck or CD player) to the

MONITOR INPUTS 1

3. Make sure the front panel

UME

and

4. Power up HUI by pressing the

switch on the rear panel.

5. On HUI’s front panel, make sure the

OUTPUT 1

They’re in the
LEDs will light up. (Be sure the
switch is off.)

on HUI’s rear panel; or…

on HUI’s rear panel;

jack on HUI’s rear panel.

.

LEVEL

knobs are off or turned down.

and

OUTPUT 3

buttons are pressed.

CONTROL ROOM

MONI-

L/R

MASTER VOL-

POWER

INPUT 1

section; their

1:1 DISCRETE

Tape Deck or CD Player

6. Turn up the

LEVEL 1

knob, and the

MASTER VOLUME

LEVEL 3

knob enough

knob, the

to hear sound coming from the speakers and
headphones.

7. Set the

rear panel to the

TALKBACK LEVEL

press and hold the
slowly turn the

TALKBACK MIC

INTERNAL

position. With the

knob all the way down,

TALKBACK

TALKBACK LEVEL

switch on the

button, and

knob up un­til you can hear yourself talk in the
headphones.

Note:

TALKBACK

PUT 3/PHONES

assign

TALKBACK

is only assigned to

from the factory. You can

to any of the

OUTPUTS

(see instructions under “Talkback Section” on
page 13).

8. Repatch the audio source into various in­puts and turn on the various front panel input
and output switches accordingly. As a precau­tion, turn down the

MASTER VOLUME

control while repatching cables. You’re now
checking all of the various input and output
combinations.

More information on HUI inputs and outputs
can be found in the “Audio Input and Output”
section, which begins on page 17.

If you suspect a problem with the HUI, turn
to the “Troubleshooting” section beginning on
page 25 and run the self-test.

CONTROL ROOM

CONTROL ROOM

,

INPUT 1

INPUT 2

INPUT 3

1:1 DISCRETE MONO

MAX

OO

MASTER
VOLUME

MUTE

DIM

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

OUT-

OUTPUT 1

OUTPUT 2

OUTPUT 3/

PHONES

QUICK START

8

L/Mono

Headphones

Headphones

3

R L/Mono R L/Mono

MONITOR INPUTS

MONITOR OUTPUTS

3 2 1

Powered Monitors

such as Mackie HR824s

(or connect to a power amp

connected to a set of speakers)

1

Talkback

R

Mic

Internal

External

Trigger

Mic 2 Mic 1

Insert Insert

Out

Out

Quick Start DAW Controller Test

In order to make sure HUI is working in con­junction with your DAW, we’ll perform the next
test. However, a few things need to be set prop­erly in your system software on your computer:

• Hook up your computer to HUI as shown in

the diagram below.

• Make sure you have OMS (Open Music Sys-

tem) installed (or whatever MIDI software is
compatible with your DAW), active, and
properly configured on your computer.

• Make sure HUI is defined as a device in your

OMS setup (be sure the proper port, chan­nels, etc., are selected).

Note: Consult your software manual (or
OMS literature) for the specifics on the above­mentioned OMS-related steps.

• Make sure the interface hardware is turned

on, and the MIDI cables are properly routed
in and out according to the port configura­tions defined in the MIDI system software
(i.e., OMS).

• Pro Tools Users: Make sure the HUI “per-

sonality file” is placed in the DAE controller
folder in your System folder, and check the
Pro Tools MIDI Controller’s Guide for informa­tion on OMS setup.

• Make sure HUI is defined as a MIDI control-

ler peripheral in your DAW software.

Next:

1. Run a pair of audio cables from your DAW

audio interface’s outputs to HUI’s

INPUTS 1

(L & R). The plugs on these cables

MONITOR

will depend on what type of jacks (1/4″, RCA,
XLR) you have on your DAW audio interface or
sound card; the HUI ends of these cables
should be 1/4″ TRS plugs (TS are okay).

2. You’ll need a previously-recorded session
to demo. Chances are you’ve either already re­corded some sessions with your DAW and can
use one of those. If you have no session to call
your own, the software CD-ROM should have a
sample session for you to use.

With all the above connections made and

your DAW turned on:

3. Switch on HUI with the

POWER

switch
on the rear panel. Turn on the power amps or
powered monitors last.

4. Start your DAW application.

5. As soon as HUI is defined as a peripheral,
MIDI active sensing is enabled and HUI begins
displaying time code. This is a good thing.

6. Press HUI’s

PLAY

button. (You could also
click on PLAY on your computer screen, but
since we’re testing HUI…). The time code will
change, indicating success.

7. Enable the control room inputs and outputs,

turn up the volume, and dance to the music.

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

HUI Rear Panel

MIDI Out MIDI In

MIDI

Interface

Keyboard Thru

Keyboard In

Mouse Thru

Mouse In

Expansion

Serial Port

Computer Connection

Headphones

Computer

3

L/Mono

R L/Mono R L/Mono

MONITOR INPUTS

MONITOR OUTPUTS

3 2 1

DAW audio interface

1

Talkback

R

Mic

Powered Monitors

such as Mackie HR824s

(or connect to a power amp

connected to a set of speakers)

Trigger

Internal

External

Mic 2 Mic 1

Insert Insert

Out

Out

QUICK START

9

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

HUI FEATURES AND CONTROLS

Front Panel (Control Surface)

Channel Strip

NOTE: The functions of some of these switches
depend on your particular DAW software. There­fore, you may wish to consult your DAW manual
for further details.

1

Rec/Rdy (Record/Ready) switch. This

switch arms or disables the channel for recording.

2

Insert switch. This switch calls up inserts

for editing, and also allows you to bypass all in­serts on the channel when the master
switch is pressed (see bo at right). Makes it easy
to access DSP (digital signal processing) soft­ware additions. (In Pro Tools these are called
Plug-Ins.)

3

V-Sel switch. This switch toggles be-

tween the various functions of the
V-Pot, such as I/O routing assign­ment, Send Mute switching (when
the master
gaged), and Select when applying
the default function.

4

Pan/Send V-Pot™. This

“soft” potentiometer is used to
adjust the send level and pan, to
choose items from scrollable I/O
assignment lists, and to deter­mine destinations for sends.

5

Auto switch. For enabling

automation on the channel.

6

Solo switch. For isolating

a channel’s signal.

7

Mute switch. For defeat-

ing the track’s signal.

8

Scribble strip. A four-

character LED dot-matrix display
for the channel’s name, group
membership status, input and
output source for the channel,
send and insert status, and pre/
post status display for sends.
Names are entered in the DAW
software.

9

Select switch. This switch

is used to choose a channel for
channel-based editing or assign­ment commands, such as groups,
assignment, etc.

bl

Touch-sensitive motor

faders. These 100mm faders are

for controlling the channel’s lev­els, aux returns, MIDI track, and
master fader levels. The eight
faders move relative to the activ­ity of the currently chosen bank
of on-screen faders.

MUTE

switch is en-

BYPASS

REC/RDY

INSERT

V-SEL

PAN/SEND

AUTO

SOLO

MUTE

SELECT

bm

Dual LED ladders. (Not shown here.)

Display mono or stereo audio levels, according
to the DAW specifications. The Clip LED comes
on at 0dBFS.

For Pro Tools users: When a channel is desig­nated as mono, only the left meter ladder lights
up. Likewise, if the channel is being used as a
stereo channel, both ladders operate. (These
meters are located in the meter bridge directly
above each channel strip.)

Left Control Strip

bn

Rec/Rdy All switch. This switch is used

to enable (or defeat) all tracks for recording.

bo

Bypass switch. This switch allows you

to bypass any channel inserts (hardware or
DSP Plug-Ins) on any HUI channel(s) you have
selected.

bp

Select/Assign
switches and scribble
strip. These switches are

used to globally deter­mine what a track’s V-Pot
will control. Included in
this section are:

A–E

,

PAN, MUTE,

SHIFT.

The scribble strip

shows what the

SENDS

and

V-POT

is
doing, as well as send
destination and I/O rout­ing of an individual
channel strip.

bq

Suspend/Default

switches.

SUSPEND

temporarily suspends all
automation functions
(globally).

DEFAULT

is
used to set selected
channel(s) back to the
original, default settings.
Use the

LECT

DEFAULT/SE-

9 switches to

reset faders, and the

DEFAULT/V-SEL

3

switches to reset sends
and pans.

br

Input/Output/As-

sign switches. These

switches are used for sig­nal routing assignment(s).
By selecting combina­tions of these switches
and the

V-SEL

SELECT

and

switches, channel
I/O and send (bus) I/O
assignments are made.

SEND A

SEND B

SEND C

SEND D

SEND E

PAN

ASSIGN

INPUT

OUTPUT

TRANSPORT

EDIT

MIX

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

UNDO SAVE

EDIT MODE EDIT TOOL

SHIFT/ADD

CTRL/CLUTCH

REC/RDY ALL

BYPASS

MUTE

SHIFT

SELECT-ASSIGN

SUSPEND

DEFAULT

ASSIGN

BANK

CHANNEL

WINDOW

ALT

STATUS

MEM-LOC

OPTION/ALL

ALT/FINE

HUI FEATURES AND CONTROLS

10

bs

Channel/Bank select switches. Scroll

switches to move back and forth across fader
channels on the DAW mixing window.
scrolls one channel at a time,

BANK

CHANNEL

scrolls

eight channels at a time.

bt

Window switch matrix. These switches

allow you to select various DAW windows.
Pressing any switch will bring that window to
the foreground on your computer screen.

bu

Keyboard Shortcuts switch matrix.

The four upper switches match other shortcut
or software menu modes in your DAW, while
the four lower “alternate function” switches
emulate their computer keyboard counterparts.

DSP Edit/Assign Section

NOTE: The functions of some of these switches
depend on your particular DAW software. There­fore, you may want to consult your DAW manual
for further details.

1

40 x 2 VFD display. Located in the

meter bridge, this 40-character wide by 2-line
VFD (vacuum fluorescent display) shows up to
four Plug-Ins or up to eight Plug-In parameters.
The VFD is also used to display general HUI info.

Note: You can adjust the brightness of the
VFD by pressing and holding the OPT/ALL
switch and repeatedly pressing the INSERT/
PARAM switch. This toggles among four levels
of brightness.

2

Assign/Compare/Bypass switches.

The

ASSIGN

switch allows you to assign a

DSP addition (or Plug-In) to a channel strip;

COMPARE

allows you to compare the current
DSP parameter setting with the previous one;
and

BYPASS

allows you to bypass DSP param­eters or any DSP additions assigned to the
channel, as applicable.

3

Insert/Param(eter) switch. Allows you

to toggle the

VFD

between the DSP addition as­signed to a particular insert, or the DSP
addition parameters (for editing).

4

Scroll control. Used in conjunction with

the

INSERT/PARAM

the

VFD

between Inserts 1-4 and Insert 5, or

switch, it either toggles

scrolls through control parameter pages for the
currently active DSP addition.

5

Select switch and V-Pot™. These V-

Pots and Select switches allow you to assign
Plug-Ins and edit Plug-In parameters corre­sponding to the VFD and software screen
displays.

H U I R E F E R E N C E G U I D E

ASSIGN

COMPARE

BYPASS

Welcome to --- HUI--- by MACKIE DESIGNS
Firmware version 1.0

SELECT

SELECT SELECT

SELECT

DSP EDIT/ASSIGN

SELECT

HUI FEATURES AND CONTROLS

INSERT
PARAM

SCROLL

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