Mark of the Unicorn 828mkII User's Guide

MOTU 828mkII

User’s Guide for Windows

™

1280 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02138

Business voice: [phone]

Business fax: [phone]

Te chnical support: [phone]

Te ch support fax: [phone]

Te c h supp o rt e m ai l : [e-mail]

Web s it e: www.motu.com

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR OTHER MOISTURE.

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO
QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

WARNING: DO NOT PERMIT FINGERS TO TOUCH THE TERMINALS OF PLUGS WHEN INSTALLING OR REMOVING THE PLUG TO OR FROM THE OUTLET.

WARNING: IF NOT PROPERLY GROUNDED THE MOTU 828mkII COULD CAUSE AN ELECTRICAL SHOCK.

The MOTU 828mkII is equipped with a three-conductor cord and grounding type plug which has a grounding prong, approved by Underwriters' Laboratories and the Canadian Standards Association.
This plug requires a mating three-conductor grounded type outlet as shown in Figure A below.

If the outlet you are planning to use for the MOTU 828mkII is of the two prong type, DO NOT REMOVE OR ALTER THE GROUNDING PRONG IN ANY MANNER. Use an adapter as shown below
and always connect the grounding lug to a known ground. It is recommended that you have a qualified electrician replace the TWO prong outlet with a properly grounded THREE prong outlet. An
adapter as illustrated below in Figure B is available for connecting plugs to two-prong receptacles.

Figure A Figure B

Grounding lug

Screw

3-prong plug

Grounding prong

Properly grounded 3-prong outlet

3-prong plug

Make sure this is connected to a
known ground.

Adapter

Two -p rong receptacle

WARNING: THE GREEN GROUNDING LUG EXTENDING FROM THE ADAPTER MUST BE CONNECTED TO A PERMANENT GROUND SUCH AS TO A
PROPERLY GROUNDED OUTLET BOX. NOT ALL OUTLET BOXES ARE PROPERLY GROUNDED.

If you are not sure that your outlet box is properly grounded, have it checked by a qualified electrician. NOTE: The adapter illustrated is for use only if you already have a properly grounded two-prong
receptacle. Adapter is not allowed in Canada by the Canadian Electrical Code. Use only three wire extension cords which have three-prong grounding type plugs and three-prong receptacles which
will accept the MOTU 828mkII plug.

IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS

1. Read instructions - All the safety and operating instructions should be read before operating the MOTU 828mkII.

2. Retain instructions - The safety instructions and owner's manual should be retained for future reference.

3. Heed Warnings - All warnings on the MOTU 828mkII and in the owner's manual should be adhered to.

4. Follow Instructions - All operating and use instructions should be followed.

5. Cleaning - Unplug the MOTU 828mkII from the computer before cleaning and use a damp cloth. Do not use liquid or aerosol cleaners.

6. Overloading - Do not overload wall outlets and extension cords as this can result in a risk of fire or electrical shock.

7. Power Sources - This MOTU 828mkII should be operated only from the type of power source indicated on the marking label. If you are not sure of the type of power supply to your location, consult your local power company.

8. Power-Cord Protection - Power-supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be walked on or pinched by items placed upon or against them. Pay particular attention to cords and plugs, convenience receptacles, and
the point where they exit from the MOTU 828mkII.

9. Lightning - For added protection for the MOTU 828mkII during a lightning storm, unplug it from the wall outlet. This will prevent damage to the MOTU 828mkII due to lightning and power line surges.

10. Servicing - Do not attempt to service this MOTU 828mkII yourself as opening or removing covers will expose you to dangerous voltage and other hazards. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.

11. Damage Requiring Service - Unplug the MOTU 828mkII from the computer and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the following conditions.

a. When the power supply cord or plug is damaged.
b. If liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the MOTU 828mkII.
c. If the MOTU 828mkII has been exposed to rain or water.
d. If the MOTU 828mkII does not operate normally by following the operating instructions in the owner's manual.
e. If the MOTU 828mkII has been dropped or the cabinet has been damaged.
f. When the MOTU 828mkII exhibits a distinct change in performance, this indicates a need for service.

12. Replacement Parts - When replacement parts are required, be sure the service technician has used replacement parts specified by the manufacturer or have the same characteristics as the original part. Unauthorized substitutions
may result in fire, electric shock or other hazards.

13. Safety Check - Upon completion of any service or repairs to this MOTU 828mkII, ask the service technician to perform safety checks to determine that the product is in safe operating conditions.

ENVIRONMENT

Operating Temperature: 10°C to 40°C (50°F to 104°)

AVOID THE HAZARDS OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK AND FIRE

Do not handle the power cord with wet hands. Do not pull on the power cord when disconnecting it from an AC wall outlet. Grasp it by the plug.

INPUT

Line Voltage: 100 - 120 volts AC, RMS (US and Japan) or 220 - 250 volts AC, RMS (Europe). Frequency: 47 - 63 Hz single phase. Power: 7 watts maximum.

CAUTION: DANGER OF EXPLOSION IF BATTERY IS REPLACED. REPLACE ONLY WITH THE SAME OR EQUIVALENT TYPE RECOMMENDED BYMANUFAC­TURER. DISPOSE OF USED BATTERY ACCORDING TO MANUFACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS.

Contents

Quick Reference: 828mkII Front Panel

5

6

Quick Reference: 828mkII Rear Panel

Quick Reference: MOTU FireWire Audio

7

Console

About the 828mkII

9

13

Packing List and Windows System
Requirements

IMPORTANT! Run the 828mkII Software

15

Installer First

Installing the 828mkII Hardware

17

MOTU FireWire Audio Console

35

828mkII Front Panel Operation

41

Cubase, Nuendo and Other ASIO Software

47

57

Sonar and other WDM Software

Reducing Monitoring Latency

63

69

CueMix Console

MOTU SMPTE Console

75

Performance Tips & Troubleshooting

79

III

About the Mark of the Unicorn License Agreement and
Limited Warranty on Software

TO PERSONS WHO PURCHASE OR USE THIS PRODUCT: carefully read all the
terms and conditions of the “click-wrap” license agreement presented to you when
you install the software. Using the software or this documentation indicates your
acceptance of the terms and conditions of that license agreement.

Mark of the Unicorn, Inc. (“MOTU”) owns both this program and its documentation.
Both the program and the documentation are protected under applicable copyright,
trademark, and trade-secret laws. Your right to use the program and the
documentation are limited to the terms and conditions described in the license
agreement.

Reminder of the terms of your license

This summary is not your license agreement, just a reminder of its terms. The actual
license can be read and printed by running the installation program for the software.
That license agreement is a contract, and clicking “Accept” binds you and MOTU to
all its terms and conditions. In the event anything contained in this summary is
incomplete or in conflict with the actual click-wrap license agreement, the terms of the
click-wrap agreement prevail.

YOU MAY: (a) use the enclosed program on a single computer; (b) physically transfer
the program from one computer to another provided that the program is used on only
one computer at a time and that you remove any copies of the program from the
computer from which the program is being transferred; (c) make copies of the
program solely for backup purposes. You must reproduce and include the copyright
notice on a label on any backup copy.

YOU MAY NOT: (a) distribute copies of the program or the documentation to others;
(b) rent, lease or grant sublicenses or other rights to the program; (c) provide use of
the program in a computer service business, network, time-sharing, multiple CPU or
multiple user arrangement without the prior written consent of MOTU; (d) translate,
adapt, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise alter the program or
related documentation without the prior written consent of MOTU.

MOTU warrants to the original licensee that the disk(s) on which the program is
recorded be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a
period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase as evidenced by a copy of your
receipt. If failure of the disk has resulted from accident, abuse or misapplication of the
product, then MOTU shall have no responsibility to replace the disk(s) under this
Limited Warranty.

THIS LIMITED WARRANTY AND RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT IS IN LIEU OF,
AND YOU HEREBY WAIVE, ANY AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, BOTH
EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE
LIABILITY OF MOTU PURSUANT TO THIS LIMITED WARRANTY SHALL BE
LIMITED TO THE REPLACEMENT OF THE DEFECTIVE DISK(S), AND IN NO
EVENT SHALL MOTU OR ITS SUPPLIERS, LICENSORS, OR AFFILIATES BE
LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA OR
DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE, OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY THIRD
PA R TIES EVEN IF MOTU HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGES. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS
WHICH MAY VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW
THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Update Policy

In order to be eligible to obtain updates of the program, you must complete and return
the attached Mark of the Unicorn Purchaser Registration Card to MOTU.

Copyright Notice

Copyright © 2003 by Mark of the Unicorn, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system,
or translated into any human or computer language, in any form or by any means
whatsoever, without express written permission of Mark of the Unicor n, Inc., 1280
Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, U.S.A.

Limited Warranty on Hardware

Mark of the Unicorn, Inc. and S&S Research (“MOTU/S&S”) warrant this equipment
against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of NINETY (90) DAYS
from the date of original retail purchase. This warranty applies only to hardware
products; MOTU software is licensed and warranted pursuant to separate written
statements.

If you discover a defect, first write or call Mark of the Unicorn at [phone] to
obtain a Return Merchandise Authorization Number. No service will be performed on
any product returned without prior authorization. MOTU will, at its option, repair or
replace the product at no charge to you, provided you return it during the warranty
period, with transportation charges prepaid, to Mark of the Unicorn, Inc., 1280
Massachusetts Avenue, MA 02138. You must use the product’s original packing
material for in shipment, and insure the shipment for the value of the product. Please
include your name, address, telephone number, a description of the problem, and
the original, dated bill of sale with the returned unit and print the Return Merchandise
Authorization Number on the outside of the box below the shipping address.

This warranty does not apply if the equipment has been damaged by accident,
abuse, misuse, or misapplication; has been modified without the written permission
of MOTU, or if the product serial number has been removed or defaced.

ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE
LIMITED IN DURATION TO NINETY (90) DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE
ORIGINAL RETAIL PURCHASE OF THIS PRODUCT.

THE WARRANTY AND REMEDIES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE EXCLUSIVE
AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHERS, ORAL OR WRITTEN, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
No MOTU/S&S dealer, agent, or employee is authorized to make any modification,
extension, or addition to this warranty.

MOTU/S&S ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ANY BREACH OF
WARRANTY, OR UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS,
DOWNTIME, GOODWILL, DAMAGE OR REPLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT
AND PROPERTY AND COST OF RECOVERING REPROGRAMMING, OR
REPRODUCING ANY PROGRAM OR DATA STORED IN OR USED WITH
MOTU/S&S PRODUCTS.

Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties or liability for
incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not
apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may have other
rights which vary from state to state.

MOTU, AudioDesk, MOTU, Mark of the Unicorn and the unicorn silhouette logo are
trademarks of Mark of the Unicorn, Inc.

This equipment has been type 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 instruction manual,
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 interference to radio
or television equipment reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the
user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by any combination of the following measures:

• Relocate or reorient the receiving antenna

• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver

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

If necessary, you can consult a dealer or experienced radio/television technician for additional
assistance.

PLEASE NOTE: only equipment certified to comply with Class B (computer input/output devices,
terminals, printers, etc.) should be attached to this equipment, and it must have shielded interface
cables in order to comply with the Class B FCC limits on RF emissions.

WARNING: changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment.

FireWire is a “plug-and-play”

protocol. That means that you

can turn off the 828mkII and

turn it back on without

restar ting your computer.

These lights indicate the global sample rate at

which the 828mkII is operating. Use the MOTU

FireWire Aud io Console to set the sample rate or to

choose an external clock source, from which the

sample rate will be derived. When no clock signal is

currently present, one of these LEDs flashes rapidly.

For example, if you’ve set the 828mkII to slave to an

external clock, such as ADAT, but there is no clock

signal currently being detected, it flashes.

5-segment metering for the main outs.

Push and then turn the front-panel

volume knob for volume control.

This pair of 5-segment

meters are for the two

mic/instrument inputs

on the front panel.

4-segment

metering for

SPDIF input.

This bank of input

metering is for

the 8 analog TRS

input jacks on the

rear panel.

These round LEDs indicate

signal presence on the 8 rear-

panel TRS analog and SPDIF

outputs. Their threshold is

The multi-purpose backlit LCD shows

system settings or CueMix DSP

settings, depending on which knobs

you turn. The labels above and below

around -42 dB. They do not

the LCD refer to all of the 828mkII’s

ADAT

bank

signal

present

LEDs.

MIDI

activity

LEDs.

indicate clipping in any way;

use your host audio software

level meters to calibrate

output levels.

inputs (both analog and digital).

When the 828mkII is resolving to SMPTE time code,

the LOCK light glows green when lockup has been

achieved. The TACH light blinks once per second

when the 828mkII is successfully reading address

(time code) information.

Quick Reference: 828mkII Front Panel

0

These two trim knobs provide approximately 42dB of gain for the lo-Z XLR mic input and 17dB for the hi-Z TRS guitar/instru-

ment input. Both inputs have preamps, so you can plug just about anything into them: a microphone, a guitar, a synth — but

don’t plug in a +4 signal here (due to the preamps): use a rear-panel TRS input instead. Use the trim knob and the “MIC” input

level meters over in the metering section to calibrate the input signal level. The meters cover both the TRS and XLR input.

This section controls the 828mkII’s built-in CueMix DSP monitor

mixer. There are four independent mix busses: each mixes all

inputs (or any subset you wish) to a stereo output of your choice.

To e dit a m ix, choose it by pressing the MIX BUS knob. Each mix

has parameters (volume, pan, etc.) for each input: choose the

parameter you wish to edit with the PARAM knob. The LCD shows

each 828mkII input (rear-panel analog TRS, front-panel mic/

instrument inputs, ADAT and SPDIF), along with the current mix

parameter setting for each input. To change a setting, scroll to it

with the CURSOR knob and change it with the VALUE knob.

Controls the

headphone

volume or main

out volume.

Push to toggle

between them.

The LCD

provides

feedback.

These Neutrik™ combo (XLR/TRS) jacks

accept either a mic cable or a cable with a

quarter-inch plug. Both the low-impedance

XLR jack and the high-impedance TRS jack are

equipped with a preamp (so don’t connect a

+4 line level XLR cable!). 48V phantom

power can be supplied via the front-panel

switch. Use the rear panel sends to route

these inputs to your favorite outboard gear.

Use any rear-panel input as a return.

Use the SETUP and SELECT knobs to

change system settings like the

828mkII sample rate and clock

source. The SETUP knob chooses the

These switches provide

phantom power for their

respective microphone

input. Left is off; right is

setting; the SELECT knob modifies

the current system setting displayed

in the LCD. Some settings require that

on (right on!)

you push SELECT instead of turning it.

This is a standard quarter-inch stereo headphone

jack. From the factory, its output matches the

main outs on the rear panel. But it can be

programmed to mirror any other output pair

(digital or analog). It can even be programmed to

serve as its own independent output. Use the

volume knob above to control its level.

These two quarter-inch balanced

TRS send outputs supply the pre

amplified input signal from the

mic/guitar/instrument inputs on

The 828mkII’s eight analog outputs are

gold-plated, balanced +4dB TRS (tip/

ring/sleeve) quarter-inch connectors

that can also accept an unbalanced

Connect a standard foot switch

here for hands-free punch-in and

punch-out during recording. For

details about how to set this up,

These are quarter-

inch analog SMPTE

input and output

jacks. Use them to

the front panel. Use them to insert

your favorite com pressor, EQ,

reverb or other outboard effect.

Use any TRS input as a return.

plug. They are equipped with 24-bit,

128x oversampling converters.

see “Enable Pedal” on page 39.

resolve the 828mkII

directly to time code,

and transmit time

code to other devices.

These two balanced, quarter-inch jacks

serve as the 828mkII’s main outputs. You

can connect them to a set of powered

These 8 analog inputs are gold-plated,

balanced TRS (tip/ring/sleeve) quarter-

inch connectors that can also accept an

Connect the 828mkII to

the computer here using

the standard 1394

studio monitors and then control the

volume from the front panel volume

knob. (Push the knob first to switch to

main out volume control.)

unbalanced plug. The front panel LCD

lets you adjust them for either +4dB or

-10dB input signals. They have 24-bit,

64x oversampling converters. These

FireWire cable provided

with your 828mkII. Use

the second FireWire port

to daisy-chain up to four

inputs (1 through 8) do not have micro-

MOTU FireWire audio

To h ear disk tracks in your audio software

on these main outs, assign the disk tracks

phone preamps, so they are best used for

synthesizers, drum machines, effects

interfaces to a single

FireWire bus . Yo u c an also

(and master fader) to these main outs.

processors, and other instruments with

connect other FireWire

You can also use CueMix DSP to monitor

live 828mkII inputs here as well.

line level signals.

devices. For details, see

“Connecting multiple

MOTU FireWire inter-

faces” on page 32

Quick Reference: 828mkII Rear Panel

0

Connect the 828mkII to the computer

here using the standard 1394 FireWire

cable provided with your 828mkII. Use

the second FireWire port to daisy-chain

up to four MOTU FireWire audio inter-

faces to a single FireWire bus. You can

also connect other FireWire devices. For

details, see “Connecting multiple MOTU

DAT machine. Be sure to set the format in

the MOTU FireWire Audio Console software.

FireWire interfaces” on page 32.

(see “Optical input/output” on page 39) for

details.) ADAT optical supplies eight

channels of 24-bit digital I/O (4 channels at

96kHz). TOSLink is stereo.

One special note: you can choose indepen-

dent formats for the optical IN and OUT. For

example, you could choose ADAT for the

optical IN (for, say, eight channels of input

from your digital mixer) and S/PDIF for the

optical OUT (for, say, your DAT machine).

These jacks provide

stereo, 24-bit S/PDIF

digital input and

output at all supported

sample rates.

These optical digital I/O connectors can be

connected either to an ADAT-compatible

“lightpipe” device (such as a digital mixer)

or to a S/PDIF optical (“TOSLink”) compati-

ble device, such as an effects processor or

These are standard word clock jacks. Use them for a

variety of applications, such as for digital transfers with

devices that cannot slave to the clock supplied by their

digital I/O connection with the 828mkII.

When the 828mkII is operating at a high sample rate (88.2

or 96 kHz), you can switch the word clock output rate (via

software) to halve the 828mk2’s system word rate.

If you are using the 828mkII with an ADAT, use this standard ADAT SYNC INPUT to connect the 828mkII to the end of your ADAT sync chain. For example, if you have three

ADATs, chain the ADATs in the usual fashion (SYNC OUT to SYNC IN, etc.), and then connect the last ADAT’s SYNC OUT to this SYNC IN. This connection allows you to make

sample-accurate audio transfers between AudioDesk (or other sample-accurate software) and the ADATs. If you have a MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital Timepiece,

make it the master of the ADAT SYNC chain so that you can control everything from AudioDesk (or your other MIDI Machine Control compatible software).

Quick Reference:

Click the tabs to access general

CHAPTER

MOTU FireWire Audio Console

Determines the clock source for your
828mkII. If you’re just using the analog ins
and outs, set this to ‘Internal’. The other
settings are for digital transfers via S/PDIF
or external synchronization via the ADAT
SYNC in port.

If you have a foot switch connected to the
828mkII, these settings let you map the
foot switch to any computer keyboard key
for both the up and down position. For
details about how to set this up, see
“Enable Pedal” on page 39.

Check this option if the audio software you
are using with the 828mkII does not support
Windows WDM drivers and instead only
supports legacy MME (Wave) drivers. When
checked, this option makes all of the 828mkII
inputs and outputs available to legacy Wave­driver compatible audio software.

This menu lets you choose what you will
hear from the headphone jack. To mirror the
main outs, choose Main Outs. Or y ou can
mirror any other output pair. To hear the
phones as their own independent output,
choose Phones.

Device Setup in Cubase SX

MOTU FireWire interface settings
or settings specific to the 828mkII
(or other connected interface.)

Choose the global sample rate
for the system here.

Choosing a smaller setting here
reduces the delay you may hear
when listening to live input that
you are running through effects
plug-ins in your software. But
lower settings also increase the
strain on your computer. For
details, see “Samples Per Buffer”
on page 38.

This option should always be left
on (checked). There are only a few
rare cases in which you would
want to turn it off. For details,
refer to t he MOTU tech support
database at www.motu.com.

Click the 828mkII tab to access
these settings.

Choose the desired optical format
you’d like to use for the optical
input and output. Note that they
don’t have to be the same.

If you are running an 828mkII
interface at a high sample rate
(96 or 88.2), this option appears
in the interface tab. It lets you
choose a word clock output rate
that either matches the global
sample rate (e.g. 96kHz) or halves
the global rate (e.g. 48kHz
instead of 96kHz).

How to access these settings

There are several ways to access these settings:

■ From the Windows Start menu, choose Programs>MOTU>MOTU

FireWire Audio Console.

■ From within Cubase SX, go to the Device Setup window and click

the Contro l Pane l button.

■ From within other applications, refer to their documentation.

7

8

CHAPTER

About the 828mkII

1

OVERVIEW

The 828mkII is a computer-based hard disk
recording system for Mac OS and Windows that
offers 20 inputs and 22 outputs at any standard
sample rate up to 96kHz. All inputs and outputs
can be accessed simultaneously. The 828mkII
consists of a standard 19-inch, single-space, rack­mountable I/O unit that connects directly to a
computer via a standard IEEE 1394 FireWire™
cable. The 828mkII offers the following:

■

Eight 24-bit analog TRS inputs

■

Te n 24-bit analog TRS outputs

■

Two combo XLR/TRS mic/guitar inputs with
preamps, rear-panel quarter-inch sends and 48V
phantom power

■

Eight-channel ADAT optical digital I/O

■

S/PDIF (optical and RCA)

■

ADAT sync in

■

Word c lock I/O

■

MIDI I/O

■

On-board SMPTE synchronization with
dedicated SMPTE I/O jacks

■

Foot switch for hands-free punch-in/out

■

Headphone jack

■

Main volume knob (for headphone + main outs)

■

CueMix™ DSP no-latency mixing & monitoring

■

Front-panel programming

Stand-alone mixing

■

With a variety of I/O formats, mic preamps, no­latency monitoring of live input and synchroni­zation capabilities, the 828mkII is a complete,

portable “studio in a box” when used with a
Macintosh or Windows computer. A WDM driver
is included for audio applications running under
Windows Me/2000/XP. Also included is an ASIO
driver for multi-channel operation with any
Windows audio software that supports ASIO
drivers.

THE 828MKII I/O REAR PANEL

The 828mkII rear panel has the following
connectors:

■

Te n go ld - pl ate d , b ala n ced +4dB quarter-inch
(TRS) analog outputs (with 24-bit 96kHz
converters)

■

Two gold-plate d, balanced +4dB quarter-inch
(TRS) analog sends (for the front-panel mic/guitar
inputs)

■

Eight gold-plated, balanced +4 dB quarter-inch
(TRS) analog inputs (with 24-bit 96kHz
converters)

■

One set of ADAT optical ‘light pipe’ connectors
(8 channels of ADAT optical I/O at 44.1/48kHz or 4
channels at 88.2/96kHz), individually switchable
to optical S/PDIF (‘TOSLink’)

■

RCA S/PDIF in/out

■

MIDI IN and MIDI OUT

■

Gold-plated balanced TRS quarter-inch analog
in/out dedicated for SMPTE time code

One 9-pin ADAT SYNC IN connector

■

Word c lo ck i n /o ut

■

Foot pedal jack

■

■

Tw o 1394 FireWire jacks

9

20 inputs and 22 outputs

All 828mkII inputs and outputs can be used simul­taneously, for a total of 20 inputs and 22 outputs:

Connection Input Output

Analog 24-bit 96kHz on +4/-10 bal/unbal TRS 8 8

Mic preamps 24-bit 96kHz on XLR/TRS combo 2 -

Main outputs 24-bit 96kHz on bal/unbal TRS - stereo

Headphone output - stereo

ADAT optical digital (at 44.1 or 48kHz) 8 8

SPDIF 24-bit 96kHz digital stereo stereo

Total 20 22

All inputs and outputs are discrete. In other words,
using a mic input does not “steal” an input from the
TRS analog I/O bank. The same is true for the
headphone outs and the main outs.

The ADAT optical ports provide 4 channels of I/O
at 88.2 or 96kHz. They can also be independently
configured as stereo TOSLink SPDIF at any
supported sample rate.

The headphone outputs can operate as an
independent output pair, or they can mirror any
other 828mkII output pair, such as the main outs.

Analog

All 10 analog inputs are equipped with 24-bit
96kHz, 64x oversampling A/D converters. All 10
analog outputs have 24-bit 128x oversampling D/A
converters. All audio is carried to the computer in a
24-bit data stream. All 10 analog outputs and the 8
rear-panel quarter-inch inputs are on balanced
TRS +4dB quarter-inch jacks. All of these jacks can
also accept unbalanced plugs.

All quarter-inch analog inputs can be individually
switched between a +4 and -10dB reference level.
An additional 6dB of sof tware boost can be applied
via the CueMix Console software application or via
the front panel LCD display.

Mic sends

Before A/D conversion, the pre-amplified signal
from each front-panel mic/guitar input is routed to
one of the two rear-panel quarter-inch analog
sends, so that you can insert a favorite outboard
EQ, compressor, amp or effects processor to the
mic/guitar input signal before it is converted to
digital form. The resulting output from the
outboard gear can be fed back into the 828mkII via
one of the eight TRS analog inputs on the rear
panel, for routing to the computer and/or inclusion
in the 828mkII’s built-in monitor mixes.

Main Outs

The main outs are equipped with 24-bit 128x
oversampling D/A converters and serve as
independent outputs for the computer or for the
828mkII’s on-board CueMix DSP mixes.

Optical

The 828mkII optical jacks support two digital
audio formats: ADAT and S/PDIF. The ADAT
optical format provides eight channels of 24-bit
digital audio at either 44.1 or 48 kHz, and four
channels at 88.2 or 96kHz. The optical S/PDIF
format (often referred to as

TOSLink

), supplies

stereo S/PDIF input or output.

S/PDIF

The 828mkII rear panel provides S/PDIF input and
output in two different formats: RCA “coax” and
optic al “ TOSLi nk”. The RCA jacks are dedicated to
the S/PDIF format. The TOSLink jacks can be used
either for either TOSLink or ADAT optical. The
optical input /output jacks can operate indepen­dently. For example, the optical input can be set to
TOSLink while the optical output is set to ADAT.

MIDI I/O

The 828mkII’s standard MIDI IN and MIDI OUT
jacks supply 16 channels of MIDI I/O to and from
the computer via the 828mkII’s FireWire
connection.

10

ABOUT THE 828MKII

On-board SMPTE synchronization

The 828mkII can resolve directly to SMPTE time
code via the quarter-inch SMPTE input, without a
separate synchronizer. A SMPTE out jack is also
provided for time code generation. The 828mkII
provides a DSP-driven phase-lock engine with
sophisticated filtering that provides fast lockup
times and sub-frame accuracy.

The included MOTU SMPTE Console™ software
provides a complete set of tools to generate SMPTE
for striping, regenerating or slaving other devices
to the computer. Like CueMix DSP, the synchroni­zation features are cross-platform and compatible
with all audio sequencer software that supports the
ASIO2 sample-accurate sync protocol.

ADAT sync: sample-accurate synchronization

The 828mkII’s standard 9-pin ADAT SYNC IN
connector provides sample-accurate synchroni­zation with all Alesis ADAT tape decks connected
to the system—or any device that supports the
ADAT sync format. For example, if you digitally
transfer a single track of material from an ADAT
via light pipe into audio workstation software on
the computer, and then transfer the track back to
the ADAT, it will be recorded exactly at its original
location, down to the sample.

Word clock

The 828mkII provides standard word clock that
can slave to any supported sample rate. In addition,
word clock can resolve to and generate “high” and
“low” sample rates. For example, if the 828mkII
global sample rate is set to 96 kHz, the word clock
input can resolve to a “low” rate of 48 kHz.
Similarly, when the 828mkII is operating at 96 kHz,
the MOTU FireWire Audio Console lets you
choose a word clock output rate of 48 kHz
(“System clock ÷ 2”).

Punch in/out

The quarter-inch Punch in/out jack accepts a
standard foot switch. When you push the foot
switch, the 828mkII triggers a programmable
keystroke on the computer keyboard. For example,
with MOTU’s Digital Performer audio sequencer
software, the foot switch triggers the 3 key on the
numeric keypad, which toggles recording in
Digital Performer. Therefore, pressing the foot
switch is the same as pressing the 3 key. The
828mkII Control Panel software lets you program
any keystroke you wish.

1394 FireWire

The two 1394 FireWire jacks accept a standard
IEEE 1394 FireWire cable to connect the 828mkII
to a FireWire-equipped Macintosh or Windows
computer. The second jack can be used to daisy
chain multiple interfaces — up to four MOTU
FireWire interfaces — on a single FireWire bus. It
can also be used to connect other FireWire devices
without the need for a FireWire hub.

THE 828MKII FRONT PANEL

Mic inputs with 48V phantom power

Two front-panel Ne ut rik™ combo (XLR/TRS)
jacks with preamps and phantom power let you to
connect a microphone, guitar or any quarter-inch
input with front-panel convenience. The XLR jack
serves as a low-impedance mic input, and the TRS
jack serves as a high-impedance guitar/instrument
input. Dedicated front-panel trim knobs allow you
to adjust each input independently. D ef ea table 48V
phantom power is supplied by a front panel switch.

As explained in “Mic sends” on page 10, the pre
amplified signal can be routed to external outboard
gear before being routed back into the 828mkII.

ABOUT THE 828MKII

11

Headphone output and main volume control

The 828mkII front panel includes a quarter-inch
stereo headphone output jack and volume knob.
The volume knob also controls the rear-panel main
outs. Push the knob to toggle between them. The
LCD display provides feedback.

CueMix™ DSP no-latency on-board mixing

The CueMix DSP section of the front-panel
provides access to the 828mkII’s on-board mixing
features, as well as global system settings, Together,
these features provide complete stand-alone
operation, without a computer. The 828mkII can
mix all inputs to any output pair, and up to four
such mixes can be independently programmed
and simultaneously operated.

Backlit LCD display

Any 828mkII setting can be accessed directly from
the front panel using the six rotary encoders and
the 2x16 backlit LCD display. CueMix DSP settings
such as input gain, panning, +4/-10 input level,
6dB boost, stereo pair grouping, mix output
assignment and others are quickly accessed, clearly
marked and easy to adjust. Sixteen presets can be
created, saved, recalled and duplicated.

Metering section

The front panel of the 828mkII displays several
banks of input and output metering. The round
analog output, SPDIF output and ADAT optical
LEDs display the presence of an output signal. The
threshold for these lights is approximately -42 dB.
The four- and five-segment input meters provide
dedicated multi-segment metering for their
respective inputs, as do the five-segment main out
meters.

16-BIT AND 24-BIT RECORDING

The 828mkII system handles all data with a 24-bit
signal path, regardless of the I/O format. You can
record and play back 16-bit or 24-bit audio files at
any supported sample rate via any of the 828mkII’s
analog or digital inputs and outputs. 24-bit audio
files can be recorded with any compatible host
application that supports 24-bit recording.

HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE

The 828mkII system ships with a standard WDM
Windows driver that allows you to record, edit,
play back and mix your 828mkII projects using
your favorite Windows audio software.

The 828mkII also includes a Windows ASIO driver
for multi-channel compatibility with any audio
application that supports ASIO drivers.

A COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM

Regardless of what software you use with the
828mkII, the host computer determines the
number of tracks the software can record and play
simultaneously, as well as the amount of real-time
effects processing you can apply to your mix. A
faster computer with more RAM and faster hard
drives will allow more simultaneous tracks and
real-time effects than a slower computer with less
RAM and slower hard drives. Today’s fastest
computers can typically play as many as 72 tracks
or more. Standard third-party SCSI acceleration
products can also help you achieve higher track
counts.

Clock

The

lights indicate the global sample rate (as
chosen in the MOTU FireWire Audio Console
software). The LOCK and TACH LEDs provide
feedback for the 828mkII’s on-board SMPTE
synchronization features.

12

ABOUT THE 828MKII

CHAPTER

Packing List and

2

Windows System Requirements

PACKING LIST

The 828mkII ships with the items listed below. If
any of these items are not present in your 828mkII
box when you first open it, please immediately
contact your dealer or MOTU.

■

One 828mkII I/O rack unit

■

One 1394 “FireWire” cable

■

Power cord

■

One 828mkII Mac/Windows manual

■

One AudioDesk Manual

■

One cross-platform CD-ROM

■

Product registration card

WINDOWS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The 828mkII system requires the following
Windows system:

■

A 300 MHz Pentium-based PC compatible or

faster equipped with at least one FireWire port

■

A Pentium III processor or faster is

recommended

PLEASE REGISTER TODAY!

Please send in the registration card included with
your 828mkII system. As a registered user, you will
be eligible to receive on-line technical support
email and announcements about product
enhancements as soon as they become available.
Only registered users receive these special update
notices, so please, complete and mail this
registration card!

Thank you for taking the time to register your new
MOTU products!

■

At least 32 Mb (megabytes) of RAM (64 Mb or

more is recommended)

■

Windows Me, 2000 or XP

■

A large hard drive (preferably at least 20 Gb)

13

14

PACKING LIST AND WINDOWS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

CHAPTER

IMPORTANT! Run the 828mkII

3

Software Installer First

OVERVIEW

Install the 828mkII software first! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Installing the 828mkII software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

MOTU FireWire Audio Console. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

ASIO MOTU FireWire Audio Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

The MOTU FireWire audio WDM driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

MOTU GSIF FireWire driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

CueMix Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

MOTU SMPTE Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

INSTALL THE 828MKII SOFTWARE FIRST!

Before you connect the 828mkII audio interface to
your computer and turn it on, insert the 828mkII
software CD and run the 828mkII Software
Installer. This ensures that all the 828mkII
components are properly installed in your system.

If Windows asks you to locate the drivers

If you’ve already connected the 828mkII to your
computer and switched it on, Windows probably
issued an alert notifying you that the 828mkII
requires drivers, followed by another window
asking you to locate the drivers on disk. If this
happens:

1

Cancel the driver search.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII SOFTWARE

To install the 828mkII software, insert the MOTU
Audio CD-ROM and follow the directions it gives
you on your computer screen.The 828mkII ships
with the following software and drivers for
Windows Me, 2000 and XP:

Software
component Purpose

MOTU FireWire
Audio Console

ASIO MOTU
FireWire Audio
Driver

MOTU FireWire
WDM Driver

MOTU FireWire
GSIF Driver

MOTU FireWire
MIDI Driver

FireWire CueMix
Console

MOTU SMPTE
Console

Provides access to all of the settings in the
828mkII hardware.

Allows Cubase or other ASIO-compliant
software to do multi-channel input and
output with the 828mkII. Only required if
you are using Cubase or another ASIO­dependent program.

Allows any WDM-driver compatible
audio software to do multichannel input
and output with the 828mkII.

Allows you to use your 828mkII with Tas­cam GigaStudio.

Provides MIDI input and output via the
828mkII MIDI ports.

Gives you complete control over the
828mkII’s CueMix DSP feature, which
provides no-latency monitoring of live
inputs.

Provides access to the 828mkII’s SMPTE
time code and video sync features.

2

Switch off the 828mkII.

3

Run the 828mkII Software Installer as

instructed in the next section.

15

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

The MOTU FireWire Audio Console (available in
the Start menu) gives you access to all of the
settings in the 828mkII, such as the clock source
and sample rate. For complete details, see
chapter 5, “MOTU FireWire Audio Console”
(page 35).

Figure 3-1: The MOTU FireWire Audio Console gives you access to all
of the settings in the 828mkII hardware.

For details about using Cubase VST with the
828mkII, see chapter 8, “The MOTU 828 and
Other Audio SoftwareASIO-compatible Audio
Software” (page 1).

THE MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO WDM DRIVER

The MOTU FireWire Audio WDM driver provides
standard multi-channel input and output for audio
applications running under Windows Me, 2000 or
XP. See chapter 8, “Sonar and other WDM
Software” (page 57) for details.

The MOTU FireWire Audio in staller CD installs
the MOTU FireWire Audio WDM driver into
Windows for you.

MOTU GSIF FIREWIRE DRIVER

The MOTU GSIF FireWire Driver allows you to
access the 828mkII as an audio interface for
Ta s ca m G i ga S t u di o a n d r e lated products. The GSIF
driver features low-latency multi-channel
performance.

MOTU FIREWIRE MIDI DRIVER

This driver allows you to access the 828mkII’s
MIDI input and output ports. The ports are
published in Windows and are available to all MIDI
software.

ASIO MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO DRIVER

ASIO

stands for
The ASIO MOTU FireWire driver allows 828mkII
to provide multi-channel input and output for
Steinberg’s Cubase VST software, or any other
audio application that supports ASIO drivers.

The ASIO MOTU FireWire driver is only required
if you are using Cubase VST (or another audio
program that relies on the ASIO driver to support
multi-channel I/O with the 828mkII).

The ASIO MOTU FireWire driver is installed by
the 828mkII Software Installer and properly
registered with Windows, so you don’t need to be
concerned about its installation or location.

16

Audio Streamin g Input

IMPORTANT! RUN THE 828MKII SOFTWARE INSTALLER FIRST

and

Output

CUEMIX CONSOLE

.

This program provides a mixing console that gives
you control over the 828mkII’s no-latency CueMix
DSP features. For details, see chapter 10, “CueMix
Console” (page 69).

MOTU SMPTE CONSOLE

The MOTU SMPTE Console software provides a
complete set of tools for resolving the 828mkII to
SMPTE time code, and to generate SMPTE for
striping, regenerating or slaving other devices to
the computer. For details, see chapter 11, “MOTU
SMPTE Console” (page 75).

CHAPTER

Installing the 828mkII Hardware

4

OVERVIEW

Here’s an overview for installing the 828mkII:

Connect the 828mkII interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Connect the 828mkII to the computer.

Connect audio inputs and outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Make optical and analog connections as desired.

Connect MIDI gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Connect a controller, synth or control surface.

Connect a foot switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Connect a footswitch to trigger any keystroke.

A typical 828mkII setup (no mixer). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

An example setup for computer-based mixing/FX.

Using the 828mkII with a mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

An example setup for a mixer-based studio.

Making sync connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

If you need to resolve the 828mkII with other
devices, make the necessary sync connections.

CONNECT THE 828MKII INTERFACE

1 Plug one end of the 828mkII FireWire cable
(included) into the FireWire socket on the
computer as shown below in Figure 4-1.

2 Plug the other end of the FireWire cable into the
828mkII I/O as shown below in Figure 4-1.

Do you need a synchronizer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Sample-accurate sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Sample-accurate ADAT sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Sample-accurate ADAT sync with no synchronizer . . 26

Syncing to SMPTE time code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Syncing to video and/or SMPTE time code using a

synchronizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Syncing optical devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Syncing S/PDIF devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Syncing word clock devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Syncing large systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Connecting multiple MOTU FireWire interfaces . . . . . 32

Figure 4-1: Connecting the 828mkII to the computer.

17

CONNECT AUDIO INPUTS AND OUTPUTS

The 828mkII audio interface has the following
audio input and output connectors:

■ 8 balanced, +4 dB quarter-inch analog outputs

■ 8 balanced +4 dB quarter-inch analog inputs

■ 2 Neutrik™ XLR/quarter-inch analog inputs

■ 2 quarter-inch analog sends for the front-panel

mic/guitar inputs

■ 2 balanced, +4 dB quarter-inch TRS main outs

■ 1 pair of RCA S/PDIF in and out

2 Tur n the CURSOR knob until the desired input
flashes.

3 Tur n (or press) the VALUE knob to toggle the
input between a +4 or -10dB reference level setting.

■ 1 pair of optical in/out switchable between

ADAT (“Lightpipe”) or optical S/PDIF (TOSLink)

Here are a few things you should keep in mind as
you are making these connections to other devices.

Quarter-inch analog

The quarter-inch analog inputs and outputs (1-8),
as well as the main outs, are balanced TRS
connectors that can also accept an unbalanced
plug. The outputs are all referenced to +4dBu. The
inputs can be manually set to either +4 or -10dBu.
Use the front panel controls to adjust the reference
level (+4/-10) as needed for each input (or input
pair) as follows:

1 Tur n the PARAM k n o b u ntil you see the “4/10”
setting displayed in the LCD, as shown below.

If turning the PARAM knob doesn’t do anything,
press the SETUP knob once, and then turn it.

Front-panel mic/guitar/instrument inputs

Connect a microphone, guitar or other similar
instrument to the front-panel inputs. If your
microphone requires phantom power, move the
48V phantom power switch on the front panel to
the right (enabled). Use the trim knobs on the front
panel to adjust the input level as needed for each
input. Use the two input level meters on the front
panel (labeled MIC) to calibrate the level. These
meters register for both the XLR and TRS input.

☛ Do not connect a +4 (line level) XLR cable to

the front-panel inputs (because of the preamps).
Use a rear-panel quarter-inch input instead.

Mic/guitar/instrument sends

Each front-panel XLR/TRS input has a
corresponding send on the rear panel. The send
provides the pre amplified and calibrated input
signal, which you can then route to any other
device, such as compressor, guitar amp, outboard
EQ, reverb unit, etc. Use any 828mkII input
(analog or digital) as a return back into the
828mkII. From there, you will be able to route the
signal anywhere in the system, such as to the
computer and/or to any CueMix DSP mix bus.

Figure 4-2: Setting the reference level for the eight TRS analog inputs.

18

Optical

Reminder: optical goes OUT to IN and IN to OUT,
like MIDI.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

The optical jacks can be connected to either an
ADAT “lightpipe” device or an optical S/PDIF
“TOSLink” device. Just make the connections as
needed and then you’ll set the format later in the
MOTU FireWire Audio Console. Input and output
are independent. For example, you could connect
ADAT optical input from your digital mixer and
connect TOSLink optical output to your DAT de ck.

Main outs

The main outputs serve as independent outputs.
The main out volume is controlled by the volume
knob on the front panel. Push the knob to toggle
between phone and main out volume control. In a
standard studio configuration, the main outs are
intended for a pair of studio monitors, but they can
also be used as additional outputs for any purpose.

CONNECT MIDI GEAR

Connect your MIDI device’s MIDI IN jack to the
828mkII’s MIDI OUT jack (Connection A below).
Conversely, connect the MIDI device’s MIDI OUT
jack to the 8238mkII’s MIDI IN jack (Connection
B).

828mkII

rear panel

MIDI Device

Connection A

MIDI

OUT

MIDI

cables

MIDI INMIDI

OUT

MIDI

IN

Connection B

shown in Figure 4-3. Similarly, devices that never
send data, such as a sound module, only need
Connection A. Make both connections for any
device that needs to both send and receive MIDI
data.

Connecting additional gear with MIDI THRUs

If you need to connect several pieces of MIDI gear,
run a MIDI cable from the MIDI THRU of a device
already connected to the 828mkII to the MIDI IN
on the additional device as shown below in
Figure 4-4. The two devices then share the
828mkII’s MIDI OUT port. This means that they
share the same set of 16 MIDI channels, too, so try
to do this with devices that receive on only one
MIDI channel (such as effects modules) so their
receive channels don’t conflict with one another.

828mkII

rear panel

MIDI

OUT

MIDI

MIDI Device

Figure 4-4: Connecting additional devices with MIDI THRU ports.

IN

MIDI

THRU

MIDI

cable

MIDI IN

Additional device

Figure 4-3: Connecting a MIDI device to the 828mkII.

One-way MIDI connections

MIDI devices that do not receive MIDI data, such
as a dedicated keyboard controller, guitar
controller, or drum pad, only need Connection B

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

CONNECT A FOOT SWITCH

If you would like to use a foot switch with your
828mkII, connect it to the PUNCH IN/OUT jack.
See “Quick Reference: MOTU FireWire Audio
Console” on page 7 for information about how to
program the foot switch to trigger any computer
keystroke you wish.

19

A TYPICAL 828MKII SETUP (NO MIXER)

Here is a typical 828mkII studio setup. This rig can
be operated without an external mixer. All mixing
and processing can be done in the computer with
audio software. During recording, you can use the
828mkII’s CueMix™ DSP no-latency monitoring
to listen to what you are recording via the main

outs, headphone outs, or any other output pair. You
can control monitoring either from the front panel
or from the included CueMix Console software.
The two front-panel guitar/mic inputs can be
routed to outboard effects processor, such as a
compressor, EQ or reverb, via the rear panel sends.

PC

828mkII

back panel

guitar
(with or without a
modeling amp)

ADAT optical

FireWire

828mkII

front panel

mic

foot

switch

sends to

FX unit

(in rack

below)

headphones

other outputs (stage

monitors, surround

monitors, etc.)

Compre ssor, reverb or

other outboard gear

monitors

20

ADAT

S/PDIF

DAT deck

MIDI IN/OUT

synthesizer

Figure 4-5: A typical 828mkII studio setup.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

quarter-inch

analog outs

quarter-inch analog outs

synths, samplers, effects units, etc.

USING THE 828MKII WITH A MIXER

While there are many ways to use the 828mkII with
an external mixer, typically the 828mkII serves as a
mult i-cha nnel “p ipeli ne” between the mixer and
the computer. If your mixer is analog, connect the
analog section of the 828mkII to your mixer. If
your mixer is digital, and it has ADAT optical I/O,
you can connect them optically as shown below in
Figure 4-6. The 828mkII’s available analog and

PC

FireWire

SPDIF inputs and outputs can serve as an
extension to the mixer I/O, but then you will
probably find yourself mixing in two places: the
mixer and the computer. A word of advice: if you
would like to use the 828mkII with an external
mixer, use the mixer for mixing. Trying to mix
large multitrack projects in two places can become
very cumbersome very quickly.

8-channel digital I/O

ADAT optical

digital mixer

Figure 4-6: Using the 828mkII with a digital mixer.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

synths, samplers, etc.

synthesizers

21

MAKING SYNC CONNECTIONS

If you connect devices digitally to the 828mkII, or
if you need to synchronize the 828mkII with an
outside time reference such as SMPTE time code,
you must pay careful attention to the synchroni­zation connections and clock source issues
discussed in the next few sections.

Do you need to synchronize the 828mkII?

If you will be using only the 828mkII’s analog
inputs and outputs (and none of its digital I/O),
and you have no plans to synchronize your
828mkII system to SMPTE time code, you don’t
need to make any sync connections. You can skip
this section and proceed to chapter 6, “MOTU
FireWire Control Panel (Mac OS 9)” (page 47)
where you’ll open the MOTU FireWire Audio
Console and set the Clock Source setting to Internal
as shown below. For details, see chapter 6, “MOTU
FireWire Control Panel (Mac OS 9)” (page 47).

Figure 4-7: You can run the 828mkII under its own internal clock
when it has no digital audio connections and you are not synchroniz­ing the 828mkII system to an external time reference such as SMPTE.

Situations that require synchronization

There are three general cases in which you will
need to resolve the 828mkII with other devices:

■ Synchronizing the 828mkII with other digital

audio devices so that their digital audio clocks are
phase-locked (as shown in Figure 4-8)

■ Slaving the 828mkII system to SMPTE time code

from a video deck, analog multi-track, etc.

■ Both of the above

Synchronization is critical for clean digital I/O

Synchronization is critical in any audio system, but
it is especially important when you are transferring
audio between digital audio devices. Yo ur su ccess
in using the 828mkII’s digital I/O features depends
almost entirely on proper synchronization. The
following sections guide you through several
recommended scenarios.

Be sure to choose a digital audio clock master

When you transfer digital audio between two
devices, their audio clocks must be in phase with
one another — or phase-locked. Otherwise, you’ll
hear clicks, pops, and distortion in the audio — or
perhaps no audio at all.

Not phase-locked Phase-locked

Device A

Device B

Figure 4-8: When transferring audio, two devices must have phase­locked audio clocks to prevent clicks, pops or other artifacts.

There are two ways to achieve phase lock: slave one
device to the other, or slave both devices to a third
master clock. If you have three or more digital
audio devices, you need to slave them all to a single
master audio clock.

Master

Slave

Figure 4-9: To keep the 828mkII phased-locked with other digital
audio devices connected to it, choose a clock master.

Master

Slave Slave

Also remember that audio phase lock can be
achieved independently of time code (location).
For example, one device can be the time code
master while another is the audio clock master. But
only one device can be the audio clock master. If
you set things up with this rule in mind, you’ll have
trouble-free audio transfers with the 828mkII.

22

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

DO YOU NEED A SYNCHRONIZER?

Whether or not you’ll need a synchronizer depends
on your gear and what you will be doing with your
828mkII system. The following pages give you
specific information about common sync
scenarios. At least one of them will likely apply to
you. Here are some general considerations to help
you figure out if you need (or want) a synchronizer
for you 828mkII system.

Yo u don’t need a synchronizer if...

As explained earlier, the 828mkII’s digital audio
clock must be phase-locked (synchronized) with
other connected digital audio devices to achieve
clean digital transfers between them. Can this be
accomplished without an additional digital audio
synchronizer? It depends on the nature of the other
devices, and what you want to do with them. You
don’t need a synchronizer if the device has a way of
locking itself directly to the 828mkII’s clock (via
ADAT lightpipe, S/PDIF or word clock), AND if
the device carries no sense of location in time. A
digital mixer is a good example: it can slave to its
ADAT lightpipe connection from the 828mkII, and
it has no sense of time; it just passes audio through
for mixing.

A stand-alone digital recorder, on the other hand,
does have a sense of location in time, either via
SMPTE time code or via its own sample address.
For example, if you want to fly tracks back and
forth between your computer and an Alesis hard
disk recorder while maintaining the audio’s
position in time, the ADAT Sync port on the
828mkII lets you do so without a separate
synchronizer — and with sample-accurate
precision, as long as you’re using sample-accurate
software. Just connect the 828mkII directly to the
Alesis recorder (or other ADAT Sync-compatible
device) as discussed in “Sample-accurate ADAT
sync with no synchronizer” on page 26. But if you
also want transport control over the entire rig
(including the hard disk recorder) from your audio

software, you’ll need a MIDI Machine Control­compatible synchronizer such as MOTU’s MIDI
Timepiece AV, as discussed in “Sample-accurate
sync” on page 24. If you are simply using a stand­alone recorder as a way to capture live tracks that
you then transfer in one pass into the computer, no
synchronizer is required because the tracks will
remain in perfect phase lock with each other as you
transfer them together. You can simply slave the
stand-alone recorder to the optical output from the
828mkII as explained in “Syncing optical devices”
on page 29.

Transport control from your computer

If you have stand -alone d igital recorders connected
to the 828mkII, and they support ADAT Sync, your
audio software — if it supports MIDI Machine
Control (MMC) — allows you to control the
transports of everything from your computer.
Most advanced audio programs support MMC. To
do this, you’ll also need an MMC-compatible
ADAT synchronizer such as a MOTU MIDI
Timepiece AV or Digital Timepiece. Synchronizers
like these allow you to play, stop, rewind and locate
all of your tape decks using the transport controls
in the audio software. If your audio software
supports sample-accurate sync, you can do so with
sample-accurate precision. The following pages
show you how to achieve MMC control, where
possible.

Continuous sync to SMPTE / MTC

The 828mkII can synchronize directly to SMPTE
time code. If your audio software supports sample­accurate sync, it can also resolve to time code via
the 828mkII. If your software does not support
sample-accurate sync, you need a dedicated
synchronizer, as illustrated on the following pages.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

23

SAMPLE-ACCURATE SYNC

Yo ur 828mkII system provides you with the most
advanced, accurate synchronization possible with
Alesis modular digital tape decks and hard disk
recorders — or any device that supports sample­accurate ADAT sync. Figure 4-10 below shows a
few best-case scenarios. Below is a brief
explanation of the benefits you achieve with these
setups.

Sample accurate locating

With sample accurate locating, when you transfer
audio between any other sample-accurate host
software and a sample-accurate recorder, the audio
will not drift in time — even by as little as one
sample. This is the tightest possible synchroni­zation between digital audio devices. The timing in
your audio will not be affected in any way by the
process of transferring it between the 828mkII and
the recorder.

Is your audio software sample-accurate?

Sample-accurate locating is only possible with
software that supports this feature through the
828mkII’s ASIO Version 2 driver.

Transport control from your computer

If you have a MIDI Timepiece AV, Digital
Timepiece or any ADAT synchronizer that also
supports MIDI Machine Control (MMC), you can
play, stop, rew ind and locate all of your ADATs
using the transport controls in the audio software
running on your computer. This includes cueing
features like markers, position bars, playback
wipers, time rulers, etc.

Figure 4-11: Cubase SX and other ASIO 2.0-compatible programs
support sample-accurate transfers with ADAT Sync compatible
digital tape decks and modular hard disk recorders.

Sample

Sync format Software Synchronizer

ADAT Cubase or other ASIO

ADAT Cubase or other ASIO

ADAT Cubase or other ASIO

Figure 4-10: These recommended combinations of hardware and software offer the tightest sync possible between the 828mkII and digital
audio recorders in the form of sample-accurate locating between the software and the tape decks. Sample accurate locating is possible even
without a MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital Timepiece, although you give up transport control from the computer.

2.0-compatible app

2.0-compatible app

2.0-compatible app

MIDI Timepiece AV
or Digital Timepiece

BRC (or any MMC capa­ble ADAT synchronizer)

None Yes No No

accurate
locating

Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Transport
control
from computer

Continuous sync
to SMPTE / MTC

24

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

SAMPLE-ACCURATE ADAT SYNC

The 828mkII can achieve sample-accurate sync
with ADATs, Alesis hard disk recorders or any
ADAT Sync-compatible devices. Sample-accurate
software is required, such as Cubase SX or other
ASIO 2.0-compatible software that also supports
sample-accurate sync. Connect the 828mkII to the
end of the ADAT Sync chain and make the software
settings shown below in Figure 4-12. If you will be
using the stand-alone recorder for its analog inputs
and outputs only (you won’t be doing any
recording with it), treat it as an ‘optical’ device. See
“Syncing optical devices” on page 29.

Windows computer running Cubase or

other sample-accurate ASIO software

USB or parallel cable (bi-directional MIDI

connection) bearing MMC transport

commands from the host audio software

to the MIDI Timepiece AV (or other

synchronizer)

FireWire

If you have a MOTU
synchronizer, set its
sync mode to Internal.

Digital Timepiece, MIDI Timepiece AV,

Alesis BRC or any other MMC-compatible

ADAT synchronizer

ADAT

Sync Out

Use this setup if you have:

ADATs, Alesis hard disk recorders or any ADAT SYNC

✓

compatible device(s).

✓A MOTU Digital Timepiece, MIDI Timepiece AV or other

ADAT synchronizer.

✓Host software that supports sample-accurate sync.

This setup provides:

Sample-accurate locating between all ADAT SYNC-compati-

✓

ble devices, the 828mkII and your software (Cubase or other
sample-accurate software).

✓With a Digital Timepiece, this setup provides sample-accurate

locating across all devices: ADAT, Tascam and the 828mkII.

✓Transport control of everything from the computer, OR

continuous sync to SMPTE time code and other sync sources
(the other source is the transport master in this case).

To set the 828mkII hardware clock source for
sample-accurate sync:

1. Run the MOTU FireWire Audio Console.

2. Choose ADAT 9-pin from the Clock Source menu
as shown above.

3. Make sure the Sample Rate setting matches the
recorder and synchronizer.

ADATs

Sync In

Sync Out

Sync In

Sync Out

Sync In

Sync Out

FireWire

Sync In

Figure 4-12: Connections for sample-accurate ADAT sync.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

ADAT

sync cables

etc.

In Cubase SX:

1. Open the Sync Setup window (Transport menu).

2. Choose the ASIO Positioning Protocol option shown below.

3. Choose the MIDI Machine Control option shown below.

4. Make sure that Syn c Online is checked in the Transport menu.

5. Click the play or record button. Cubase will then start playing or record­ing, and the recorder will begin to roll, too, after being triggered by the
MIDI Timepiece AV (or other synchronizer).

25

SAMPLE-ACCURATE ADAT SYNC WITH NO
SYNCHRONIZER

Even if you don’t have an ADAT synchronizer, you
can achieve sample-accurate sync between ADAT­sync compatible devices, an 828mkII, and any
sample-accurate software. Just connect the
828mkII to the end of the ADAT sync chain as
shown below. You don’t get transport control from
your computer, nor can you slave the system to
SMPTE time code. Instead, you have to play, stop,
rewind and cue the system from the transports on
your recorder. If you’re using the recorder as an
additional source of analog inputs and outputs
only (not for recording), see “Syncing optical
devices” on page 29.

Windows computer running Cubase or

other sample-accurate ASIO software

Use this setup if you have:

ADATs, Alesis hard disk recorders or any ADAT SYNC

✓

compatible device(s).

✗ No ADAT synchronizer.

✓ Host software that supports sample-accurate sync.

This setup provides:

Sample-accurate locating between all ADAT SYNC-compati-

✓

ble devices, the 828mkII and your software (Cubase or other
sample-accurate software).

✗ No transport control of everything from the computer.

✗ No sync to SMPTE time code or other sync sources.

With no sy nchronizer, the ADAT that is the

master of the ADAT sync chain becomes

transport master over everything, includ-

FireWire

ADATs

FireWire

Figure 4-12: Sample-accurate sync without an ADAT synchronizer.

ing your audio software.

Sync Out

Sync In

Sync Out

Sync In

Sync Out

Sync In

sync cables

etc.

ADAT

To set the 828mkII hardware clock source for
sample-accurate sync:

1. Run the MOTU FireWire Audio Console.

2. Choose ADAT 9-pin from the Clock Source menu

as shown above.

3. Make sure the Sample Rate setting matches the

recorder and synchronizer.

In Cubase SX:

1. Open the Sync Setup window (Transport menu).

2. Choose the ASIO Positioning Protocol option shown below.

3. Choose the MIDI Machine Control option shown below.

4. Make sure that Syn c Online is checked in the Transport menu.

5. Click the play or record button. Cubase will then start playing or record­ing, and the recorder will begin to roll, too, after being triggered by the
MIDI Timepiece AV (or other synchronizer).

26

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

SYNCING TO SMPTE TIME CODE

The 828mkII system can resolve directly to SMPTE
time code. It can also generate time code and word
clock, under its own clock or while slaving to time
code. Therefore, the 828mkII can act both as an
audio interface and digital audio synchronizer, to
which you can slave other digital audio devices.
Yo u can use the 828mkII to slave your audio
software to SMPTE as well, as long as your s oftware
supports sample-accurate sync, which is the means
by which the software follows the 828mkII. The
accuracy may not be sample-accurate, but in most
cases it will be very close.

Choose SMPTE as the clock source in the
MOTU FireWire Audio Console. This setting
can also be made in the MOTU SMPTE
Console (shown below).

SMPTE time code
source

When lockup is achieved,
the LOCK light illuminates

audio cable bearing LTC
(Longitudinal Time Code)

and the TACH light blinks
once per second.

Use this setup if you have:

✓ A SMPTE time code source, such as a multitrack tape deck.

An 828mkII by itself, OR with another slaved device (such as a

✓

digital mixer).

✓ Host software that supports sample-accurate sync.

This setup provides:

No sample-accurate locating.

✗

✓ Continuous sync to SMPTE time code.

✓ Sub-frame timing accuracy.

✓ Transport control from the SMPTE time code source.

SMPTE IN

quarter-inch jack

Any MOTU PCI interface

SMPTE

Word

out

Out

audio

cable

Other digital audio device

slaved to the 828mkII

Figure 4-13: Connections for synchronizing
the 828mkII directly to SMPTE time code.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

video
cable

FireWire cab le

Windows computer running Cubase or

other sample-accurate ASIO software

In Cubase VST, go to the Synchronization window and choose ASIO

2.0 as the Timecode Base. In Cubase SX, go to the Sync Setup
window and choose the ASIO Positioning Protocol option.

Launch the MOTU SMPTE Console and specify the SMPTE Source, wh ic h is
the interface receiving the SMPTE time code. Also, confirm that the Clock
Source/Address is SMPTE/SMPTE. For details about the other settings, see
chapter 13, “MOTU SMPTE Console” (page 103).

27

SYNCING TO VIDEO AND/OR SMPTE TIME
CODE USING A SYNCHRONIZER

If your host audio software does not support the
828mkII’s on-board SMPTE sync features
(because your software does not support sample­accurate sync), you need a universal synchronizer,
such as a MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital
Timepiece. These dedicated sync boxes can read
video and SMPTE time code and then convert it
into word clock and MIDI Time Code (MTC). The
word clock goes to the 828mkII to resolve the audio
hardware, and MIDI Time Code is fed to your host
audio software, which locks to it, as shown below
in Figure 4-14.

Use this setup if you have:

✓ Video and/or a SMPTE time code source.

✓ A Digital Timepiece, MIDI Timepiece AV or other universal

synchronizer.

✓ Host software that does not support sample-accurate sync

(although you can use this setup even if it does).

This setup provides:

No sample-accurate locating.

✗

✓ Continuous sync to SMPTE time code.

✓ Sub-frame timing accuracy.

✓ Transport control from the SMPTE time code source.

Video deck
or other source for video and/or SMPTE time code

audio cable bearing LTC
(Longitudinal Time Code)

MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV or
Digital Timepiece slaving to
video and/or SMPTE time code

word clock MIDI Time Code

828mkII

Choose Word Cl ock In as the clock source in the MOTU
FireWire Audio Console. If you have multiple interfaces
connected, be sure to choose the Word Clock In option that
corresponds to the interface receiving the clock signal.

Figure 4-14: If your host audio software does not support sample-accurate sync and the 828mkII’s built-in
SMPTE sync features, use a universal synchronizer such as the MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital Timepiece.

(Via MIDI interface)

PC running any audio software

28

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

Set up your audio software to
slave to MIDI Time Code.

SYNCING OPTICAL DEVICES

PC

The word optical is our short-hand way of referring
to any device that connects to the 828mkII via an
optical cable. But we make a further distinction: an
optical device is also one that doesn’t care about
sample location. An example is a digital mixer.
Since a digital mixer is not a recording device, it has
no sense of sample location like an ADAT does. An
ADAT can cue to a specific sample number (e.g.
sample number 43,478, 103) — as can any device
that supports ADAT sync, but most digital mixers
simply mix and process audio digitally, with no
sense of a specific sample location. There are many
other devices that fall into this category, including
digital effects processors, synthesizers, A/D
converters, and many more.

For ADATs or other devices that support ADAT
sync, synchronize them with the 828mkII as
described in the previous sections of this chapter.

For optical devices, such as digital mixers, all you
have to do is make sure that their digital audio
clock is phase-locked (in sync with) the 828mkII.
There are three ways to do this:

■ Slave the optical device to the 828mkII

■ Slave the 828mkII to the optical device

■ Slave both the optical device and the 828mkII to

a third master clock (such as a Digital Timepiece or
MIDI Timepiece AV synchronizer)

828mkII

Digital mixer

or other optical

device

Clock Source setting =

Internal, or any clock source

setting except Optical. The o ptical

device slaves to the 828mkII (via

its optical cable connection).

ADAT Optical OUT

ADAT Optical IN

828mkII

MIDI Timepiece AV

set to Internal

Digital mixer

or other optical

device

Digital mixer

or other optical

828mkII

Word Clock Out

Word Clock IN

device

bi-directional

optical

ADAT Optical OUT

ADAT Optical IN

ADAT Sync out

ADAT sync in

With this setup, in the MOTU
FireWire Aud io Console, choose
the Optical clock source setting.
The 828mkII slaves to the optical
device via their optical cable
connection.

828mkII

Clock Source setting =

optical

828mkII

Clock Source setting =

ADAT 9-pin

Computer with 828mkII

Figure 4-15: Three setups for synchronizing an optical device with the 828mkII. You can slave the optical device to the 828mkII or vice versa
with their optical connections. For more elaborate setups, you can slave both to a digital audio synchronizer like the Digital Timepiece. Don’t
use any of these setups for an ADAT or other optical device that records. Instead, see “Sample-accurate ADAT sync” on page 25.

29

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

SYNCING S/PDIF DEVICES

DAT decks an d other S/PDIF devices will sync to
the 828mkII in one of two ways:

■ Via the S/PDIF connection itself

■ Via word clock

S/PDIF devices with no word clock

If your DAT deck or other S/PDIF device has no
word clock sync connectors, just connect it to the
828mkII via the S/PDIF connectors. When the
device records S/PDIF audio (from the 828mkII),
it will simply synchronize to the clock provided by
the audio input.

On the other hand, when you transfer audio from
the S/PDIF device into the 828mkII, you’ll have to
slave the 828mkII to its S/PDIF input. If you have
other digital audio devices connected to the
828mkII, and they are not slaved directly to the
828mkII itself, you may hear clicks and pops
resulti ng from their unsynchroni zed audio clock. If
so, just turn them off during the transfer.

S/PDIF devices with word clock

If you r S/PDIF device has a Word Clock input, slave
the S/PDIF device to the 828mkII via their word
clock connection. You can then freely transfer
audio between the 828mkII and the S/PDIF device.

828mkII

S/PDIF

S/PDIF

DAT deck

or other S/PDIF device

Figure 4-16: Two setups for synchronizing an S/PDIF device with the 828mkII. In the top diagram, sync is achieved via the S/PDIF connection
itself. In this case, you have to choose S/PDIF as the 828mkII’s clock source when recording from the S/PDIF device. If you don’t want to have to
worry about switching the Clock Source setting depending on the direction of the S/PDIF transfer, you can slave the S/PDIF device to word clock
from the 828mkII or vice versa (not shown). The Word Clock connection maintains sync, regardless of the direction of the transfer.

Internal (when transferring from the

828mkII

Clock Source setting =

828mkII to the S/PDIF device)

828mkII

Clock Source setting = Internal

828mkII

Word Clock Out

Word Clock In

DAT deck

or other SPDIF device

With this setup, in the MOTU FireWire Audio Console window, choose Internal, or
any other clock source setting except SPDIF. The DAT deck (or other SPDIF device)
slaves to the 828mkII via word clock for SPDIF transfers in both directions.

828mkII

Clock Source setting =

S/PDIF (when transferring from

the S/PDIF device to the 828mkII)

SPDIF

SPDIF

30

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

SYNCING WORD CLOCK DEVICES

The 828mkII word clock connectors allow you to
synchronize it with a wide variety of other word
clock-equipped devices.

For standard word clock sync, you need to choose
an audio clock master (as explained in “Be sure to
choose a digital audio clock master” on page 22).
In the simplest case, you have two devices and one
is the word clock master and the other is the slave
as shown below in Figure 4-17 and Figure 4-18.

Master

Word clock OUT

828mkII

rate. For example, the 828mkII could be running at
96 kHz while slaving to a 48 kHz word clock signal
from a MOTU Digital Timepiece. Similarly, the
828mkII could run at 88.2 kHz and slave to

44.1 kHz word clock. Conversely, the 828mkII
could run at 48 kHz and slave to a 96 kHz word
clock signal. In all of these cases, the front panel
clock LEDs flash both sample rates to indicate that
the 828mkII is slaving to word clock at either twice
or half its own clock rate. But if the 828mkII is
running at 96 kHz, it cannot slave to word clock
running at 44.1 kHz.

Remember, the word clock signal must be one of
the following:

Word clock IN

Slave

Figure 4-17: Slaving another digital audio device to the 828mkII via
word clock. For the 828mkII clock source, choose any source besides
word clock, as it is not advisable to chain word clock.

MOTU Digital Timepiece universal synchronizer

Audio

clock

Master

Slave

Figure 4-18: Slaving the 828mkII to word clock. For the 828mkII clock
source, choose ‘Word Clock In’.

Word clock OUT

Word clock IN

Other device

828mkII

Don’t chain word clock

If you have three or more digital audio devices that
you need to synchronize, avoid chaining their word
clock connections (OUT to IN, OUT to IN, etc.), as
this causes problems. Instead, use a dedicated
synchronizer like the Digital Timepiece or a word
clock distribution device of some kind.

Slaving to 2x and 1/2x word clock

All MOTU FireWire audio interfaces that support
96 kHz operation (including the 828mkII and 896)
have the ability to slave to a word clock signal
running at either twice or half their current clock

■ the same as the 828mkII clock

■ twice the 828mkII clock

■ half of the 828mkII clock

SYNCING LARGE SYSTEMS

If you are connecting the 828mkII to a lot of other
digital audio gear, get a Digital Timepiece. It can
synchronize a wide variety of devices, and it offers
sample accurate synchronization for devices that
support it, such as ADATs. You will also be able to
control everything from the transport controls of
your audio software. If you have even more devices
than a single Digital Timepiece can support,
consider a word clock distribution device, such as
the Aardvark Aard Sync™ video-to-word clock
converter. Products like this offer multiple word
clock outputs and an extremely low-jitter clock.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

31

CONNECTING MULTIPLE MOTU FIREWIRE
INTERFACES

Yo u c an da is y-chain up to four MOTU FireWire
interfaces on a single FireWire bus, with the
restrictions described in the following sections.
Most computers have only one built-in FireWire
bus (even if it supplies multiple FireWire sockets).
Connect them as follows:

PC

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

Multiple interfaces in the MOTU FireWire Audio
Console

The MOTU FireWire Audio Console displays the
settings for one interface at a time. To view the
settings for an interface, click its tab as shown
below in Figure 4-20.

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

Figure 4-19: Connecting multiple 828mkII’s (or other MOTU FireWire
audio interfaces) to a computer.

32

Figure 4-20: To view the settings for an interface, click its tab.

Using multiple interfaces

All connected MOTU FireWire interfaces get their
clock from whatever you choose from the Clock
Source menu in the General tab in the MOTU
FireWire Audio Console. When you connect
multiple MOTU FireWire interfaces, all of their
respective sync sources are displayed in the menu
as shown below in Figure 4-21.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

Figure 4-21: All MOTU FireWire audio interfaces get their clock from a
single master sync source on any connected 828mkII (or other MOTU
FireWi re interface). After you choose a source from this menu, the
entire system, including all connected 828mkIIs, synchronizes to it.

Each FireWire interface in the system gets its clock
from the Audio Wire cable connection (unless it is
the master clock itself). There is no need to make
word clock connections be tween multiple FireWire
interfaces.

Connecting an 828

Yo u can add an original MOTU 828 to the end of a
FireWire daisy chain (because the 828 has only one
FireWire por t), or you can mix and match multiple
828’s with other MOTU FireWire interfaces using a
standard FireWire hub. Up to four inte rfa ces c an be
combined on one FireWire bus.

Managing the IDs of multiple interfaces

Multiple 828mkII interfaces are identified by
number (#1, #2, #3, etc.) Interfaces are ID’d (g iven
a number) by the order in which they are first
powered up after being connected. This
information is stored in the MOTU FireWire Audio
preferences file. Once ID’d, they retain the same
number regardless of the order in which they are
powered up. You can disable an interface at any
time with the Disable interface option shown in
Figure 4-20 on page 32. Doing so frees up the
FireWire bandwidth required by the interface
without turning it off. Switching off an interface
accomplishes the same thing. To get the MOTU
FireWire Audio Control Panel Console to forget
about an interface entirely, you’ll see a Forget
button in the MOTU FireWire Audio Console. Just
click the Forget button and the MOTU FireWire
Audio Console wil l no longer consider the
interface to be present but off line (turned off).

Operating multiple FireWire interfaces at high
sample rates

Four MOTU FireWire interfaces can operate at

44.1 or 48kHz on a single FireWire bus. At the high
samples rates (88.2 or 96kHz), you can operate no
more than two FireWire interfaces on a single
FireWire bus.

Adding additional interfaces with a second
FireWire bus

Third-party FireWire bus expansion products in
the form of a cardbus (“PC card”) adaptor or PCI
card allow you to add a second FireWire bus to
your computer. In may be possible to add
additional MOTU FireWire interfaces connected
to such a third-party product, depending on the
performance of the product and the performance
of your host computer.

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

33

34

INSTALLING THE 828MKII HARDWARE

CHAPTER

5 MOTU FireWire Audio Console

OVERVIEW

Accessing the 828mkII settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

828mkII Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Sample Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Clock Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Samples Per Buffer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Optical input/output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Phones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Enable Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Wave supp ort for legacy (MME) software. . . . . . . . . . . . 40

ACCESSING THE 828MKII SETTINGS

There are several ways to access the MOTU
FireWire Audio Console settings:

■ From the Windows Start menu, choose

Programs>MOTU>MOTU FireWire Audio Console

■ From within Cubase VST, go to the Audio menu,

choose System and then click the ASIO Control
Panel button. In Cubase SX, open the Devices
Setup window, click the VST Multitrack device and
click the Control Panel button.

Cubase VST

Cubase SX

■ From within other ASIO-compatible programs,

refer to their documentation.

■ From the front panel LCD (see chapter 6,

“828mkII Front Panel Operation” (page 41)).

35

828MKII SETTINGS

Sample Rate

Choose the desired Sample Rate for recording and
playback. The 828mkII can operate at 44.1 (the
standard rate for compact disc audio), 48, 88.2 or
96KHz. Make absolutely sure that all of the devices
connected digitally to the 828mkII match the
828mkII’s sample rate. Also make sure that your
Digital Timepiece, MIDI Timepiece AV or other
digital audio synchronizer matches it as well.

☛ Mismatched sample rates cause distortion and

crackling. If you hear this sort of thing, check the
sample rate settings in your hardware and here in
the MOTU FireWire Audio Console.

Clock Source

The Clock Source determines the digital audio
clock that the 828mkII will use as its time base. For
a complete explanation of synchronization issues,

see “Making sync connections” on page 22. The
following sect ions briefly discuss each clock source
setting.

Internal

Use the Internal setting when you want the
828mkII to operate under its own digital audio
clock. For example, you may be in a situation
where all you are doing is playing tracks off hard
disk in your digital audio software on the
computer. In a situation like this, you most often
don’t need to reference an external clock of any
kind.

Another example is transferring a mix to DAT. You
can operate the 828mkII system on its internal
clock, and then slave the DAT deck to the 828mkII
via the S/PDIF connection (usually DAT decks
slave to their S/DIF input when you choose the
S/PDIF input as their record source) or via the
828mkII’s word clock output (if your DAT deck has
a word clock input).

36

Figure 5-1: The MOTU FireWire Audio Console gives you access to all of the settings in the 828mkII hardware.

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

If you would like help determining if this is the
proper clock setting for your situation, see “Do you
need a synchronizer?” on page 23.

With ADAT dev ices, however, you usually want an
external digital audio synchronizer, such as the
MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital Timepiece, to be the
digital clock master. In this case, you would set the
828mkII clock source setting to ADAT 9-pin, as
described below.

S/PDIF

The S/PDIF clock source setting refers to the
S/PDIF RCA input jack on the 828mkII. This
setting allows the 828mkII to slave to another
S/PDIF device.

Use th is setting whenever you are recording input
from a DAT deck or other S/PDIF device into the
828mkII. It is not necessary in the opposite
direction (when you are transferring from the
828mkII to the DAT machine).

For further details about this setting, see “Syncing
S/PDIF devices” on page 30.

Word Cloc k I n

The Wor d C lock In setting refers to the Word Clock
In BNC connector on the 828mkII rear panel.
Choosing this setting allows the 828mkII to slave to
an external word clock source, such as the word
clock output from a digital mixer.

ADAT 9-pin

The ADAT 9-pin clock source setting refers to the
ADAT digital audio synchronization format. It
allows the 828mkII to slave to an ADAT — or
ADAT sync chain — via its ADAT sync 9-pin
connector. ADAT sync also carries precise, sample
location information, which allows Cubase or
other sample-accurate ASIO 2.0-compatible audio
software to transfer audio to and from ADAT-sync
compatible recorders without drifting by as much
as one sample.

Use this setting when you are using the 828mkII
with one or more ADAT-sync compatible
recorders. Make sure the 828mkII is connected to
the end of the ADAT sync chain.

Yo u s ho ul d also use this setting if you have a MIDI
Timepiece AV, which allows you to drive your
entire system from the transport controls of your
audio software.

Yo u c o ul d also use ADAT sync to continuously
resolve the 828mkII to SMPTE time code, video,
and word clock via a synchronizer like the MOTU
MIDI Timepiece AV. Word clock can accomplish
the same thing.

For further details, see “Sample-accurate ADAT
sync” on page 25, “Sample-accurate ADAT sync
with no synchronizer” on page 26 and “Syncing to
video and/or SMPTE time code using a
synchronizer” on page 28.

ADAT optical

The ADAT optical clock source setting refers to the
clock provided by the 828mkII’s optical input,
when it is connected to an ADAT optical device.
This setting can be used to slave the 828mkII
directly to the optical input connection. Most of
the time, you can set up a better operating scenario
that uses one of the other synchronization options.
However, ther e may be occasions when you have an
ADAT optical compatible device that has no way of
synchronizing digitally to the 828mkII or an
external synchronizer such as the Digital
Timepiece. In this case, the ADAT Optical clock
source setting lets you slave the 828mkII to the
device itself via its digital input to the 828mkII.

If the ADAT Optical setting does not appear in the
menu, it means that the 828mkII’s optical input is
currently either turned off or set to the TOSLink
format. In either case, choose the ADAT optical
format f rom the Optical input menu (Figure 5-1 on
page 36).

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

37

This setting is also useful if you just need to make a
simple, click-free digital transfer between the
828mkII and another device — where a time code
reference and shared transport control are not
needed — without having to set up an elaborate
synchronization scenario.

For further details about this setting, see “Syncing
optical devices” on page 29.

TOSLink

The TOSLink clock source setting refers to the
clock provided an optical S/PDIF device connected
to the 828mkII’s optical input. This setting can be
used to slave the 828mkII directly to the optical
input connection. Most of the time, you can set up
a better operating scenario that uses one of the
other synchronization options. However, there
may be occasions when you have an TOSLink­compatible device that has no way of
synchronizing digitally to the 828mkII or an
external synchronizer such as the Digital
Timepiece. In this case, the TOSLink clock source
setting lets you slave the 828mkII to the other
device via the 828mkII’s optical input.

If the TOSLink setting does not appear in the
menu, it means that the 828mkII’s optical input is
currently either turned off or set to the ADAT
optical format. In either case, choose the TOSLink
format f rom the Optical input menu (Figure 5-1 on
page 36).

This setting is also useful if you just need to make a
simple, click-free digital transfer between the
828mkII and another device — where a time code
reference and shared transport control are not
needed — without having to set up an elaborate
synchronization scenario.

For further details about this setting, see “Syncing
optical devices” on page 29.

SMPTE

Choose this setting to resolve the 828mkII directly
to SMPTE time code (LTC) being received via the
828mkII’s quarter-inch SMPTE input jack. For
details, see “Syncing to SMPTE time code” on
page 27 and chapter 11, “MOTU SMPTE Console”
(page 75).

Samples Per Buffer

The Samples Per Buffer setting lets you reduce the
delay you hear when patching live audio through
your audio software. For example, you might have
a live microphone input that you would like to run
through a reverb plug-in that you are running in
your host audio software. Whe n doin g so, you may
hear or feel some “sponginess” (delay) between the
source and the processed signal. If so, don’t worry.
This effect only affects what you hear: it is not
present in what is actually recorded.

Yo u c an us e Samples Per Buffer setting to reduce
this monitoring delay—and even make it
completely inaudible.

☛ If you don’t need to process an incoming live

signal with software plug-ins, you can monitor the
signal with no delay at all using CueMix Console,
which routes the signal directly to your speakers
via hardware. For details, see chapter 12, “CueMix
Console” (page 97).

Adjusting the Samples Per Buffer setting impacts
the following things:

■ The strain on your computer’s CPU

■ The delay you hear when routing a live signal

through your host audio software plug-ins

■ How responsive the transport controls are in

your software

This setting presents you with a trade-off between
the processing power of your computer and the
delay of live audio as it is being processed by
plug-ins. If you reduce the Samples Per Buffer, you

38

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

reduce p atch thru latency, but significantly increase
the overall processing load on your computer,
leaving less CPU bandwidth for things like real­time effects processing. On the other hand, if you
increase the Samples Per Buffer, you reduce the load
on your computer, freeing up bandwidth for
effects, mixing and other real-time operations. But
don’t set the Samples Per Buffer too low, or it may
cause distortion in your audio.

If you don’t process live inputs with software
plug-ins, leave this setting at its default value of
1024 samples. If you do, try settings of 256 samples
or less, if your computer seems to be able to handle
them. If your host audio software has a processor
meter, check it. If it starts getting maxed out, or if
the computer seems sluggish, raise the Samples Per
Buffer until performance returns to normal.

If you are at a p oint in your recording project where
you are not currently working with live, patched­thru material (e.g. you’re not recording vocals), or
if you have a way of externally monitoring input,
choose a higher Samples Per Buffer setting.
Depending on your computer’s CPU speed, you
might find that settings in the middle work best.

The Samples Per Buffer setting also impacts how
quickly your audio software will respond when you
begin playback, although not by amounts that are
very noticeable. Lowering the Samples Per Buffer
will make your software respond faster; raising the
Samples Per Buffer wil l ma ke it a li ttle bit slower, but
barely enough to notice.

Monitoring live inputs without plug-in effects

As mentioned earlier, CueMix Console allows you
to monitor dry, unprocessed live inputs with no
delay at all. For complete details, see chapter 11,
“Reducing Monitoring Latency” (page 91).

Optical input/output

The Optical input and Optical output settings let
you cho ose be tween ADAT optical (‘lightpipe’) and
S/PDIF optical (‘TOSLink’) as the format for the
828mkII’s optical input and output. Choose the
format that matches the device connected. If you
are not using the optical connections, it is
recommended that you turn them off (as provided
in the menus) to reduce bandw idth and processing
overhead. Note that you can operate the input and
output independently. For example, you could use
the ADAT optical format on the input (with a
digital mixer, for example) and optical S/PDIF on
the output (with a DAT deck, for example).

When the optical output is set to TOSLink, the
signal is split to both the RCA and optical output
jacks. However, when the optical input is set to
TOSLink, the RCA SDIF jack is disabled.

Phones

The Phones setting lets you choose what you will
hear from the headphone jack. Choose Main Outs
if you’d like the headphone output to match the
main outs. Choose Phones if you would like the
headphones to serve as their own independent
output, which you can access as an independent
output destination in your host audio software a nd
as an output destination for the four on-board
CueMix DSP mix busses.

Word Ou t

The Word Out menu appears when the 828mkII is
operating at a high sample rate (88.2 or 96kHz).
This menu lets you set the word clock output either
to match the current sample rate (System Clock) or
to halve the current sample rate (System C lock ÷ 2).
In the latter case, the word clock output would be
reduced to either 44.1 or 48 kHz.

Enable Pedal

Check the Enable Pedal option if a foot switch is
connected to the 828mkII and you would like to
trigger recording punch in/out (or other software

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

39

functions) with it. Use the Set buttons to determine
what keystroke is triggered by the pedal-up and
pedal-down positions. You can assign the pedal to
any two keystrokes you wish. (You are not
restricted to punch in/out.)

Wave support for legacy (MME) software

Windows only exposes the first two channels of a
multi-channel WDM audio stream to applications
which use the legacy (MME) multimedia interface.
The Enable full Wave support for legacy (MME)
software (less efficient) option forces the 828mkII
multimedia driver to expose all channels as stereo
pairs, providing full MME support.

If your host audio software does not directly
support WDM audio and instead only supports
legacy MME drivers, use this option to access
multiple 828mkII input and output channels.

If your host audio software does directly support
WDM audio, leave this option unchecked for
optimal performance.

This option is only available when the multimedia
driver has been installed, and it defaults to being
not checked.

40

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

CHAPTER

6 828mkII Front Panel Operation

OVERVIEW

The 828mkII is the first FireWire audio interface to
offer complete front-panel programming via six
rotar y encoders and a 2x16 backlit LCD display. All
828mkII settings can be accessed via these front­panel controls.

Push-button rotary encoders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Multi-function LCD display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

VOLUME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

SETUP / SELECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

MIX BUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

PAR AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

CURSOR / VALUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Stand-alone operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

PUSH-BUTTON ROTARY ENCODERS

All of the knobs shown in Figure 6-1 are push­button digital rotary encoders. In many cases, you
can either push the knob or turn it to make a
setting or toggle the LCD display (depending on
the encoder and setting).

MULTI-FUNCTION LCD DISPLAY

The LCD provides access to the many 828mkII
settings, as well as visual feedback of the current
parameter being modified.

The LCD operates in two different modes: setup
mode and mixer mode. Push the SETUP knob to
toggle between the two modes.

Choose the mix parameter

to edit here with the

PAR AM k nob.

The top row shows settings

for the 10 analog inputs.

Use the CURSOR knob

to scroll to a channel

and use VALUE to

change its setting.

Figure 6-1: The 828mkII front panel controls.

Choose the mix you

are editing by

pushing the MIX BUS

knob. Turn the knob

to change the mix

volume.

The bottom row shows settings

for the 10 digital inputs.

41

Setup mode

In setup mode, the LCD displays basic settings,
such as clock source, optical I/O format (ADAT
versus TOSLink), and so on. These settings are
covered in detail later in “SETUP / SELECT” on
page 42.

Figure 6-2: In setup mode, the LCD displays a setup parameter in the
top row of the LCD and the current setting in the bottom row.

Mixer mode

In mixer mode, the LCD displays the settings for
the current 828mkII mix being shown in the
display, as demonstrated in Figure 6-1 on page 41.

Parameter “zooming”

For many settings, the LCD temporarily “zooms
in” to display a long-throw meter and alpha­numeric display to give you precise, real-time
feedback as you adjust the setting. For example, if
you change the headphone volume, the LCD will
display a level meter and gain reduction reading
that updates as you turn the volume knob. After a
brief time-out, the display returns to its previous
state before you turned the volume knob. The
time-out period can be adjusted, as explained later
in “Fader View Time”.

Figure 6-3: For many settings, the LCD “zooms in” on the setting as
you adjust it.

VOLUME

The VOLUME knob lets you control the volume of
both the headphone jack and the rear-panel main
outs. Press the knob to toggle between the
headphones and the main outs. As explained in the
previous section, the LCD provides detailed
feedback as you turn the knob. To view the current
setting without changing it, just push the knob
(without turning it).

SETUP / SELECT

Press the SELECT knob to toggle between mixer
mode and setup mode. In mixer mode, the SETUP
and SELECT knob do nothing. In setup mode,
turn SETUP to choose a setting and SELECT to
change it. In some cases, SELECT chooses one of
the 828mkII’s four mixes, and the VALUE knob
changes the setting. The setup settings are briefly
explained below.

Clock source

This sets the global clock source for the 828mkII
and is the same as the Clock Source setting in the
MOTU FireWire Audio Console as explained in
“Clock Source” on page 36. If the 828mkII is
currently connected to a computer, this setting
cannot be changed from the front-panel LCD. It
must be changed in the MOTU FireWire Audio
Console instead. Or, you can disconnect the
828mkII from the computer to change the Clock
Source from the front panel.

Fader V iew T ime

The Fader View Time option lets you control the
length of time that an adjusted parameter remains
displayed in the LCD before the LCD returns to its
previous state. For example, when you turn the
MIX BUS knob to adjust the volume of the current
mix, you’ll see a long-throw horizontal fader in the
LCD, along with a numeric display of the current
gain reduction. After you stop turning the knob,
this fader remains displayed in the LCD for a
moment before the LCD returns to its previous

42

828MKII FRONT PANEL OPERATION

state. The Fader View Time option lets you control
how long the adjusted parameter remains on the
LCD after the knob stops turning.

Optical In / Optical Out

These two settings determine the format for the
828mkII’s optical input and output. They are the
same as the optical setting in the MOTU FireWire
Audio Console as explained in “Optical input/
output” on page 39. If the 828mkII is currently
connected to a computer, these settings cannot be
changed from the front-panel LCD. They must be
changed in the MOTU FireWire Audio Console
instead. Or, you can disconnect the 828mkII from
the computer to change them from the front panel.

Yo u c an then paste the settings to another mix as
explained below. The word Done appears briefly to
confirm that the mix settings have been
successfully copied.

Paste Bus Mix

After you copy mix settings (explained above),
Paste Bus Mix lets you paste the copied mix settings
to another mix. Turn the SELECT knob to choose a
mix. Push SELECT to paste. The word Done
appears briefly to confirm the paste. The following
mix parameter are included in the paste operation:
Gain, Pan, Solo, Mute, +4/-10, +6dB boost, and
stereo pairing. The following mix parameters are
not pasted: Bus output, Bus mute and Bus gain.

Bus output

The Bus Output setting lets you choose the
828mkII output pair for each of the four CueMix
DSP mix busses. Turn the SELECT knob to choose
a bus. Turn the VALUE knob to choose an output.
Push the VALUE knob to select the output. The
output stops flashing to confirm that it has been
selected.

Bus mute

The Bus Mute setting mutes and unmutes the bus
output. Turn the SELECT knob to choose a bus.
Push the SELECT knob to mute or unmute the bus.

Phones Assign

The Phones Assign setting lets you choose what you
hear on the headphone output. This is the same as
the Phones setting in the MOTU FireWire Audio
Console as explained in “Phones” on page 39.

Init Current Mix

The Init Current Mix setting lets you reset the
current mix (or all four mixes). All inputs get reset
to unity gain (0 dB), pan c enter, etc.

Copy Bus Mix

Copy Bus Mix let s yo u cop y al l of th e se tting s fo r th e
currently displayed mix. Turn the SELECT knob to
choose a mix. Push the SELECT knob to copy it.

Save/Name Preset

The Save/Name Preset setting lets you name and
save up to sixteen separate 828mkII presets. A
preset holds all of the current CueMix DSP mix
settings for all four mix busses. Setup parameters
are not included. The name can have up to 12
characters. Here is a summary of how to name and
save a preset:

To do this: Do this:

To change the currently flashing
character

To jump to capital letters, lower
case letters, numbers or symbols

To scroll to a different character Turn the CURSOR knob.

To save the preset Push SELECT. If you are asked

Turn the VALUE knob

Push the VALUE knob repeat­edly

to replace existing preset, push
SELECT again to replace it, or
turn it to select a different preset.

Load preset

After you’ve saved one or more presets, Load Preset
lets you recall them. Turn the SELECT knob to
choose a preset. Push SELECT to load it. The word
Loaded appears briefly to confirm the operation.

828MKII FRONT PANEL OPERATION

43

All Notes Off

The All Notes Off setting sends a MIDI All Notes Off
message, as well as a MIDI note-off message for
every note on every MIDI channel. This stops any
stuck notes that are currently playing. Push
SELECT to initiate the All Notes Off operation. The
MIDI OUT LED will glow to confirm that the note­off data is being sent.

Fac tory Defaults

The Factory Defaults setting restores the 828mkII
factory settings. Before you can attempt this
operation, the 828mkII must first be disconnected
from the computer. If the interface is still
connected, the LCD will alert you with the message
“Must detach FW”. Once you have done so, push
SELECT to initiate the operation, and then when
the LCD asks “Are you sure?”, push VALUE to
execute it.

MIX BUS

The 828mkII on-board CueMix DSP mixer
provides four stereo mix busses, named MIX1,
MIX2, MIX3 and MIX4, respectively. Each mix bus
(also referred to as a “mix”) independently mixes
all inputs (or any subset of your choosing) down to
one 828mkII output pair of your choosing. For
example, you could assign MIX1 to the main outs,
MIX2 to analog outputs 1-2 and MIX3 to the
headphone outs. You can then independently
assign any input to any mix. An input can even be
included in two or more mixes simultaneously at
different input levels.

When the LCD display is in mixer mode, push the
MIX BUS knob repeatedly to cycle through the
four mixes. The current mix is indicated in the
LCD above the MIX BUS label (as shown in
Figure 6-1 on page 41). Turn the MIX BUS knob to
change the output level for the mix.

PA RA M

When the LCD display is in mixer mode, the
PAR A M k no b c yc le s through the mix parameters
listed below. Use the CURSOR knob to scroll to a
particular channel (until it flashes) and use the
VA LU E k n o b t o ch ange its setting:

Mix
parameter Range Comments

Gain OFF,

Pan -64 to +64

Solo “s” or

Mute “m” or

4/10 down (+4)

+6db “+” or

-84 to 0 dB

Zero = pan
center

blank

blank

or up (-10)

blank

Each channel displays a small fader.
Push the VALUE knob to toggle
between OFF and unity gain (0dB).

Push the VALUE knob to jump to
pan center. Stereo pairs (explained
below) are panned hard left/right by
default.

Push the VALUE knob to toggle
between soloed (S) and not soloed
(blank), or turn the knob to toggle.

Push the VALUE knob to toggle
between muted (m) and unmuted
(blank), or turn the knob to toggle.

This setting applies universally
across ALL mix busses for analog
inputs 1-8. Push the VALUE knob
to toggle between a +4dB reference
level (down) and a -10dB reference
level (up). Or turn the knob to tog­gle.

This setting applies universally
across ALL mix busses for analog
inputs 1-8. Push the VALUE knob
to toggle between a +6dB software
boost (+) and no boost (blank). Or
turn the knob to toggle.

Figure 6-4: In mixer mode, the LCD displays the mix settings for the
mix bus currently being displayed in the LCD.

44

Pair “[ ]” or

blank

828MKII FRONT PANEL OPERATION

This setting applies universally
across ALL mixes. Push the VALUE
knob to toggle a stereo input pair
between separate mono inputs
(blank) or a stereo pair (“[ ]”). Or
turn the knob to toggle. When a pair
of inputs are linked, all of their mix
settings become linked (gain, solo,
etc.) except for pan. When the pair is
first created, pan is set to hard left
and hard right, but the channels can
then be further modified indepen­dently. When a pair is unlinked, the
channels are set to pan-center.

Mix parameters that apply across all mixes

The last three mix settings (input reference level,
+6dB software boost, and stereo pairing) apply
across all mixes because they have to do with the
nature of the input itself. For example, if you have
an input that requires a -10dB reference level, then
you’ll want the reference level to apply to all mixes.

Working with stereo pairs

When you group a pair of inputs as a stereo pair, all
of their mix settings become linked, and whenever
you scroll to either channel, both channels will
flash to indicate that they will operate as a linked
stereo pair. Note that when a pair is first created,
pan is set to hard left and hard right, but the
channels can then be further modified indepen­dently. When a pair is unlinked, the channels are
set to pan-center.

CURSOR / VALUE

When the LCD display is in mixer mode, the
CURSOR knob scrolls left and right over the 20
inputs displayed in the LCD. The current input
flashes. As a shortcut, you can push the CURSOR
knob to toggle between the top row (analog inputs)
and bottom row (digital inputs). The VALUE knob
changes the current mix parameter for the
currently flashing input. In some cases, such as
Gain and Pan, the LCD will “zoom” to the enlarged
horizontal fader while you adjust it w ith the VALUE
knob. After you stop adjusting, the LCD will return
to the mixer display.

STAND-ALONE OPERATION

All settings, including all mix settings and global
settings, are saved in the 828mkII’s memory, and
they remain in effect even when the 828mkII is not
connected to a computer. This allows you to use the
828mkII as a stand-alone 8-bus mixer. You can
make adjustments to any setting at any time from
the front panel.

828MKII FRONT PANEL OPERATION

45

46

828MKII FRONT PANEL OPERATION

CHAPTER

7 Cubase, Nuendo and Other ASIO

Software

OVERVIEW

The 828mkII includes a ASIO driver that provides
multi-channel I/O and sample-accurate synchro­nization with Steinberg’s Cubase family of digital
audio sequencers, including Cubase VST, Cubase
SX and Nuendo. The 828mkII requires Cubase for
Windows Version 3.553 or higher.

What is ASIO? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Run the MOTU FireWire Audio Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Choosing the MOTU FireWire ASIO driver. . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Number of channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

ASIO Direct monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Other System dialog settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Activating 828mkII inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Assigning inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Assigning outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Changing 828mkII settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Processing live inputs with plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

MIDI Machine Control (MMC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

MIDI I/O via the 828mkII MIDI ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Using a foot switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

24-bit operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Monitoring system performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

WHAT IS ASIO?

ASIO is an acronym for Audio St reaming Input and
Output. The ASIO MOTU FireWire Audio driver

allows the 828mkII to provide multi-channel audio
input and output for any audio application that
supports ASIO drivers.

Attention: Cubase VST users

Cubase VST Version 5 is used for the examples in
this chapter. However, there is no significant
difference between the Version 5 examples shown
and what you see in Version 4. The basic
procedures are the same.

Attention: Other software users

The 828mkII ASIO driver also provides multi­channel I/O with any ASIO-compatible audio
software. Cubase is used for the examples in this
chapter. However, the basic procedures are the
same and can be easily applied to any ASIO­compatible software. Just follow the general
descriptions at the beginning of each main section
in this chapter. Consult your software
documentation for details about each topic, if
necessary.

If your audio software doesn’t support ASIO

If your host audio software does not support ASIO,
but instead supports WDM (or legacy Wave) audio
drivers, refer to the next chapter.

PREPARATION

To m ake su r e that everything is ready for Cubase,
install Cubase first (if you haven’t already done so),
and then see these chapters before proceeding:

■ chapter 4, “Installing the 828mkII Hardware”

(page 17).

■ chapter 3, “IMPORTANT! Run the 828mkII

Software Installer First” (page 15)

Sample-accurate sync

The MOTU FireWire Aud io ASIO driver supports
sample-accurate sync (via the 828mkII’s ADAT
sync feature) for applications that support it.

RUN THE MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

Before you run Cubase, launch the MOTU
FireWire Audio Console to configure your
828mkII hardware. The MOTU FireWire Audio
Console lets you configure your audio interface,

47

and it lets you enable the desired inputs and
outputs. Only enabled inputs and outputs will be
available to Cubase, so this is an important step.
For complete details regarding the MOTU
FireWire Audio Console, see chapter 5, “MOTU
FireWire Audio Console” (page 35).

Sample rate

Choose the desired overall sample rate for the
828mkII system and Cubase. Newly recorded
audio in Cubase will have this sample rate.

Clock Source

This setting is very important because it
determines which audio clock the 828mkII will
follow.

If you do not have any digital audio connections to
your 828mkII (you are using the analog inputs and
outputs only), and you will not be slaving Cubase
to external SMPTE time code, choose Internal.

If you are slaving the 828mkII to the ADAT sync
Input connector, choose ADAT 9-pin.

If you are slaving the 828mkII and Cubase to
SMPTE time code via the 828mkII itself, choose
SMPTE and follow the directions in “Syncing to
SMPTE time code” on page 27.

☛ If you are using an ASIO host application

other than Cubase or Nuendo, it must support the
ASIO 2.0 sample-accurate positioning protocol in
order to support the 828mkII’s direct SMPTE sync
(and sample-accurate sync) feature.

Figure 7-1: The MOTU FireWire Audio Console gives you access to all
of the settings in the 828mkII hardware, including the clock source,
sample rate and optical I/O enable/disable.

For complete details about the 828mkII settings,
see chapter 6, “MOTU FireWire Control Panel
(Mac OS 9)” (page 47). The following sections
provide a brief explanation of each 828mkII setting
for use with Cubase.

48

If you have digital audio devices connected to the
828mkII, or if you are not sure about the clock
source of your setup, be sure to read “Making sync
connections” on page 22 and “Clock Source” on
page 36.

Samples Per Buffer

The Samples Per Buffer setting can be used to
reduce the delay — or monitoring latency — that
you hear when live audio is patched through your
828mkII hardware and Cubase. For example, you
might have MIDI instruments, samplers,
microphones, and so on connected to the analog
inputs of the 828mkII. If so, you will often be
mixing their live input with audio material

CUBASE, NUENDO AND OTHER ASIO SOFTWARE

recorded in Cubase. See chapter 9, “Reducing
Monitoring Latency” (page 63) for complete
details.

from the ASIO device menu. Make the other
settings in the dialog as need for your system and
synchronization scenario.

Optical input and output

To make a 828mkII optical input or output
available in Cubase, choose the appropriate format
(ADAT optical or TOSLink) from the optical input
and/or output menu. If you won’t be using the
optical connectors, turn them off.

Phones

This 828mkII setting lets you choose what you’ll
hear from the headphone jack. For example, if you
choose Main Outs, the headphones will duplicate
the main outs. Or you can choose any other output
pair. If you choose Phones, this setting makes the
headphone jack serve as its own independent
output pair. As a result, you’ll see Phones 1-2 as an
additional audio destination in Cubase’s audio
output menus.

CHOOSING THE MOTU FIREWIRE ASIO
DRIVER

Once you’ve made the preparations described so
far in this chapter, you’re ready to run your audio
software and enable the MOTU FireWire ASIO
driver. Check the audio system or audio hardware
configuration window in your software. There will
be a menu there that lets you choose among
various ASIO drivers that may be in your system.
Choose the MOTU FireWire ASIO driver from this
menu.

Cubase VST

To activate the 828mkII driver in Cubase VST,
choose Audio Setup>System from the Options
menu, and then choose MOTU FireWire ASIO

Nuendo and Cubase SX

To activate the 828mkII driver in Nuendo or
Cubase SX, go to the Device Setup window, click
VST Multitrack and choose MOTU FireWire ASIO
from the ASIO Driver menu as shown below. Make
the other settings in the dialog as need for your
system and synchronization scenario.

Nuendo and Cubase SX

Cubase VST

Figure 7-2: Activating the 828mkII FireWire ASIO driver in Nuendo
and Cubase.

NUMBER OF CHANNELS

In Cubase, be sure to choose enough channels in
the System dialog (as shown above in Figure 7-2)
to cover the 20 channels of input and 22 channels of
output provided by your 828mkII — although the
number of channels may depend on how your
828mkII is configured:

■ 12 channels for analog I/O (including the

headphone out)

CUBASE, NUENDO AND OTHER ASIO SOFTWARE

49

■ 2 channels for RCA S/PDIF

■ Zero, 2 or 8 channels for optical, depending on

whether you have optical turned off, or set to S/
PDIF or ADAT optical

For example, if you are using analog only, you only
need 12 channels. If you are using analog and RCA
S/PDIF, you need 14 channels.

As another example, if you are using analog, RCA
S/PDIF and ADAT optical, you need 22 channels
(the maximum number of simultaneous output
channels provided by the 828mkII).

In Cubase, set the number of channels in the
System dialog (as shown above in Figure 7-2).

ASIO DIRECT MONITORING

The ASIO Direct Monitoring option (Figure 7-2)
allows you to monitor inputs directly in the
828mkII hardware with no drain on your computer
and near zero latency. When you enable this
option, Cubase uses the 828mkII’s CueMix DSP
monitoring features whenever you use Cubase’s
monitoring features. For further information, see
“Cont rolli ng CueMix DSP from within Cubase or
Nuendo” on page 67.

are turned on and set to the format you require. If
you don’t plan to use the optical input or output,
turn it off to conserve computer bandwidth.

The “Mix1 1-2” input

In Cubase’s VST Inputs window, you’ll see an
828mkII input called Mix1 1-2. This input source
delivers the output of CueMix DSP “MIX1” (the
first mix bus of the four on-board no-latency
monitor mixes in the 828mkII) back to your
computer. This input serves, for example, as a
convenient way for you to record the 828mkII’s
MIX1 monitor mix back into Cubase (for reference
and archiving purposes). Further, if you are
sending audio from Cubase to the same output pair
as MIX1, you can choose to either include or
exclude the audio from the computer in the stream
being sent back to Cubase. For details on how to do
this, see “Mix1 Return Includes Computer” on
page 72.

☛ Wa rning: the Mix1 1-2 input can cause

feedback loops! DO NOT assign this input to a
track that shares the same 828mkII output pair as
MIX1.

OTHER SYSTEM DIALOG SETTINGS

Consult your Cubase or Nuendo documentation
for details about the rest of the settings in this
dialog.

ACTIVATING 828MKII INPUTS

Once you’ve chosen the MOTU FireWire ASIO
driver in the Audio System dialog as explained
earlier in “Choosing the MOTU FireWire ASIO
driver” on page 49, choose VST Inputs from the
Pane ls menu (or the Devices menu in Cubase SX)
to see the 828mkII inputs. To activate them, click
the Acti ve light next to each input. If you don’t see
the optical inputs and/or outputs, check the
MOTU FireWire Audio Console to make sure they

50

CUBASE, NUENDO AND OTHER ASIO SOFTWARE

Figure 7-3: Activating 828mkII inputs in Cubase VST.

ASSIGNING INPUTS

Once you’ve activated the 828mkII inputs as shown
in the previous section, you can then assign them
to Cubase or Nuendo audio channels in the
channel mixers in the usual fashion.

Figure 7-5: To assign an 828mkII input to a Cubase VST audio
channel: control-click the input button at the top of the channel strip.
For Nu endo or Cubase SX, consult your documentation.

Figure 7-4: Activating 828mkII inputs in Nuendo or Cubase SX.

CUBASE, NUENDO AND OTHER ASIO SOFTWARE

51

ASSIGNING OUTPUTS

Once you’ve chosen the MOTU FireWire ASIO
driver in the Audio System dialog as explained

assignments for the master fader and busses, as
shown below in Figure 7-6. In NuendoCubase SX,

they appear in the VST Outputs window.
earlier in “Choosing the MOTU FireWire ASIO
driver” on page 49, 828mkII outputs will be
available in Cubase or Nuendo as output
destinations. In Cubase VST, t he se outputs ap pe ar
in the VST Master Mixer window as output

In Cubase VST, use the output buttons at the bottom of each channel strip, including the master fader, to assign
828mkII outputs to busses. You can then assign channels in the VST Master Mixer window to each bus as desired.

The “Phones 1-2” output

If you’ve chosen to treat the 828mkII headphones

as an independent output, you’ll see Phones 1-2 as

an 828mkII output destination. Audio tracks

In Nuendo or Cubase SX, access the 828mkII outputs via the busses in the VST Outputs window.

Figure 7-6: Wo rk in g with 828mkII
outputs in Nuendo or Cubase.

52

CUBASE, NUENDO AND OTHER ASIO SOFTWARE

assigned to this output pair will be heard on the
headphone jack only. For further explanation, see
“Phones” on page 49.

CHANGING 828MKII SETTINGS

To change the 828mkII settings at any time, go to
the Audio System Setup window in Cubase VST or
the Device Setup window in Nuendo or Cubase SX
and click the ASIO Control Panel button, as shown
in Figure 7-2 on page 49.

PROCESSING LIVE INPUTS WITH PLUG-INS

If you patch a live input (such as MIDI synthesizer)
through a VST plug-in effect in Cubase, you might
hear a slight delay. There are several ways to reduce
this delay. For details, see chapter 9, “Reducing
Monitoring Latency” (page 63).

SYNCHRONIZATION

Cubase or Nuendo can r un under its own transport
control or slave to SMPTE time code. It can also
perform sample-accurate digital audio transfers
with Alesis digital recorders and Ta scam f am ily
digital recorders.

As you read through the following sections to
decide what form of synchronization you might
need with other devices in your studio, be sure to
consult chapter 4, “Installing the 828mkII
Hardware” (page 17) for the proper hardware
connections. Use the synchronization diagrams in
that chapter to be clear about how you will be
synchronizing Cubase to the other components of
your system.

However, even though Cubase or Nuendo is not

slaving to SMPTE time code, you still need to be

concerned with the synchronization of the

828mkII’s digital audio clock with other devices

connected to it digitally (if any). For example, if

you have a digital mixer connected to an 828mkII

interface via an ADAT optical lightpipe cable, you

need to make sure that their audio clocks are

phase-locked. For details, see “Syncing optical

devices” on page 29 and “Making sync

connections” on page 22. If you don’t have any

digital audio devices connected, digital audio

phase-lock does not apply to you.

Resolving Cubase or Nuendo and the 828mkII

to SMPTE time code

If you need to slave Cubase or Nuendo and the

828mkII to SMPTE time code, you can do so with

or without a dedicated synchronizer.

Resolving directly to time code (with no

synchronizer)

To resolve your 828mkII directly to SMPTE time

code with no additional synchronization devices,

use the setup shown in “Syncing to SMPTE time

code” on page 27.

First, set up Cubase or Nuendo for sample-accurate

sync as explained in “Sample-accurate sync to

ADAT or Tascam” on page 54. Make sure the Clock

Source setting in the MOTU FireWire Audio

Console window is set to SMPTE. Also, make sure

that you’ve connected an LTC input signal the

828mkII SMPTE input.

Running Cubase or Nuendo under its own
transport control

If you do not need to synchronize Cubase or
Nuendo w ith time code or another recording
device, such as a tape deck, just leave its SMPTE
time code synchronization features disabled.

CUBASE, NUENDO AND OTHER ASIO SOFTWARE

Resolving to video and/or time code with a

dedicated synchronizer

To resolve your 828mkII to video and/or SMPTE

time code using an additional synchronization

device, use the setup shown in “Syncing to video

and/or SMPTE time code using a synchronizer” on

page 28.

53

Follow the instructions in your Cubase or Nuendo
manual for slaving them to MIDI Time Code
(MTC). To ensure that your audio tracks don’t drift
out of sync with your MIDI tracks — or t ime code,
use a hardware synchronizer like the MIDI
Timepiece AV or Digital Timepiece to resolve the
828mkII hardware as well, as explained in “Syncing
to video and/or SMPTE time code using a
synchronizer” on page 28. A digital audio
synchronizer is required for drift-free SMPTE/
MIDI time code sync. Make sure the Clock Source
setting in the MOTU FireWire Audio Console
window has the appropriate setting for locking the
828mkII to the synchronizer. For example, in
Figure 4-14 on page 28, word clock is being used to
resolve an 828mkII interface, so the Clock Source
setting is Word Cl ock In.

1 Choose ADAT 9-pin as the Audio Clock Source

setting. In Cubase VST, this setting is in the Audio

System Setup window (Audio menu). In Nuendo

or Cubase SX, this setting is in the Device Setup

window (Options menu).

2 Go to Cubase or Nuendo’s Synchronization

window, as shown below:

Cubase VST

☛ If you have an ADAT sync or a Tascam sync

compatible device, don’t use SMPTE time code.
Instead, use sample-accurate sync as described in
the next section.

Sample-accurate sync to ADAT or Tascam

Cubase and Nuendo, along with the 828mkII and
its ASIO 2 driver, provide you with sample­accurate transfers with ADATs, Alesis recorders
and any other devices that support standard ADAT
sample address (ADAT Sync).

Similarly, with the help of a MOTU Digital
Timepiece universal A/V synchronizer, Cubase (or
Nuendo) and an 828mkII can perform sample­accurate transfers with Tascam digital recorders.

A sample-accurate transfer is one in which the
original location of the audio is preserved in the
transfer, down to the sample.

For details on how to connect your hardware for
sample-accurate sync, see “Sample-accurate sync”
on page 24. Then, set up Cubase as follows:

Nuendo or Cubase SX

Figure 7-7: Setting up sample-accurate sync via ASIO 2.

3 If you are not using an MMC-compatible

synchronizer (such as a MOTU MIDI

Timepiece AV, Digital Timepiece or Alesis BRC),

choose the settings shown above in Figure 7-7 that

applies to you. In this scenario, transport control is

handled by the ADAT (or other sample-accurate

sync source).

4 If you are using an MMC-compatible

synchronizer (such as a MOTU MIDI

Timepiece AV, Digital Timepiece or Alesis BRC),

set Cubase VST’s Sync Source Timecode Base to

ASIO 2.0 MMC or enable Nuendo’s ( or Cubase

SX’s) MIDI Machine Control option. In addition,

choose the appropriate MIDI port for the MMC

synchronizer from VST’s Output menu or Nuendo/

54

CUBASE, NUENDO AND OTHER ASIO SOFTWARE

SX’s MIDI machine Control MIDI Output menu. If
you’re using a MIDI Timepiece AV, you can choose
any of its MIDI ports in this menu. Doing so makes
Cubase or Nuendo send the MMC control
messages to the MTP AV (or other MMC device).
In this scenario, transport control is handled by
Cubase or Nuendo itself.

5 In Cubase VST’s Controls window, enable
SYNC. In Nuendo or Cubase SX, enable (check)
the Sync Online command in the Transport menu.

Figure 7-8: Enabling the SYNC button.

6 Begin playback from the sample-accurate sync
source (ADAT, DA-88, etc.) Transport control is
handled by the sample-accurate sync source.

MIDI MACHINE CONTROL (MMC)

If you have ADATs (or other ADAT Sync­compatible recorders) and a MMC-compatible
ADAT synchronizer like the MIDI Timepiece AV
and Digital Timepiece, you can control everything
from your computer screen with Cubase’s
transport controls and cueing features (like the
playback wiper, etc.)

Similarly, if you have Tascam digital recorders and
a MOTU Digital Timepiece (or other MMC­compatible Tascam synchronizer), you can control
all of your Tascam tape decks (in ABS time) in a
similar fashion from Cubase.

input source and output destination in the MIDI

input and output menus of your WDM-compatible

host software.

USING A FOOT SWITCH

Use a foot switch connected to the 828mkII to

trigger recording punch-in and punch-out, or any

other feature in your host audio software that is

assigned to a computer keystroke. To trigger a

different set of keystrokes with the foot switch, visit

the MOTU FireWire Audio Console. (See “Enable

Pedal” on page 39.)

24-BIT OPERATION

Yo ur 828mkII hardware fully supports Cubase and

Nuen do’s 24-bit recording capabilities. Simply

enable 24-bit operation as instructed in your

Cubase or Nuendo manual. The 828mkII always

supplies a 24-bit data stream, and when you enable

24-bit operation in Cubase or Nuendo, it simply

uses all 24-bits supplied by the 828mkII hardware.

MONITORING SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

Because it has so many inputs and outputs, the

828mkII may push the limits of your computer’s

processing power. Keep the VST Performance

window open to kee p ta bs on t he load o n your CP U

and disk buffers. If the meters get too high, you can

reduce the load by reducing the number of inputs

and outputs you are working with. Use the MOTU

FireWire Audio Console to uncheck input check

boxes and set output source menus to None.

See “Sample-accurate sync to ADAT or Tascam” on
page 54 for details on how to set this up.

MIDI I/O VIA THE 828MKII MIDI PORTS

Once you’ve run the 828mkII’s software installer as
explained in “Installing the 828mkII software” on
page 15, the 828mkII MIDI ports will appear as a

CUBASE, NUENDO AND OTHER ASIO SOFTWARE

Cubase VST

Nuendo or Cubase SX

Figure 7-9: Keep the Audio Performance window open to keep tabs

on your computer’s processing power and hard disk performance.

55

56

CUBASE, NUENDO AND OTHER ASIO SOFTWARE

CHAPTER

8 Sonar and other WDM Software

OVERVIEW

The 828mkII WDM driver provides standard
multi-channel input and output for WDM­compatible audio software running under
Windows Me, 2000 and XP.

WDM and Wave driver compatibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Installing the MOTU FireWire Audio WDM driver . . . . 57

Enabling Wave (MME) compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Making settings in the MOTU FireWire Audio Console. .
58

Enabling the MOTU FireWire Audio WDM driver . . . . . 59

Number of channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Other Audio Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Working with 828mkII inputs and outputs . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Changing 828mkII settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Reducing delay when monitoring live inputs . . . . . . . . 61

Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

MIDI I/O via the 828mkII MIDI ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Using a foot switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

24-bit operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

WDM AND WAVE DRIVER COMPATIBILITY

WDM is an acronym for Windows Dr iver Model.

The MOTU FireWire WDM driver allows the

828mkII to provide multi-channel audio input and

output for any audio application that supports

WDM audio drivers.

Attention: Cakewalk users

Cakewalk SONAR is used for the WDM driver

setup examples in this chapter.

Attention: other software users

Cakewalk’s SONAR software is used for the WDM

driver setup examples in this chapter. However, the

basic procedures are the same and can be easily

applied to any WDM-compatible software. Just

follow the general descriptions at the beginning of

each main section in this chapter. Consult your

software documentation for details about each

topic, if necessary.

INSTALLING THE MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO

WDM DRIVER

The MOTU FireWire Audio Installer CD installs

the MOTU FireWire WDM driver into Windows

for you. That’s pretty much all the preparation you

need. See chapter 3, “IMPORTANT! Run the

828mkII Software Installer First” (page 15).

ENABLING WAVE (MME) COMPATIBILITY

If your host audio software does not yet support

Windows WDM d rivers, enable Wave driver

compatibility in the MOTU FireWire WDM driver

so that all of the 828mkII’s inputs and outputs show

up in your software. For details, see “Wave support

for legacy (MME) software” on page 40.

☛ If your host audio software does support

WDM audio drivers, don’t enable Wave driver

compatibility.

57

MAKING SETTINGS IN THE MOTU FIREWIRE
AUDIO CONSOLE

Before you run your audio software, launch the
MOTU FireWire Audio Console to configure your
828mkII hardware. The MOTU FireWire Audio
Console lets you choose the audio clock source,
and it lets you enable the optical input and output,
if needed. For details, see chapter 5, “MOTU
FireWire Audio Console” (page 35).

For complete details about the 828mkII settings,

see chapter 6, “MOTU FireWire Control Panel

(Mac OS 9)” (page 47). The following sections

provide a brief explanation of each 828mkII setting

for use with Sonar.

Sample rate

Choose the desired overall sample rate for the

828mkII system and Sonar. Newly recorded audio

in Sonar will have this sample rate.

Clock Source

This setting is very important because it

determines which audio clock the 828mkII will

follow.

If you do not have any digital audio connections to

your 828mkII (you are using the analog inputs and

outputs only), and you will not be slaving Sonar to

external SMPTE time code, choose Inter nal.

If you are slaving the 828mkII to the ADAT sync

Input connector, choose ADAT 9-pin.

If you have digital audio devices connected to the

828mkII, or if you are not sure about the clock

source of your setup, be sure to read “Making sync

connections” on page 22 and “Clock Source” on

page 36.

Figure 8-1: The MOTU FireWire Audio Console gives you access to all
of the settings in the 828mkII hardware, including the clock source,
sample rate and optical I/O enable/disable.

58

Samples Per Buffer

The Samples Per Buffer setting can be used to

reduce the delay — or monitoring latency — that

you hear when live audio is patched through your

828mkII hardware and Sonar. For example, you

might have MIDI instruments, samplers,

microphones, and so on connected to the analog

inputs of the 828mkII. If so, you will often be

mixing their live input with audio material

recorded in Sonar. See chapter 9, “Reducing

Monitoring Latency” (page 63) for complete

details.

SONAR AND OTHER WDM SOFTWARE

Optical input and output

To make a 828mkII optical input or output
available in Sonar, choose the appropriate format
(ADAT optical or TOSLink) from the optical input
and/or output menu. If you won’t be using the
optical connectors, turn them off.

Phones

This 828mkII setting lets you choose what you’ll
hear from the headphone jack. For example, if you
choose Main Outs, the headphones will duplicate
the main outs. Or you can choose any other output
pair. If you choose Phones, this setting makes the
headphone jack serve as its own independent
output pair. As a result, you’ll see Phones 1-2 as an
additional audio destination in Sonar’s audio
output menus.

ENABLING THE MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO
WDM DRIVER

Once you’ve made the preparations described so
far in this chapter, you’re ready to run your audio
software and enable the MOTU FireWire Audio
WDM driver. Check the audio system or audio
hardware configuration window in your software.

Enabling the MOTU FireWire Audio WDM
driver in SONAR

To a ctiv at e the MOTU FireWire Audio WDM
driver in SONAR:

Figure 8-2: Acti vating the MOTU FireWire Audio WDM driver in

SONAR by highlighting 828mkII inputs and outputs.

Other audio settings in SONAR

There are a few other settings in SONAR that

impact 828mkII operation:

1 In the Audio Options window, click the General

tab.

2 Choose a 828mkII input and output for

recording and playback timing as shown below in

Figure 8-3. It doesn’t matter which input or output

you choose.

1 Choose Audi o from the Options menu.

2 Click the Drivers tab.

3 Highlight the 828mkII inputs and outputs that

you wish to use and unhighlight the ones you don’t
as shown in Figure 8-2.

SONAR AND OTHER WDM SOFTWARE

Figure 8-3: Make sure you have chosen a 828mkII input and output

for the playback and recording timing master settings.

59

3 In the General tab, click the Wave Profiler
button and run the Wave Profiler.

This process chooses the optimum settings for the
828mkII hardware.

Figure 8-4: Running the Wave Profiler in Cakewalk’s SONAR.

NUMBER OF CHANNELS

In the Audio Options window (Figure 8-3), be sure
to choose enough Virtual Mains in the General tab
to cover the 20 channels of input and 22 channels of
output provided by your 828mkII — although the
number of channels may depend on how your
828mkII is configured:

■ 12 channels for analog I/O (including the

headphone out)

■ 2 channels for RCA S/PDIF

■ Zero, 2 or 8 channels for optical, depending on

whether you have optical turned off, or set to
S/PDIF or ADAT optical

For example, if you are using analog only, you only
need 12 channels. If you are using analog and RCA
S/PDIF, you need 14 channels.

WORKING WITH 828MKII INPUTS AND

OUTPUTS

Once you’ve enabled the 828mkII inputs and

outputs in the Drivers tab of the Audio Options

window (Figure 8-2 on page 59), 828mkII audio

inputs and outputs will appear in Sonar’s input/

output menus, and you can set them up and use

them as any standard audio input and output. If

you don’t see the optical inputs and/or outputs,

check the MOTU FireWire Audio Console to make

sure they are turned on and set to the format you

need. If you don’t plan to use the optical input or

output, turn it off to conserve computer

bandwidth.

The “Mix1 1” input

In Sonar’s Input Drivers list, you’ll see an 828mkII

input called Mix1 1-2. This input source delivers

the output of CueMix DSP “MIX1” (the first mix

bus of the four on-board no-latency monitor mixes

in the 828mkII) back to your computer. This input

serves, for example, as a convenient way for you to

record the 828mkII’s MIX1 monitor mix back into

Sonar (for reference and archiving purposes).

Further, if you are sending audio from Sonar to the

same output pair as MIX1, you can choose to either

include or exclude the audio from the computer in

the stream being sent back to Sonar. For details on

how to do this, see “Mix1 Return Includes

Computer” on page 72.

As another example, if you are using analog, RCA
S/PDIF and ADAT optical, you need 22 channels
(the maximum number of simultaneous output
channels provided by the 828mkII).

OTHER AUDIO OPTIONS

Consult your sonar documentation for details
about the rest of the settings in this dialog.

60

☛ Wa rning: the Mix1 1-2 input can cause

feedback loops! DO NOT assign this input to a

track that shares the same 828mkII output pair as

MIX1.

CHANGING 828MKII SETTINGS

Yo u can change the 828mkII settings at any time by

accessing the MOTU FireWire Audio Console.

SONAR AND OTHER WDM SOFTWARE

REDUCING DELAY WHEN MONITORING
LIVE INPUTS

If you have live audio inputs connected to the
828mkII, such as MIDI synthesizers, samplers,
microphones or other live instruments, you might
hear a slight delay when their audio is being
monitored through your 828mkII hardware and
your host audio program. There are several ways to
reduce — and eliminate — this audible monitoring
delay. For details, see chapter 9, “Reducing
Monitoring Latency” (page 63).

SYNCHRONIZATION

If your audio software has the ability to slave to
SMPTE time code, then it can take advantage of the
synchronization features in the 828mkII.

As you read through the following sections to
decide what form of synchronization you might
need with other devices in your studio, be sure to
consult “Making sync connections” on page 22 for
the proper hardware connections. Use the
synchronization diagrams to be clear about how
you will be synchronizing your audio software and
the 828mkII to the other components of your
system.

Synchronizing digital audio connections

If you have devices connected to the 828mkII
digital inputs (optical or RCA S/PDIF), you need to
be concerned with the synchronization of the
828mkII’s digital audio clock with other devices
connected to it digitally (if any). For example, if
you have a digital mixer connected to the 828mkII
via an ADAT optical light pipe cable, you need to
make sure that their audio clocks are phase-locked.
For details, see “Syncing optical devices” on
page 29 and “Making sync connections” on
page 22. If you don’t have any digital audio devices
connected to the 828mkII, digital audio phase-lock
does not apply to you.

Slaving to SMPTE time code

If you need to slave your audio software and the

828mkII system to SMPTE time code, follow the

instructions in your software’s manual for slaving it

to MIDI Time Code (MTC). To ensure that your

audio tracks don’t drift out of sync with your MIDI

tracks or the time code, use a hardware

synchronizer like the MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV

or Digital Timepiece to slave the 828mkII hardware

to the SMPTE (or MIDI Time) Code as well. A

digital audio synchronizer is required for drift-free

SMPTE/MIDI time code sync. Make sure the Clock

Source setting in the MOTU FireWire Audio

Console is set to Wo rd C lock In. For examples of

how to set this up, see “Syncing to video and/or

SMPTE time code using a synchronizer” on

page 28.

MIDI I/O VIA THE 828MKII MIDI PORTS

Once you’ve followed the procedure for enabling

the 828mkII’s MIDI features as explained in

“Software installation for Mac OS X” on page 35,

the 828mkII MIDI ports will appear as a MIDI

input source and output destination in Sonar’s

MIDI I/O menus.

USING A FOOT SWITCH

Use a foot switch connected to the 828mkII to

trigger recording punch-in and punch-out, or any

other feature in your host audio software that is

assigned to a computer keystroke. By default, the

foot switch triggers the 3 key on the computer

keypad. To t rigger a different set of keystrokes with

the foot switch, visit the MOTU FireWire Audio

Console. (See “Enable Pedal” on page 39.)

24-BIT OPERATION

Yo ur 828mkII hardware fully supports 24-bit

recording in any audio software that supports it.

Simply enable 24-bit operation as instructed by the

software. The 828mkII system always supplies the

software with a 24-bit data stream, and when you

enable 24-bit operation, it simply uses all 24-bits

supplied by the 828mkII hardware.

SONAR AND OTHER WDM SOFTWARE

61

62

SONAR AND OTHER WDM SOFTWARE

CHAPTER

9 Reducing Monitoring Latency

OVERVIEW

Monitoring latency is that slight delay you hear
when you run an input signal through your host
audio software. For example, you might hear it
when you drive a live mic input signal through a
reverb plug-in running in your audio sequencer.

This delay is caused by the amount of time it takes
for audio to make the entire round trip through
your computer, from when it first enters an
828mkII input, passes through the 828mkII
hardware into the computer, through your host
audio software, and then back out to an 828mkII
output.

If you don’t need to process a live input with
plug-ins, the easiest way to avoid monitoring
latency is to use the 828mkII’s CueMix DSP feature
to patch the input directly to your monitor outs via
the 828mkII audio hardware. This is just like
bussing inputs to outputs in a digital mixer. For
details, see “CueMix DSP hardware monitoring”
on page 66.

Monitoring live input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Adjusting the audio I/O buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Lower latency versus higher CPU overhead . . . . . . . . . . 66

Transport responsiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Effects processing and automated mixing . . . . . . . . . . . 66

CueMix DSP hardware monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Two methods for controlling CueMix DSP . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Using CueMix Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Controlling CueMix DSP from your audio software . . 67

If you do need to process a live input with plug-ins,
or if you are playing virtual instruments live
through your 828mkII audio hardware, you can
significantly reduce latency — and even make it
completely inaudible, regardless of what host audio
application software you use. This chapter explains
how.

It is impor tant to note th at monitori ng de lay has n o
effect on when audio data is recorded to disk or
played back from disk. Actual recording and
playback is extremely precise.

63

MONITORING LIVE INPUT

There are two ways to monitor live audio input
with an 828mkII: 1) through the computer or 2) via
CueMix™ DSP hardware monitoring. Figure 9-1
on page 64 shows method 1, which allows you to
add effects processing such as reverb and guitar
amp effects via plug-ins in your audio software. See
the next section, “Adjusting the audio I/O buffer”
for details about how to reduce — and possibly
eliminate — the audible monitoring delay that the
computer introduces.

Figure 9-2 shows how to use CueMix™ DSP
hardware-based monitoring, which lets you hear
what you are recording with no monitoring delay
and no computer-based effects processing. (You
can add effects later, after you’ve recorded the live

1. Live input (from mic, guitar, etc.)
enters the MOTU interface.

input as a disk track.) See “CueMix DSP hardware

monitoring” later in this chapter for details on how

to use CueMix DSP with your audio software, or

with the included CueMix Console software.

If the material you are recording is suitable, there is

a third way to monitor live input: use both methods

(Figure 9-1 and Figure 9-2) at the same time. For

example, you could route vocals to both the

computer (for a bit of reverb) and mix that

processed signal on the main outs with dry vocals

from CueMix DSP.

ADJUSTING THE AUDIO I/O BUFFER

A buffer is a small amount of computer memory

used to hold data. For audio interfaces like the

828mkII, buffers are used for the process of

3. Mic signal is
‘patc hed thru’ back to
the audio interface

2. Mic signal goes immedi­ately to the computer (dry,
with no effects processing).

PC

Figure 9-1: There are two ways to monitor live audio inputs with an 828mkII: 1) through the computer or 2) via CueMix™ DSP hardware
monitoring. This diagram shows method 1 (through the computer). When using this method, use your host software’s buffer setting to reduce
the slight delay you hear when monitoring the live input, but don’t lower it too much, or your computer might get sluggish.

with reverb or other
plug-in effects, if any.

4. Mic signal (with plug-in
processing, if any) is routed
to the main outs (or other
outputs that you’ve specified
in the software).

64

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

transferring audio data in and out of the computer.
The size of the buffers determines how much delay
you hear when monitoring live inputs through
your audio software: larger buffers produce more
delay; smaller buffers produce less.

Buffer size adjustment is made in the MOTU
FireWire Audio Console, as shown in Figure 9-3
via the Samples Per Buffer setting.

Figure 9-3: Lowering the ‘Samples Per Buffer’ setting in the MOTU

FireWi re Audio Console Window reduces patch thru latency. But

doing so increases the processing load on your computer, so keep an

eye on the Performance Monitor window in AudioDesk your host

audio software.

1. Live input (from mic, guitar, etc.)
enters the MOTU interface.

2. CueMix™ DSP immediately
patches the live mic signal directly
to the main outs (or other output),
completely bypassing the computer
(dry, with no effects processing).

Figure 9-2: This diagram shows the signal flow when using CueMix™ DSP no-latency monitoring. Notice that this method does not allow you
to process the live input with plug-ins in your audio software while it is being monitored. You can, however, add effects later — after recording
the live input as a disk track. CueMix™ DSP lets you hear what you are recording with no delay and no computer-based effects.

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

3. Mic signal is mixed with the
main outs, and you can control
the volume (relative to the rest
of the mix) with the mic’s fader
in CueMix Console.

65

Lower latency versus higher CPU overhead

The buffer setting has a large impact on the
following things:

■ Patch thru latency

■ The load on your computer’s CPU

CUEMIX DSP HARDWARE MONITORING

The 828mkII has a more direct method of patching

audio through the system. This method is called

CueMix DSP. Wh en enabl ed, CueMix activates

hardware patch-thru in the 828mkII itself. CueMix

DSP has two important benefits:

■ Possible distortion at the smallest settings

■ How responsive the transport controls are in

your audio software

The buffer setting presents you with a trade-off
between the processing power of your computer
and the delay of live audio as it is being patched
through your software. If you reduce the size, you
reduce p atch thru latency, but significantly increase
the overall processing load on your computer,
leaving less CPU bandwidth for things like real­time effects processing. On the other hand, if you
increase the buffer size, you reduce the load on
your computer, freeing up bandwidth for effects,
mixing and other real-time operations.

If you are at a p oint in your recording project where
you are not currently working with live, patched­thru material (e.g. you’re not recording vocals), or
if you have a way of externally processing inputs,
choose a higher buffer size. Depending on your
computer’s CPU speed, you might find that settings
in the middle work best (256 to 1024).

■ First, it completely eliminates the patch thru

delay (reducing it to a small number of samples —

about the same amount as one of today’s digital

mixers).

■ Secondly, CueMix DSP imposes no strain on the

computer.

The trade-off, however, is that CueMix DSP

bypasses your host audio software. Instead, live

audio inputs are patched directly through to

outputs in the 828mkII itself and are mixed with

disk tracks playing back from your audio software.

This means that you cannot apply plug-ins, mix

automation, or other real-time effects that your

audio software provides. But for inputs that don’t

need these types of features, CueMix DSP is the

way to go.

On the other hand, if you really need to use the

mixing and processing provided by your audio

software, you should not use CueMix DSP. Instead,

reduce latency with the buffer setting (as explained

earlier in this chapter).

Transport responsiveness

Buffer size also impacts how quickly your audio
software will respond when you begin playback,
although not by amounts that are very noticeable.
Lowering the buffer size will make your software
respond faster; raising the buffer size will make it a
little bit slower, but barely enough to notice.

Effects processing and automated mixing

Reducing latency with the buffer size setting has
another benefit: it lets you route live inputs through
the real-time effects processing and mix
automation of your audio software.

66

TWO METHODS FOR CONTROLLING

CUEMIX DSP

There are two ways to control CueMix DSP:

■ With CueMix Console

■ From within your host audio software (if it

supports direct hardware monitoring)

Yo u c an ev e n u se b o th methods simultaneously.

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

Using CueMix Console

If your host audio software does not support direct
hardware monitoring, you run CueMix Console
side-by-side with your audio software and manage
your monitor mix in CueMix Console.

CueMix Console allows you to create up to four
separate 828mkII monitor mixes, or any other
desired routing configurations. These routings are
independent of your host audio software. For
complete details, see chapter 10, “CueMix
Console” (page 69).

Controlling CueMix DSP from your audio
software

Some ASIO-compatible audio applications, such as
Cubase and Nuendo, allow you to control CueMix
DSP monitoring from within the application
(without the need to use CueMix Console). In
most cases, this support consists of patching an
828mkII input directly to an output when you
record-arm a track. Exactly how this is handled
depends on the application.

CueMix DSP routings that are made via host
applications are made “under the hood”, which
means that you won’t se e t hem i n CueMix Console.
However, CueMix DSP connections made inside
your host audio software dovetail with any other
mixes you’ve set up in CueMix Console. For
example, if your host application routes audio to an
output pair that is already being used in CueMix
Console for an entirely separate mix bus, both
audio streams will simply be merged to the output.

page 49). In Cubase SX or Nuendo, enable the

Direct Monitoring check box in the Device Setup

VST Multitrack tab (Figure 7-2 on page 49).

Other ASIO 2.0-compatible host software

If your ASIO-compatible host audio software

supports ASIO’s direct monitoring feature, consult

your software documentation to learn how to

enable this feature. Once enabled, it should work

similarly as described for Cubase (as explained in

the previous section).

Using CueMix DSP with WDM- or Wave-

compatible software

Run CueMix Console (chapter 10, “CueMix

Console” (page 69)) and use it to route live inputs

directly to outputs, control their volume and

panning, etc. If necessary, you can save your

CueMix Console setup with your project file.

Follow the directions below in the section that
applies to you.

Controlling CueMix DSP from within Cubase or
Nuendo

To t ur n o n CueM ix in Cuba se VST, enable t he ASIO
Direct Monitor check box in the Monitoring section

of the Audio System Setup window (Figure 7-2 on

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

67

68

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

CHAPTER

10 CueMix Console

OVERVIEW

CueMix Console provides access to the flexible
on-board mixing features of the 828mkII. CueMix
lets you route any combination of inputs to any
stereo output pair. These mixes can be set up
entirely independently of your host audio software.
CueMix allows you to set up four completely
independent mix configurations with the 828mkII.
Yo u c an al so sa v e a nd load mix configurations.

CueMix Console can be used independently of
host audio software, or together with it. CueMix
mixing dovetails with the direct monitoring
(hardware patch thru) features of your host audio
software, allowing you to seemlessly mix in both
environments.

Message center

Advantages of CueMix monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

CueMix Console installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Cuemix Console basic operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Workin g with a mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Copying & pasting (duplicating) entire mixes . . . . . . . . 71

Message center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Reference level and +6dB boost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Mix1 Return Includes Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Phones menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Saving and loading presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Saving and loading presets to/from disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

CueMix Console examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

+6dB boost

Reference level

Input name

Input scroll bar

Input mute/solo

Input pan

Input volume

Mix tabs

Input section

Figure 10-1: CueMix Console is a virtual mixer that gives you control over the 828mkII’s on-board mixing features.

Solo indicator

Master mute
(enable/disable)

Mix output

Master fader

Output level

Grow box

69

ADVANTAGES OF CUEMIX MONITORING

CueMix Console provides several major
advantages over monitoring live inputs through
your host audio software:

■ CueMix has no buffer latency. Thanks to the

828mkII’s DSP chip, CueMix provides the same
throughput performance as a digital mixer.

■ CueMix imposes absolutely no processor drain

on the computer’s CPU.

■ CueMix routing can be maintained

independently of individual software applications
or projects.

■ CueMix routing can operate without the

computer, allowing the 828mkII to operate as a
portable, stand-alone mixer.

CueMix Console does not provide effects
processing. For information about using your
audio software’s native plug-ins together with
CueMix, see chapter 9, “Reducing Monitoring
Latency” (page 63).

CUEMIX CONSOLE INSTALLATION

CueMix Console is installed with the rest of your
828mkII software.

CUEMIX CONSOLE BASIC OPERATION

The CueMix console is simple to operate, once you
understand these basic concepts.

Four mixes

CueMix provides four separate mixes: Mix1, Mix2,
Mix3 and Mix4. Each mix can have any number of
inputs mixed down to any 828mkII output pair
that you choose. For example, Mix1 could go to the
headphones, Mix2 could go to the main outs, Mix3
could go to a piece of outboard gear connected to
analog outputs 7-8, etc.

Many inputs to one output pair

It might be useful to think of each mix as some

numbe r of inputs all mixed down to a stereo output

pair. CueMix Console lets you choose which inputs

to include in the mix, and it lets you specify the

level and pan for each input being fed into the mix.

Viewing one mix at a time

CueMix Console displays one mix at a time. To

select which mix you are viewing, click its tab at the

bottom of the window, as shown in Figure 10-1.

The mix name appears in the tab. Double-click the

name to change it.

Each mix is completely independent

Each mix has its own settings. Settings in one mix

will not affect another. For example, if an input is

used in one mix, it will still be available in other

mixes. In addition, inputs can have a different

volume, pan, mute and solo setting in each mix.

Some channel settings apply across all mixes

The settings at the top of the CueMix Console

window (above the channel section) apply to all

mixes. These settings include the +4/-10dB

reference level and the +6dB software boost.

Widening the CueMix Console window

To v iew m or e input faders at once, drag the right-

hand edge of the window to the right.

WORKING WITH A MIX

Each mix has the following components:

■ A stereo output with master fader

■ Name

■ Master mute (to enable/disable the entire mix)

■ Any number of mono or stereo inputs

■ Pan, volume, mute and solo for each input

70

These elements are visually grouped together in the

lightly shaded area in the lower half of the CueMix

Console window.

CUEMIX CONSOLE

Viewing a mix

To v iew a mi x, click its tab at the bottom of the
window, as shown in Figure 10-1. The mix name
appears in the tab.

Naming a mix

Double-click the mix name in the tab.

To a dj ust t he volu me or panning for a stereo input

pair, hold down the control key while dragging the

fader or knob for either the left or right input.

SHORTCUTS

Hold down the following modifier keys as

shortcuts:

Master mute

The master mute button (Figure 10-1) temporarily
disables (silences) the mix.

Master fader

The master fader (Figure 10-1) controls the overall
level of the mix (its volume on its stereo output).
Use the individual input faders to the left to control
individual input levels.

Output level meters

The OUT level meters show you the output for the
mix’s physical output, which may include audio
from your host audio software. The clip indicators
clear themselves after a few seconds.

Input section

The channel strips to the left of the master fader
represent each input in your 828mkII. Use the
input scroll bar to view additional inputs.

Input mute/solo

To a dd an i nput to a mix, or remove it, click its
MUTE button. To solo it, use its SOLO button. To
toggle these buttons for a stereo pair, hold down
the control key while clicking either channel. The
Solo indicator LED (Figure 10-1) lights up when
any input is soloed (including inputs that may
currently be scrolled off-screen).

Input volume and pan

Use the input fader and pan knob (Figure 10-1) to
adjust these settings for the input in the mix. Again,
all settings within the gray-shaded channel strip
area belong to the mix currently being viewed.
Note that an input can have different settings in
different mixes.

Shortcut Result

Shift key Applies your action to all inputs in the mix.

Control key Applies your action to the stereo input pair

space bar Applies your action to all busses

Double-click Returns the control to its default value (pan

center, unity gain, etc.)

COPYING & PASTING (DUPLICATING)

ENTIRE MIXES

To c op y and p aste the settings from one mix to

another:

1 Select the source mix (Figure 10-1) and choose

Copy from the file menu (or press control-C).

2 Choose the destination mix and choose Paste

from the file menu (or press control-V).

MESSAGE CENTER

The Message Center displays fly-over help for items

in the CueMix Console window. It also displays

messages regarding the overall operation of the

828mkII.

REFERENCE LEVEL AND +6DB BOOST

The reference level and +6dB boost settings at the

very top of the CueMix Console window

(Figure 10-1) affect each input globally, across all

mixes and for audio being routed to the computer.

For example, if you add 6dB of boost, your host

software will receive the boost for that input as well.

Boost

This setting (Figure 10-1) adds 6 dB of gain to the

input signal. This setting is applied globally for the

input.

CUEMIX CONSOLE

71

+4/-10 reference level

Click the reference button to toggle between these
two standard reference levels. This setting is
applied globally for the input.

MIX1 RETURN INCLUDES COMPUTER

The Mix1 return includes computer item in the
CueMix Console File menu refers to the Mix1 bus
that the 828mkII driver provides as an input to host
audio software. This input source delivers the
output of CueMix DSP “MIX1” (the first mix bus of
the four on-board no-latency monitor mixes in the
828mkII) back to your computer. This input
serves, for example, as a convenient way for you to
record the 828mkII’s MIX1 monitor mix back into
your host audio software (for reference and
archiving purposes).

When the Mix1 return includes computer menu
item is checked, any audio being sent from your
audio software on the computer to the same output
as Mix1 will be included in the Mix1 return bus.
When it is uchecked, computer output is excluded.

This menu item is essentially a pre/post switch for
the computer audio insert to the stream of audio
going to Mix1’s 828mkII output pair (and also back
to the computer).

SAVING AND LOADING PRESETS

As explained earlier in “Save/Name Preset” on

page 43, the 828mkII can store up to 16 presets in

its on-board memory. A preset includes of all

CueMix DSP settings for all for mix busses, but it

excludes global settings like clock source and

sample rate.

The Load Preset and Save Preset commands in the

CueMix Console file menu let you name, save and

load presets in the 828mkII.

SAVING AND LOADING PRESETS TO/FROM

DISK

The Save and Load commands in the CueMix

Console File menu allow you to save 828mkII

presets to and from your hard drive. This allows

you to save an unlimited number of 828mkII

presets on disk. (Use the Load Preset and Save

Preset commands to get presets from — and save

them to — the 828mkII itself.) Click the Save

button to save the current configuration; click the

Load button to open an existing configuration that

you have previously saved on disk.

PHONES MENU

The Phones menu allows you to choose what you
will hear on the headphone output, just like the
Phones setting the MOTU FireWire Audio
Console. However, this menu provides one extra
option that is exclusive to CueMix Console: Follow
Active Mix. This menu item, when checked, causes
the headphone output to mirror the output of the
current mix being viewed in CueMix Console. For
example, if you are currently viewing Mix3 (the
Mix3 tab is active), the headphones will mirror the
Mix3 output (whatever it is assigned to).

72

CUEMIX CONSOLE

CUEMIX CONSOLE EXAMPLES

Figure 10-2 below shows some examples of how
you can use CueMix DSP:

■ Powered speakers are connected to the 828mkII

main outs. Any input can be routed directly to the
speakers.

■ Microphone input can be routed via CueMix

DSP to the effects processor for live outboard
processing during recording. The resulting signal
can be recorded into the computer either wet, dry
or both (via the effects processor return or the
direct mic input).

■ The ADAT optical connection provides 8

channels of 24-bit digital I/O to the digital mixer

(or 4 channels at 96kHz). Any device connected to

the 828mkII can be routed to/from the mixer with

no latency. Conversely, any mixer channel can be

routed to any device connected to the 828mkII

with no latency.

■ Another example of ADAT optical connectivity

is to use Giga Studio, and use CueMix DSP to route

Giga inputs directly to the powered monitors

connected to the 828mkII for no-latency

monitoring of your Giga tracks.

Figure 10-2: An example setup of a system that takes full advantage of CueMix DSP.

CUEMIX CONSOLE

73

74

CUEMIX CONSOLE

CHAPTER

11 MOTU SMPTE Console

OVERVIEW

The 828mkII can resolve to SMPTE time code,
without a dedicated synchronizer. It can also serve
as a SMPTE time code generator.

The MOTU SMPTE Console software provides a
complete set of tools to resolve to SMPTE, and to
generate SMPTE for striping, regenerating or
slaving other devices to the computer.

The 828mkII provides a DSP-driven phase-lock
engine with sophisticated filtering that provides
fast lockup times and sub-frame accuracy.

Quarter-inch SMPTE jacks on the 828mkII rear
panel provide dedicated time code (LTC) input and
output.

Clock/Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Frame Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Reader section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Generator section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

The Reader section provides

settings for resolving to video

and/or SMPTE time code.

CLOCK/ADDRESS

The Clock/Address menu provides the same global

Clock Source setting as in the MOTU FireWire

Audio Console (“Clock Source” on page 36), but it

includes additional information: each setting

shows both the clock and the address (time code or

sample location), separated by a forward slash ( / ).

For example, the word clock setting (Wor d C lock In

/ Internal) shows the clock source (Wo rd Clock In)

followed by the address (Internal). Notice that only

the SMPTE setting supports SMPTE time code as

the reference for address. The digital clock sources

do not support the 828mkII’s on-board SMPTE

time code sync.

Resolving to SMPTE time code

To resolve the 828mkII to SMPTE time code,

choose the SMPTE / SMPTE setting in the Clock/

Address menu. This means that the system will use

SMPTE as the clock (time base) and SMPTE as the

address. Be sure to specify the input that is

The Generator sec tion

provides settings for striping

SMPTE time code.

Figure 11-1: SMPTE Console gives you access to your 828mkII’s on-board
SMPTE time code synchronization features.

75

receiving the SMPTE time code by choosing it
from SMPTE source menu. For further details on
the hardware connections involved, see “Syncing
to SMPTE time code” on page 27.

Resolving to video

To resolve the 828mkII to video, you need a
synchronizer such as a MIDI Timepiece AV or a
Digital Timepiece and feed word clock to the
828mkII. In this scenario, choose SMPTE / Word
Clock In clock/address setting. The 828mkII uses
word clock for the time base and SMPTE for
address. For details, see “Syncing to video and/or
SMPTE time code using a synchronizer” on
page 28.

FRAME RATE

This setting should be made to match the SMPTE
time code frame rate of the time code that the
system will be receiving. The 828mkII can auto­detect and switch to the incoming frame rate,
except that it cannot distinguish between 30 fps
and 29.97 fps time code. So if you are working with
either of these rates, make sure you choose the
correct rate from this menu.

Clock

The Clock light glows continuously when the

828mkII has successfully achieved lockup to an

external time base, such as SMPTE time code or

word clock.

Address

The Address light glows continuously when the

828mkII has successfully achieved lockup to

SMPTE time code.

Freewheel

The Freewheel light illuminates when the 828mkII

is freewheeling address (time code), clock or both.

For details about Freewheeling, see “Freewheel

Address” and “Freewheel clock” below.

Freewheel Address

Freewheeling occurs when there is a glitch or

drop-out in the incoming time code for some

reason. The 828mkII can freewheel past the drop-

out and then resume lockup again as soon as it

receives readable time code. Choose the amount of

time you would like the 828mkII to freewheel

before it gives up and stops altogether.

READER SECTION

The Reader section (on the left-hand side of the
window in Figure 11-1) provides settings for
synchronizing the 828mkII to SMPTE time code.

Status lights

The four status lights (Tach, Clock, Address and
Freewheel) give you feedback as follows.

Ta c h

The Tach light blinks once per second when the
828mkII has successfully achieved lockup to
SMPTE time code and SMPTE frame locations are
being read.

76

The 828mkII cannot freewheel address without

clock. Therefore, the Freewheel Address setting will

always be lower than or equal to the Freewheel

Clock setting, and both menus will update as

needed, depending on what you choose.

Keep in mind that freewheeling causes the system

to keep going for as long as the duration you choose

from this menu, even when you stop time code

intentionally. Therefore, if you are starting and

stopping time code frequently (such as from the

transports of a video deck), shorter freewheel

times are better. On the other hand, if you are

doing a one-pass transfer from tape that has bad

time code, longer freewheel times will help you get

past the problems in the time code.

MOTU SMPTE CONSOLE

The ‘Infinite’ freewheel setting

The Infinite freewheel setting in the Freewheel
Address menu causes the 828mkII to freewheel

indefinitely, until it receives readable time code
again. To make it stop, click the Stop Freewheeling
button.

Freewheel clock

Freewheeling occurs when there is glitch or
drop-out in the incoming SMPTE time code for
some reason. The 828mkII can freewheel past the
drop-out and then resume lockup again as soon as
it receives a stable, readable clock signal.

The 828mkII cannot freewheel address without
clock. Therefore, the Freewheel Address setting will
always be lower than or equal to the Freewheel
Clock setting, and both menus will update as
needed, depending on what you choose.

The ‘Infinite’ freewheel setting

The Infinite freewheel setting in the Freewheel
Clock menu causes the 828mkII to freewheel

indefinitely, until it receives readable time code
again. To make it stop, click the Stop Freewheeling
button.

Stripe

Click this button to start or stop time code. To set

the start time, click directly on the SMPTE time

code display in the Generator section and type in

the desired start time. Or drag vertically on the

numbers.

Click here to edit
the start time, or
drag vertically on
the numbers.

Figure 11-2: Setting the time code start time.

Regenerate

This option, when enabled, causes the generator to

generate time code whenever the 828mkII is

receiving either SMPTE time code or ADAT Sync

(via its ADAT Sync In port).

Stop Freewheeling

The Stop Freewheeling button stops the system if it
is currently freewheeling.

GENERATOR SECTION

The Generator section (on the right-hand side of
the window in Figure 11-1) provides setting for
generating SMPTE time code.

Tac h light

The Tach light blinks once per second when the
828mkII is generating SMPTE time code.

MOTU SMPTE CONSOLE

77

78

MOTU SMPTE CONSOLE

CHAPTER

12 Performance Tips & Troubleshooting

Why does the start sound not play through the
828mkII?

The 828mkII will only playback audio at a
sampling rate of 44.1, 48, 88.2 or 96 kHz.

The computer freezes when it starts up

If the computer is unable to boot up, it may be a
conflict with the WDM Driver. As soon as the
computer boots up, Windows will tr y and initialize
the WDM Driver. If this fails, your computer will
hang. To determine if the WDM Driver is the
problem, boot up in Safe Mode or remove the
MOTU Audio software with the Add/Remove
Programs Control Panel then restart. Reinstall the
828mkII software and choose only to install the
MOTU FireWire ASIO driver, not t he WDM
Driver. Restart again.

‘New hardware detected’ window

If you connect your 828mkII before running the
828mkII Software Installer CD, Windows will
prompt you that new hardware has been detected.
Cancel this, and run the 828mkII Software
Installer, rather than allowing Windows to locate
the drivers.

Audio in S ONAR speeds up or slows down

This could be caused by having incorrect SMPTE/
MTC Sync settings when you record audio into
Sonar. These settings are located in the Advanced
Tab i n t he Au d io Opti on s window, accessed from
Sonar’s Options menu. Make sure that you have the
SMPTE/MTC Sync set to “Trigger and Freewheel”
before recording audio while slaved to external
time code.

828mkII inputs and outputs are not available in
SONAR

Make sure that the inputs and/or outputs that you
want to use are enabled in SONAR.

828mkII inputs and outputs are not available in

Cubase

Make sure that the inputs and outputs are enabled

in Cubase.

Sound Forge and ‘Smooth Scroll’

If the Smooth Scroll option under the Options

menu is turned on, you may experience clicks and

pops or other anomalies in the audio playback.

This gets worse as you zoom in more to the

waveform while playing. For the best quality

playback, turn this option off.

No input from an ADAT

If you are having trouble recording on your ADAT

from the 828mkII, check the Digital input setting.

After power cycling, tape decks often come up

configured to record from their analog inputs. You

won't be able to record from the 828mkII to a tape

deck until it is switched to digital input.

Clicks and pops under word clock sync

Many problems result from incorrect word

clocking. It is essential that all digital devices in the

system be word locked. Consult chapter 4,

“Installing the 828mkII Hardware” (page 17) for

detailed information on how to word clock your

gear. Whenever there is any weird noise or

distortion, suspect incorrect word lock.

Clicks and pops under ADAT Sync

Sometimes, the ADAT sync cable seems to be

plugged into the 828mkII, and partially works - but

it isn’t really all the way in. This can cause clicks

when slaved to ADAT 9 -pi n. Make sure the cable is

seated firmly.

79

Clicks and pops due to hard drive problems

If you have checked your clock settings sync cable
connections and you are still getting clicks and
pops in your audio, you may have a drive related
problem. Set the 828mkII Clock Source to Internal
and try recording just using the analog inputs and
outputs of the 828mkII. If you encounter the same
artifacts you may want try using another drive in
your computer. Clicks and pops can also occur
when the drive is severely fragmented, the disk
drivers are outdated, or if you are using a SCSI
accelerator that is not optimally configured for
working with audio.

Connecting or powering gear during operation

It is not recommended that you connect/
disconnect, or power on/off devices connected to
the 828mkII while recording or playing back audio.
Doing so may cause a brief glitch in the audio.

Monitoring - How to monitor inputs?

Please refer to the documentation for the audio
application that you are using. If your application
does not support input monitoring, you will need
to use the 828mkII’s hardware-based CueMix DSP
monitoring feature. Please see chapter 9,
“Reducing Monitoring Latency” (page 63).

No optical inputs or outputs are available in host
audio application

Check to make sure you have the desired optical
inputs and/or outputs enabled in the MOTU
FireWire Audio Console.

your card, you’ll be placed on our mailing list for

free software updates and information about new

products.

REPLACING DISKS

If your 828mkII installer CD becomes damaged

and fails to provide you with fresh, working copies

of the program, our Customer Support

Department will be glad to replace it. You can

request a replacement disc by calling our business

office at [phone] and asking for the

customer service department.

TECH NICAL SU PPOR T

If you are unable, with your dealer’s help, to solve

problems you encounter with the 828mkII system,

you may contact our technical support department

in one of the following ways:

■ Te ch support hotline: [phone] (Monday

through Friday, 9 am to 6 pm EST)

■ Te ch support 24-hour fax line: [phone]

■ Te ch sup p or t email: [e-mail]

■ We b s ite: www.motu.com

Please provide the following information to help us

solve your problem as quickly as possible:

■ The serial number of the 828mkII system. This is

printed on a sticker placed on the bottom of the

828mkII rack unit. You must be able to supply this

number to receive technical support.

Controlling monitoring latency

See chapter 9, “Reducing Monitoring Latency”
(page 63).

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

We a re happy to provide customer support to our
registered users. If you haven’t already done so,
please take a moment to complete the registration
card included with your 828mkII. When we receive

80

■ Software version numbers for the audio software

you are using, the MOTU FireWire Audio WDM

Driver, MOTU FireWire ASIO driver, etc.

■ A brief explanation of the problem, including the

exact sequence of actions which cause it, and the

contents of any er ror messages w hich appear on the

screen.

PERFORMANCE TIPS & TROUBLESHOOTING

+4/-10dB reference level 72
+6db 44
+6dB Boost 71
02R mixer 29

connecting 21
1394 connector 6, 11, 17
2408

software installation
2408mk3

Word Clock In setting
24-bit

3rd party software

optical 6, 10

recording 12
24i/o

Word Clock In setting
4/10 44
828mkII

expansion

installing 17

rear panel overview 9

summary of features 9

A

Aardvark Aard Sync 31
Activity LEDs 5, 12
ADAT

sync
ADAT 9-pin 11, 37
ADAT lightpipe 29
ADAT optical 6, 10

ADAT Sync 11

All Notes Off 44
Analog activity lights 5, 12
Analog inputs/outputs 6

ASIO 12, 15, 16, 47

ASIO Control Panel button 35
Audio

AudioDesk

B

Balanced analog 18
Bias Peak 12
Boost 71
Buffer Size 38
Bus Mute 43
Bus Output 43

C

CakeWalk 12
Clock LEDs 5, 12
Clock Source 42

27, 28

clock source setting 37

connecting 18

syncing with 37

connector 6

sample-accurate 24, 25, 26

sync setting 37

making connections to 18

ASIO 2.0 option 54

bit resolution

MOTU 828mkII settings

sync settings 25, 26

15

61

32

36

37

37

Clock source 7, 22, 36
Coax 10
Condenser mic input 5
Configure interface 32
Connecting multiple 828mkIIs 32
Control Panel (MOTU 828) 35
Control Strip module (828) 35
Controller

connecting
Converters 6
Copy bus mix 43
Cubase 12

enabling the 828 ASIO driver 59

synchronization 53

using a foot switch 55, 61
CueMix Console 66, 69
CueMix DSP 66
CueMix DSP Mixer 41
CueMix Plus

output jacks
Customer service contact info 80
Customer support 80

D

DAT

connecting
Digital mixer

connecting
Digital Performer

828mkII settings

clock source 48, 58

Optical input/output 49, 59

sample rate 48, 58

sync settings 25, 26
Digital Timepiece 25
Disable interface option 33
Disable option 33
Disk

getting a replacement

E

Expansion 32

F

Factory Defaults 44
Fader View Time 42
Feedback loops 50, 60

7

FireWire 11

connecting 17

connector 6
Follow Active Mix 72
Foot pedal

connecting
Foot switch 11, 39

3rd party software 55, 61

configuring 7

connecting 19

jack 6
Forget button 33
Freewheel

address

clock 77

infinite 77

19

6, 19

20

21

7

80

19

76

Front panel 41

G

Gain 44
GSIF Driver 15
GSIF driver 16
Guitar

connecting

H

HD192

Word Clock In setting
Headphone jack 5, 12
Headphones

connecting

controlling output 39

I

Infinite freewheel 77
Init Current Mix 43
Inputs

analog

optical 6

S/PDIF (RCA) 6
Installation

hardware

software 15
Internal (sync setting) 36

K

Keyboard controller

connecting

L

Latency 38, 48, 58, 63, 65, 66

w/3rd party software 61
LCD display 41
Lightpipe 29
Load Preset 43, 72
Logic Audio 12

M

Main Outs

volume
Main outs

jacks

making connections to 19

volume 5
Main volume 5
Mic inputs

connecting

phantom power 5
Mic preamps 5
Mic/line inputs 5, 18
MIDI

Windows driver installation
MIDI Machine Control 23, 24
MIDI Time Code sync 23
MIDI Timepiece AV 25
MIX BUS knob 44
Mix1 1-2

Cubase

20

20

6

17

19

42

6

20

50, 60

37

16

INDEX

81

Mix1 return includes computer 72
MMC 23, 24
Monitoring 64

thru main outs 19
w/3rd party software 61

MOTU

Digital Timepiece

MIDI Timepiece AV 25
MOTU 828 Control Strip module 7, 35
MOTU Audio System

bit resolution
MOTU FireWire Audio

ASIO driver
MOTU FireWire Audio Console 7, 35
MOTU SMPTE Console 75
MTC sync 23
Mute 44

N

Neutrik jacks 5
Nuendo

synchronization

O

Optical

choosing format (ADAT or

choosing format (ADAT/TOSlink) 7

connectors 6, 18

LEDs 5, 12

overview 10

sync 29
Optical In/Out 43
Optimization 66
Outputs

analog

6

optical 6

S/PDIF (TOSLink) 6

P

Packing list 13
Pair 44
Pan 44
PARAM knob 44
Paste Bus Mix 43
Patch thru

latency
PCI-324

PCI-424 SMPTE setting 38
Peak 12
Pedal 11, 39

Performance 66
Phantom power 5, 18
Phase-lock 22
Phones 5, 39

Phones 1-2

38, 66

Wave driver

3rd party software 55, 61

configuring 7

jack 6

Pedal A 19

Pedal B/LRC 19

Digital Performer 49, 59

25

36

16

53

TOSlink)

16, 57

39

Cubase
Phones Assign 43
Phones menu 72
Punch in/out 11

R

Reference level 72
Regenerate 77
Registration 13

S

S/PDIF 10

Sample rate 7, 36
Sample-accurate sync 11, 24, 25, 26, 54
Samplers

Samples Per Buffer 38, 65
Samples per buffer 7, 38, 48, 58
Save Preset 72
Save/Name Preset 43
SELECT knob 42
SETUP knob 42
SMPTE

SMPTE sync 22, 23
Software installation 15
Solo 44
Sound control panel

Sound Manager 12

Sound module

Stand-alone operation 41
Stop Freewheeling 77
Stripe button 77
Studio setup (example) 20
Sync

Synchronization 22

Synths

System requirements

T

TACH light (SMPTE Console) 76
Tascam

Tech support contact info 80
Technical support 80
Time code sync 75
TOSLink 6, 10

52

clock source setting 37

lights 5, 12

optical 6, 10

RCA 6

sync 30

connecting

synchronization

rate (bit resolution)

bit resolution 36

connecting

sample-accurate

3rd party software 61

Cubase 53

Nuendo 53

connecting

minimum

recommended computer 12, 13

Sync

clock source setting 38

20

75

36

19

24, 25, 26

20

13

27, 28

connecting 18

Troubleshooting

feedback loop

TRS connectors 18

U

Unbalanced analog 18

V

Video sync 22, 75
Volume

headphone
VOLUME knob 42
VST 12

W

Wave driver 16, 57
Word clock 6, 11, 22, 30

sync setting 37
Word Clock In setting 37
Word Out 39

Y

Yamaha 02R

connecting
Yamaha 02R mixer 29

50, 60

12

21

82

INDEX