Mark of the Unicorn Traveler User's Guide

Traveler

User’s Guide for Macintosh

™

1280 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02138

Business voice: [phone]

Business fax: [phone]

Te chnical support: [phone]

Te ch support fax: [phone]

Te c h s u pp o rt em a il : [e-mail]

Web sit e: www.motu.com

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 © 2004 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 Unicorn, 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.

Contents

Quick Reference:

5

Traveler Front Panel

Quick Reference:

6

Traveler Rear & Side Panels

Quick Reference:

7

MOTU FireWire Audio Console

About the Traveler

9

Packing List & Mac System Requirements

15

Installing the Traveler Hardware

17

Installing the Traveler Mac OS X Software

39

43

MOTU FireWire Audio Console

Traveler Front Panel Operation

51

57

Digital Performer

AudioDesk

63

Logic and Other Mac OS X Software

69

Reducing Monitoring Latency

73

CueMix Console

79

87

FireWire SMPTE Console

Troubleshooting

91

III

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 POWER PLUGS WHEN INSTALLING OR REMOVING THE PLUG TO OR FROM
A POWER SOURCE.

IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS

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

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

3. Heed Warnings - All warnings on the MOTU Traveler 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 Traveler from the computer before cleaning and use a damp cloth. Do not use liquid or aerosol cleaners.

6. Power Sources - This MOTU Traveler should be operated only from the type of power source indicated on the marking label.

7. 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 Traveler.

8. Lightning - For added protection for the MOTU Traveler during a lightning storm, unplug its power supply from any wall outlets. This will prevent damage to the MOTU Traveler due to lightning and power line surges.

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

10. Damage Requiring Service - Unplug the MOTU Traveler 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 Traveler.
c. If the MOTU Traveler has been exposed to rain or water.
d. If the MOTU Traveler does not operate normally by following the operating instructions in the owner's manual.
e. If the MOTU Traveler has been dropped or the cabinet has been damaged.
f. When the MOTU Traveler exhibits a distinct change in performance, this indicates a need for service.

11. 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.

12. Safety Check - Upon completion of any service or repairs to this MOTU Traveler, 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 supply, or power cables with wet hands.

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.

IV

111213141516171819

CueMix DSP settings, depending on which knobs you

turn. The labels above and below the LCD refer to all of

the Traveler’s inputs (both analog and digital).

settings (gain, pan, etc.) for individual inputs.

settings like the Traveler sample rate and clock source.

The SETUP knob chooses the setting; the SELECT knob

modifies the current system setting displayed in the LCD.

Some settings require that you push SELECT instead of

turning it, or you may need to push it to confirm the

setting you’ve chosen by turning it.

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.

-42 dB. They do not indicate clipping in any way; use your

host audio software level meters to calibrate output

levels. Outputs 1-2 serve as the main outs. Push and

19. These switches provide phantom power for their respec-

then turn the front-panel volume knob for volume

tive microphone input. Left is off; right is on. (Right on!)

control.

15. The multi-purpose backlit LCD shows system settings or

before unplugging the FireWire cable.

computer. Use this power switch to turn it on and off. It is

recommended that you always power off the Traveler

11. The Traveler is powered by its FireWire connection to the

16. Use the VALUE and CURSOR knobs to adjust the CueMix

Tra vel er is operating. Use the MOTU FireWire Audio

Console to set the sample rate or to choose an external

12. These lights indicate the global sample rate at which the

17. Use the SETUP and SELECT knobs to change system

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

Tra vel er to slave to an external clock, such as ADAT, but

there is no clock signal currently being detected, it

flashes.

13. These four round “L/R” LEDs indicate signal presence on

18. This is a standard quarter-inch stereo headphone jack.

the stereo S/PDIF and AES/EBU digital outputs.

rear-panel TRS analog outputs. Their threshold is around

14. These round LEDs indicate signal presence on the eight

Quick Reference: Traveler Front Panel

0

The LCD shows each Traveler input (XLR/combo, TRS,

ADAT, SPDIF and AES/EBU), 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

4. These four 4-segment meters show input signal level for

5. These four 4-segment meters show input signal level for

the analog TRS input jacks on the rear panel.

6. 4-segment metering for S/PDIF input.

7. MIDI activity LEDs for MIDI input and output.

8. 4-segment metering for AES/EBU input.

VALU E knob.

9. ADAT optical and TOSLink signal present LEDs.

10. When the Traveler 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 Traveler

is successfully reading address (time code) information.

the mic/instrument XLR/combo inputs on the rear panel.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

gain, but they also function as pad switches (when

pushed) for an additional 20dB of gain or reduction.

When you turn or push the knobs, you’ll see dynamic

feedback of your adjustment in the LCD display. The total

gain range — from when pad is enabled and the trim is

turned all the way down to when the pad disabled and

trim is turned all the way up — is 73dB. All four inputs

have preamps, so you can plug in just about anything: a

microphone, a guitar, a synth, or even a +4 signal. Use

the trim knob and input level meters 1-4 in the metering

section to calibrate the input signal level. The meters

cover both the TRS and XLR input.

Push to toggle between them. The LCD provides

feedback.

monitor mixer. There are four independent mix busses:

MIX1 through MIX4. Each mixes all inputs (or any subset

you wish) to a stereo output of your choice. To edit a mix,

choose it by pressing the MIX BUS knob. Each mix has

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

1. These four detented digital trim knobs provide 53dB of

2. Controls the headphone volume or main out volume.

3. This section controls the Traveler’s built-in CueMix DSP

the parameter you wish to edit with the PARAM knob.

10

ance TRS jack are equipped with a 20dB pad (so you can

even connect a +4 line level input). 48V phantom power

can be supplied via the front-panel switch.

Connect the Traveler’s MIDI OUT port to the MIDI IN port

on the other device. Conversely, connect the Traveler’s

MIDI IN port to the MIDI OUT port on the other device.

You can connect different devices to each port, such as a

controller device to the IN port and a sound module to

the OUT port. You can also daisy-chain MIDI devices, but

be sure to manage their MIDI channels (so that they

don’t receive or transmit on the same channel).

Enable switch. For battery operation (i.e. powering the

Tra vel er from a battery pack via the 4-in XLR jack), turn

this switch to the OFF position.

here via a 4-in XLR cable. Remember to also turn off the

bus power switch to the left.

with either tip-positive or tip-negative polarity. Remem-

ber to also turn the BUS POWER switch to the OFF

not have microphone preamps, so they are best used for

14. This jack accepts any standard 10-24V DC power supply

synthesizers, drum machines, effects processors, and

other instruments with line level signals.

position.

either a mic cable or a cable with a quarter-inch plug.

Both the low-impedance XLR jack and the high-imped-

10. These four Neutrik™ combo (XLR/TRS) jacks accept

11. Connect a MIDI device here using standard MIDI cables.

balanced +4dB TRS (tip/ring/sleeve) quarter-inch

connectors that can also accept an unbalanced plug.

They are equipped with 24-bit, 128x oversampling

converters.

Tra vel er’s main outputs. You can connect them to a set of

powered studio monitors and then control the volume

11 12 13 14

7. The Traveler’s eight analog outputs are gold-plated,

from the front panel volume knob. (Push the knob first to

8. These two balanced, quarter-inch jacks serve as the

switch to main out volume control.) To hear disk tracks in

your audio software on these main outs, assign the disk

tracks (and master fader) to these main outs

12. For bus-powered operation, turn on the Bus Power

(Analog 1-2). You can also use CueMix DSP to monitor

live Traveler inputs here as well.

ring/sleeve) quarter-inch connectors that can also

9. These 4 analog inputs are gold-plated, balanced TRS (tip/

accept an unbalanced plug. The front panel LCD and

13. Connect a 10-24V battery pack or other power supply

Cuemix Co nsole software let you adjust them for either

+4dB or -10dB input signals. They have 24-bit, 64x

oversampling converters. These inputs (5 through 8) do

Quick Reference: Traveler Rear & Side Panels

0

4 9

compatible device, such as an effects processor or DAT

machine. Be sure to set the format in the MOTU FireWire

Audio Console software. (see “Optical input/output” on

page 48) for details.) ADAT optical supplies eight

channels of 24-bit digital I/O (4 channels at 96kHz).

TOSL ink is stereo. Note: you can choose independent

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).

standard ADAT SYNC INPUT to connect the Traveler 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).

and output at any sample rate up to 96kHz. They are

5. If you are using the Traveler with an ADAT, use this

disabled at the 4x rates (176.4 and 192kHz).

6. These jacks provide stereo, 24-bit S/PDIF digital input

1 2 3 5 6 7 8

Use the second FireWire port to daisy-

Important note: it is best to turn off the

and output at any sample rate up to 96kHz. They are

disabled at the 4x rates (176.4 and 192kHz).

standard 1394 FireWire A cable provided with your

Tra vel er.

Traveler when plugging in the FireWire cable, as this

avoids the possibility of static discharge, which can

harm the electrical components in the Traveler or

your computer.

chain up to four MOTU FireWire audio interfaces to a

single FireWire bus. You can also connect other FireWire

devices. For details, see “Connecting multiple MOTU

FireWire interfaces” on page 35.

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 Traveler. When the

Tra vel er is operating at a 2x sample rate (88.2 or 96 kHz)

or 4x sample rate (176.4 or 192kHz), the word clock

output can either match the Traveler’s sample rate or be

reduced to the equivalent 1x rate (either 44.1 or 48 kHz).

This setting is made via the FireWire Audio Console. See

“Word Out” on page 48.

either to an ADAT-compatible “lightpipe” device (such as

1. These jacks provide stereo, 24-bit AES/EBU digital input

2. Connect the Traveler to the computer here using the

3. These are standard word clock jacks. Use them for a

a digital mixer) or to a S/PDIF optical (“TOSLink”)

4. These optical digital I/O connectors can be connected

Quick Reference:

CHAPTER

MOTU FireWire Audio Console

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

This menu lets you choose what you will hear
from the headphone jack. To mirror the main
outs, choose Analog 1-2. Or y ou can mirror
any other output pair. To hear the phones as
their own independent output, choose
Phones 1-2.

Click the tabs to access general
MOTU FireWire interface settings
or settings specific to the Traveler
(or other connected interface.)

Choose the sample rate for the
Tra vel er here.

Specifies the stereo input and
output pair when the Traveler is
chosen for Mac OS X audio I/O.

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

If you are running a Traveler inter­face at a high sample rate
(88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192kHz), 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. 192kHz) or reduces the word
clock output to the corresponding
1x rate (either 44.1 or 48kHz).

Click the General tab to access these settings.

Check this option if you would like the MOTU
FireWire Audio Console icon to appear in the
application dock as soon as a MOTU FireWire
interface is detected (switched on, plugged
in, etc.)

In the standard Mac OS X fashion, the console
appears in the dock when you launch it. If the
Launch conso le automatically option is
checked (as shown above), the icon appears
as soon as you switch on your Traveler inter­face. If you click and hold on the dock icon
(instead of clicking it) or control-click, a
menu of hardware settings appears as
shown to the right. You can view and config­ure any hardware settings from this menu,
without opening the console window.

If you have a foot switch
connected to another MOTU
FireWire interface, these settings
let you map the foot switch to
any computer keyboard key for
both the up and down position.
This setting does not apply to the
Tra vel er, which does not have a
foot switch input.

This button opens another
dialog that lets you assign your
own customized names to each
Traveler input and output. For
example, if you have a lead
vocal mic pl ugged into input 1,
you could name it “Lead Vox”.
You r c us tomized names then
appear in your host audio
application (if it supports
CoreAu dio input/output
naming).

7

8

CHAPTER

About the Traveler

1

OVERVIEW

The Traveler is a computer-based hard disk
recording system for Mac OS and Windows that
offers 20 inputs and 22 outputs. Analog recording
and playback is offered at any standard sample rate
up to 192kHz. At 96kHz or lower, all inputs and
outputs, both analog and digital, can be accessed
simultaneously. The Traveler consists of a light (3.8
pounds) and small (14.75x9 inches) aluminum
alloy-encased interface that connects directly to a
computer via a standard IEEE 1394 FireWire™
cable. The Traveler offers the following:

■

Bus-powered and battery-powered operation

■

Four combo XLR/TRS mic/guitar inputs with

preamps and 48V phantom power

■

Digital Precision Trim™ preamp gain

adjustment

■

Four 24-bit analog TRS inputs

■

Eight 24-bit analog TRS outputs

■

Eight-channel ADAT optical digital I/O

■

S/PDIF digital I/O (optical and RCA)

■

AES/EBU digital I/O

■

ADAT SYNC IN and word clock I/O

■

MIDI I/O

■

On-board SMPTE synchronization

■

Headphone jack

■

Main volume knob (for headphone + main outs)

With a variety of I/O formats, mic preamps, no­latency monitoring of live input and synchroni­zation capabilities, the Traveler is a complete,
portable “studio in a box” when used with a
Macintosh or Windows computer. The Tr a v e l e r
system includes AudioDesk™, full-featured audio
workstation software for Mac OS that supports
both 16-bit and 24-bit recording.

THE TRAVELER I/O REAR PANEL

The Traveler rear panel has the following
connectors:

■

Eight gold-plated, balanced +4dB quarter-inch
(TRS) analog outputs (with 24-bit 192kHz
converters)

■

Four combo XLR/TRS mic/instrument inputs

■

Four gold-plated, balanced -10/+4 dB quarter­inch (TRS) analog inputs (with 24-bit 192kHz
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

■

AES/EBU in/out

■

One 9-pin ADAT SYNC IN connector

■

Wor d c lo ck in /o ut

■

Tw o 1394 FireWire jacks

■

CueMix™ DSP no-latency mixing & monitoring

■

Front-panel programming

Stand-alone mixing

■

9

20 inputs and 22 outputs

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

Connection Input Output

Analog 24-bit 192kHz on bal/unbal TRS 4 8

Mic preamps 24-bit 192kHz on XLR/TRS combo 4 -

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

AES/EBU 24-bit 96kHz digital stereo stereo

SPDIF 24-bit 96kHz digital stereo stereo

Headphone output - stereo

Total 20 22

All inputs and outputs are discrete and can be
active simultaneously.

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 (up to 96kHz).

All digital I/O is disabled for 192kHz operation.

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

Mic/instrument inputs

The four mic/instrument inputs are equipped with
preamps and Neutrik™ “combo” XLR/TRS jacks,
which accept low-Z XLR microphone inputs or
high-Z quarter-inch guitar/instruments inputs.
The total gain range for these preamps, including
the 20dB pad, is 73dB, allowing you to connect
anything from guitars and microphones to +4dB
or –10dB line level signals. Preamp gain and pad
can be controlled from the front panel digital
rotary encoders/switches or the included CueMix
Console™ software.

Analog

All four quarter-inch analog inputs are equipped
with 24-bit 192kHz, 64x oversampling A/D
converters. All eight analog outputs have 24-bit
128x oversampling D/A converters. All audio is
carried to the computer in a 24-bit data stream. All
eight analog outputs and four quarter-inch inputs
are on balanced TRS +4dB quarter-inch jacks. All
of these jacks can also accept unbalanced plugs.

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

Optical

The Traveler 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. The optical jacks are disabled at
the 4x sample rates (176.4 and 192kHz).

AES/EBU

The Traveler rear panel provides a standard AES/
EBU digital input and output that supports digital
I/O at 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96 kHz. The AES/EBU
jacks are disabled at the 4x sample rates (176.4 and
192kHz).

S/PDIF

The Traveler 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

10

ABOUT THE TRAVELER

TOSLink while the optical output is set to ADAT.
The RCA and optical S/PDIF jacks are disabled at
the 4x sample rates (176.4 and 192kHz).

On-board SMPTE synchronization

The Traveler can resolve directly to SMPTE time
code via any analog input, without a separate
synchronizer. The Traveler can also generate time
code via any analog o utpu t. Th e Trave ler prov ide s a
DSP-driven phase-lock engine with sophisticated
filtering that provides fast lockup times and sub­frame accuracy. Direct time code synchronization
is supported by AudioDesk and Digital Performer
on Mac OS X.

The included FireWire SM PTE Console™ software
provides a complete set of tools to generate SMPTE
for striping, regenerating or slaving other devices
to the computer.

ADAT sync: sample-accurate synchronization

The Traveler’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 Traveler 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 Traveler
global sample rate is set to 96 kHz, the word clock
input can resolve to a “low” rate of 48 kHz.
Similarly, when the Traveler is operating at 96 kHz,
the MOTU FireWire Audio Console lets you
choose a word clock output rate of 48 kHz.

1394 FireWire

The two 1394 FireWire jacks accept a standard
IEEE 1394 FireWire cable to connect the Traveler 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 Traveler
has the ability to power itself from its FireWire
connection to the computer.

THE TRAVELER FRONT PANEL

Phantom power

Individual 48V phantom power can be enabled for
each preamp with the four front panel switches.

Digital Precision Trim™ rotary encoders

The four Digital Precision Trim™ detented rotary
encoders provide preamp gain adjustment and also
serve as 20dB pad switches when pushed. When
you turn these trim knobs, input gain can be
adjusted in 1dB increments, and the LCD display
provides active numeric feedback as the
adjustment is made.

Headphone output and main volume control

The Traveler front panel includes a quarter-inch
stereo headphone output jack and volume knob.
The volume knob also controls the rear-panel m ain
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 Traveler’s on-board mixing
features, as well as global system settings. Together,
these features provide complete stand-alone
operation, without a computer. The Traveler can
mix all inputs to any output pair, and up to four
such mixes can be independently programmed
and simultaneously operated.

ABOUT THE TRAVELER

11

Backlit LCD display

Any Traveler 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 Traveler displays several
banks of input metering and output activity LEDs.
The round analog, SPDIF and AES/EBU output
activity LEDs, as well as the ADAT optical in/out
activity LEDs, display signal presence. The
threshold for these lights is approximately -42 dB.
The four-segment input meters provide dedicated
multi-segment metering for their respective inputs.

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 Traveler’s on-board SMPTE
synchronization features.

TRAVELER SIDE PANEL

MIDI I/O

The Traveler’s standard MIDI IN and MIDI OUT
jacks supply 16 channels of MIDI I/O to and from
the computer via the Traveler’s FireWire
connection. Timing accuracy can be sample­accurate with host software that supports it.

Bus power

The Traveler can draw power from three possible
sources:

1. the computer (via the FireWire cable connection
between the Traveler and the computer)

2. an external battery pack (purchased separately)

3. a DC power supply

If you are using FireWire bus power only, then the
Bus Power switch needs to be turned on. However,
if you are using battery or DC power, and you do
not wish to draw power from the computer (to
conserve your laptop battery, for example), you can
disable bus power by moving the Bus Power switch

Off

to the

position.

Battery power

The 4-pin XLR battery power jack allows you to
connect a standard DC battery pack for extended
remote recording. The battery pack must supply a
minimum of 10-18 volts and 12 watts. For further
details, contact your preferred supplier of
professional audio/video equipment.

Power supply

If you do not want the Traveler to draw power from
the computer, and AC power is available, you can
power the Traveler from any standard 10-18V,
12 watt DC power supply with any polarity (tip
positive or negative).

16-BIT AND 24-BIT RECORDING

The Traveler 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 Traveler’s
analog or digital inputs and outputs. 24-bit audio
files can be recorded with any compatible host
application that supports 24-bit recording.

AUDIODESK

AudioDesk is a full-featured, 24-bit audio
workstation software package included with the
Trave l er sy st em (for Macintosh only). AudioDesk
provides multi-channel waveform editing,
automated virtual mixing, graphic editing of ramp
automation, real-time effects plug-ins with 32-bit
floating point processing, crossfades, support for
many third-party audio plug-ins, background
processing of file-based operations, sample­accurate editing and placement of audio, and more.

12

ABOUT THE TRAVELER

DIGITAL PERFORMER

The Traveler system is fully integrated with
MOTU’s award-winning Digital Performer audio
sequencer software package.

OTHER HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE

The Traveler system includes a standard Mac OS X
Core Audio driver for multichannel I/O with any
audio application that supports Core Audio.

A COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM

Regardless of what software you use with the
Trave l er, t he ho st co m p uter 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.

ABOUT THE TRAVELER

13

14

ABOUT THE TRAVELER

CHAPTER

Packing List & Mac System

2

Requirements

PACKING LIST

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

■

One Traveler I/O rack unit

■

One set of removable rack ears

■

One 1394 “FireWire” cable

■

One Traveler Mac/Windows manual

■

One AudioDesk Manual

■

One cross-platform CD-ROM

■

Product registration card

MACINTOSH SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The Traveler system requires the following
Macintosh system:

■

A G3/300MHz Power Macintosh or faster

equipped with at least one FireWire port

■

At least 256 MB (megabytes) of RAM (512 MB

or more is recommended)

PLEASE REGISTER TODAY!

Please send in the registration card included with
your Traveler 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!

There is also an AudioDesk software registration
card found at the beginning of your AudioDesk
manual. Please be sure to fill out and return this
card as well, so that you will be eligible to receive
on-line technical support email and
announcements about AudioDesk software
enhancements as soon as they become available.

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

■

Mac OS X (version 10.2 or later)

■

A large hard drive (preferably at least 20 GB)

15

16

PACKING LIST & MAC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

CHAPTER

Installing the Traveler Hardware

3

OVERVIEW

Here’s an overview for installing the Traveler:

Important note before you begin! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Ta k e the se p re caut ion s to prevent damage to your
computer, the Traveler and other equipment.

Connect the Traveler interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Connect the Traveler 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.

Power options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Choose from among several convenient options.

A typical Traveler setup (no mixer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

An example setup for computer-based mixing/FX.

Using the Traveler with a mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

An example setup for a mixer-based studio.

IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE YOU BEGIN!

Before you begin installing the Traveler (or any
bus-powered device), take these important
precautionar y measures to avoid damaging the
sensitive electrical components in your computer,
the Traveler or other devices being connected:

■

Tur n o ff th e co mp u te r.

■

Tur n o ff the Tra v el er ’s front panel power switch.

■

Tur n o ff th e power of any other devices.

■

Tou ch t h e m e ta l casing of the Traveler to
discharge any static electricity that you may be
carrying just before the installation.

After you have made all of the necessary
connections, as described in this chapter, turn on
the devices in this sequence:

1. Turn on the computer.

2. Turn on the Traveler.

3. Turn on other devices connected to the Traveler.

Making sync connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

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

Do you need a synchronizer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Sample-accurate sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Sample-accurate ADAT sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Sample-accurate ADAT sync with no synchronizer . . 29

Syncing to SMPTE time code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Syncing to video and/or SMPTE time code using a

synchronizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Syncing optical devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Syncing S/PDIF and AES/EB U devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Syncing word clock devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Syncing large systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Connecting multiple MOTU FireWire interfaces . . . . . 35

17

CONNECT THE TRAVELER INTERFACE

1

Make sure your computer and the Traveler are

switched off.

2

Plug one end of the Traveler FireWire cable
(included) into the FireWire socket on the
computer as shown below in Figure 3-1.

Yo u can connect the Traveler to an 800Mbit

☛

“FireWire B” port using a 9-pin to 6-pin FireWire B
cable (not shown). However, the Traveler will still
operate at its specified 400Mbit (FireWire A) data
rate.

CONNECT AUDIO INPUTS AND OUTPUTS

The Traveler audio interface has the following
audio input and output connectors:

8 balanced, +4 dB quarter-inch analog outputs

■

■

4 balanced +4/-10 dB quarter-inch analog

inputs

4 Neutrik™ XLR/quarter-inch analog inputs

■

with preamps

1 pair of RCA S/PDIF in and out

■

■ 1 pair of AES/EBU in and out

3

Plug the other end of the FireWire cable into the
Trave l er I/O as shown below in Figure 3-1.

■ 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.

Mic/guitar/instrument inputs

Connect a microphone, guitar or other similar
instrument to the front-panel inputs, as
recommended in the table below. 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. The LCD provides feedback for the current
trim setting. The Traveler’s input trims are digital
controlled, so they allow you to make fine-tuned
adjustments in approximately 1dB increments. Use
the four input level meters on the front panel
(labeled ANALOG 1-4) to calibrate the level. These
meters register for both the XLR and TRS input.

Input 48V phantom power Pad

Condenser mic On Off

Figure 3-1: Connecting the Traveler to the computer.

18

Dynamic mic Off Off

Guitar Off Off

Synth, sampler, etc. Off Off

+4dB line level input Off On

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

To t og gle th e pa d, push the input’s trim knob. The
LCD provides feedback for the current pad setting.
The pad settings above are recommended initial
settings. Use the front-panel trim knobs to adjust
input levels, and use the Traveler’s front-panel
4-segment meters to adjust the gain accordingly. If
necessary, after adjusting the trim, you can enable
or disable the pad as needed, depending on actual
signal levels.

Quarter-inch analog

The quarter-inch analog inputs (5-8) and outputs
(1-8) 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 t h e PA RAM kn ob until 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.

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 deck.

The optical S/PDIF jacks are disabled at the 4x
sample rates (176.4 and 192kHz).

Analog outputs 1-2 can serve as main outs

Analog outputs 1-2 can serve as main 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 regular outputs for any purpose.

CONNECT MIDI GEAR

Connect your MIDI device’s MIDI IN jack to the
Trave l er ’s M ID I O UT jack (Connection A below).
Conversely, connect the MIDI device’s MIDI OUT
jack to the Traveler’s MIDI IN jack (Connection B).

Figure 3-2: Setting the reference level for the four TRS analog inputs.

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

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

Optical

Reminder: optical goes OUT to IN and IN to OUT,
like MIDI. The optical jacks can be connected to
either an ADAT “lightpipe” de v i ce or an optical

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

Tra veler

rear panel

MIDI
OUT

Connection A

MIDI Device

Figure 3-3: Connecting a MIDI device to the Traveler.

MIDI

cables

MIDI INMIDI

OUT

MIDI

IN

Connection B

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

19

shown in Figure 3-3. 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 Traveler to the MIDI IN
on the additional device as shown below in
Figure 3-4. The two devices then share the
Trave l er ’s M ID I O UT 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.

Tra veler

side panel

POWER OPTIONS

The Traveler can draw power from three possible
sources:

1. the computer (via FireWire)

2. an external battery pack

3. a DC power supply

Figure 3-5: The Traveler’s battery and power supply options.

Bus power requirements

The Traveler draws all the power it needs from the
FireWire bus connection to the computer.
However, the FireWire connect ion to the computer
must meet all of the requirements discussed below.

MIDI

OUT

MIDI

MIDI Device

Figure 3-4: Connecting additional devices with MIDI THRU ports.

20

IN

MIDI

THRU

MIDI

cable

MIDI IN

Additional device

6-pin FireWire connectors

The Traveler can only draw power over the
FireWire bus from a 6-pin to 6-pin cable, or a 6-pin
to 9-pin (FireWire B) cable. It cannot draw power
from a FireWire cable with a 4-pin connector, as
shown below:

✓

YES

NO

✗

6-pin FireWire

4-pin FireWire

Figure 3-6: 4-pin FireWire connectors cannot be used for bus power.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

When ope rating und er bus power, daisy-chaining
is not recommended

The Traveler can be daisy-chained with other
FireWire devices from a single FireWire
connection to the computer. However, if the
Trave l er is operating under bus power, this is not
recommended. If you need to daisy chain the
Trave l er wit h ot he r d ev ices on the same FireWire
bus, power the Traveler with a DC power supply
(or battery), and turn off the Bus Power switch on
the side panel. The other devices on the chain
should also have their own power supply. In
general, bus-powered FireWire devices should not
be daisy-chained.

FireWire adapter products must be powered

If you are using a FireWire adapter (a third-party
product that supplies one or more FireWire ports
to your computer), it must have direct access to a
power supply:

■ PCI FireWire cards — If you plan to connect the

Trave l er to a P CI card and run the Traveler under
bus power, the PCI card must have a direct
connection to the power supply harness inside
your computer. This is the same power supply
harness to which you connect internal hard drives,
CD/DVD drives, etc.

■ PCMCIA slot adapters — If you plan to connect

the Traveler to a PC card FireWire adapter
(inserted in the PC card slot in your laptop), it
must provide a 6-pin connection and it must also
have its own power supply. Most commonly, these
types of products have a DC power adapter that
plugs into an AC wall outlet. As you can see,
however, this situation does not allow for remote
battery operation, as the PC card adapter requires
AC.

Examples of bus- powered operation

Here are a few typical examples of bus-powered
Tr a v e l e r operation:

Bus power from a desktop computer

Yo ur de s k t op c om puter is running off of its usual
AC power connection, and the Traveler draws
power from the FireWire cable connected to the
computer. There are no limits to running time.

Bus power from an AC-powered laptop

This scenario is identical to the desktop situation
described above: the laptop is powered by AC, the
Trave l er is po we re d via t he FireWire bus and there
are no limits to running time.

Bus power from a battery-powered laptop

The laptop is being powered by its own battery, and
the Traveler is being powered by its FireWire
connection to the computer. So the laptop battery
is supplying power to both the laptop and the
Trave l er. T hi s i s the mo st compact and portable
operat ing scenario. Running time is determined by
the capacity of the laptop battery. For extended
recording sessions, bring extra, fully charged
laptop batteries.

Powering the Traveler from a battery pack

The 4-pin XLR battery jack on the Traveler side
panel allows you to connect a standard DC battery
pack, which is ideal for extended remote recording.
These products can provide multiple hours of
operation, depending on their capacity. The
battery pack should supply 10-18 volts and 12
watts. A typical application would employ a 12 volt
battery, therefore requiring 1 amp. In this scenario,
a 1 amp-hour battery will power the unit for
1 hour. A 10 amp-hour battery will power the unit
for 10 hours. Follow the manufacturer’s recom­mendations for battery discharge for proper
battery maintenance. For further details, contact
your p referred supplier of professional audio/video
equipment.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

21

DC power supply

If you do not want the Traveler to draw power from
the computer, and AC power is available, you can
power the Traveler from any standard 8-18 volt,
12 watt DC power supply with any polarity (tip
positive or negative), and amperage as shown
below. To prevent the Traveler from drawing power
from the computer, turn off the Bus Power switch.

Voltage Amperage

9 volts 1.33 amps

12 volts 1 amp

18 volts 0.66 amps

The Bus Power Enable/Disable switch

The Bus Power Enable/Disable switch on the side
panel of the Traveler lets you control whether or
not the Traveler draws power from the computer
via FireWire.

For example, when battery or DC power supply
options are not being used, and FireWire is the
only available power source, t urn on the Bus Power
switch.

If you are powering the Traveler via battery or DC
power supply, and you do not want it to draw
power from the computer (perhaps because it is a
laptop running under its own battery, and you
don’t want the Traveler to run down the laptop’s
battery unnecessarily), turn off the Bus Power
switch.

22

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

A TYPICAL TRAVELER SETUP (NO MIXER)

Here is a typical Tr a v e l e r 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

Tr av el er ’s Cu eM ix ™ 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.

synthesizer

MIDI IN

MIDI OUT

quarter-inch

analog outs

monitors

guitars (with or
without an amp)

Mac

Tra vel er

back panel

AES/EBU

Digital reverb or other

outboard gear

headphones

FireWire

Digital processor or

other outboard gear

Tra vel er
front panel
headphone

jack

Analog

sends

ADAT optical

Figure 3-7: A typical Traveler studio setup.

Analog outputs (stage

monitors, surround

monitors, etc.)

S/PDIF

DAT deck

Analog
returns

mics

Compre ssor, reverb or other

analog outboard gear

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

23

USING THE TRAVELER WITH A MIXER

While there are many ways to use the Traveler with
an external mixer, typically the Traveler 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 Traveler 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 3-8. The Traveler’s available analog, SPDIF

Mac

FireWire

and AES/EBU 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 Traveler with an external
mixer, use the mixer for mixing. Trying to mix
large multitrack projects in two places can become
very cumbersome very quickly.

24

8-channel digital I/O

ADAT optical

synths, samplers, etc.

synthesizers

digital mixer

Figure 3-8: Using the Traveler with a digital mixer.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

MAKING SYNC CONNECTIONS

If you connect devices digitally to the Traveler, or if
you need to synchronize the Traveler 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 Traveler?

If you will be u sin g on ly the Tra vel er’s a nalo g in put s
and outputs (and none of its digital I/O), and you
have no plans to synchronize your Traveler system
to SMPTE time code, you don’t need to make any
sync connections. You can skip this section and
proceed to chapter 4, “Installing the Traveler Mac
OS X Software” (page 39). After you install the
Trave le r s of twa r e, you’l l open the MOTU FireWire
Audio Console and set the Clock Source setting to
Inter nal as shown below. For details, see chapter 5,
“MOTU FireWire Audio Console” (page 43).

Figure 3-9: You can run the Traveler under its own internal clock when
it has no digital audio connections and you are not synchronizing the
Traveler 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 Traveler with other devices:

■ Synchronizing the Traveler with other digital

audio devices so that their digital audio clocks are
phase-locked (as shown in Figure 3-10)

■ Slaving the Traveler 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. You r su ccess
in using the Traveler’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 3-10: 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 3-11: To keep the Traveler 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 Traveler.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

25

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
Trave l er sy st em . 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 your Traveler system.

Yo u don’t need a synchronizer if...

As explained earlier, the Traveler’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 Traveler’s clock (via
ADAT lightpipe, S/PDIF, AES/EBU 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 Traveler,
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
Trave l er le ts you do so without a separate
synchronizer — and with sample-accurate
precision, as long as you’re using AudioDesk,
Digital Performer, or other sample-accurate
software. Just connect the Traveler directly to the
Alesis recorder (or other ADAT Sync-compatible
device) as discussed in “Sample-accurate ADAT
sync with no synchronizer” on page 29. 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
Timepie ce AV, as discussed in “Sample-accurate
sync” on page 27. 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
Trave l er as ex pl ai ned in “Syncing optical devices”
on page 32.

Transpor t control from your computer

If you have stand -alone d igital recorders connected
to the Traveler, 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. Synchronizers like these allow you
to play, stop, rew ind and locate all of your tape
decks using the transport controls in the audio
software. If your audio software supports sample­accurate sync (like Digital Performer and
Audio Desk), 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 Traveler can synchronize directly to SMPTE
time code. If your audio software supports sample­accurate sync (like Digital Performer and
Aud ioDes k), i t ca n also res olve to time code via the
Trave le r. If yo ur sof tw ar e does not support sample­accurate sync, you need a dedicated synchronizer,
as illustrated on the following pages.

26

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

SAMPLE-ACCURATE SYNC

Yo ur Tr av el er s ystem 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 3-12 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 AudioDesk (or any other sample­accurate 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 w ill not be affe cted in any
way by the process of transferring it between the
Trave l er an d the recorder.

Is your audio software sample-accurate?

Sample-accurate locating is only possible with
software that supports this feature, such as
AudioDesk or Dig ital Performer.

Transpor t 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, rewind 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 3-13: Audi oDesk and Dig ital Performer support sample­accurate transfers with ADAT Sync compatible digital tape decks and
modular hard disk recorders.

Sample

Sync format Software Synchronizer

ADAT AudioDesk or Digital Per-

ADAT AudioDesk or Digital Per-

ADAT AudioDesk or Digital Per-

Figure 3-12: These recommended combinations of hardware and software offer the tightest sync possible between the Traveler 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.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

former

former

former

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

27

SAMPLE-ACCURATE ADAT SYNC

The Traveler can achieve sample-accurate sync
with ADATs, Alesis hard disk recorders or any
ADAT Sync-compatible devices. Sample-accurate
software is required, such as AudioDesk, Digital
Perfor mer or compat ible software that also
supports sample-accurate sync. Connect the
Trave l er to th e end of the ADAT Sync chain and
make the software settings shown below in
Figure 3-14. 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 32.

In AudioDesk or Digital Performer:

1. Choose Receive Sync the Setup menu.

2. Choose the Sample-accurate option
shown to the left.

3. Make sure that Slave to External Sync is
checked in the Studio menu.

Macintosh computer running AudioDesk, Digital
Perf ormer or other sample-accurate software.

FireWire

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

USB cable (bi-directional MIDI connection)

bearing MMC transport commands from

MIDI Timepiece AV (or other synchronizer)

AudioDesk or

Digital Performer to the

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 Traveler and your software (AudioDesk,
Digital Performer or other sample-accurate software).

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

locating across all devices: ADAT, Tascam and the Traveler.

✓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 s et the Traveler hardware clock source for sample­accurate sync:

1. In AudioDesk or Digital Performer, choose Configure
Audio System>Configure Hardware Driver from the
Setup menu, or run the MOTU FireWire Audio Console.

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

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

ADATs

FireWire

Figure 3-14: Connections for sample-accurate ADAT sync.

28

Sync In

Sync Out

Sync In

Sync Out

Sync In

Sync Out

Sync In

ADAT

sync cables

etc.

In AudioDesk or Digital
Perf ormer, turn on MIDI
Machine Control by pressing
this button. This brings on line
all the recorders connected to
the DTP or MTP AV.

AudioDesk automatically scans
the DTP or MTP AV for
connected recorders, and they
appear here.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

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, a Traveler, and any
sample-accurate software (such as AudioDesk or
Digital Performer). Just connect the Traveler 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, rew ind 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 32.

In AudioDesk or Digital Performer:

1. Choose Receive Sync the Setup menu.

2. Choose the Sample-accurate option
shown to the left.

3. Make sure that Slave to External Sync
is checked in the Studio menu.

Macintosh computer running
AudioDesk or Digital Performer

With no s ynchronizer, the ADAT

that is the master of the ADAT
sync chain becomes transport

master over everything, including

your audio software.

FireWire

ADATs

Sync Out

Sync In

Sync Out

ADAT

sync cables

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 Traveler and your software (AudioDesk,
Digital Performer or other sample-accurate software).

✗ No transport control of everything from the computer.

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

To s et the Traveler hardware clock source for sample-accurate sync:

1. In AudioDesk or Digital Performer, choose Configure Audio
System>Configure Hardware Driver from the Setup menu, or run the
MOTU FireWire Audio Console.

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

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

In AudioDesk or Digital Performer:

1. Make sure that Slave to External Sync is checked in the Studio menu.

2. Click the play or record button. The software will then wait for you to start
your record er.

Sync In

Sync Out

FireWire

Sync In

Figure 3-15: Sample-accurate sync between AudioDesk or Digital Performer and
one or more ADAT-sync compatible devices — without an ADAT synchronizer.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

etc.

3. Press the Play button on the front panel of your recorder to initiate playback
or recording.

29

SYNCING TO SMPTE TIME CODE

The Traveler 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 Traveler can act both as an
audio interface and digital audio synchronizer, to
which you can slave other digital audio devices.
Yo u c a n u se the Traveler to slave your audio
software to SMPTE as well, as long as your software
supports sample-accurate sync, which is the means
by which the software follows the Traveler. The
accuracy may not be sample-accurate, but in most
cases it will be very close.

In AudioDesk or Digital Performer:

1. Choose Receive Sync the Setup menu.

2. Choose the Sample-accurate option
shown to the left.

3. Make sure that Slave to External Sync
is checked in the Studio menu.

SMPTE time code source

Use this setup if you have:

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

A Traveler 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.

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

When lockup is achieved, the LOCK

light illuminates and the TACH light
audio cable bearing LTC
(Longitudinal Time Code)

Any analog input

Analog

Word

out

Out

audio

cable

Other digital audio device

slaved to the Traveler

Figure 3-16: Connections for synchronizing the Traveler directly to SMPTE time code.

video
cable

FireWire cab le

Macintosh computer running

AudioDesk, Digital Performer or other

sample-accurate software.

blinks once per second.

Tra vel er interface

30

Launch the MOTU SMPTE Console to specify the time code input,
frame rate and amount of freewheel. Also, confirm that the Clock
Source/Address is SMPTE/SMPTE. For details about the other
settings, see chapter 12, “FireWire SMPTE Console” (page 87).

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

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

If your host audio software does not support the
Tr ave le r’s o n- bo ard SMPTE sync features (because
your software does not support sample-accurate
sync), you need a universal synchronizer, such as a
MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV. 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 Traveler
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 3-17.

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

Tra veler

Choose Word Cl ock In as the clock source in the MOTU FireWire
Audio Console application. 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 3-17: If your host audio software does not support sample-accurate sync and the Traveler’s built-in
SMPTE sync features, use a universal synchronizer such as the MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital Timepiece.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

(Via MIDI interface)

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

Macintosh computer running any audio software

31

SYNCING OPTICAL DEVICES

Mac

The word optical is our short-hand way of referring
to any device that connects to the Traveler 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 Traveler 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 Traveler.
There are three ways to do this:

■ Slave the optical device to the Traveler

■ Slave the Traveler to the optical device

■ Slave both the optical device and the Traveler to

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

Tra veler

Digital mixer

or other optical

device

Tra veler

Clock Source setting =

Internal, or any clock source

setting except Optical. The o ptical

device slaves to the Traveler (via its

optical cable connection).

ADAT Optical OUT

ADAT Optical IN

MIDI Timepiece AV

set to Internal

Digital mixer

or other optical

device

Digital mixer

or other optical

Tra veler

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 Traveler slaves to the optical
device via their optical cable
connection.

Tra vel er

Clock Source setting =

optical

Tra vel er

Clock Source setting =

ADAT 9-pin

Compu ter with Traveler

Figure 3-18: Three setups for synchronizing an optical device with the Traveler. You can slave the optical device to the Traveler 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 28.

32

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

SYNCING S/PDIF AND AES/EBU DEVICES

DAT decks an d other devices with S/PDIF and/or
AES/EBU digital I/O will sync to the Traveler in
one of two ways:

■ Via the S/PDIF or AES/EBU connection itself

■ Via word clock

Devices with no word clock

If your S/PDIF or AES/EBU device has no word
clock sync connectors, just connect it to the
Trave l er via t he S/PDIF or AES/EBU connectors.
When the device records a digital audio signal
(from the Traveler), it will simply synchronize to
the clock provided by the digital audio input.

On the other hand, when you transfer audio from
the S/PDIF or AES/EBU device into the Traveler,
you’ll have to slave the Traveler to its S/PDIF or
AES/EBU input. If you have other digital audio
devices connected to the Traveler, and they are not
slaved directly to the Traveler itself, you may hear
clicks and pops resulting from their unsynchro­nized audio clock. If so, just turn them off during
the transfer.

Devices with word clock

If your S/PDIF or AES/EBU device has a Word
Clock input, slave the device to the Traveler via
their word clock connection. You can then freely
transfer audio between the Traveler and the S/PDIF
device.

Tra veler

S/PDIF or AES/EBU

S/PDIF or AES/EBU

S/PDIF or AES/EBU

device

Figure 3-19: Two setups for synchronizing an S/PDIF device with the Traveler. In the top diagram, sync is achieved via the digital I/O connection
itself. In this case, you have to choose S/PDIF or AES/EBU as the Traveler’s clock source when recording from the other device. If you don’t want to
have to worry about switching the Clock Source setting depending on the direction of the digital transfer, you can slave the other device to word
clock from the Traveler or vice versa (not shown). The Word Clock connection maintains sync, regardless of the direction of the transfer.

Internal (when transferring from the

Tra vel er

Clock Source setting =

Tra vel er to the other device)

Tra veler

S/PDIF or AES/EBU

device

With this setup, in the MOTU FireWire Audio Console window, choose Internal,
or any other clock source setting except SPDIF or AES/EBU. The other device
slaves to the Traveler via word clock for digital transfers in both directions.

S/PDIF or AES/EBU (when transferring
from the other device to the Traveler)

Tra vel er

Clock Source setting = Internal

Word Clock Out

Word Clock In

Tra vel er

Clock Source setting =

SPDIF or AES/EBU

SPDIF or AES/EBU

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

33

SYNCING WORD CLOCK DEVICES

The Traveler 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 25).
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 3-20 and Figure 3-21.

Master

Word clock OUT

Word clock IN

Slave

Figure 3-20: Slaving another digital audio device to the Traveler via
word clock. For the Traveler 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 3-21: Slaving the Traveler to word clock. For the Traveler clock
source, choose ‘Word Clock In’.

Word clock OUT

Word clock IN

Tra veler

Other device

Tra veler

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 and 192 kHz operation (including the 896HD)
have the ability to slave to a word clock signal
running at the 1x sample rate that corresponds to
their current clock rate. For example, the Traveler
could be running at 192 kHz while slaving to a
48 kHz word clock signal from a MOTU MIDI
Timepie ce AV. Simi larly, the Traveler could run at

88.2 kHz and slave to 44.1 kHz word clock. In all of
these cases, the front panel clock LEDs flash both
sample rates to indicate that the Traveler is slaving
to word clock at the corresponding 1x clock rate.
But if the Traveler is running at 96 kHz, it cannot
slave to word clock running at 44.1 kHz.

SYNCING LARGE SYSTEMS

If you are connecting the Traveler to a lot of other
digital audio gear, get a word clock distribution
device, which offers multiple word clock outputs.

34

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

CONNECTING MULTIPLE MOTU FIREWIRE
INTERFACES

Yo u c a n d ai sy-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:

Mac

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

Figure 3-22: Connecting multiple Traveler’s (or other MOTU FireWire
audio interfaces) to a computer.

Word Clock Out

Word Clock In

Word Clock Out

Word Clock In

Word Clock Out

Word Clock In

For two

interfaces,

slave one to

the other.

You can probably

get away with

daisy-chaining

three interfaces,

although a word

clock distribu-

tion device is

recommended.

This is risky. A

word clock distri-

bution device is

highly recom-

mended.

Multiple interfaces cannot be bus-powered

Do not run the Traveler under bus power when
connecting it with other devices to the same
FireWire bus. See “Power options” and “Bus power
requirements” on page 20.

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 3-23.

Figure 3-23: To view the settings for an interface, click its tab.

Synchronizing multiple interfaces

Mac OS X provides an advanced, flexible driver
model that allows multiple Core Audio drivers to
be active at one time, accessed by multiple
applications simultaneously. For example, you can
run both FireWire and PCI audio interfaces at the
same time, accessing all of their inputs and outputs
from your host audio application — or even
multiple applications — simultaneously.

A by-product of this more flexible model is that
multiple devices must be synchronized to one
another in order to remain resolved to each
another. Without synchronization, the audio
streams going to each interface might drift with
respect to one another. For example, the audio
tracks playing back through the Traveler might
drift out of sync with the audio tracks playing back
through your 2408mk3 PCI interface.
Syn chroni zing t hem to each other ensures that they
remain as tightl y and continuously phase-locked as
if they were operating as one unified interface.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

35

There are two ways to synchronize the Traveler
with other devices, as discussed in the following
sections: via the driver or via word clock.

Resolving to other Core audio drivers

The MOTU FireWire driver has the ability to
resolve to other Core Audio drivers. This allows the
Trave l er, a nd ot her MOTU FireWire interfaces, to
resolve to other audio interfaces running simulta­neously on the same computer, such as the Mac’s
built-in audio, a PCI-424 core system, or even
3rd-party interfaces, without the need for external
word clock connections between the devices.
Doing so ensures that audio tracks being played or
recorded by your MOTU FireWire interface will
not drift apart from tracks on the other device
during long playback or recording passes.

Figure 3-24: To resolve a MOTU FireWire interface to another Core
Audio device, choose the other device from the Clock Source menu in
the MOTU FireWire Audio Console. In this example, the Traveler will
slave to the 828mkII.

To s y n chr on iz e mu lt ip le devices via the MOTU
FireWire driver, choose one device (PCI, FireWire
or other wise) as the master clock and then slave the
Trave l er an d o th er FireWire devices to it. All
interfaces will remain resolved to each other via the
master interface.

Make the Clock Source settings for each interface
as follows:

■ For the master interface, click its tab in the

FireWire Console and choose any clock source you
wish (except any of the slave interfaces, of course).

■ For each slave interface, click its tab and choose

the master interface from the Clock Source menu, as
demonstrated below in Figure 3-24. This causes
the slave interfaces to resolve to the master
interface.

If you have multiple Travelers, choose one as the
master, and set its Clock Source to Internal. Then,
click the tab of the other Travelers and set their
Clock Source to the first Traveler.

Resolving to word clock

To r es o lve two Traveler FireWire interfaces with
each other via word clock, choose one as the word
clock master and then slave the second interface to
the first, as shown in Figure 3-22 on page 35. For
three interfaces, you can probably get away with
daisy-chaining them via their word clock
connectors, but this may not always produce the
most reliable results. For three or more devices, a
word clock distribution device is highly
recommended. In this case, the distribution box is
the master, and all FireWire interfaces slave direc tly
to it (instead of to each other).

Connecting other MOTU FireWire interfaces

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. You can also add 828mkII’s

36

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

or 896HD’s, which have two FireWire ports
convenient for daisy-chaining. Up to four
interfaces can be combined on one FireWire bus.

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 2x
samples rates (88.2 or 96kHz) and 4x sample rates
(176.4 and 192kHz), you can operate no more than
three 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 TRAVELER HARDWARE

37

38

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER HARDWARE

CHAPTER

4 Installing the Traveler Mac OS X

Software

OVERVIEW

Software installation for Mac OS X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

CueMix Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

FireWi re SMPTE Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

AudioDesk workstation software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION FOR MAC OS X

Install the Traveler software as follows:

1 Insert the MOTU FireWire Installer disc and
launch the installer.

2 Follow the directions that the installer gives you.

The Traveler Core Audio driver

Core Audio is a term that refers to the software
technology built into Mac OS X that provides all of
its standardized audio features. More specifically,
we use Core Audio to refer to Mac OS X’s standard
audio driver model. A Core Audio driver allows the
Trave l er to es ta blish audio input and output with
any Mac OS X Core Audio-compatible software.

Once the Traveler’s Core Audio driver has been
successfully installed (by the installer), and you
have chosen it for use in your host audio software,
the Traveler will appear as a choice for audio inputs

What does the OS X installer do?

and outputs in your software.
The installer checks the computer to make sure it
satisfies the minimum system requirements for
your MOTU interface. If so, the installer proceeds
with the OS X installation. Drivers are installed,
along with the MOTU FireWire Audio Console,
FireWire CueMix Console, and several other

All MOTU audio hardware, including our PCI

systems and other FireWire interfaces, ship with

Core Audio drivers that allow them to operate

successfully with virtually all Mac OS X audio

software.

applications, summarized in the following table:

Software component Location Purpose For more information

MOTU FireWire Core Audio
driver

/System/Library/
Extensions

Provides Traveler multi-channel audio input
and output with all Mac OS X audio software

“The Traveler Core Audio
driver” on page 39

MOTU MIDI driver (.kext) /Library/Audio/

MOTU FireWire Audio Console Applications folder Provides access to all of the settings in the

FireWire SMPTE Console Applications folder Provides access to the Traveler system’s

AudioDesk Workstation Software Applications folder Provides complete multi-track recording,

AudioDesk Demo Project Anywhere you want Provides a multi-track mix that you can open,

FireWire CueMix Console Applications folder Gives you complete control over the Traveler’s

MIDI Drivers

Provides Traveler MIDI input and output for
all Mac OS X MIDI software

Traveler and other MOTU FireWire inter­faces. Required for Traveler operation.

SMPTE time code sync features.

mixing and processing. Optional.

play, and mix in AudioDesk. Optional.

CueMix DSP feature, which provides no­latency monitoring and mixing of live inputs
through your Traveler system.

“CoreMIDI and Audio
MIDI Setup” on page 40

chapter 5, “MOTU FireWire
Audio Console” (page 43)

chapter 12, “FireWire
SMPTE Console” (page 87)

AudioDesk User Guide

AudioDesk User Guide

chapter 11, “CueMix Con­sole” (page 79)

39

CoreMIDI and Audio MIDI Setup

CoreMIDI is the “under-the-hood” portion of Mac
OS X that handles MIDI services for MIDI
hardware and software. CoreMIDI provides many
universal MIDI system management features,
including MIDI communication between your
Trave l er Fi re Wi re i nte rface and all CoreMIDI
compatible software.

Audio MIDI S etup is a utility included with
Mac OS X that allows you to configure your
Trave l er in te r fa ce fo r use with all CoreMIDI
compatible applications. Audio MIDI Setup
provides:

■ A “virtual” studio on your Mac that graphically

represents your MIDI hardware setup and that is
shared by all CoreMIDI-compatible programs

■ A simple, intuitive list of your MIDI devices

whenever you need it in any CoreMIDI-compatible
program

Launching Audio MIDI Setup

1 Make sure your Traveler interface is connected
and turned on.

Figure 4-1: The Traveler interface as it appears in the MIDI tab of

Audio MIDI Setup.

Connecting MIDI devices to the Traveler

Once your Traveler interface appears in Audio

MIDI Setup, you are ready to add devices, indicate

how they are connected, and identify properties

they may have for particular purposes. This

information is shared with all CoreMIDI

compatible applications.

To a dd a de vi c e i n Audi o MIDI Setup:

1 Click Add Device.

2 Launch the Audio MIDI Setup utility.

This can usually be found in /Applications/
Utilities. If it has been moved, just search for Audio
MIDI Setup.

3 Confirm that the MIDI interface is present in the
MIDI Devices tab of Audio MIDI Setup.

If the interfaces does not appear, or if it is grayed
out, check your cable connections and click Rescan
MIDI.

40

Figure 4-2: Adding a MIDI device.

2 Drag on its input and output arrows to draw

connections to the Traveler that match its physical

connection.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER MAC OS X SOFTWARE

Figure 4-3: Connecting devices to the Traveler. In this example, a
controller keyboard is connected to the Traveler’s MIDI IN, and a
sound module is connected to the Traveler MIDI OUT.

3 Double-click the device to make settings, such
as input and output channels, that further describe
the device.

CUEMIX CONSOLE

This program provides a mixing console that gives

you control over the Traveler’s no-latency CueMix

DSP features. For details, see chapter 11, “CueMix

Console” (page 79).

FIREWIRE SMPTE CONSOLE

The FireWire SMPTE Console software provides a

complete set of tools to resolve the Traveler to

SMPTE time code, and to generate SMPTE for

striping, regenerating or slaving other devices to

the computer. For details, see chapter 12, “FireWire

SMPTE Console” (page 87).

AUDIODESK WORKSTATION SOFTWARE

The MOTU FireWire installer places AudioDesk in

your system’s Applications folder.

AudioDesk is an advanced workstation software

package for the Traveler that lets you record, edit,

mix, process, bounce and master multi-track

digital audio recording projects. Advanced features

include real-time 32-bit effects processing, sample-

accurate synchronization with ADATs, 24-bit

recording, and much more.

See the AudioDesk manual included with your

Trave l er sy st em fo r d et ai ls .

Figure 4-4: Device settings.

4 Repeat the above steps for each MIDI device
connected to the interface.

5 When you are finished, quit Audio MIDI Setup.

Yo ur co nfi g ur at i on is automatically saved as the
default configuration, and it is shared with all
CoreMIDI-compatible software.

Figure 4-5: AudioDesk for Mac OS X.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER MAC OS X SOFTWARE

41

42

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER MAC OS X SOFTWARE

CHAPTER

5 MOTU FireWire Audio Console

OVERVIEW

Accessing the Traveler settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Traveler Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Sample Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Clock Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Default Stereo Input/Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Optical input/output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Phones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Word Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

‘General’ tab settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Enable Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Launch console when hardware becomes available . 48

Edit Channel Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

ACCESSING THE TRAVELER SETTINGS

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

■ Click the MOTU FireWire Audio Console icon

in the dock

■ Press on the MOTU FireWire Audio Console

dock icon to open the menu shown below, or
control-click it to open the menu immediately

■ From within AudioDesk™ or Digital

Perfor mer™, choose Setup menu>Configure Audio

System>Configure Hardware Driver (Note: this

dialog only provides access to basic settings such as

sample rate and clock source. For access to all

settings, use one of the techniques above.)

■ In Cubase SX, open the Device Setup window,

click VST Audiobay and choose MOTU FireWire

Aud io from the Master ASIO Driver menu. Then

click the MOTU FireWire Audio item in the list and

click the Control Panel button as shown below.

■ From the front panel LCD (see chapter 6,

“Traveler Front Panel Operation” (page 51)).

Traveler tab settings

The Traveler tab provides settings that apply to a

specific Traveler interface. If you have several

Tr a v e l e r s (or other MOTU FireWire audio

interfaces) connected, you’ll see a separate tab for

each one.

General tab settings

The General tab provides settings that apply

globally to all connected MOTU FireWire

interfaces.

43

TRAVELER SETTINGS

Sample Rate

Choose the desired Sample Rate for recording and
playback. The Traveler can operate at 44.1 (the
standard rate for compact disc audio), 48, 88.2, 96,

176.4 or 192kHz. Make absolutely sure that all of
the devices connected digitally to the Traveler
match the Traveler’s sample rate. Also make sure
that your Digital Timepiece, MIDI Timepiece AV
or other digital audio synchronizer matches it as
well. At the 4x sample rates (176.4 or 192kHz), all
digital I/O on the Traveler is disabled.

☛ 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.

Operation at 4x sample rates (176.4 or 192kHz)

At the 4x sample rates (176.4 or 192kHz),
operation of the Traveler is restricted, due to the
higher audio bandwidth demands, as follows:

■ All digital I/O is disabled (there is no optical,

TOSLink, S/PDIF or AES/EBU input/output).

■ The Traveler provides 8 channels of analog input

and 8 channels of analog output, simultaneously.

■ The Mix1 input, as described in “Mix1 1-2” on

page 65, is not available.

■ The headphone output can be assigned to any

analog output pair or the Phones setting (as

described in “Phones” on page 48). But at the 4x

sample rates, the Phones output is not available

from the computer. Instead, it is only available as a

destination for the four CueMix DSP mixes. In

other words, it can only take CueMix inputs.

■ The main outs mirror the phones.

Clock Source

The Clock Source determines the digital audio

clock that the Traveler will use as its time base. For

a complete explanation of synchronization issues,

44

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

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

see “Making sync connections” on page 25. The
following sections br iefly discuss each clock source
setting.

Internal

Use the Internal setting when you want the Traveler
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 Traveler system on its internal
clock, and then slave the DAT deck to the Traveler
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
Trave le r’s word cl ock ou tp ut (if your DAT de ck h as
a word clock input).

If you would like help determining if this is the
proper clock setting for your situation, see “Do you
need a synchronizer?” on page 26.

For further details about this setting, see “Syncing

S/PDIF and AES/EBU devices” on page 33.

S/PDIF

The S/PDIF clock source setting refers to the

S/PDIF RCA input jack on the Traveler. This

setting allows the Traveler to slave to another

S/PDIF device.

Use thi s setting whenever you are recording input

from a DAT deck or other S/PDIF device into the

Trave l er. It is not necessary in the opposite

direction (when you are transferring from the

Trave l er to th e DAT machine).

For further details about this setting, see “Syncing

S/PDIF and AES/EBU devices” on page 33.

Wor d C l oc k In

The Wor d C loc k I n setting refers to the Word Clock

In BNC connector on the Traveler rear panel.

Choosing this setting allows the Traveler to slave to

an external word clock source, such as the word

clock output from a digital mixer or another

Tr a v e l e r.

With ADAT devices, 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
Trave l er cl oc k s ource setting to ADAT 9-pin, as
described below.

AES/EBU

The AES/EBU clock source setting refers to the
AES/EBU XLR input jack on the Traveler. This
setting allows the Traveler to slave to another
AES/EBU device.

Use thi s setting whenever you are recording input
from a DAT deck or other AES/EBU device into the
Trave l er. It is not necessary in the opposite
direction (when you are transferring from the
Trave l er to th e DAT machine).

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

ADAT 9-pin

The ADAT 9-pin clock source setting refers to the

ADAT digital audio synchronization format. It

allows the Traveler 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 AudioDesk and Digital

Perfor mer to transfer audio to and from ADAT-

sync compatible recorders without drifting by as

much as one sample.

Use thi s setting when you are using the Traveler

with one or more ADAT-s yn c c ompatible

recorders. Make sure the Tr a v e le r i s connected to

the end of the ADAT sync chain.

45

Yo u s h o u ld also use this setting if you have a MIDI
Timepiece AV, which allows you to drive your
entire system from the transport controls of
AudioDesk, Digita l Perfor mer or other computer
software.

Yo u c ou ld also use ADAT sync to continuously
resolve the Traveler 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 28, “Sample-accurate ADAT sync
with no synchronizer” on page 29 and “Syncing to
video and/or SMPTE time code using a
synchronizer” on page 31.

ADAT optical

The ADAT optical clock source setting refers to the
clock provided by the Traveler’s optical input,
when it is connected to an ADAT optical device.
This setting can be used to slave the Traveler
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, the re may be occasions when you have an
ADAT optical compatible device that has no way of
synchronizing digitally to the Traveler or an
external synchronizer such as the Digital
Timepiece. In this case, the ADAT Optical clock
source setting lets you slave the Traveler to the
device itself via its digital input to the Traveler.

If the ADAT Optical setting does not appear in the
menu, it means that the Traveler’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 44).

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 32.

TOSLink

The TOSLink clock source setting refers to the

clock provided an optical S/PDIF device connected

to the Traveler’s optical input. This setting can be

used to slave the Traveler 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 TOSLink-

compatible device that has no way of

synchronizing digitally to the Traveler or an

external synchronizer such as the Digital

Timepiece. In this case, the TOSLink clock source

setting lets you slave the Traveler to the other

device via the Traveler’s optical input.

If the TOSLink setting does not appear in the

menu, it means that the Traveler’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 44).

This setting is also useful if you just need to make a

simple, click-free digital transfer between the

Trave l er an d a no ther 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 32.

This setting is also useful if you just need to make a
simple, click-free digital transfer between the
Trave l er an d a no ther device — where a time code

46

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

SMPTE

Choose this setting to resolve the Traveler directly
to SMPTE time code (LTC) being received via any
analog input on the Traveler. For details, see
“Syncing to SMPTE time code” on page 30 and
chapter 12, “FireWire SMPTE Console” (page 87).

Macintosh built-in

Choose this setting to resolve the Traveler to your
Mac’s built-in audio. Doing so will ensure that
audio streams playing back from or recorded by
the Traveler will not drift apart from audio streams
simultaneously played or recorded by the Mac’s
built-in mic, speakers or audio output. For
complete details, see “Resolving to other Core
audio drivers” on page 36.

Other audio devices (drivers)

The MOTU FireWire Audio Drive r has the ability
to resolve to other Core Audio drivers. Doing so
will ensure that audio stream s playing back from or
recorded by the Traveler will not drift apart from
audio streams simultaneously played or recorded
by the other devices. For complete details, see
“Resolving to other Core audio drivers” on
page 36.

Default Stereo Input/Output

In the System Preferences window, Mac OS X lets
you choose third-party hardware such as the
Trave l er fo r yo u r M a ci ntosh sound input and
output. The system input and output can be used
for alert sounds and general audio I/O for
applications like iTunes, iMovie, etc.

Figure 5-2: The Mac OS X sound preferences let you use the Traveler

for general stereo audio input and output for your Mac.

The Default Stereo Input and Default Stereo Output

settings in the MOTU FireWire Console

(Figure 5-1 on page 44) let you specify the stereo

input and output on the Traveler to be used when it

is chosen as the audio I/O device in the system

preferences.

☛ Note: The Default Stereo Input/Output

settings have the following system software

requirements:

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

■ Mac OS X 10.2.x together with QuickTime 6.4

OR

■ Mac OS X 10.3 (aka Panther) or later

47

If your Macintosh system software does not meet
these minimum requirements, the Default Stereo
Input/Output options do not appear in the MOTU
FireWire Console window.

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
Trave l er ’s o pt ic al 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 S/PDIF jack is disabled.

Phones

The Phones setting lets you choose what you will
hear from the headphone jack. Choose Analog 1-2
if you’d like the headphone output to match the
main outs. Choose Phones 1-2 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 and
as an output destination for the four on-board
CueMix DSP mix busses.

At the 4x sample rates (176.4 and 192kHz), the
headphone output can be assigned to any analog
output pair or the Phones 1-2 setting, as described
above. But at the 4x sample rates, the Phones
output is not available as an output destination for
software on the computer. Instead, it is only

available as a destination for the two CueMix DSP

mixes. In other words, it can only take CueMix

inputs.

Word Out

If you are running a Traveler interface at a high

sample rate (88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192kHz), the Wo r d

Out menu appears in the interface tab (as shown in

Figure 5-1 on page 44). This menu lets you choose

a word clock output rate that either matches the

global sample rate (e.g. 176.4 or 192kHz) or

reduces the word clock output to the

corresponding 1x rate (either 44.1 or 48kHz). For

example, if the Traveler is operating at 176.4kHz,

choose Force 44.1/48kHz to produce word clock

output at 44.1kHz.

To m atc h the Traveler’s sample rate, choose System

Clock. To reduce the word clock rate to the

corresponding 1x rate, choose Force 44.1/48kHz.

‘GENERAL’ TAB SETTINGS

Enable Pedal

This setting applies to other MOTU FireWire audio

interfaces, but it does not apply to the Traveler.

Launch console when hardware becomes

available

Check this option if you would like the MOTU

FireWire Audio Console icon to appear in the

application dock as soon as a MOTU FireWire

interface is detected (switched on, plugged in, etc.)

Edit Channel Names

Click the Edit Channel Names button to open the

Channel Names window (Figure 5-3). This

window lets you edit the names of the Traveler

inputs and outputs, as they appear in your host

audio software. For example, when you click on a

menu that displays the Traveler inputs (or outputs),

you will see the names you specify in this window

(e.g. “vocal mic”, “lead guitar”, etc.), instead of the

default generic names (“Analog 1”, “Analog 2”,

etc.)

48

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

There are several conditions for your custom
channel names to appear in your Mac OS X audio
software. First, your software must support Mac
OS X’s port naming features. Secondly, this feature
has the following system software requirements:

■ Mac OS X 10.2.x together with QuickTime 6.4

OR

■ Mac OS X 10.3 (aka Panther) or later

If your Macintosh system software does not meet
these minimum requirements, the Default Stereo
Input/Output options do not appear in the MOTU
FireWire Console window, and you’ll see generic
port names in your host audio software.

Figure 5-4: Traveler channel names as they appear in Digital

Perfo rmer.

Figure 5-3: The Edit Channel Names window.

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

49

50

MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

CHAPTER

6 Traveler Front Panel Operation

OVERVIEW

The Traveler offers complete front-panel
programming via six rotary encoders and a 2x16
backlit LCD display. All Traveler settings can be
accessed via these front-panel controls.

Push-button rotary encoders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Multi-function LCD display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

VOLUME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

SETUP / SELECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

MIX BUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

PAR AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

CURSOR / VALUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Stand-alone operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

PUSH-BUTTON ROTARY ENCODERS

All of the knobs shown in Figure 6-1 are push-

button 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 Traveler

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 MIX/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 8 analog inputs and

AES/EBU digital input.

Use the CURSOR knob

to scroll to a channel

and use VALUE to

change its setting.

Figure 6-1: The Traveler 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 8 optical
inputs. and S/PDIF input

51

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 52.

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 Traveler mix being shown in the
display, as demonstrated in Figure 6-1 on page 51.

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 the section called “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 MIX/SETUP 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 Traveler’s four mixes, and the
VA LU E k no b c ha n g e s t h e setting. The setup
settings are briefly explained below.

Clock source

This sets the global clock source for the Traveler
and is the same as the Clock Source setting in the
MOTU FireWire Audio Console as explained in
“Clock Source” on page 44. If the Traveler 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
Trave l er fr om th e c om p ut er to change the Clock
Source from the front panel.

Word Clock Out

If you are running a Traveler interface at a high
sample rate (88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192kHz), the Wo r d
Clock Out setting lets you choose a word clock
output rate that either matches the global sample
rate (e.g. 176.4 or 192kHz) or reduces the word
clock output to the corresponding 1x rate (either

44.1 or 48kHz). To match the Traveler’s sample
rate, choose Follows System. To re duce the word
clock rate to the corresponding 1x rate, choose
Force 44/48.

52

TRAVELER FRONT PANEL OPERATION

Fader View Time

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
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
Trave l er ’s o pt ic al 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 48. To change the setting, turn the
SELECT knob, and then push it to confirm your
choice.

Bus output

The Bus Output setting lets you choose the Traveler
output pair for each of the four CueMix DSP mix
busses. Turn the SELECT knob to choose a bus.
Tur n t he VALU E k nob 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.

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 center, etc.

Copy Bus Mix

Copy Bus Mix let s yo u cop y al l of th e se ttin gs f or the
currently displayed mix. Turn the SELECT knob to
choose a mix. Push the SELECT knob to copy it.
Yo u c a n 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.

Save/Name Preset

The Save/Name Preset setting lets you name and
save up to sixteen separate Traveler 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

Turn the VALUE knob

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 48.

TRAVELER FRONT PANEL OPERATION

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

Push the VALUE knob repeat­edly

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

53

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.

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 Traveler
factory settings. Push SELECT to initiate the
operation, and then when the LCD asks “Are you
sure?”, push VALUE to execute it.

MIX BUS

The Traveler 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 Traveler 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.

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

54

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 51). Turn the MIX BUS knob to
change the output level for the mix.

TRAVELER FRONT PANEL OPERATION

PA RA M

When the LCD display is in mixer mode, the
PAR AM kno b cycl e s t hrough 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 no b t o c h 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 0 This setting applies universally

Pair “[ ]” 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 5-8. Push the VALUE knob to
toggle between a +4dB reference
level (down) and a -10dB reference
level (up). Or turn the knob to toggle.

across ALL mix busses for analog
inputs 5-8. Push the VALUE knob to
toggle between a +6dB software
boost (+) and no boost (0). Or turn
the knob to toggle.

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 Traveler’s memory, and
they remain in effect even when the Traveler is not
connected to a computer. This allows you to use the
Trave l er as a s tand -a lo ne 8-bus mixer. You can
make adjustments to any setting at any time from
the front panel.

TRAVELER FRONT PANEL OPERATION

55

56

TRAVELER FRONT PANEL OPERATION

CHAPTER

7 Digital Performer

OVERVIEW

This chapter provides a brief overview of Digital
Perfor mer’s basic I/O and synchronization
operation with the Tr a v e l e r hardware.

Setting up your system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

The Traveler settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Be sure you have enough voices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Tri mming the mic/instrument inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Working with Traveler inputs and outputs . . . . . . . . . . . 59

24-bit operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Fine-tuning I/O timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

MIDI Machine Control (MMC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

MIDI I/O via the Traveler MIDI ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Processing live inputs with plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Exchanging projects with AudioDesk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

SETTING UP YOUR SYSTEM

As described in chapter 4, “Installing the Traveler
Mac OS X Software” (page 39), the Digital
Per former and MOTU Traveler software installers
will properly install and update everything for you.

If you are using a MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital
Timepiece for synchronization, be sure they are
present in Audio MIDI setup.

THE TRAVELER SETTINGS

Choose the Traveler as your audio input output
device by choosing Configure Audio
System>Configure Hardware Dr iver from the Setup
menu. This window shows some of the Traveler
settings, such as sample rate and clock source, but
to access all of the Traveler settings, open the
MOTU FireWire Audio Console, as shown in
Figure 5-1 on page 44.

Figure 7-1: Choose Setup menu> Configure Audio System> Configure
Hardware Driver to open the dialog shown above and access the
Traveler Core Audio driver. To access the rest of the Traveler settings,
open the MOTU FireWire Audio Console.

For complete details about the Traveler sett ings, see
chapter 5, “MOTU FireWire Audio Console”
(page 43). The following sections provide a brief
explanation of each Traveler setting for use with
Digital Performer.

57

Sample rate

Choose the desired overall sample rate for the
Trave l er sy st em and Digital Performer. Newly
recorded audio in Digital Performer will have this
sample rate. Imported audio or soundbites in
existing files that do not match this sample r ate wi ll
be displayed in the Soundbites window with a red
‘X’ on its move handle to indicate that it cannot be
played.

Before running the Traveler at the 4x sample rates,
see “Operation at 4x sample rates (176.4 or
192kHz)” on page 44.

microphones, and so on connected to the analog
inputs of the Traveler. If so, you will often be
mixing their live input with audio material
recorded in Digital Performer. See chapter 10,
“Reducing Monitoring Latency” (page 73) for
complete details.

Optical input and output

To m ak e a Tr a v el e r opt ica l input or out put ava ilabl e
in Digital Performer, 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.

Clock Source

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

If you do not have any digital audio connections to
your Traveler (you are using the analog inputs and
outputs only), and you will not be slaving Digital
Perfor mer to external SMPTE time code, choose
Inter nal.

If you are slaving the Traveler to the ADAT sync
Input connector, cho ose ADAT 9-pin.

If you are slaving the Traveler and Digital
Perfor mer to SMPTE time code via the Traveler
itself, choose SMPTE and follow the directions in
“Syncing to SMPTE time code” on page 30.

If you have digital audio devices connected to the
Trave l er, o r i f you a re not sure about the clock
source of your setup, be sure to read “Making sync
connections” on page 25 and “Clock Source” on
page 44.

Buffer Size

The Buffer Size setting can be used to reduce the
delay — or monitoring latency — that you hear
when live audio is patched through your Traveler
hardware and Digital Performer. For example, you
might have MIDI instruments, samplers,

58

Phones

This Traveler setting lets you choose what you’ll
hear from the headphone jack. For example, if you
choose Analog 1-2, the headphones will duplicate
the main outs. Or you can choose any other output
pair. If you choose Phones 1-2, this setting makes
the headphone jack serve as its own independent
output pair (except when running at 176.4 or
192kHz). As a result, you’ll see Phones 1-2 as an
additional audio destination in Digital Performer’s
audio output menus.

BE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH VOICES

Go to the Setup menu and choose Configure Audio
System>Configure Studio Size. Then check to make

sure you have enough mono and stereo audio
voices to cover the 20 channels of input and 22
channels of output provided by your Traveler —
although the number of channels may depend on
how your Traveler is configured:

■ 10 channels for analog I/O (including the

headphone out)

■ 2 channels for RCA S/PDIF

■ 2 channels for AES/EBU

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

whether you have optical turned off, or set to
TOSLink or ADAT optical

DIGITAL PERFORMER

For example, if you are using analog only, you only
need 10 channels. If you are using analog and RCA
S/PDIF, you need 12 channels.

assigned to this output pair will be heard on the
headphone jack only. For further explanation, see
“Phones” on page 48.

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

TRI MMING THE MIC/INSTRUMENT INPUTS

The Traveler mic/instrument inputs provide trim
knobs on the front panel. To calibrate an audio
input:

1 Record-enable a track in Digital Performer.

2 Choose the desired Traveler mic input for the

track.

3 Open the Audio Monitor window.

4 As you feed signal to the input, adjust the input’s

corresponding trim knob on the front panel of the
Tr av el er u nt il peaks in the level meter are as high as
possible without clipping (hitting zero dB).

WORKING WITH TRAVELER INPUTS AND
OUTPUTS

Once you’ve enabled the MOTU FireWire Audio
driver as explained earlier in “The Traveler
settings” on page 57, Traveler audio inputs and
outputs will appear in Digital Performer’s audio
input and output menus. If you don’t see the optical
inputs and/or outputs, check the MOTU FireWire
Audio Console to ma ke sure they 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.

Phones 1-2

If you’ve chosen to treat the Traveler headphones as
an independent output, you’ll see Phones 1-2 in
Digital Performer’s output menus. Audio tracks

Mix1 1-2

In Digital Performer’s audio input menus, you’ll see
a Traveler 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 Traveler) back to your
computer. This input serves, for example, as a
convenient way for you to record the Traveler’s
MIX1 monitor mix back into Digital Performer
(for reference and archiving purposes). Further, if
you are sending audio from Digital Performer 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 Digital
Perfor mer. For details on how to do this, see “Mix1
Return Includes Computer” on page 84.

The Mix1 1-2 input is not available at the 4x sample
rates (176.4 or 192kHz).

☛ War ni n g: th e Mi x1 1-2 input can cause

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

24-BIT OPERATION

Yo ur Tr av el er h ardware fully supports Digital
Per former’s 24-bit recording capabilities, including
both analog and digital 24-bit recording. If you
would like to record and play back 24-bit audio
files, go to the Setup menu, choose Configure Audio
System>Configure Sample Format, and choose
24-bit recording as the sample format. This setting
is saved with the Digital Performer project.

FINE-TUNING I/O TIMING

The Traveler has the ability to be sample accurate.
This means that when you transfer audio between
Digital Performer and an ADAT (or other ADAT­sync compatible recorder), for example, you can

DIGITAL PERFORMER

59

record the audio back and forth as many times as
you want between them and it will remain exactly
at its original sample location (unless you move it
in Digital Performer, of course).

Occasionally, you may encounter a situation in
which you observe a slight offset of one sample —
or maybe a few — caused by inherent latencies in
the devices you are using with the Traveler. Usually,
these offsets will be consistent, and you can
compensate for them in Digital Performer. To do
so, choose Configure Audio System>Fine-tune
Aud io I /O Timing f rom the Set up m enu as shown i n
Figure 7-2.

Figure 7-2: Fine-tuning the timing of audio playback and recording.

SYNCHRONIZATION

Digital Performer can run under its own transport
control or slave to an external sync source, such as
SMPTE time code or ADAT sync (sample address).

Running DP under its own transport control

If you do not need to synchronize Digital
Perfor mer with time code or another recording
device, such as a tape deck, just leave the Slave to
External Sync command in the Studio menu
unchecked.

make sure that their audio clocks are phase-locked.
For details, see “Syncing optical devices” on
page 32 and “Making sync connections” on
page 25. If you don’t have any digital audio devices
connected to the Traveler, digital audio phase-lock
does not apply to you.

Resolving DP and the Traveler to SMPTE time
code

If you need to slave Digital Performer and the
Trave l er to SMPTE time code, you can do so with
or without a dedicated synchronizer.

Resolving directly to time code (with no
synchronizer)

To r es o lve yo ur D ig it a l Pe rformer/Traveler system
directly to SMPTE time code with no additional
synchronization devices, use the setup shown in
“Syncing to SMPTE time code” on page 30.

Choose Receive Sync from the Setup menu and
choose the Sample accurate option. Then make
sure that the Slave to External Sync command in the
Studio menu is checked. 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 to a
Tr av el e r a n al og i nput, and that you’ve specified t hat
input in the SMPTE Console.

Resolving to video and/or time code with a
dedicated synchronizer

To r es o lve yo ur D ig it a l Pe rformer/Traveler system
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 31.

However, even though Digital Performer is not
slaving to external sync, you still need to be
concerned with the synchronization of the
Trave l er ’s d ig ita l au di o c lo ck with ot he r d ev ices
connected to it digitally (if any). For example, if
you have a digital mixer connected to the Traveler
via an ADAT optical lightpipe cable, you need to

60

Choose Receive Sync from the Setup menu and
choose the MTC (MIDI Time Code) option. Then
make sure that the Slave to External Sync command
in the Studio menu is checked. To ensure that your
audio tracks don’t drift out of sync with your MIDI
tracks — or time code, use a hardware
synchronizer like the MIDI Timepiece AV or

DIGITAL PERFORMER

Digital Timepiece to resolve the Traveler hardware
as well, as shown in Figure 3-17 on page 31. 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 Traveler to the synchronizer. For
example, in Figure 3-17 on page 31, word clock is
being used to resolve the Traveler, so the Clock
Source setting is Word Cl ock In.

☛ If you have an ADAT sync compatible device,

don’t use SMPTE time code. Instead, use sample­accurate sync as described in the next section.

Sample-accurate sync to ADAT and Tascam

To g et h er, Di gi tal Pe rf or mer and the Traveler
provide you with sample-accurate 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, Digital Performer and a Traveler can
perform sample-accurate 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 set up sample-accurate sync,
see “Sample-accurate sync” on page 27. Be sure to
choose the Sample Accurate Sync option in Digital
Per former’s Receive Sync d ial og, an d ma ke su re t hat
the Slave to External Sync command is checked,
too.

To c ont ro l t he t r ansports of everything together
from Digital Performer, see the next section.

MIDI MACHINE CONTROL (MMC)

If you have ADATs an d a M MC -compatible ADAT
synchronizer like the MIDI Timepiece AV or
Digital Timepiece, you can control everything
from your computer screen with Digital
Perfor mer’s transport controls and cueing features
(like Markers, the playback wiper, etc.)

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

See the MIDI Machine Control chapter in your
MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital Timepiece manual
for details on how to set this up.

MIDI I/O VIA THE TRAVELER MIDI PORTS

Once you’ve followed the procedure for enabling
the Traveler’s MIDI features as explained in
“Software installation for Mac OS X” on page 39,
the Traveler MIDI ports will appear as a input
source and output destination in Digital
Perfor mer’s MIDI I/O menus.

PROCESSING LIVE INPUTS WITH PLUG-INS

If you patch a live input (such as MIDI synthesizer)
through a plug-in effect in Digital Performer, you
might hear a slight delay. There are several ways to
reduce this delay. F or d e t ai l s , see chapter 10,
“Reducing Monitoring Latency” (page 73).

EXCHANGING PROJECTS WITH AUDIODESK

DP4 can exchange projects with AudioDesk. To
open an AudioDesk project in Digital Performer,
open it in same way you would a DP project. To
export a project to AudioDesk, use DP4’s Save As
command and choose the AudioDesk 2.0 file
format.

DIGITAL PERFORMER

61

62

DIGITAL PERFORMER

CHAPTER

8 AudioDesk

OVERVIEW

This chapter provides a brief overview of
AudioDesk’s basic I/O and synchronization
operation with the Traveler. For complete
information about all of AudioDesk’s powerful
workstation features, see the AudioDesk manual
included with your Traveler.

Setting up your system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

The Traveler settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Be sure you have enough voices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Tri mming the mic/instrument inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Working with Traveler inputs and outputs . . . . . . . . . . . 65

24-bit operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Fine-tuning I/O timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

MIDI Machine Control (MMC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

MIDI I/O via the Traveler MIDI ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Processing live inputs through plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Exchanging projects with Digital performer . . . . . . . . . 67

AudioDesk and MIDI sequencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

SETTING UP YOUR SYSTEM

As described in chapter 4, “Installing the Traveler
Mac OS X Software” (page 39), the MOTU
FireWire Audio software installer will properly
install everything for you, including AudioDesk.

to access all of the Traveler settings, open the
MOTU FireWire Audio Console, as shown in
Figure 5-1 on page 44.

If you are using a MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital
Timepiece for synchronization, be sure they are
present in Audio MIDI setup.

THE TRAVELER SETTINGS

Choose the Traveler as your audio input output
device by choosing Configure Audio
System>Configure Hardware Dr iver from the Setup
menu. This window shows some of the Traveler
settings, such as sample rate and clock source, but

Figure 8-1: Choose Setup menu> Configure Audio System> Configure
Hardware Driver to open the dialog shown above and access the
Traveler Core Audio driver. To access the rest of the Traveler settings,
open the MOTU FireWire Audio Console.

For complete details about the Traveler sett ings, see
chapter 5, “MOTU FireWire Audio Console”
(page 43). The following sections provide a brief
explanation of each Traveler setting for use with
Aud ioD esk.

63

Sample rate

Choose the desired overall sample rate for the
Trave l er sy st em and AudioDesk. Newly recorded
audio in AudioDesk will have this sample rate.
Imported audio or soundbites in existing files that
do not match this sample rate will be displayed in
the Soundbites window with a red ‘X’ on its move
handle to indicate that it cannot be played.

Before running the Traveler at the 4x sample rates,
see “Operation at 4x sample rates (176.4 or
192kHz)” on page 44.

Clock Source

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

If you do not have any digital audio connections to
your Traveler (you are using the analog inputs and
outputs only), and you will not be slaving
AudioDesk to external SMPTE time code, choose
Inter nal.

If you are slaving the Traveler to the ADAT sync
Input connector, cho ose ADAT 9-pin.

If you are slaving the Traveler and AudioDesk to
SMPTE time code via the Traveler itself, choose
SMPTE and follow the directions in “Syncing to
SMPTE time code” on page 30.

Trave l er. I f so, you w il l of ten be mixing their live
input with audio material recorded in AudioDesk.
See chapter 10, “Reducing Monitoring Latency”
(page 73) for complete details.

Optical input and output

To m ak e a Tr a v el e r opt ica l input or out put ava ilabl e
in AudioDesk, 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 Traveler setting lets you choose what you’ll
hear from the headphone jack. For example, if you
choose Analog 1-2, 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 AudioDesk’s audio
output menus.

BE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH VOICES

Go to the Setup menu and choose Configure Audio
System>Configure Studio Size. Then check to make

sure you have enough mono and stereo audio
voices to cover the 20 channels of input and 22
channels of output provided by your Traveler —
although the number of channels may depend on
how your Traveler is configured:

If you have digital audio devices connected to the
Trave l er, o r i f you a re not sure about the clock
source of your setup, be sure to read “Making sync
connections” on page 25 and “Clock Source” on
page 44.

Buffer Size

The Buffer Size setting can be used to reduce the
delay — or monitoring latency — that you hear
when live audio is patched through your Traveler
hardware and AudioDesk. For example, you might
have MIDI instruments, samplers, microphones,
and so on connected to the analog inputs of the

64

■ 10 channels for analog I/O (including the

headphone out)

■ 2 channels for RCA S/PDIF

■ 2 channels for AES/EBU

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

whether you have optical turned off, or set to
TOSLink or ADAT optical

For example, if you are using analog only, you only
need 10 channels. If you are using analog and RCA
S/PDIF, you need 12 channels.

AUDIODESK

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

TRI MMING THE MIC/INSTRUMENT INPUTS

The Traveler mic/instrument inputs provide trim
knobs on the front panel. To calibrate an audio
input:

1 Record-enable a track in AudioDesk.

2 Choose the desired Traveler mic input for the

track.

3 Open the Audio Monitor window.

4 As you feed signal to the input, adjust the input’s

corresponding trim knob on the front panel of the
Tr av el er u nt il peaks in the level meter are as high as
possible without clipping (hitting zero dB).

WORKING WITH TRAVELER INPUTS AND
OUTPUTS

Once you’ve enabled the MOTU FireWire Audio
driver as explained earlier in “The Traveler
settings” on page 63, Traveler audio inputs and
outputs w ill appear i n AudioDesk’s audio input and
output menus. 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 require. If you don’t plan to use the
optical input or output, turn it off to conserve
computer bandwidth.

Phones 1-2

If you’ve chosen to treat the Traveler headphones as
an independent output, you’ll see Phones 1-2 in
AudioDesk’s output menus. Audio tracks assigned
to this output pair will be heard on the headphone
jack only. For further explanation, see “Phones” on
page 64.

Mix1 1-2

In AudioDesk’s audio input menus, you’ll see a
Trave l er in put 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 Traveler) back to your
computer. This input serves, for example, as a
convenient way for you to record the Traveler’s
MIX1 monitor mix back into AudioDesk (for
reference and archiving purposes). Further, if you
are sending audio from Aud ioD esk 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 AudioDesk. For
details on how to do this, see “Mix1 Return
Includes Computer” on page 84.

The Mix1 1-2 input is not available at the 4x sample
rates (176.4 or 192kHz).

☛ War ni n g: th e Mi x1 1-2 input can cause

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

24-BIT OPERATION

Yo u r Tr a ve l e r h a rdware fully suppor ts AudioDesk’s
24-bit recording capabilities, including both
analog and digital 24-bit recording. If you would
like to record and play back 24-bit audio files, go to
the Setup menu, choose Configure Audio
System>Configure Sample Format, and choose
24-bit recording as the sample format. This setting
is saved with the AudioDesk project.

FINE-TUNING I/O TIMING

The Traveler has the ability to be sample accurate.
This means that when you transfer audio between
AudioDesk and an ADAT (or other ADAT-sync
compatible recorder), for example, you can record
the audio back and forth as many times as you want
between them and it will remain exactly at its
original sample location (unless you move it in
AudioDesk, of course).

AUDIODESK

65

Occasionally, you may encounter a situation in
which you observe a slight offset of one sample —
or maybe a few — caused by inherent latencies in
the devices you are using with the Traveler. Usually,
these offsets will be consistent, and you can
compensate for them in Aud ioD esk . To do s o ,
choose Configure Audio System>Fine-tune Audio I/
O Timing from the Setup menu as shown in
Figure 8-2.

Figure 8-2: Fine-tuning the timing of audio playback and recording.

SYNCHRONIZATION

AudioDesk can run under its own transport
control or slave to an external sync source, such as
SMPTE time code or ADAT sync (sample address).

Running AudioDesk under its own transport
control

If you do not need to synchronize AudioDesk with
time code or another recording device, such as a
tape deck, just leave the Slave to External Sync
command in the Studio menu unchecked.

However, even though AudioDesk is not slaving to
external sync, you still need to be concerned with
the synchronization of the Traveler’s digital audio
clock with other devices connected to it digitally (if
any). For example, if you have a digital mixer
connected to the Traveler 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 32 and “Making
sync connections” on page 25. If you don’t have any
digital audio devices connected to the Traveler,
digital audio phase-lock does not apply to you.

66

Resolving AudioDesk and the Traveler to
SMPTE time code

If you need to slave AudioDesk and the Traveler to
SMPTE time code, you can do so with or without a
dedicated synchronizer.

Resolving directly to time code (with no
synchronizer)

To r es o lve yo ur Au d io D esk/Traveler system
directly to SMPTE time code with no additional
synchronization devices, use the setup shown in
“Syncing to SMPTE time code” on page 30.

Choose Receive Sync from the Setup menu and
choose the Sample accurate option. Then make
sure that the Slave to External Sync command in the
Studio menu is checked. 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 to a
Tr av el e r a n al og i nput, and that you’ve specified t hat
input in the SMPTE Console.

Resolving to video and/or time code with a
dedicated synchronizer

To r es o lve yo ur Au d io D es k/Traveler system 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 31.

Choose Receive Sync from the Setup menu and
choose the MTC (MIDI Time Code) option. Then
make sure that the Slave to External Sync command
in the Studio menu is checked. To ensure that your
audio tracks don’t drift out of sync with your MIDI
tracks — or time code, use a hardware
synchronizer like the MIDI Timepiece AV or
Digital Timepiece to resolve the Traveler hardware
as well, as shown in Figure 3-17 on page 31. 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 Traveler to the synchronizer. For

AUDIODESK

example, in Figure 3-17 on page 31, word clock is
being used to resolve the Traveler, so the Clock
Source setting is Word Cl ock In.

☛ If you have an ADAT sync compatible device,

don’t use SMPTE time code. Instead, use sample­accurate sync as described in the next section.

Sample-accurate sync to ADAT and Tascam

To g et h er, Au di oD es k an d t he Traveler provide you
with sample-accurate 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
Time piece, AudioDesk and a Traveler can perform
sample-accurate 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 set up sample-accurate sync,
see “Sample-accurate sync” on page 27. Be sure to
choose the Sample Accurate Sync option in
Aud ioD esk’s Receive Sync dialog, and make sure
that the Slave to External Sync command is
checked, too.

To c ont ro l t he t r ansports of everything together
from AudioDesk, see the next section.

MIDI MACHINE CONTROL (MMC)

If you have ADATs an d a M MC -compatible ADAT
synchronizer like the MIDI Timepiece AV or
Digital Timepiece, you can control everything
from your computer screen with AudioDesk’s
transport controls and cueing features (like
Markers, the playback wiper, etc.)

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

See the MIDI Machine Control chapter in your
MIDI Timepiece AV or Digital Timepiece manual
for details on how to set this up.

MIDI I/O VIA THE TRAVELER MIDI PORTS

Once you’ve followed the procedure for enabling
the Traveler’s MIDI features as explained in
“Software installation for Mac OS X” on page 39,
the Traveler MIDI ports will appear as a input
source and output destination in AudioDesk’s
MIDI I/O menus.

PROCESSING LIVE INPUTS THROUGH
PLUG-INS

If you patch a live input (such as MIDI synthesizer)
through a plug-in effect in AudioDesk, you might
hear a slight delay. There are several ways to reduce
this delay. For details, see chapter 10, “Reducing
Monitoring Latency” (page 73).

EXCHANGING PROJECTS WITH DIGITAL
PERFORMER

To op e n Au d io De sk Ve r s i o n 2 (or Version 1) files in
DP4, just use DP4’s Open command. (No
conversion is required beforehand in AudioDesk.)
To e xp or t a Di git al Performer project to
AudioDesk, use Save As in Digital Performer’s File
menu and choose the AudioDesk 2.0 file format.
Then open the resulting AudioDesk 2.0 document
in AudioDesk.

AUDIODESK AND MIDI SEQUENCING

AudioDesk can play audio as a background
application, allowing you to run a sequencer at the
same time in the foreground. However, there is no
way to continuously synchronize — or resolve — a
sequencer with AudioDesk, so the two programs
will eventually drift out of sync, even if you manage

AUDIODESK

67

to start them at the same time. If you’d like to do
integrated MIDI sequencing, your best bet is
Digital Performer, which offers pretty much all of
the same features as AudioDesk, along with
powerful, state-of-the-art MIDI sequencing. Talk
to your authorized MOTU dealer for details about
upgrading from AudioDesk to Digital Performer.

68

AUDIODESK

CHAPTER

9 Logic and Other Mac OS X Software

OVERVIEW

The Traveler provides multichannel audio and
MIDI input and output for Apple’s Logic, Logic
Express and all Mac OS X audio applications. This
chapter covers third-party audio applications. For
information about running Digital Performer or
AudioDesk under Mac OS X, refer to chapter 7,
“Digital Performer” (page 57) or chapter 8,
“A u d i o D e s k ” (page 63).

Installing the Traveler Mac OS X drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Preparing MIDI input and output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Run the MOTU FireWire Audio Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Choosing the MOTU FireWire Core Audio driver . . . . . 70

Audio Input and output names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Number of channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Processing live inputs with plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Figure 9-1: The MOTU FireWire Audio Console.

INSTALLING THE TRAVELER MAC OS X
DRIVERS

To i ns ta l l t he Tra v ele r’s Mac OS X audio and MIDI
drivers, just run the installer on the MOTU
FireWire Audio installer CD as detailed in
chapter 4, “Installing the Traveler Mac OS X
Software” (page 39).

PREPARING MIDI INPUT AND OUTPUT

If you will be using the Traveler’s MIDI input and
output ports, be sure to follow the procedures in
“CoreMIDI and Audio MIDI Setup” on page 40.

RUN THE MOTU FIREWIRE AUDIO CONSOLE

Before you run your host audio software, launch
the MOTU FireWire Audio Console to configure
your Traveler hardware. The MOTU FireWire
Audio Console lets you configure your audio
interface.

For complete details about the Traveler sett ings, see
chapter 5, “MOTU FireWire Audio Console”
(page 43). The following sections provide a brief
explanation of each Traveler setting for use with
Logic and other Mac OS X audio software.

Sample rate

Choose the desired overall sample rate for the
Trave l er sy st em and your host audio software.
Newly recorded audio will have this sample rate.

Before running the Traveler at the 4x sample rates,
see “Operation at 4x sample rates (176.4 or
192kHz)” on page 44.

Clock Source

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

69

If you do not have any digital audio connections to
your Traveler (you are using the analog inputs and
outputs only), and you will not be slaving your host
software to external SMPTE time code, choose
Inter nal.

If you wish to slave the Traveler to the ADAT sync
Input connector, cho ose ADAT 9-pin. Note that
this port will only work properly as a clock source
for Mac OS X audio applications that support
sample-accurate sync (such as AudioDesk and
Digital Performer).

If you have digital audio devices connected to the
Trave l er, o r i f you a re not sure about the clock
source of your setup, be sure to read “Making sync
connections” on page 25 and “Clock Source” on
page 44.

Optical input and output

To m ak e a Tr a v el e r opt ica l input or out put ava ilabl e
in your host software, 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.

There will be a menu there that lets you choose
among various drivers that may be in your system.
Choose the MOTU Traveler from this menu.

Logic Audio

In Logic audio, go to the Preferences window, click
the Audio icon click the Drivers tab and click the

Core Audio tab as shown below. Choose the MOTU
Tr av e l e r from the Driver menu. For information

about the I/O Buffer Size setting, see “Adjusting the
audio I/O buffer” on page 75.

Phones

This Traveler 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 your host audio
software’s audio output menus.

CHOOSING THE MOTU FIREWIRE CORE
AUDIO 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 Traveler Core
Audio driver. Check the audio system or audio
hardware configuration window in your software.

70

Figure 9-2: Enabling the Traveler in Logic Audio.

Cubase SX and Nuendo

Go to the Devices menu and choose Device Setup.
Choose the Traveler Core Audio driver from the
“A SI O D ri ve r” m en u a s s h own below. Activate the
inputs and outputs within Cubase or Nuendo as
usual. For information about the Audio Buffer Size
setting, see “Adjusting the audio I/O buffer” on
page 75.

LOGIC AND OTHER MAC OS X SOFTWARE

Most programs will likely address this issue in
future updates. In the meantime, here is how you
can identify each input and output. Inputs are
always listed in the same order as follows:

Figure 9-3: Enabling the Traveler audio driver in Cubase SX.

Other audio software

For other audio applications, the procedure is
similar to that shown above for Cubase and Logic.
Consult your owner’s manual for further
information.

AUDIO INPUT AND OUTPUT NAMES

The Traveler Core Audio driver supplies text string
labels for its inputs and outputs to clearly identify
each one, but some applications do not display
these labels. For example, in Cubase SX, the
Trave l er ou t pu ts ar e numbered like this:

Input Channels

Analog 8 1-8 -

AES/EBU 2 9-10

SPDIF 2 11-12 -

Mix1 2 13-14 See “The ‘Mix1’

ADAT 8 @ 44.1/48kHz

4 @ 88.2/96kHz

position Comment

input pair” below.

15-22
15-18

If the optical bank is
set to TOSLink or
None, then no
ADAT inputs are
displayed.

Outputs are similarly listed in the same order as
follows:

List

Output Channels

Analog 8 1-8 -

AES/EBU 2 9-10 -

SPDIF 2 11-12 -

Phones 2 13-14 If the phones are

List
position Comment

assigned to mirror
another output pair
(such as the main
outs), they won’t be
listed separately.

Figure 9-4: Some applications number the Traveler inputs and
outputs, but don’t display which outputs they refer to.

LOGIC AND OTHER MAC OS X SOFTWARE

ADAT 8 @ 44.1/48kHz

4 @ 88.2/96kHz

15-22
15-18

If the phones are mir­roring, then subtract

2. If the optical bank is
set to TOSLink or
None, then no ADAT
outputs are displayed.

As an example, the AES/EBU inputs will always be
listed as inputs 9-10. As another example, ADAT
output channels 1-2 will be listed as channels
15-16, unless the phones are mirroring the main
outs (or another output), in which case ADAT
outputs 1-2 would be listed as channels 13-14.

71

The ‘Mix1’ input pair

The Mix1 input pair delivers the output of CueMix
DSP “MIX1” (the first mix bus of the four on­board no-latency monitor mixes in the Traveler)
back to your computer. This input serves, for
example, as a convenient way for you to record the
Trave l er ’s M IX1 monitor mix back into your host
audio software (for reference and archiving
purposes). Further, if you are sending audio from
your host audio s oftware 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 the computer. For details on how to do
this, see “Mix1 Return Includes Computer” on
page 84.

The Mix1 1-2 input is not available at the 4x sample
rates (176.4 or 192kHz).

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

whether you have optical turned off, or set to
TOSLink or ADAT optical

For example, if you are using analog only, you only
need 10 channels. If you are using analog and RCA
S/PDIF, you need 12 channels.

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

PROCESSING LIVE INPUTS WITH PLUG-INS

If you patch a live input (such as MIDI synthesizer)
through a plug-in effect in your host software, you
might hear a slight delay. There are several ways to
reduce this delay. F or d e t ai l s , see chapter 10,
“Reducing Monitoring Latency” (page 73).

☛ War ni n g: th e Mi x1 inpu t can cause feedback

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

Phones 1-2

If you’ve chosen to treat the Traveler headphones as
an independent output, they appear in your host
software as an independent output pair. Audio
tracks assigned to this output pair will be heard on
the headphone jack only. For further explanation,
see “Phones” on page 48.

NUMBER OF CHANNELS

If your host audio software requires that you
specify the number of audio voices or channels you
will be using, be sure to choose enough channels to
cover the 20 inputs and 22 outputs provided by
your Traveler — although the number of channels
may depend on how your Traveler is configured:

■ 10 channels for analog I/O (including the

headphone out)

■ 2 channels for RCA S/PDIF

SYNCHRONIZATION

As of Version 10.3.6, Mac OS X does not allow
third-party applications to take advantage of the
Trave l er ’s s am pl e-accurate sync features or on­board SMPTE sync features. Refer to
www.motu.com for further developments.
However, if most applications that support exter nal
sync will be able to supports the Traveler’s word
clock sync capabilities. Consult chapter 3,
“Installing the Traveler Hardware” (page 17) and
use the synchronization diagrams in that chapter
to synchronize your software and the Traveler to
the other components of your system.

■ 2 channels for AES/EBU

72

LOGIC AND OTHER MAC OS X SOFTWARE

CHAPTER

10 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 a Traveler
input, passes through the Traveler hardware into
the computer, through your host audio software,
and then back out to a Traveler 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 Traveler’s CueMix DSP feature
to patch the input directly to your monitor outs via
the Traveler audio hardware. This is just like
bussing inputs to outputs in a digital mixer. For
details, see “CueMix DSP hardware monitoring”
on page 77.

If you do need to process a live input with plug-ins,
or if you are playing virtual instruments live
through your Traveler 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.

Monitoring live input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Adjusting the audio I/O buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Lower latency versus higher CPU overhead . . . . . . . . . . 76

Transport responsiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Effects processing and automated mixing . . . . . . . . . . . 77

CueMix DSP hardware monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Two methods for controlling CueMix DSP . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Using CueMix Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Controlling CueMix DSP from your audio software . . 77

It is i mpor tant to note that m onitoring delay h as no
effect on when audio data is recorded to disk or
played back from disk. Actual recording and
playback is extremely precise.

73

MONITORING LIVE INPUT

There are two ways to monitor live audio input
with a Traveler: 1) through the computer or 2) via
CueMix™ DSP hardware monitoring. Figure 10-1
on page 74 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 10-2 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
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 10-1 and Figure 10-2) 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.

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

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).

Mac

Figure 10-1: There are two ways to monitor live audio inputs with a Traveler: 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).

74

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

ADJUSTING THE AUDIO I/O BUFFER

buffer is a small amount of computer memory

used to hold data. For audio interfaces like the
Trave l er, b uf fe rs ar e u sed for the process of
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.

Under Mac OS X, audio I/O buffer size is handled
by the host audio application (not the Traveler
Core Audio driver). Most audio software
applications provide an adjustable audio buffer
setting that lets you control the amount of delay
you’ll hear when monitoring live inputs or
processing them with software plug-ins. Below are
a few examples.

Figure 10-3: In Digit al Per form er and AudioDesk, choose Setup
menu> Configure Audio System> Configure Hardware Driver to open
the dialog shown above and access the Buffer Size setting. Refer to
your Digital Performer or AudioDesk manual for information about
the Host Buffer Multiplier setting.

A

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

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.

Figure 10-2: 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

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).

75

Figure 10-4: In Cubase SX or Nuendo, choose Devices menu> Device
Setup and click VST Multitrack to access the window above and the
Audio Buffer Size setting.

■

How responsive the transport controls are in
AudioDesk, Digita l Performer or other 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.

Figure 10-6: When adjusting the buffer size to reduce monitoring
latency, watch the ‘processor’ meter in Digital Performer or
AudioDesk’s Performance Monitor. If you hear distortion, or if the
Perfo rmance meter is peaking, try raising the buffer size.

Figure 10-5: In Logic Audio, go to the Audio Driver preferences to
access the I/O buffer Size option shown above.

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

■

Possible distort ion at the smallest settings

76

If you are at a point 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).

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.

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

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.

CUEMIX DSP HARDWARE MONITORING

The Traveler has a more direct method of patching
audio through the system. This method is called

CueMix DSP . When enable d, CueMix activates

hardware patch-thru in the Traveler itself. CueMix
DSP has two important benefits:

■

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 Traveler 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).

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 a n e ve n u s e b ot h methods simultaneously.

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 Traveler monitor mixes, or any other
desired routing configurations. These routings are
independent of your host audio software. For
complete details, see chapter 11, “CueMix
Console” (page 79).

Controlling CueMix DSP from your audio
software

Some audio applications 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 a Traveler input directly to an output
when you record-arm a track. Exactly how this is
handled depends on the application.

The following applications are among those that
support direct control over CueMix DSP:

■

Digital Performer

■

Aud ioD esk

CueMix DSP routings that are made via host
applications are made “under the hood”, which
means that you won’t se e t hem in 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.

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

77

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

Controlling CueMix DSP from within AudioDesk
or Digital Performer

To tu r n on CueMix DSP in AudioDesk and Digital
Per former :

From the Setup menu, choose Configure Audio

System>Input Monitoring Mode

Choose the Direct hardware playthrough option,

as shown below in Figure 10-7.

Once enabled, CueMix DSP monitoring is tied
with Digital Performer or AudioDesk’s

Audio Patch

Thru feature: when you record-enable a track, the

track’s input is routed directly to its output (via
CueMix DSP in the Traveler hardware). For
example, if you record-enable a track called

guitar

in your DP or AudioDesk project, and its audio
input assignment is

Analog in 2 , and its audio

output assignment is optical channels 7-8, CueMix
DSP no-latency hardware monitoring will
automatically be set up from analog in 2 to optical
outputs 7-8.

From the Studio menu, choose Audio Monitor ,
and enable Audio Patch Thru (the button with the
headphone icon on it).

Figure 10-7: Enabling CueMix DSP in AudioDesk or Digital Performer.

Controlling CueMix DSP from within other
software

Consult the manual for your software.

1

. 2

3

78

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY

CHAPTER

CueMix Console

11

OVERVIEW

CueMix Console provides access to the flexible
on-board mixing features of the Tr a v e l e r . 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 sof tware.
CueMix allows you to set up four completely
independent mix configurations with the Traveler.
Yo u c a n a ls o s a v e an d 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.

+6dB boost Reference level

Message center

Advantages of CueMix monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

CueMix Console installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Cuemix Console basic operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Working with a mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Copying & pasting (duplicating) entire mixes . . . . . . . . 81

Message center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Preamp gain, pa d, ref erence level and +6dB boost . . . 82

Saving and loading presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Saving and loading presets to/from disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Edit channel names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Tal k back and listenback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Mix1 Return Includes Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Show meter in dock icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Phones menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Control Surfaces menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

CueMix Console examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Preamp gain

Pad

Input name

Input scroll bar

Input mute/solo

Input pan

Input volume

Mix tabs

Input section

Figure 11-1: CueMix Console is a virtual mixer that gives you control over the Traveler’s on-board mixing features.

Solo indicator

Master mute
(enable/disable)

Mix output

Master fader

Output level

Grow box

79

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

■

Trave l er ’s D SP 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 Traveler 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 10, “Reducing Monitoring
Latency” (page 73).

CUEMIX CONSOLE INSTALLATION

CueMix Console is installed with the rest of your

Trave l er so ftwa re .

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 Traveler 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 11-1.
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 preamp gain and
pad for the four mic inputs, and the +4/-10dB
reference level and +6dB software boost for analog
inputs 5-8.

Widening the CueMix Console window

To v ie w mo re input faders at once, drag the grow
box (Figure 11-1) 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

■

80

■

Pan, volume, mute and solo for each input

CUEMIX CONSOLE

These elements are visually grouped together in the
lightly shaded area in the lower half of the CueMix
Console window.

Viewing a mix

To v ie w a m ix, click its tab at the bottom of the
window, as shown in Figure 11-1. The mix name
appears in the tab.

Naming a mix

Double-click the mix name in the tab.

Input volume and pan

Use the input fader and pan knob (Figure 11-1) 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.

To a dju st t he vo lume or panning for a stereo input
pair, hold down the command key while dragging
the fader or knob for either the left or right input.

Master mute

The master mute button (Figure 11-1) temporarily
disables (silences) the mix.

Master fader

The master fader (Figure 11-1) 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 Traveler. Use the input
scroll bar to view additional inputs.

Input mute/solo

To a dd a n 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 command key while clicking either channel.
The Solo indicator LED (Figure 11-1) lights up
when any input is soloed (including inputs that
may currently be scrolled off-screen).

SHORTCUTS

Hold down the following modifier keys as
shortcuts:

Shortcut Result

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

Command key Applies your action to the stereo input pair

Option key 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 a nd p a st e the settings from one mix to
another:

1 Select the source mix (Figure 11-1) and choose
Copy from the file menu (or press command-C).

2 Choose the destination mix and choose Paste
from the file menu (or press command-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
Tr a v e l e r.

CUEMIX CONSOLE

81

PREAMP GAIN, PAD, REFERENCE LEVEL AND
+6DB BOOST

The preamp gain, pad, reference level and +6dB
boost settings at the very top of the CueMix
Console window (Figure 11-1) 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.

Preamp gain

This setting (Figure 11-1) adjusts preamp gain, just
like the four trim knobs on the front panel of the
Tr a v e l e r.

Pad

These buttons (Figure 11-1) toggle the pad for each
mic input. Clicking these buttons is the same as
pushing the trim knobs on the front panel.

Boost

This setting (Figure 11-1) adds 6 dB of gain to the
input signal. This setting is applied globally for the
input.

+4/-10 reference level

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

SAVING AND LOADING PRESETS

As explained earlier in “Save/Name Preset” on
page 53, the Traveler can store up to 16 presets in its
on-board memor y. A preset includes of all CueMix
DSP settings for all four 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 Traveler.

SAVING AND LOADING PRESETS TO/FROM
DISK

The Save and Load commands in the CueMix
Console File menu allow you to save Traveler
presets to and from your hard drive. This allows
you to save an unlimited number of Traveler
presets on disk. (Use the Load Preset and Save
Preset commands to get presets from — and save
them to — the Traveler 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.

EDIT CHANNEL NAMES

Choose Edit Channel Names from the CueMix
Console File menu to open a window that lets you
customize the names of the Traveler’s inputs and
outputs. Your custom names appear in CueMix
Console (in the input name strip as shown in
Figure 11-1 on page 79) and in the input and
output menus of your host audio software. For
details, see “Edit Channel Names” on page 48.

TAL KB ACK AND LISTENBACK

CueMix Console provides Ta l k b a c k and Listenback
buttons. Talkback allows an engineer in the control
room to temporarily dim all audio and talk to
musicians in the live room. Conversely, Listenback
allows musicians to talk to the control room.

Hardware setup

Figure 11-2 below shows a typical hardware setup
for Talkback and Listenback. For Talkback, set up a
dedicated mic in your control room and connect it
to a mic input on your MOTU FireWire audio
interface. For Listenback, set up a dedicated
listenback mic in the live room for the musicians
and connect it to another mic input. For talkback
output, set up a headphone distribution amp or set
of speakers in the live room, and connect it to a pair
of outputs. For example, you might connect a
headphone distribution amp to analog outputs 7-8
on your MOTU Firewire audio interface, as
demonstrated below in Figure 11-2 on page 83.

82

CUEMIX CONSOLE

Control room

Main

outs

Tal k back
mic

Tal k back / Listenback Mic Input

Choose the audio input to which your Talkback
and/or Listenback mic is connected. These inputs
are labeled with a purple and blue swatch,
respectively, just above the channel fader.

Outs

7-8

Live room

Headphone distribution amp

Listenback
mic

Figure 11-2: Typical hardware setup for Talkback and Listenback.

CueMix Console setup

To s et up Talkback and/or Listenback in CueMix
Console, choose File menu> Talkback settings>
Configure Talkback/Listenback to open the window
shown in Figure 11-3:

Figure 11-3: Configuring Talkback and Listenback.

These labels identify
the Talkback and
Listenback mic inputs.

Figure 11-4: The purple label identifies the Talkback mic input; the
blue label indicates the Listenback mic. Use the input fader to control
the mic volume.

Tal k back / Listenback Monitor Dim

Choose the amount of attenuation you would like
to apply to all other audio signals (besides the
talkback volume) when Talkback and/or
Listenback is engaged. To completely silence all
other audio, move the slider all the way to the left
(-Inf).

Tal k / Listen signal routing

As shown in Figure 11-3, check the boxes next to
the outputs on which you’d like to hear the
Ta l kb a ck m ic an d/ or Li st e nback mic. For example,
as demonstrated in the diagram in Figure 11-2, to
hear the Talkback mic on the headphones in the
live room, check the Analog 7-8 check box in the
Ta l k column as demonstrated in Figure 11-3. To
hear the Listenback mic on the main monitors in
the control room, check the Analog 1-2 check box
in the Listen column, also demonstrated in
Figure 11-3.

CUEMIX CONSOLE

83

Engaging/disengaging Talkback and
Listenback

To e ng a ge Ta lk back or Listenback, press on the
Ta l k or Li st e n buttons and then release to
disengage. Talkback and/or Listenback is engaged
for as long as you hold down the mouse button.
Option-click to make the buttons “sticky” (stay
engaged until you click them again — so you don’t
have to hold down the mouse). If you would like to
engage both Talkback and Listenback at the same
time, enable the Link button.

Tr a v e l e r) back to your computer. This input serves,
for example, as a convenient way for you to record
the Traveler’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 Traveler out put pair (and also back
to the computer).

SHOW METER IN DOCK ICON

This CueMix Console File menu item, when
checked, causes the CueMix Console dock icon to
display a small level meter that mirrors the main
output meter for the current mix being displayed in
CueMix Console.

Figure 11-5: The Talkback and Listenback buttons.

Controlling Talkback and Listenback volume

To c ont ro l t he vo lu me o f the Talkback and/or
Listenback mics, adjust their input fader in CueMix
Console. This fader controls the volume of the
input, regardless of which bus mix is being
displayed in the CueMix Console window. In other
words, once an input has been designated as a
Ta l kba ck or L is tenback input, its fader becomes
global for all CueMix buses.

MIX1 RETURN INCLUDES COMPUTER

The Mix1 return includes computer item in the
CueMix Console File menu refers to the Mix1 bus
that the Traveler 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

84

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, w hen 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).

CUEMIX CONSOLE

CONTROL SURFACES MENU

CueMix Console can be controlled from an
automated control surface such as the Mackie
Control™. Use the commands in the Control
Surfaces menu to enable and configure this feature.

Application follows control surface

When checked, the Application follows control
surface menu command makes the CueMix

Console window scroll to the channel you are
currently adjusting with the control surface, if the
channel is not visible when you begin adjusting it.
The same is true for the bus tabs: if you adjust a
control in a bus that is not currently being
displayed, CueMix Console will jump to the
appropriate tab to display the control you are
adjusting.

Mackie Control Surfaces

CueMix Console includes support for the following
control surface products:

■ Mackie Control™

■ Mackie HUI™

■ Mackie Baby HUI™

Use the sub-menu commands in the Mackie
Control Surfaces menu item to turn on and

configure control surface support, as described
briefly below.

Enabled

Check this menu item to turn on control surface
operation of CueMix Console. Uncheck it to turn
off control surface support.

Share surfaces with other applications

When the Share surfaces with other applications
menu command is checked, CueMix Console
releases the control surface when you switch to
another application. This allows you to control
your other software with the control surface. Here’s
a simple way to understand this mode: the control
surface will always control the front-most
application. Just bring the desired application to
the front (make it the active application), and your
control surface will control it. When you’d like to
make changes to CueMix Console from the control
surface, just bring CueMix Console to the front
(make it the active application).

When this menu item is unchecked, your control
surface will affect CueMix Console all the time,
even when CueMix Console is not the front-most
application. In addition, you will not be able to
control other host audio software with the control
surface at any time (because CueMix Console
retains control over it at all times). This mode is
useful when you do not need to use the control
surface with any other software.

CUEMIX CONSOLE

Configure…

Choose this menu item to configure your control
surface product. Launch the on-line help for
specific, detailed instructions for configuring
CueMix Console for operation with your control
surface product.

Figure 11-6: Refer to the extensive on-line help for details about
configuring CueMix Console for operation with your control surface
product.

85

Other HUI-compatible control surfaces

Any control surface that has the ability to emulate a
HUI should be compatible with CueMix Console.
Just add a Mackie HUI to Audi o MIDI Setup and
put the control surface hardware into HUI
emulation mode. Consult the manual for the
control surface for details about how put it into
HUI emulation mode.

Other control surface hardware products

If you install other control surface drivers written
for CueMix Console, they will appear as separate
menu items at the bottom of the Control Surfaces
menu, with the same sub-menu items described
above.

CUEMIX CONSOLE EXAMPLES

Figure 11-7 below shows some examples of how
you can use CueMix DSP:

■ Powe red speakers are connected to the Traveler

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 Traveler can be routed to/from the mixer with
no latency. Conversely, any mixer channel can be
routed to any device connected to the Traveler with
no latency.

Figure 11-7: An example setup of a system that takes full advantage of CueMix DSP.

86

CUEMIX CONSOLE

CHAPTER

12 FireWire SMPTE Console

OVERVIEW

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

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

Any analog input and output on the Traveler can be
used for time code (LTC) input and output,
respectively.

Clock/Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Frame Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Reader section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Generator section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

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 44), 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 (Word Cl ock In
/ Internal) shows the clock source (Word C lock 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 Traveler’s on-board SMPTE
time code sync.

Resolving to SMPTE time code

To r es o lve the Traveler 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

The Generator sec tion

provides settings for striping

SMPTE time code.

Figure 12-1: SMPTE Console gives you access to your Traveler’s on-board
SMPTE time code synchronization features.

87

address. For further details on the hardware
connections involved, see “Syncing to SMPTE time
code” on page 30.

Resolving to video

To resolve the Traveler to video, you need a
synchronizer such as a MIDI Timepiece AV or a
Digital Timepiece to feed word clock to the
Trave le r. I n t hi s sc enario, choose the Wor d C lo ck In
clock source setting in The MOTU FireWire Audio
Console. The Traveler uses word clock for the time
base and your host application resolves to MIDI
Time Code generated from the synchronizer. For
details, see “Syncing to video and/or SMPTE time
code using a synchronizer” on page 31.

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 Traveler 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. The Traveler driver
updates the frame rate setting in Digital Performer
and AudioDesk for you.

READER SECTION

The Reader section (on the left-hand side of the
window in Figure 12-1) provides settings for
synchronizing the Traveler to SMPTE time code.

Status lights

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

Clock

The Clock light glows continuously when the
Trave l er ha s successfully achieved lockup to an
external time base, such as SMPTE time code or
word clock.

Address

The Address light glows continuously when the
Trave l er ha s s uccessfully achieved lockup to
SMPTE time code.

Freewheel

The Freewheel light illuminates when the Traveler
is freewheeling address (time code), clock or both.
For details about Freewheeling, see “Freewheel
Address” and “Freewheel clock” below.

SMPTE source

Choose the analog input to which the SMPTE time
code source is connected. This is the input that the
Tr a ve l e r “ li s t e n s” to for time code.

Freewheel Address

Freewheeling occurs when there is a glitch or
drop-out in the incoming time code for some
reason. The Traveler can freewheel past the drop­out and then resume lockup again as soon as it
receives readable time code. Choose the amount of
time you would like the Traveler to freewheel
before it gives up and stops altogether.

The Traveler 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.

Ta c h

The Tach light blinks once per second when the
Trave l er ha s s uccessfully achieved lockup to
SMPTE time code and SMPTE frame locations are
being read.

88

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

FIREWIRE SMPTE CONSOLE

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.

Tac h light

The Tach light blinks once per second when the
Trave l er is ge ne ra ti ng SMPTE time code.

The ‘Infinite’ freewheel setting

The Infinite freewheel setting in the Freewheel
Address menu causes the Traveler 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 Traveler can freewheel past the
drop-out and then resume lockup again as soon as
it receives a stable, readable clock signal.

The Traveler 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 Traveler to freewheel

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

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 12-1) provides setting for
generating SMPTE time code.

Level

Tur n t he leve l knob to adjust the volume of the
SMPTE time code being generated by the Traveler.
The level knob disappears when the Destination is
set to None.

Destination

In the Destination menu, choose the analog output
from which SMPTE time code will be generated.
This is the output that sends time code.

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 12-2: Setting the time code start time.

Regenerate

This option, when enabled, causes the generator to
generate time code whenever the Traveler is
receiving either SMPTE time code or ADAT Sync
(via its ADAT Sync In port).

Generate from sequencer

This option, when enabled, causes the generator to
generate time code whenever you are running
Aud ioD esk or Dig ita l Perfor mer. Time code begins
at the time specified by the AudioDesk or Digital
Perfor mer main transport.

FIREWIRE SMPTE CONSOLE

89

90

FIREWIRE SMPTE CONSOLE

CHAPTER

13 Troubleshooting

Things seems like they are working fine, but the
Traveler t he n ju st drops off line, and the computer
can’t see it anymore on the FireWire bus.

This is a common symptom when the problem is
that the Traveler is not getting enough power.
Check the power source for the Traveler. Make sure
that the power connection meets the requirements
outlined in “Power options” on page 20.

Sample accurate sync in AudioDesk and Digital
Per former

When you first use sample accurate sync, be sure to
go to the Receive Sync dialog in Digital Performer
or AudioDesk and switch from “MTC” to “Sample­accurate.”

Can’t authenticate AudioDesk

When installing software off the CD-ROM, the OK
button does not become active until you have
entered in your name and a valid keycode. Your
name must contain at least 3 characters, and you
must enter the keycode exactly as it appears in your
AudioDesk manual (on the inside of the back
cover). If you continue to have difficulties, try
repairing Mac OS X disk permissions using Disk
Utilit y.

No input on an ADAT tape deck

If you are having trouble recording on your ADAT
tape deck from the Traveler, check the Digital input
setting. After power cycling, tape decks often come
up configured to record from their analog inputs.
Yo u w on 't b e able to record from the Traveler to a
tape deck until it is switched to digital input. Tip:
configure this in ClockWorks or AudioDesk if you
want your decks to come up in the right mode
when power cycled.

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 “Making sync
connections” on page 25 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 Traveler, and it partially works.
But it isn’t really all the way in. This can cause clicks
when slaved to ADAT 9-pin. Make sure the ADAT
Sync cable plug is really seated firmly.

Clicks and pops due to hard drive problems

If you have checked your clock settings and you are
still getting clicks and pops in your audio, you may
have a drive related problem. Set your Clock
Source to Inter nal and try recording just using the
analog inputs and outputs of the Traveler. 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 Traveler while recording or playing back audio.
Doing so may cause a brief glitch in the audio.

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.

91

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 Traveler’s hardware-based CueMix DSP
monitoring feature. Please see chapter 10,
“Reducing Monitoring Latency” (page 73).

Controlling monitoring latency

See chapter 10, “Reducing Monitoring Latency”
(page 73).

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

We a re ha pp y 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 Traveler. When we receive
your card, you’ll be placed on our mailing list for
free software updates and information about new
products.

REPLACING DISKS

If your Traveler software installer CD becomes
damaged and fails to provide you with fresh,
working copies of the software, 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.

Please provide the following information to help us
solve your problem as quickly as possible:

■ The serial number of the Traveler system. This is

printed on a sticker placed on the bottom of the
Trave l er ra ck un it . You m u st be able to supply this
number to receive technical support.

■ 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.

■ The pages in the manual which refer to the parts

of the Traveler or AudioDesk with which you are
having trouble.

■ The version or creation date of the system

software you are using to run the Macintosh.

We’r e n ot a bl e t o solve every problem immediately,
but a quick call to us may yield a suggestion for a
problem which you might otherwise spend hours
trying to track down.

If you have features or ideas you would like to see
implemented, we’d like to hear from you. Please
write to the Traveler Development Team, MOTU
Inc., 1280 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA

02138.

TECHNIC A L S U PPOR T

If you are unable, with your dealer’s help, to solve
problems you encounter with the Traveler system,
you may contact ou r 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 su pp or t email: [e-mail]

■ We b s it e : www.motu.com

92

TROUBLESHOOTING

+4/-10dB reference level 82
+6db 55
+6dB Boost 82
.kext 39
02R mixer 32

connecting 24
1394 connector 6, 11, 18
192kHz

multiple interfaces

operation 44

AES/EBU disabled 10
optical disabled 10

24-bit

4/10 55
4-pin FireWire 20
6-pin FireWire 20
828

896HD

A

Activity LEDs 5, 12
ADAT optical 6, 10, 32

ADAT sync 11, 30, 31

AES/EBU 10

All Notes Off 54
Analog activity lights 5, 12
Analog inputs/outputs 6

Application follows control surface 85
Audio

AudioDesk 12, 39, 41, 63

B

Balanced analog 19

S/PDIF disabled 11, 19

AudioDesk

Digital Performer 59

optical 6, 10

recording 12

connecting to Traveler

connecting to Traveler

activity LEDs 5

choosing format 7, 48

clock source setting 46

connecting 19

syncing with 45

9-pin 11, 45

connector 6

sample-accurate 27, 28, 29, 61, 67

sync setting 45

clock source setting 45

disabled at 192kHz 10

meters 5

sync 33

making connections to 19

overview 10

trimming in Digital Performer 59, 65

bit resolution

input/output timing 59, 65

MIDI Setup utility 40

accessing Traveler settings 43

MMC control 28

optical input/output 64

sync settings 28, 29

37

65

36

36

44

Battery power 12, 21

jack 6
Bias Peak 13
Boost 82
Buffer Size 58, 64
Bus Mute 53
Bus Output 53
Bus power 12, 20

enable/disable switch 6, 22

examples 21

requirements 20

C

Calibrating audio input/output 59, 65
Clock

192kHz operation
Clock LEDs 5, 12
Clock source 7, 25, 44, 52

AudioDesk 64

SMPTE 47
Coax 10
Condenser mic input 5
Configure Hardware Driver 43
Configure interface 35
Connecting multiple Travelers 35
Control surface support 85
Controller

connecting
Converters 6
Copy bus mix 53
Core Audio

defined
CoreMIDI

Cubase 13

CueMix Console 77, 79

39

Audio MIDI Setup

benefits 40

Audio Buffer Size 70

Mac OS X 70

Application follows control surface

44

19

40

85

Edit Channel Names 7, 48, 82

Listenback explained 82

listenback settings 83

Mackie control surfaces 85

Share surfaces with other applica-

talkback settings 82, 83
CueMix DSP 77

Mixer 51

output jacks 19

overview 11
Customer support 92

D

Daisy-chaining 36
DAT

connecting
DC power supply 22
Default Stereo Input/Output 7, 47
Digital mixer

connecting
Digital Performer 13, 57

tions

23

24

85

accessing Traveler settings 43
clock source 58, 69
MMC control 28
Optical input/output 58, 70
sample rate 58, 69

sync settings 28, 29
Digital Precision Trim 11
Digital Timepiece 28
Disc

replacing
Dock 7
Drivers

E

Edit Channel Names 7, 48, 82
Enable Pedal 7, 48
Expansion 35

F

Factory Defaults 54
Fader View Time 53
Feedback loops 59, 65, 72
Fine-tune Audio I/O Timing command 60,

92

installing FireWire drivers

39

66

FireWire 11

6-pin vs. 4-pin 20

additional busses 37

Audio Console 39, 43

connecting 18

connector 6

installing drivers 39

PC card adapters 21

PCI cards 21

SMPTE Console 87
Follow Active Mix 84
Follows system 52
Force 44.1/48kHz 7, 48, 52
Freewheel

address

88

clock 89

infinite 89
Front panel 51

LCD display 12

meters 5

G

Gain 55
General tab 43
Generate from sequencer 89
Guitar

connecting

H

Headphone jack 5, 11
Headphones

connecting

controlling output 7, 48

I

iMovie

audio input/output
Infinite freewheel 89
Init Current Mix 53

23

23

7, 47

INDEX

93

Inputs

analog

6

optical 6
S/PDIF (RCA) 6

Installation

hardware

Installer CD

Internal (sync setting) 45
iTunes

K

kext 39
Keyboard controller

L

Laptop operation 21
Latency 73, 76
Launch console when hardware becomes

LCD display 12, 51
LEDs 5
Lightpipe 32
Listenback

Load Preset 54, 82
LOCK LED 5
Logic Audio 13, 70

M

Mac OS X 69

Macintosh built-in (clock source setting)

17

replacing

92

audio input/output

connecting

available

explained

input and output names 71
sound input/output 7, 47

7, 47

19

7, 48

82

47

Mackie control surfaces 85
Main outs

jacks

6

making connections to 19

volume 5, 11, 52
Main volume 5, 11
Meters 5
Mic/instrument inputs 6, 18

connecting 23

overview 10

phantom power 5
MIDI

activity LEDs

driver 39

jacks 6

Machine Control 26, 27, 61

Time Code sync 26

Timepiece AV 28
MIX BUS knob 54
Mix1 1-2 71

AudioDesk 65

Digital Performer 59

Logic and others 72
Mix1 return includes computer 84
MMC 26, 27, 61
Monitoring 74

thru main outs 19

5

94

MOTU

Audio System

bit resolution
Fine-tune Audio I/O Timing

input/output timing 59, 65
Digital Timepiece 28
FireWire Audio Console 39, 43
MIDI driver 39
MIDI Timepiece AV 28

MTC sync 26
Mute 55

N

Neutrik jacks 6
Nuendo 13

Mac OS X 70

O

Optical

choosing format (ADAT or

connectors 6, 19
disabled at 192kHz 10
In/Out 53
LEDs 5, 12
overview 10
sync 32

Optimization 76
Outputs

analog
optical 6
S/PDIF (TOSLink) 6

P

Packing list 15
Pair 55
Pan 55
PARAM knob 55
Paste Bus Mix 53
Patch thru

latency

PCI

clock source setting
FireWire adapters 37

PCMCIA adapters 37
Peak 13
Performance 76
Phantom power 5, 11, 18
Phase-lock 25
Phones 5, 7, 11, 48, 71

AudioDesk 64
Digital Performer 58, 70

Phones 1-2

AudioDesk
Digital Performer 59
Logic & others 72

Phones Assign 53
Phones menu 84
Polarity 22
Power supply 22

jack 6

TOSlink)

6

76

65

44

60, 66

47

7, 48

R

Reference level 82
Regenerate 89
Registration 15

S

S/PDIF 10

clock source setting 45
disabled at 192kHz 11, 19
lights 5, 12
meters 5
optical 6, 10
RCA 6
sync 33

Sample rate 7, 44

192kHz operation 44

AudioDesk 64
Sample-accurate sync 11, 27, 28, 29
Samplers

connecting
Save Preset 82
Save/Name Preset 53
SELECT knob 52
SETUP knob 52
Share surfaces with other applications 85
Show meter in dock icon 84
SMPTE

Console

LOCK LED 5

overview 11

source setting 88

sync 25, 26, 87

synchronization setting 47

TACH LED 5
Solo 55
Sound module

connecting
Stand-alone operation 51
Stop Freewheeling 89
Stripe button 89
Studio setup (example) 23
Synchronization 25

AudioDesk 66

Digital Performer 60

multiple interfaces 35

sample-accurate 27, 28, 29

word clock 34
Synths

connecting
System preferences

sound input/output
System requirements

minimum

recommended computer 13, 15

T

TACH

LED

light (SMPTE Console) 88
Talkback

explained

settings 83
Tascam

23

87

20

23

7, 47

15

5

82

INDEX

Sync 30, 31
Technical support 92
Time code sync 87
Tip positive/negative 22
TOSLink 6, 7, 10, 48

clock source setting 46

connecting 19
Traveler

connecting multiple interfaces

expansion 35

installing 17

rear panel overview 9

SMPTE setting 47

summary of features 9

tab 43

Word Clock In setting 45

Troubleshooting

feedback loop

TRS connectors 19

U

Unbalanced analog 19

V

Video sync 25, 87

36

Volume

headphone

VOLUME knob 52

W

Word clock 6, 11, 25, 33, 34

Follows System 52

59, 65, 72

11

Force 44.1/48kHz 7, 48, 52
sync setting 45
Synchronization

Word Clock In setting 45
Word out 7, 48, 52

Y

Yamaha 02R 32

word clock

Follows System 52
Force 44.1/48kHz 7, 48, 52

connecting 24

36

INDEX

95