MOTU UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid User Manual

UltraLite

-

mk3 Hybrid

User Guide for Mac

™

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Contents

Quick Reference: UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid Front Panel

5
6

Quick Reference: UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid Rear Panel
Quick Reference: MOTU Audio Setup

7

About the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid

9

Packing List and Mac System Requirements

15
17

Installing the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid Hardware
Installing the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid Mac Software

29
33

MOTU Audio Setup
UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid Front Panel Operation

39
47

Digital Performer
AudioDesk

51

Other Mac OS X Software

55
61

Reducing Monitoring Latency
CueMix FX

67

109

MOTU SMPTE Console
Troubleshooting

113

Index

115

III

IV

56

to choose the desired channel or bus. Use the PAGE,

PARAM and VALUE knobs to access the settings for the

chosen channel.

SETUP mode lets you access general settings. Use the

PARAMETER knob to browse settings, and use the VALUE

knob to adjust them.

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.

independently for each mic input. Hold it in momen-

tarily to toggle 48V phantom power independently for

each mic input.

7. Push the TRIM rotary encoder to toggle the 20 dB pad

CUEMIX mode lets you program the UltraLite-mk3’s on-

board CueMix FX mixer. Use the CHANNEL knob to

choose the input, output or mix you wish to edit. Push it

to switch among inputs, outputs and busses, then turn it

of the UltraLite-mk3’s inputs and outputs. It also gives

you access to the UltraLite-mk3’s built-in mixer and

5. The multi-purpose backlit LCD provides metering for all

other settings. There are eight independent stereo mix

busses. Each mixes all inputs (or any subset you wish) to

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

a stereo output of your choice. The four knobs to the right

of the LCD correspond directly to the four labeled

sections of the LCD. Push the PARAMETER knob repeat-

edly to cycle through the three main LCD display modes:

METER, CUEMIX and SETUP.

METER mode provides level meters for each input and

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

the UltraLite-mk3’ s inputs and outputs (both analog and

digital).

Quick Reference: UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid F ront P anel

4

3

LCD provides visual feedback for the headphone volume

setting as you turn the knob. Push the knob once to view

the current volume setting in the LCD display; push it

again to control the UltraLite-mk3’s MASTER VOLUME

setting. From the factory, MASTER VOLUME controls the

(TRS) MAIN OUTS 1-2 on the rear panel, but MASTER

VOLUME can be programmed t o control an y combination

of outputs. See “The Monitor Group” on page 90 for

details.

UltraLite-mk3; press and hold to turn it off. When

connected to the computer via FireWire, the

UltraLite-mk3 is powered by its FireWire connection to

the computer. When connected via USB, it must be

powered with the included DC power adapter.

7

1 2 5

3. Turn the VOL knob t o contr ol the headphone volume . The

cable with a quarter-inch plug. It is equipped with

approximately +60 dB of boost for the mic (XLR) input

and +32 dB of boost for the instrument (TRS) input.

Separate settings are maintained for the XLR and TRS

inputs for saving with presets. The XLR (mic) input can

also be supplied with 20 dB pad and 48V phantom

1. This XLR/TRS combo jack accepts either a mic cable or a

power.

2. These two Precision Digital Trim™ rotary encoders

provide +60 dB and +32 dB of boost, respectively, for

4. When power is off, push the VOL knob to power on the

the mic (XLR) and instrument (TRS) inputs on the front

and rear panel. Adjustment can be made in approxi-

mately 1 dB increments. Both have preamps, so you can

plug in just about anything: a microphone, a guitar or

even a synth. For +4 dB signals, use the rear panel TRS

inputs. Use the trim knob and input level meter in the

LCD to calibrate the input signal level. For the Mic (XLR)

input, P ush the TRIM encoder to t oggle a 20 dB pad; push

and hold to toggle 48V phantom power.

.

4

Important note: it is best to turn off

either FireWire or USB2, using either the standard 1394

FireWire A or USB cable provided with your

UltraLite-mk3. There’s not much difference, except that

FireWire offers bus-powered operation (without the DC

power supply).

the UltraLite-mk3 when plugging in the FireWire

cable, as this avoids the possibility of static

7. Connect the UltraLite-mk3 to the computer here via

57 6

6. Equipped with 24-bit 192 kHz converters, these six

analog inputs (3 through 8) are gold-plated, balanced

TRS (tip/ring/sleeve) quarter-inch connectors that can

also accept an unbalanced plug. They do not have micro-

phone preamps, so they are best used for synthesizers,

discharge, which can harm the electrical compo-

drum machines, effects processors, and other instru-

ments with line level signals (either -10 dB or +4 dB).

These inputs are also equipped with the UltraLite-mk3’s

Precision Digital Trim™ feature: digitally controlled

with either tip-positive or tip-negative polarity.

nents in the UltraLite-mk3 or your computer

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

analog trims that let you adjust input level in 1 dB incre-

ments from either front panel LCD or the included

CueMix FX software. The trim can be adjusted over a

range of -96 to +22 dB.

1 2 3

Quick Reference: UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid Rear P anel

). You can also use CueMix FX to monitor

cable with a quarter-inch plug. Use the fr on t panel MIC 2

trim encoder to apply up to +60 dB or +32 dB of boost,

respectively, for the mic (XLR) or instrument (TRS) input.

To toggle the 20 dB pad for the mic (XLR) input , push the

front-panel Mic 2 trim encoder. To toggle 48V phantom

power for the XLR (mic) input, push and hold the front-

panel Mic 2 trim encoder.

UltraLite-mk3’ s main outputs. Y ou can connect them to a

set of powered studio monitors and then control the

4. This XLR/TRS combo jack accepts either a mic cable or a

8

Connect the UltraLite-mk3’ s MIDI OUT port to the MIDI IN

port on the other device. Conversely, connect the

UltraLite-mk3’ 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

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

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

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).

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

volume from the front panel volume knob. To hear disk

tracks in your audio software on these main outs, assign

the disk tracks (and master fader) to these main outs

and output at any sample rate up to 96kHz.

3. The UltraLite-mk3’s eight analog outputs are gold-

Main Out 1-2

(

live UltraLite-mk3 inputs here as well.

plated, 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.

Quick Reference: MO TU Audio Setup

CHAPTER

Determines the clock source for your
UltraLite-mk3. If you’re just using the
analog ins and outs, set this to
other settings are for digital transfers via
S/PDIF or synchronization to time code or
other audio devices.

This menu lets you choose what you will hear
from the headphone jack. To mirror the main
outs, choose
any other output pair. To hear the phones as
their own independent output, choose

Phones 1-2 .

Main Out 1-2 . Or you can mirror

Internal. The

Click the tabs to access general
MOTU FireWire interface
settings or settings specific to
the UltraLite-mk3 (or other
connected interface).

Choose the sample rate for the
UltraLite-mk3 here.

Specifies the stereo input and
output pair when the
UltraLite-mk3 is chosen for Mac

Choose the output pair you would
like the main outs to mirror, or

Main Outs to operate them

choose
as their own independent pair.

The UltraLite-mk3 driver provides a
stereo return back to the computer.
This return feeds the signal on any
output pair directly back to the
computer, wher e you can record,
process, monitor or otherwise use
it. This is a great way to “bounce”
full mixes, complete with liv e audio
routed through the UltraLite-mk3
only, back into the computer.

Click the General tab to access these settings.

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

This button opens another dialog that lets
you assign your own customized names to
each UltraLite-mk3 input and output. For
example, if you ha ve a lead vocal mic plugged
into input 1, you could name it “Lead Vox”.
Your customized names then appear in your
host audio application (if it supports CoreAu­dio input naming).

In the standard Mac OS X fashion, the
setup software appears in the dock
when you launch it. If the

console automatically

checked (as shown above), the icon
appears as soon as you switch on your
UltraLite-mk3 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 setup
software window.

Launch

option is

7

8

CHAPTER

1

About the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

The UltraLite-mk3 Rear Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

The UltraLite-mk3 Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

16-bit and 24-bit recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

CueMix FX 32-bit floating point mixing and effects. . 12

AudioDesk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Digital Performer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Other Host Audio Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

OVERVIEW

The UltraLite-mk3 is a hybrid FireWire USB2
audio interface for Mac and Windows with on­board effects and mixing that offers 10 inputs and
14 outputs. Both analog and digital I/O are offered
at sample rates up to 96 kHz, and analog recording
and playback is offered at rates up to 192 kHz. All
inputs and o utputs can be acc essed simul taneously.
The UltraLite-mk3 is housed in a sturdy, compact
half-rack enclosure that connects directly to a
computer via a standard FireWire or USB cable.

The UltraLite-mk3 offers the following main
features:

RCA S/PDIF digital I/O at sample rates up to

■

96 kHz

■

MIDI I/O
On-board SMPTE synchronization

■

Headphone jack with volume control

■

■

Fron t pane l vol ume c on trol o f the Main Outs (o r

any programmable combination of outputs)

■

CueMix™ FX no-latency mixing, monitoring,

and effects processing

■

Classic Reverb™ with five different room types,
three frequency shelves w ith adjustable crossover
points, shelf filtering and reverb lengths up to 60
seconds.

■

Two forms of compression, including a standard
compressor with conventional threshold/ratio/
attack/release/gain controls and the Leveler™, an
accurate model of the legendary LA-2A optical
compressor, which provides vintage, musical
automatic gain control.

■

Uni versal com put er connectivity via FireWire o r

high-speed USB2

■

Bus-powered operation (FireWire only)

■

Six 24-bit analog quarter-inch (TRS) inputs

■

Ten 24-bit analog quarter-inch (TRS) outputs

■

Two combo XLR/TRS mic/guitar inputs with
preamps, 48V phantom power, 20 dB pad, and
Precision Digital Trim™ preamp gain adjustment

■

Operation on all analog I/O at standard sample
rates up to 192 kHz

■

Digitally controlled analog trim for all analog
inputs

■

7-band parametric EQ modeled after British
analog console EQs, featuring 4 filter styles (gain/Q
profiles) to effectively cover a wide range of audio
material. LP and HP filters are also supplied with
slopes that range from 6 to 36 dB.

■

Front-panel LCD programming for the mixer
and all other settings

■

Extensive front panel metering and status LEDs

■

Stand-alone operation

■

Mac and Windows drivers for multi-channel
operation and acr oss-the-board com patibility with
any audio software on current Mac and Windows
systems

9

■

CueMix FX cross-pla tform mixing software with
attractive graphic mixing, graphic editing of
parametric EQ and a convenient tabbed interface
for quick access t o all features in one window. Also
provides full-screen real-time FFT display,
spectrogram “waterfall” display, oscilloscope, X-Y
plot and linear or polar phase analysis.

AudioDesk™, full-featured audio workstation

■

software for Mac OS that supports both 16-bit and
24-bit recording

With a variety of I/O formats, mic preamps and
no-latency mixing and processing of live input, the
UltraLite-mk3 is a complete, portable “studio in a
box” when used with a Mac or Windows computer.

THE ULTRALITE-MK3 REAR PANEL

The rear panel has the following connectors:

■

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

10 inputs and 14 outputs

All UltraLite-mk3 inputs and outputs can be used
simultaneously, for a total of 10 inputs and 14
outputs when operating at sample rates up to
96 kHz:

Connection Input Output

Analog 24-bit 192 kHz on bal/unbal TRS 6 10
Mic preamps 24-bit 192 kHz on XLR/TRS

combo
SPDIF 24-bit 96kHz digital 2 2
Headphone output - 2

Total 10 14

2-

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

The headphone outputs can operate as an
independent output pair, or they can mirror any
other UltraLite-mk3 output pair, such as the main
outs.

■

Six gold-plated, balanced quarter-inch (TRS)
analog inputs (with 24-bit 192 kHz converters)

■

One combo XLR/TRS mic/instrument input

■ RCA S/PDIF in/out

■ MIDI IN and MIDI OUT jacks

■ One 1394 FireWire A connector

■ One high-speed USB2 connector

■ DC power jack

Mic/guitar inputs with preamps

The two mic/instrument inputs (front panel and
rear panel) are equipped with preamps and
“combo” XLR/TRS jacks, which accept XLR
microphone inputs or quarter-inch guitar/
instruments inputs. Individual 48 volt phantom
power and a 20 dB pad can be supplied
independently to each mic input. The Precision
Digital Trim™ knobs on the front panel for each
mic/instrument input provide 60 dB of boost for
the XLR mic input and 32 dB of boost for the TRS
instrument input in precise 1 dB increments.

Analog

All six quarter-inch analog inputs are equipped
with 24-bit 192 kHz A/D converters. All eight
analog outputs have 24-bit 192 kHz D/A
conv erters. All audio is carried to the co mpu ter in a
24-bit data stream.

10

ABOUT THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID

All ten analog outputs and six quarter-inch analog
inputs are on balanced TRS +4dB quarter-inch
jacks. All of these jacks can also accept un balanc ed
plugs.

Precision Digital Trim™

All of the UltraLite-mk3’s analog inputs are
equipped with digitally controlled analog trims
that allow adjustments in 1 dB increments. The
mic/guita r i nput trims can be adjusted using fro nt­panel digital rotary encoders that pro vide feedback
in the front panel LCD with 60 dB of adjustment
for the mic input and 32 dB for the TRS input. All
analog inputs, including six rear-pan el TRS analog
inputs, can be trimmed using the front panel LCD
or using the UltraLite-mk3’s included CueMix FX
contro l software fo r Mac and W indo ws. This allows
you to fine-tune trim settings for synths, effects
modules and a wide variety of analog inputs for
optimum levels. Different trim configurations can
then be saved as files on disk for instant recall.

S/PDIF

The UltraLite-mk3 rear pane l pro vides RCA “ c oax”
S/PDIF input and output.

The included MOTU SMPTE Console™ software
provides a complete set of tools for generating and
regenerating SMPTE time code, which allows you
to slave other devices to the computer. Like
CueMix FX, the synchronization features are
cross-platform and compatible with any audio
sequencer software that supports the ASIO2
sample-accurate sync protocol.

Hybrid FireWire/USB2 connectivity

FireWire has long been recognized as a reliable,
high-performance connectivity standard for
professional MOTU audio interfaces. Meanwhile,
hi-speed USB2 has also developed into a widely
adopted standard for connecting peripheral
devices to personal computers.

To fully support both formats, your UltraLite-mk3
Hybrid audio interface is equipped with both a
FireWire A (400 Mbit/sec) connector and a hi­speed USB2 (480 Mbit/sec) co nnector , and y ou can
use either port to connect the UltraLite-mk3 to
your co mpu ter . This gives you maxim um flexibility
and compatibility with today’s ever-expanding
universe of Mac and Windows computers.

MIDI I/O

The UltraLite-mk3’s standard MIDI IN and MIDI
OUT jacks supply 16 channels of MIDI I/O to and
from the computer via the UltraLite-mk3’s
FireWire connection. Timing accuracy can be
sample-accurate with host software that supports
it.

On-board SMPTE synchronization

The UltraLite-mk3 can resolve directly to SMPTE
time code via any analog input, without a separate
synchronizer. It can also generate time code via any
analog output. The UltraLite-mk3 provides a
DSP-driven phase-lock engine with sophisticated
filtering that provides fast lockup times and sub­frame accuracy.

ABOUT THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID

The UltraLite-mk3 has the ability to power itself
from its FireWire connection to the computer, for
convenient, mobile bus-powered operation.

Power supply

If you do not want the UltraLite-mk3 to draw
power from the computer, and AC power is
available, you can power the UltraLite-mk3 from
any standard 10-18V, 12 watt DC power supply
with any polarity (tip positive or negative).

THE ULTRALITE-MK3 FRONT PANEL

Mic/instrument input

See “Mic/guitar inputs with preamps” on page 10.

48V phantom power and pad

See “Mic/guitar inputs with preamps” on page 10.

11

Headphone output and main volume control

The UltraLite-mk3 front panel provides a quarter­inch stereo headphone output jack and volume
knob. The LCD display provides feedback as you
turn the knob. The VOL knob can be used to
contro l the vol ume of the main out jacks o n the rear
panel. It can alternately be configured to control
any combination of outputs.

Programmable backlit LCD display

Any UltraLite-mk3 setting, including the powerful
CueMix FX on-board 16-bus mixer with effects,
can be accessed directly from the front panel using
the four ro tary encoders and the 2x16 ba c klit LCD
display.

The LCD also provides activity metering for all
UltraLite-mk3 inputs and outputs.

16-BIT AND 24-BIT RECORDING

The UltraLite-mk3 system handles all data with a
24-bit signal path, r egardle ss of the I/O forma t. You
can record and play back 16-bit or 24-bit audio files
at any supported sample rate via any of the
UltraLite-mk3’s analog or digital inputs and
outputs. 24-bit audio files can be r ecor ded with any
compatible host application that supports 24-bit
recording.

CUEMIX FX 32-BIT FLOATING POINT
MIXING AND EFFECTS

All UltraLite-mk3 inputs and output s can be
routed to the on-board CueMix FX 16-bus (8
stereo) digital mixer driven by hardware-based
DSP with 32-bit floating point precision. The
mixer allows you to apply no-latency effects
processing to inputs, outputs or busses directly in
the UltraLite-mk3 hardware, independent of the
computer. Effects can even be applied when the
UltraLite-mk3 is operating stand-alone (withou t a
computer) as a complete portable mixer. Input
signals to the computer can be recorded wet, dry,
or dry with a wet monitor mix (for musicians
during recording, for example).

Effects include reverb, parametric EQ and
compr essio n/limiting. The U ltraLite-mk3’s Classic
Reverb™ provides five different room types, three
frequency bands with adjustable crossover points,
shelf filtering and rev e rb le n gths u p to 60-seconds.

Two forms of comp ressio n are su pp lied: a standar d
compressor with conventional threshold/ratio/
attack/release/gain controls and the Leveler™, an
accurate model of the legendary LA-2A optical
compressor, which provides vintage, musical
automatic gain control.

CueMix FX also provides 7-band parametric EQ
modeled after British analog console EQs,
featuring 4 filter styles (gain/Q profiles) to
effectively cover a wide range of audio material.
Low-pass and high-pass filters are also supplied
with slopes that range from 6 to 36 dB. The EQ
employs extremely high precision 64-bit floating
point processing.

The UltraLite-mk3’s flexible effects architecture
allows you to apply EQ and compression on every
input and output (a total of 24 channels), with
enough DSP resources for at least one band of
parametric EQ and compression on every channel
at 48 kHz. However, DSP resources are allocated
dynamically and a DSP meter in the CueMix FX
software (included) allows you to keep tabs on the
UltraLite-mk3’s processing resources. Each input,
output and mix bus provides a send to the Classic
Reverb processor, which then feeds re verb returns
to mix busses and outputs, with a selectable split
point between them to prevent send/return
feedback loops.

AUDIODESK

AudioDesk is a full-featured, 24-bit audio
workstation software package included with the
UltraLite-mk3 system (for Mac only). AudioDesk
provides multi-channel waveform editing,
auto ma t ed virtual mixing, graphi c editing o f ramp
automation, real-time effects plug-ins with 32-bit

12

ABOUT THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID

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.

DIGITAL PERFORMER

The UltraLite-mk3 system is fully integrated with
MOTU’s award-winning Digital Performer audio
sequencer software package.

OTHER HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE

The UltraLite-mk3 system includes a standard
Mac OS X Core Audio driver for multichannel I/O
with any audio application that supports Core
Audio.

ABOUT THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID

13

14

ABOUT THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID

CHAPTER

2 Packing List and Mac Sy stem

Requirements

PACKING LIST

The UltraLite-mk3 ships with the items listed
below. If any of these items are not present in your
UltraLite-mk3 box when you first open it, please
immediately contact your dealer or MOTU.

■ One UltraLite-mk3 I/O rack unit

■ One 6-pin to 6-pin IEEE 1394 “FireWire” cable

■ One USB cable

■ One set of removable rack ears

■ One UltraLite-mk3 Mac/Windows manual

■ One AudioDesk Manual

■ One cross-platform CD-ROM

■ Product registration card

MAC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The UltraLite-mk3 system requires the following
Mac system:

■ A G4/500MHz Power Mac or faster equipped

with at least one FireWire port

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

or more is recommended)

■ Mac OS X (version 10.4.9 or later)

■ A large hard drive (preferably at least 250 GB)

PLEASE REGISTER TODAY!

Please register yo ur UltraLite-mk3 toda y. Ther e are
two ways to register.

■ Visit www.motu.com/registration to register on

line
OR

■ Fill out and mail the included product

registration card
As a registered user, you will be eligible to receive

technical support and announcements about
product enhancements as soon as they become
available. Only registered users receive these
special update notices, so please register today!

Be sure to do the same f or th e inc l ud ed AudioDesk
software, which must be registered separately. You
can do so online or by filling out and mailing the
included software registration card found at the
beginning of your AudioDesk manual. Please be
sure to register AudioDesk as well, so that you will
be eligible to receive online 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!

15

16

PACKING LIST AND MAC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

CHAPTER

3 Installing the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid

Hardware

OVERVIEW

Here’s an overview for installing the
UltraLite-mk3:

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

Take these precautions to prevent damage to your
computer, the UltraLite-mk3 and other
equipment.

Connect the UltraLite-mk3 interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Connect the UltraLite-mk3 to the computer.

Connect audio inputs and outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Make analog and digital connections as desired.

Connect MIDI gear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Connect a controller, synth or control surface.

Connecting and syncing S/PDIF devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Connect a DAT deck, effects processor or other
device with digital I/O, but be sure to make the
correct clock source settings.

IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE YOU BEGIN!

Before you begin installing the UltraLite-mk3 (or
any bus-powered device), take these important
precautionary measures to avoid damaging the
sensitive electrical components in your computer,
the UltraLite-mk3 or other devices being
connected:

■ Turn off the computer.

■ Turn off the UltraLite-mk3 (push and hold the

VOL knob.

■ Turn off the power of any other devices.

■ Touch the metal casing of the UltraLite-mk3 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.

Power options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Choos e from among several convenient options.

A typical UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

An example setup for computer-based mixing/FX.

Connecting multiple MOTU FireWire interfaces . . . . . 26

Connect additional UltraLites or other audio
interfaces.

2. Turn on the UltraLite-mk3.

3. Turn on other devices connected to the
UltraLite-mk3.

17

CONNECT THE ULTRALITE-MK3 INTERFACE

Your UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid audio interface is
equipped with both a FireWire A (400 Mbit/sec)
connector and a hi-speed USB2 (480 Mbit/sec)
connector, and you can use either port to connect
the UltraLite-mk3 to your computer. This gives
you maximum flexibility and compatibility with
today’s ever-expanding universe of Mac and
Windows computers.

Which should I use: FireWire or USB2?

If your computer does not have a FireWire port,
then obviously you will need to connect the
UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid to one of its hi-speed USB2
ports.

If your computer has both FireWire and USB2,
then it is your choice, and your decision may
depend mostly on other peripherals you may also
have, or bus power, as explained below.

Bus-powered operation requires FireWire

There is only one significant difference between
FireWire and USB2 operation: bus power. FireWire
provides enough power on the FireWire bus that
the UltraLite can be pow ered solely by its FireWire
connection to the computer. For complete
information, see “Bus power requirements” on
page 23.

If you use USB2, you must also use the DC power
supply in cl ud ed with yo ur Ul traLite-mk3, as USB2
does not supply enough power by itself.

If you are connecting via FireWire

1 Before you begin, make sure your computer and
the UltraLite-mk3 are switched off.

☛ You can connect the UltraLite-mk3 to an

800Mbit “FireWire B” port using a 9-pin to 6-pin
FireWire B cable (not shown). However, the
UltraLite-mk3 will still operate at its specified
400Mbit (FireWire A) data rate.

3 Plug the other end o f the FireWire cable into th e
UltraLite-mk3 I/O as shown below in Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1: Connecting the UltraLite-mk3 to the computer via
FireWire.

☛ Make absolute sure to align the flat side of the

FireWire plug properly with the flat side of the
FireWire socket on the UltraLite-mk3. If you
attemp t to force the plug into the socket the wrong
way, you can damage the UltraLite-mk3.

2 Plug one end of the UltraLite-mk3 FireWire
cable (included) into the FireWire socket on the
computer as shown below in Figure 3-1.

18

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

If you are connecting via USB2

Some USB ports on com pu ters ar e USB Version 1.1
ports, which support low-power, low-bandwidth
peripherals such as your computer’s mouse and
keyboard. USB 1 ports do not support the high­speed operation nec essary for the UltraLite-mk3. If
you are n ot sur e if the USB ports on yo ur com pu ter
are Hi-speed USB2 or not, check your computer’s
documentation. Or check your computer as
follows:

■ On the Mac, you can run System Profiler (Apple

menu> About This Mac> More Info...) to view the

specifications for each USB port on your Mac.
Look in the hardware list f or US B and clic k it. I f the
USB bus description on the right-hand side says
USB High Speed Bus, then your Mac has USB2.

■ On Windo ws, open Device M anager and e xpand

the Universal Serial Bus section. There should be
an “Enhanced” USB host controller present.

Figure 3-2: Connecting the UltraLite-mk3 to the computer via USB.

☛ Due to the way all USB 1.1 and USB 2.0

devices share bandwidth, you will achieve better
overall performance by placing 1.1 and 2.0 devices
on separate busses, if possible. For details, refer to
the tech support database at www.motu.com.

1 Before you begin, make sure your computer and
the UltraLite-mk3 are switched off.

2 Plug the flat “type A” plug of the UltraLite-mk3
USB cable (incl uded) in to a USB2-equi pped sock et
on the computer as shown below in Figure 3-1.

3 Plug the squared “type B” plug of the USB cable
into the UltraLite-mk3 I/O as shown below in
Figure 3-1.

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

19

CONNECT AUDIO INPUTS AND OUTPUTS

The UltraLite-mk3 audio interface has the
following audio input and output connectors:

■ 10 balanced quarter-inch analog outputs

■ 6 balanced quarter-inch analog inputs

■ 2 XLR/quarter-in c h “combo” analog inp u ts with

preamps

■ 1 pair of RCA S/PDIF in and out

Here are a few things you should keep in mind as
you are making th ese co nnection s to o ther d evices.

Mic/instrument inputs

Connect a microphone, guitar, instrument or other
analog input to the XLR/TRS combo jack with
either a standard mic cable o r a balanced cabl e with
a quarter-inch plug.

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

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

20 dB pad

The mic input (XLR jac k) is eq uip ped with a 20 dB
pad, so “hot” signals are best connected via an XLR
cable so that you can use the pad. To toggle the
20 dB pad for a mic input, quickly push its TRIM
rotary encoder. The green LED below will turn on
or off accordingly.

Since the pad is not available on the TRS jack, hot
signals connected via the TRS jack will probably
overdrive the input.

Combo jack summary

Use these general guidelines for the 48V phantom
power, pad and trim settings on the two combo
input jacks:

Input 48V Pad Trim

Condenser mic On As needed As needed
Dynamic mic Off As needed As needed
Guitar Off n/a As needed

-10 dB Line level via TRS Off n/a As needed

Phantom power

If you are connecting a condenser microphone or
other device that requires phantom power, push
and hold the corresponding front-panel TRIM
rotary encoder for a few sec onds to t oggle phantom
power. The red LED below will turn on or off
accordingly.

Trim

The XLR mic input and the TRS instrument input
are equipped with 60 dB and 32 dB o f trim control,
respectively. Use the digital trim encoders on the
front panel to adjust the input level as needed for
each input. The LCD provides visual feedback as
you turn the trim knob. The UltraLite-mk3’s input
trims are digital controlled, so they allow you to
make fine-tuned adjustments in precise 1dB
increments. You can also adjust trim in the MOTU
CueMix FX software. See “Input trim” on page 73.

-10 dB Line level via XLR Off -20 dB +12dB
+4 dB line level (XLR only) Off -20 dB Zero

Quarter-inch analog

The quarter-inch analog inputs (3-8) and outputs
(1-8 plus main ou t) are balanced (TRS) co nnectors
that can also accept an unbalanced plug.

The quarter-inch o utpu ts are calib rat ed to pr oduce
a +4 dBu line level output signal.

Quarter-inch analog inpu t trims

The quarter-inch inputs are calibrated to
accommodat e ei ther +4 or -10 dBu signals and are
equipped with digitally controlled analog trims
that provide +22 dB of gain and -96 dB of cut. You
can use either the front panel LCD or the included
CueMix FX software to adjust the input trim. To

20

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

adjust these trims using CueMix FX, see “Input
trim” on page 73. To adjust the trims using the
front panel LCD:

1 Push the PARAM knob repeat edly until you see
CUEMIX in the LCD display.

2 Push the CHANNEL knob repeatedly until you
see “I:” (which stands for Input) in the CHANNEL
section of the LCD (Figure 3-3).

3 Turn the CHANNEL KNOB until you see the
desired analog input or input pair. For example,
analog inputs 1-2 appear as “I:An 1-2”
(Figure 3-3), which means Input analog 1-2.

4 From the factory, analog inputs are grouped in
stereo pairs (1-2, 3-4, etc.) If you need to spli t a pair
to program it as two individual mono inputs, turn
the PARAM knob until you see PAIR in the
parameter section of the LCD (Figure 3-3). Turn
the VALUE knob to choose MONO. Then turn the
CHANNEL knob again to select the desired input.

Separate main outs

The main outputs operate as an independent pair
(they don’t share signal with any other output
pair). I n a standard studio configuration, th e main
outs are in t en d ed f o r a pair o f studio moni t o rs, but
they can also be used as regular outputs for any
purpose. Their reference level is +4dB. Main out
volume is controlled by the VOL knob on the front
panel: push it repeatedly until you see MASTER
and then turn it to adjust the master volume
output. This knob can be programmed to cont rol
any combination of outputs you wish.

S/PDIF

If you make a S/PDIF digital audio connection to
another device, be sure to review the digital audio
clocking issues, as explained in “Connecting and
syncing S/PDIF devices” on page 22.

The UltraLite-mk3 on-board mixer also supplies
12dB of digital trim adjustment for the S/PDIF
input pair, which can be adj usted fr o m C ueMix FX
(“Input trim” on page 73) or th e fro nt panel (using
the same procedure as explained earlier for
“Quarter-inch analog input trims” on page 20.

CONNECT MIDI GEAR

Connect your MIDI device’s MIDI IN jack to the
UltraLite-mk3’s MIDI OUT jack (Connection A

Figure 3-3: The settings for analog inputs 1 and 2 (as a pair).

5 After splitting the stereo pair, if necessary, turn
the PARAM knob until you see the TRIM
parameter in the LCD (Figure 3-4):

Figure 3-4: Setting the input trim for a TRS analog input pair.

6 Turn the VALUE knob to adjust the trim.

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

below). Conversely, connect the MIDI device’s
MIDI OUT jack to the UltraLite-mk3’s MIDI IN
jack (Connection B).

Connection A

MIDI Device

Figure 3-5: Connecting a MIDI device to the UltraLite-mk3.

MIDI
OUT

UltraLite-mk3

rear panel

cables

MIDI INMIDI

MIDI

OUT

MIDI

IN

Connection B

21

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
shown in Figure 3-5. 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 AND SYNCING S/PDIF
DEVICES

DAT decks and other devices with S/PDIF digital
I/O will sync to the UltraLite-mk3 in via the
S/PDIF connection itself. Just connect it to the
UltraLite-mk3 via the S/PDIF connectors. When
the device records a digital audio signal (from the
UltraLite-mk3), it will simply synchronize to the
clock provided by the digital audio input.

Connecting additional gear with MIDI THRUs

If you need to c o nn ect seve ral p iec es o f MIDI gear,
run a MIDI cable from the MIDI THRU of a device
already connected to the UltraLite-mk3 to the
MIDI IN on the additional device as shown below
in Figure 3-6. The two devices then share the
UltraLite-mk3’s MIDI OUT port. This means that
they share the same set of 16 MIDI channels, too,
so try to do this with devices that receive on only
one MIDI channel (such as effects modules) so
their receive channels don’t conflict with one
another.

UltraLite-mk3

rear panel

MIDI

OUT

MIDI

MIDI Device

IN

On the other hand, when you transfer audio from
the S/PDIF device into the UltraLite-mk3, you’ll
have to s la v e the Ul traLite-mk3 t o its S/PD IF in pu t.

UltraLite-mk3

S/PDIF

S/PDIF

S/PDIF device

UltraLite-mk3

Clock Source setting =

S/PDIF (when transferring from the

other device to the UltraLite-mk3)

Figure 3-7: The setup for synchronizing a S/PDIF device with the
UltraLite-mk3. Sync is achieved via the digital I/O connection itself. In
this case, you have to choose S/PDIF as the UltraLite-mk3’s clock
source when recording from the other device.

UltraLite-mk3

Clock Source setting =

Internal (when transferring from the

UltraLite-mk3 to the other device)

Figure 3-6: Connecting additional devices with MIDI THRU ports.

MIDI Thru when operating stand-alone

The UltraLite-mk3 has a MIDI Thru feature for
stand-alone operation. See “MIDI Thru in
standalone” on page 42.

22

MIDI

THRU

Additional device

MIDI

cable

MIDI IN

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

POWER OPTIONS

The UltraLite-mk3 can draw power from two
possible sources:

chain should also have their own power supply. In
general, bus-powered FireWire devices should not
be daisy-chained.

1. the computer via FireWire, or

2. a DC power supply.
If you use USB2 to connect to your computer, you

must also use the DC power supply included with
your UltraLite-mk3, as USB2 does not supply
enough power by itself.

Bus power requirements

The UltraLite-mk3 draws all the power it needs
from the FireWire bus connection to the computer.
How ever, the F ireWire connection to the co mp uter
must meet all of the requirements discussed below.

6-pin FireWire connectors

The UltraLite-mk3 can only draw power over the
FireW ir e bus from a 6-p in to 6-pin ca ble, o r 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

Figure 3-8: 4-pin FireWire connectors cannot be used for bus power.

When operating under bus po wer , daisy-chaining
is not recommended

The UltraLite-mk3 can be daisy-chained with
other FireWire devices from a single FireWire
connection to the computer. However, if the
UltraLite-mk3 is opera ting under bus po wer, this is
not recommended. If you need to daisy chain the
UltraLite-mk3 with other devices on the same
FireWire bus, power the UltraLite-mk3 with the
included power adapter. The other devices on the

4-pin FireWire

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

UltraLite-mk3 to a PCI card and run the
UltraLite-mk3 under bus po wer, the PCI card m ust
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 or ExpressCard slot adapters — If you

plan to connect the UltraLite-mk3 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. 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
UltraLite-mk3 operation:

Bus power from a desktop computer

Your desktop computer is running off of its usual
AC power connection, and the UltraLite-mk3
draws pow er fro m th e F ir eWire 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
UltraLite-mk3 is pow ered via the Fir eW ir e bus and
there are no limits to running time.

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

23

Bus power from a battery-powered laptop

The laptop is being po wered b y its o wn battery, and
the UltraLite-mk3 is being po wer ed by i ts Fir eW ir e
connection to the computer. So the laptop battery
is supplying power to both the laptop and the
UltraLite-mk3. This is the most compact and
portable operating scenario. Running time is
determined by the capacity of the laptop battery.
For extended recording sessions, bring extra, fully
charged laptop batteries.

does it use? The answer is: the source that is
currently supplying the greatest voltage. But in
practice, it doesn’t really matter because the only
situation in which y o u need t o be co nc erned abou t
the UltraLite-mk3’s power draw is when you are
operating it with a battery-power ed laptop. And in
this situation, the only available power is from
FireWire. In all other situations, the computer has
its own power, so it doesn’t matter if the
UltraLite-mk3 is drawing power from FireWire.

DC power supply

If you do not want the UltraLite-mk3 to draw
power from the computer, and AC power is
available, you can power the UltraLite-mk3 from
any standard 8-18 volt, 12 watt DC power supply
with any polarity (tip positive or negative), and
amperage as shown below.

Voltage Amperage

9 volts 1.33 amps
12 volts 1 amp
18 volts 0.66 amps

Bus power versus DC power

When you connect a DC power supply, the
UltraLite-mk3 could draw power from either
FireWire or the DC power supply. So which source

Turning off the UltraLite-mk3

To turn on the UltraLite-mk3, push the VOL knob.
To turn it off, push and hold the VOL knob. When
the UltraLite-mk3 is turned off, it is really in a sort
of “sleep” mode, where it still draws just enough
power to detect the power switch (a digital
encoder) when the UltraLite-mk3 is turned back
on. But the amount of power that the
UltraLite-mk3 draws when it is turned off is so
small that it has very little practical impact. If you
are running a laptop und er battery power, and you
are in a situation where you are not using the
UltraLite-mk3 and yo u need every last bit of laptop
battery power, unplug the UltraLite-mk3 entirely
from the computer.

24

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

A TYPICAL ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID SETUP

Here is a typical UltraLite-mk3 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 UltraLite-mk3’s CueMix™ FX 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 FX software.

UltraLite-mk3

rear panel

MIDI IN

MIDI OUT

synthesizer

mic

quarter-inch

analog outs

headphones

guitars (with or
without an amp)

Analog outputs (sends, stage

monitors, surround monitors, etc.)

FireWire
or USB2

Mac

DAT deck

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

S/PDIF

Figure 3-9: A typical UltraLite-mk3 studio setup.

Compressor, reverb or other

analog outboard gear

Analog
returns

monitors

25

CONNECTING MULTIPLE MOTU FIREWIRE
INTERFACES

You can daisy-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).

Mac

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

FireWire

828mk3 or other

FireWire device

with multiple
FireWire ports

Figure 3-11: 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, ac cessing all o f their inpu ts and ou tpu ts
from your host audio application — or even
multiple applications — simultaneously. You can
even take ad vantage of Mac OS X ’ s aggrega te device
driver feature, which allows you to create a unified
“meta device” out of several different audio
interfaces. The aggregate device presents to your
host software all of the inputs and outputs of the
included devices.

Figure 3-10: Connecting multiple MOTU FireWire audio interfaces.

Multiple interfaces cannot be bus-powered

Do not run the UltraLite-mk3 under bus power
when connecting it with other devices to the same
FireW ir e bus. See “Pow er o ptions” and “Bus power
requirements” on page 23.

Multiple interfaces in MOTU Audio Setup

MOTU Audio Setup displays the settings for one
interface at a time. To view the settings for an
interface, click its tab as shown below in
Figure 3-11.

26

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

An important fea ture of this flexible driver m odel is
that multiple drivers can be synchronized to one
another in order to remain resolved to each
another. Without synchronization, the audio
streams being handled by each interface might
drift with respect to one another. For example, the
audio tracks playing back through the
UltraLite-mk3 might drift out of sync with the
audio tracks playing back through your 2408mk3
PCI interface. Synchronizing them to each other
ensures that they remain as tightly and
continuously phase-locked as if they were
operating as one unified interface.

Resolving to other Core audio drivers

So if you combine the UltraLite-mk3 with other
interfaces for the playback and/or recording of
multiple audio streams (that must remain

synchronized with each other), it is important to
synchronize the UltraLite-mk3 with the other
device(s).

The MOTU FireWire driver has the ability to
resolve t o other Cor e A u dio drivers. This allows the
UltraLite-mk3, and other 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 exte rnal w ord clock connections between
the devices. Doing so ensures that audio tracks
being play ed or recorded by your MOTU FireW ire
interface will not drift apart from tracks on the
other device during long playback or recording
passes.

To synchronize multiple devices via the MOTU
FireWire driver, choose one device (PCI, FireWire
or otherwise) as the master clock and then slav e the
UltraLite-mk3 and other F ir eWire devices to it. All
interfaces will remain resolv ed 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 MOTU

Au dio Setu p and choo se an y cloc k so urc e y o u wish
(except any of the slave interfaces, of course).

■ For each slave interface, click its tab and choose

the master interface fro m the Clock Sour ce menu, as
demonstrated below in Figure 3-12. This causes
the slave interfaces to resolve to the master
interface.

Figure 3-12: To resolve a MOTU FireWire interface to another Core
Audio device, choose the other device from the Clock Source menu in
MOTU Audio Setup. In this example, the UltraLite-mk3 will slave to
the Traveler .

If you have multiple UltraLites, choose one as the
master, and set its Clock Source to Internal. Then,
click the tab of the other UltraLites and set their
Clock Source to the first UltraLite-mk3.

Connecting other MOTU FireWire interfaces

You can add an original MOTU 828 to the end of a
FireW ir e daisy chain (beca use the 828 has only o ne
FireW ir e po rt), or y o u can mix and ma t ch m ul tiple
UltraLites with other MOTU FireWire interfaces
using a standard FireWire hub. You can also add
828mkIIs, 828mk3s, 896HDs, 896mk3s, Travelers
and UltraLites, which have two FireWire ports
convenient for daisy-chaining. Up to four
interfaces can be combined on one FireWire bus.

Operating multiple FireWir e in terfaces at high
sample rates

Four MOTU FireWire interfaces can operate at

44.1 or 48kHz on a single FireWire bus, although
you may have to disable optical banks (on
interfaces that have them) to conserve FireWire bus
bandwidth. A t the 2x samp les rat es (88.2 or 96kHz)
and 4x sample rates (176.4 and 192kHz), you can
operate no mor e than two FireWire interfaces on a
single FireWire bus.

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

27

Adding additional interfaces with a second
FireWire bus

Third-party FireWire bus expansion products in
the form of a cardbus (“PC card”) adaptor,
ExpressCard ada p tor or PCI card allow you t o a d d
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 prod u ct and
the performance of your host computer.

28

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID HARDWARE

CHAPTER

E

4 Installing the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid

Mac Software

OVERVIEW

Software installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

CueMix FX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

MOTU SMPTE Console. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

AudioDesk workstation software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

Install the UltraLite-mk3 software as follows:
1 Insert the MOTU Audio Installer disc and

launch the installer.
2 Follow th e direction s tha t the installer giv es y o u.

What does the OS X installer do?

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 MOTU Audio Setup, CueMix FX, and
several other applications, summarized below:

The UltraLite-mk3 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
UltraLite-mk3 to establish audio input and output
with any Mac OS X Core Audio-compatible
software.

Once the UltraLite-mk3’s Core Audio driver has
been successfully installed (by the installer), and
you have chosen it for use in your host audio
software, the Ul traLite-mk3 will appear as a cho ic e
for audio inputs and outputs in your software.

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.

Software component Location Purpose For more information

MOTU FireWire Audio driver.kext /System/Library/

MOTU MIDI driver.kext /System/Library/

MOTU MIDI driver.plugin /System/Library/

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

CueMix FX Applications folder Gives you complete control over the

MOTU SMPTE Setup Applications folder Provides access to the UltraLite-mk3 system’s

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

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

Extensions

Extensions

Audio/MIDI Drivers

Provides UltraLite-mk3 multi-channel audio
input and output with all Mac OS X audio software

Provides UltraLite-mk3 MIDI input and output
for all Mac OS X MIDI software

Provides UltraLite-mk3 MIDI input and output
for all Mac OS X MIDI software

UltraLite-mk3 and other MOTU FireWire inter­faces. Required for UltraLite-mk3 operation.

UltraLite-mk3’s CueMix DSP feature, which pro­vides no-latency monitoring and mixing of live
inputs through your UltraLite-mk3 system.

SMPTE time code sync features.

and processing. Optional.

play, and mix in AudioDesk. Optional.

“The UltraLite-mk3 Core
Audio driver” on page 29

“CoreMIDI and Audio
MIDI Setup” on page 30

“CoreMIDI and Audio
MIDI Setup” on page 30

chapter 5, “MOTU Audio
Setup” (page 33)

chapter 11, “CueMix FX”
(page 67)

chapter 12, “MOTU SMPT
Console” (page 109)

AudioDesk User Guide

AudioDesk User Guide

29

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
UltraLite-mk3 FireWire interface and all
CoreMIDI compatible software.

Audio MIDI Setup is a utility included with
Mac OS X that allows you to configure your
UltraLite-mk3 inte rface for use with all CoreMID I
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 yo u need it in any Co reMIDI-co mpatibl e
program

Launching Audio MIDI Setup

1 Make sure your UltraLite-mk3 interface is
connected and turned on.

Figure 4-1: The UltraLite-mk3 interface as it appears in the MIDI tab
of Audio MIDI Setup.

Connecting MIDI devices to the UltraLite-mk3

Once your UltraLite-mk3 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 applicat ions.

To add a device in Audio 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 in terface is presen t in the
MIDI Devices tab of Audio MIDI Setup.

If the interfaces does not appear, or if it is grayed
out, c heck y o ur cable c onn ections and cli ck Rescan
MIDI.

30

INSTALLING THE ULTRALITE-MK3 HYBRID MAC SOFTWARE

Figure 4-2: Adding a MIDI device.

2 Drag on its input and output arrows to draw
connections to the UltraLite-mk3 that match its
physical connection.