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Mackie MDR24/96 Operation Manual
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Mackie MDR24/96 Operation Manual

Operation guide
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Summary of Contents for Mackie MDR24/96

  • Page 2 * EN 55022 Radiated and Conducted Emissions 6. Power Sources — Connect the MDR24/96 only to a power source of the type * EN 61000-4-2 Electrostatic Discharge Immunity described in these operating instructions or as marked on the MDR24/96.
  • Page 4 Please write your serial number here for future reference: Purchased at: Date Of Purchase: Manual Part No. 0000107 Rev. B 10/02 © 2002 Mackie Designs Inc. All rights reserved Printed in the U.S.A.
  • Page 5 1. If you collect ten MDR24/96 boxes, Greg will come over for dinner (this offer does not apply to dealers or distributors). In the unlikely event that you should need to send the MDR24/96 back to Mackie for service, please use the shipping box it came in. This box has been specially designed to minimize damage to the MDR24/96 during shipping, so that it won’t...
  • Page 6 MDR24/96. Once you understand the functions, you’ll find them to be intuitive. Originally we plopped all of the controls onto the MDR24/96 front panel and found that after a while, it was entirely filled with buttons. So we decided to lose a few along the way, and hide the ones that were used less frequently (as often as you visited Aunt Sadie) somewhere under an LCD menu.
  • Page 7 BEATS TICKS HDR24/96. The project must be displaying BBT when last saved on the HDR. The display cannot be changed from the MDR24/96 directly. In BBT mode, the front panel display only shows tick numbers when the transport is stopped. When running, the Ticks field contains hyphens (- -). Leading spaces in the Bars field are also filled with hyphens, as: - - 73:04:45.
  • Page 8 TC indicates that the transport is receiving acceptable time code. This LED is only active when the MDR24/96 is set to chase time code. The LED blinks when time code is expected but is either not present or at the incorrect frame rate. When everything is in order with time code synchronization, it will be on.
  • Page 9 When familiar terms such as Tape Inputs, Tape Returns, Transport, and the like are applied to the MDR24/96, they mean exactly what you expect them to mean. Where the well-worn shoe fits, we continue to wear it.
  • Page 10 Y-cord splitters to send Tape Out 1 to MDR24/96 Inputs 1, 9 and 17; Tape Out 2 to MDR24/96 Inputs 2, 10, and 18, and so forth. • Cables to connect the MDR24/96 to the console: 3 or 6 multi-channel snakes or fiber optic cables, depending on your I/O setup.
  • Page 11 DB25 cables that break out to XLR connectors, and double-ended DB25 to DB25 AES/EBU cables for mating with your console, are readily available. The PDI•8 is the only Mackie I/O card that currently supports 88.2 or 96 kHz operation. At these sample rates, the PDI•8 card runs in “double- wide”...
  • Page 12 1. If the MDR24/96 is plugged into AC power, unplug it. 2. Unscrew the thumbscrews at the top and bottom of each I/O card to be removed. Grasp one thumbscrew with each hand and gently pull the card out. ANALOG I/O ANALOG I/O ANALOG I/O TAPE IN/OUTS 3.
  • Page 13 However, if you later synchronize the MDR24/96 to time code from a VTR, you must lock the VTR and MDR24/96 to a master video sync source and lock the D8B (which can’t sync to video) to word clock from the MDR24/96.
  • Page 14 Word Clock Out of the MDR24/96 to Word Clock In on the receiving device(s). With the MDR24/96 configured as a slave, connect the word clock out of the master ADAT Optical device to Word Clock In on the MDR24/96.
  • Page 15 90 and • Mackie Media PROJECT drives. Both drives come complete with a plug-in tray for quick removal and a nifty storage case for shelving and transporting the drives. Trays can be purchased separately if you want to use your own UDMA IDE drives.
  • Page 16 FOOT SWITCH 1/4" TS jack on the rear panel of the MDR24/96, the Remote 24, or Remote 48. If you have a Remote installed you can connect two foot switches, one to the MDR24/96 and one to the Remote. Each footswitch functions independently of the other.
  • Page 17 Before starting a Project, you will need to configure the MDR24/96 I/O card options and synchronization parameters. These parameters determine where the sample clock is coming from, how fast the sample clock runs, and how many bits are recorded in every sample. Some options, like sample rate and bit depth, will become “standards”...

  • Page 18: Sample Rate Convert

    The PDI•8 card options include sample rate conversion for each stereo AES/EBU input, and status bit control (pro/consumer mode) for each output. When a PDI•8 card is first installed, its default settings are for sample rate conversion Off, and channel status bits set to indicate the Pro (AES/EBU) format. In most circumstances you won’t need to change these settings.
  • Page 19 48 kHz because their digital video recorders use 48 kHz. Even though the MDR24/96 supports four Sample Rates, you can only choose between two at any given time. The range of available rates is determined by the current Project’s Sample Rate mode.
  • Page 20 “flywheel” window of ten frames. If the time code problem is corrected within that window, the MDR24/96 will continue to chase. If not, it will drop out of time code chase mode and stop.
  • Page 21 Use MMC On/Off to toggle MIDI Machine Control at the MDR24/96 MIDI Out. Preroll is the amount of time by which the transport location is offset when jumping to a locate point. If Preroll is other than zero, the transport will locate to a point earlier than the locate time by the amount of time set in the Preroll window.
  • Page 22 Sample Rate. The Word Clock divisors determine whether Word Clock In and Word Clock Out run at 1x or 0.5x the MDR24/96 Sample Rate. Both divisors can be set independently. 1. Move to the last page of the SYNC OPTIONS menu with the Page Right (>) button.
  • Page 23 Before you begin, note how the three eight-channel I/O cards are arranged on the MDR24/96 rear panel: 1-8 is on the left, 9-16 is in the center, and 17-24 is on the right. Labeling each cable before you begin will make connecting the MDR24/96 to your console easier.
  • Page 24 2. Set the Sample Rate and Bit Depth according to your preference. It is not necessary to set the D8B and MDR24/96 to the same sample rate since, with analog connections, the sample clocks on the two units are not synchronized.
  • Page 25 1. Set the Tape Input format for each DIO•8 card to TDIF, and the Tape Output format to TDIF. 2. If the MDR24/96 is the clock master, set the Sample Clock to Internal; if it is a clock slave, set it to Word Clock and depress the 75 Ω...
  • Page 26 (MDR24/96 (D8B as DIGITAL I/O DIGITAL I/O DIGITAL I/O Card as Master) Master) WARNING Use one only Depress the Termination button if the TDIF Connection MDR24/96 is set to Slave DIO•8 Cards Word Clock In Word Clock Out Figure 1...
  • Page 27 ADAT. OPT•8 cards need no configuration. 2. If the MDR24/96 is the clock master, set the Sample Clock to Internal; If the MDR24/96 is a clock slave, set the Sample Clock to Word Clock and depress the 75Ω...
  • Page 28 DIGITAL I/O (MDR24/96 (D8B as Card as Master) Master) WARNING Use one only Depress the Termination button if the MDR24/96 is set to Slave ADAT Optical Out Word Clock In ADAT Optical In Word Clock Out DIO•8 Cards Figure 2...
  • Page 29 Clock Out Sync (MDR24/96 (D8B as Card as Master) Master) ADAT Optical Out WARNING Use one only Depress the Termination button if the MDR24/96 is set to Slave ADAT Optical In Word Clock In OPT•8 Cards Word Clock Out Figure 3...
  • Page 30 MDR24/96 Word Clock In. To make the MDR24/96 the master, connect its Word Clock Out to the D8B Word Clock In. 1. If the MDR24/96 is the clock master, set the Sample Clock to Internal; if it is a clock slave, set the Sample Clock to Word Clock and depress the 75Ω...
  • Page 31 PDI•8 PDI•8 Clock Out Clock Out Sync (MDR24/96 (D8B as Card as Master) Master) WARNING Use one only Depress the Termination button if the MDR24/96 is set to Slave Word Clock In Word Clock Out PDI•8 I/O Cards Figure 4...
  • Page 32 After you’re done recording, you will learn how to back up your project to Mackie Media M•90 and Mackie Media PROJECT drives. Now that you have a few basics down, you’re ready to start recording. First, you’ll need to create a new Project.
  • Page 33 We’ve included two demonstration Projects, Ode to Masters and Little Bit of Love, to help you get familiar with the MDR24/96 right out of the box. At this point, you should see the name of the demo Project in the LCD display.
  • Page 34 “Project Backup/Restore.” The project you wish to delete cannot be the active project. The MDR24/96 will warn you if you try to do this, so be sure to open a different project first. Then delete the project.
  • Page 35 With Mackie Media drives, you can back up your Projects on removable media that you can hand to the client or store in your tape library. Backing up and restoring Projects is as simple as copying the Projects between the internal and the Mackie Media drives.
  • Page 36 The MDR24/96 transport and recording controls are similar to those on most multitrack tape recorders. PLAY puts the MDR24/96 into play from any state (as if you didn’t know). Play also punches out of record and cancels master record standby while leaving the Transport in play.
  • Page 37 SECONDS FRAMES BARS BEATS TICKS The Current Time display shows the exact position of the MDR24/96’s “playback head.” Current Time is displayed in SMPTE time (HH:MM:SS:FRAMES). Use the Transport PLAY, REWIND, FAST FWD or LOC buttons. ♦ Locate points provide fast access to frequently used locations in your Project.
  • Page 38 Saying the MDR24/96 is just a 24-track recorder is like saying a Ferrari 550 is just a car. It’s true, but it misses the point entirely. The MDR24/96 has many features that place it above an ordinary 24-track recorder. One difference between the MDR24/96 and some other recorders is the virtual tracks.
  • Page 39 The MDR24/96 allows you to mute the playback of any track. This can be useful to mute certain tracks while editing without having to reach for your mixer board.
  • Page 40 AUTO TAKE the MDR24/96 will step through virtual tracks on each record pass for all Record Ready tracks. For example, if you are recording vocals on track 12, your first take may be on virtual track one. With the Auto Take button engaged, the next time you press record, the virtual track on track 12 will be incremented to virtual track 2.
  • Page 41 24 tracks of the console. Adjust the output levels to read 0 VU on analog consoles, or around –20 dBFS on digital consoles. If the MDR24/96 meters read –15 to –20, you’re in good shape. This leaves enough headroom for most popular music, but if you’re recording acoustic music, jazz, classical, or narration, you may want to leave a little more.
  • Page 42 Master Record mode. When in PUNCH the Punch mode, the MDR24/96 will actually record only between the two Punch markers. Pressing the RECORD button when outside the markers will have no effect other than arming for...
  • Page 43 REHEARSE button. REHEARSE The MDR24/96 can be set up to perform key functions simply by stepping on a footswitch. Simply connect a normally open footswitch to the FOOT SWITCH jack on the back of the MDR24/96. You can also connect a second footswitch with a different function assignment to the Footswitch input of a Remote 24 or Remote 48 Pro.
  • Page 44 Track Number window on the Remote 24. The meters on the MDR24/96 will continue to display signal on all of the tracks with audio, but the MDR24/96 will output audio from only the soloed track. Press the footswitch again with the same track selected to disengage the solo function and to return the MDR24/96 to regular operation.

  • Page 45: Delete Last

    One way to save disk space is to use the DELETE LAST button after a bad recording pass. One of the benefits of digital recording with the MDR24/96 is that you can keep every take and decide later which one to use. But sometimes you know right off that the last take will never see the light of day.

  • Page 46: Track Edit

    The TRACK/EDIT button gives you access to the set of non-destructive editing tools on the MDR24/96. The MDR24/96 allows you to cut or copy a piece of audio from any track and paste it onto any other track. You can, for example, move a vocal from the first chorus of a song and paste it over a take in the second chorus.
  • Page 47 Start select button. 4. Press the Edit select button to perform the operation. There are five edit operations on the MDR24/96. Three are different ways to place audio onto the clipboard, and two are different ways to return audio from the clipboard to the selected track(s).
  • Page 48 If we copy audio from tracks 12, 15, 16, and 17 and paste them starting on track 12, the MDR24/96 will paste the tracks in the same tracks they were copied from. If we instead paste these with the track 1 record ready light lit, the tracks will be pasted onto tracks 1, 4, 5 and 6.
  • Page 49 You can also use the Undo- Redo to correct a bad recording pass. The MDR24/96 keeps a record of the last 999 commands you performed on the current project since the last time the project was opened.
  • Page 50 Undo Current List item number you are Redo Prior Command Command currently on. As you undo or redo items you will see this number decrease or increase. Keep note of this number when you find something you like or write it down before you perform a series of edits so that you can quickly navigate to this history point...
  • Page 51 Be sure that the track 12 Record Ready light is lit; this tells the MDR24/96 that track 12 is the first track we wish to paste onto. Since we copied multiple tracks, the MDR24/96 will paste the first copied track onto track 12, and the rest will be in the proper order on the correct tracks.
  • Page 52 Now choose Copy in the Track/Edit menu. Press the REC (Record Ready) button on track 11 to tell the MDR24/96 that we wish to edit this track. Find a blank space after the first verse and mark this as the out point of our edit by selecting End.
  • Page 53 MDR24/96 and use the FTP Client on your computer to locate the files on the MDR24/96 that you wish to edit. There is a Master projects folder that holds all of the projects and inside will be a folder for each project. Inside any particular project folder will be one and possibly more Audio Files folders where the individual audio files are held.
  • Page 54 Windows 98 SE, Millenium, or 2000 on it, or with any Mac that has OS 10 installed. Mackie Media drives can also be read by any system that can Format them. So, for example, you can insert a Mackie Media PROJECT disk into your Macintosh SCSI or IDE ORB drive and copy your Projects’...
  • Page 55 Use this command to mount a new Mackie Media PROJECT disk, or to view the size of files in a Project file list. 1. Press the DISK UTIL button. Select Mount. 2. Press the DISK UTIL button again to exit after the mounting operation...
  • Page 56 Additional information and troubleshooting tips can be found in the HDR24/96 Technical Reference Guide. Technical support is available by contacting your Mackie dealer, calling Mackie Designs at (800) 258-6883 (8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time), or visiting Mackie’s website at www.mackie.com.
  • Page 57 After you choose OK, it will quickly expand all the files and tell you that the installation was successful. 4. Press the OK button, eject the disk, turn off the MDR24/96, and after a few seconds, turn it back on. It will boot with the new OS successfully...
  • Page 58 Pin 1 Ch 8 Ch16 Ch24 Pin 14 – Ch 8 Ch16 Ch24 Pin 2 shield Ch 8 Ch16 Ch24 Pin 15 Ch 7 Ch15 Ch23 Pin 3 – Ch 7 Ch15 Ch23 Pin 16 shield Ch 7 Ch15 Ch23 Pin 4 Ch 6 Ch14...
  • Page 59 The following companies supply analog and digital multitrack cables for use with the MDR24/96 I/O cards: P.O. Box 1988, Cape Girardeau MO 63702-1988 Tel: (800) 255-9822; Fax: (800) 455-3460 http://www.horizonmusic.com AIO•8 Analog Interface Cables HDA8 Series DB25 to [specify connector] Connector options: 8 male XLR, 8 female XLR, or 8 1/4”...
  • Page 60 PO Box 2027, Culver City, CA 90231 Tel: (800) 800-6608; Fax: (310) 391-8926 http://www.mars-cam.com/cable.html AIO•8 Analog Interface Cables DC-DAXM Series DB25 to 8 male XLR’s DC-DAXF Series DB25 to 8 female XLR’s DC-DAS Series DB25 to 8 1/4” TRS connectors Standard lengths: 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 feet DIO•8 TDIF Interface Cables...
  • Page 61 The MDR24/96 comes to you with a handy 10/100 Base-T local area network (LAN) card built in. The main purpose of networking the MDR24/96 using Ethernet is to share or back up project files to a computer, network server/router, or other device with an Ethernet connection and common protocol. It can also be used to transfer files to a computer for editing.
  • Page 62 For the simple network described here, simply plug one end of the cable into the Ethernet port on the network card installed in the computer. Connect the other end of the cable to the Ethernet port on the MDR24/96. Either end of the cable can go to either device.
  • Page 63 MDR are not set up for the same address so they don’t collide on the network. In a simple network, the IP addresses should be identical except for the last field. In general you can change the settings on the computer or the MDR24/96 to match the other.
  • Page 64 Internet, providing those are functioning normally, it is best to record your current settings and set the MDR24/96 accordingly. Changing network settings may cause problems with your existing networking. If the “Specify an IP Address” button is checked and there is an address and subnet mask displayed, jot those numbers down.
  • Page 65 MDR24/96. If the fields are blank, we must assign an IP address and subnet to the Mac. 7. Set the IP address to be identical to that of the MDR24/96 except for the last field. For example, the default IP address on the MDR24/96 is 10.10.28.20.
  • Page 66 MDR24/96’s hard drive. The internal hard drive is C: and the external hard drive is E:. 9. Now you can copy files from the MDR24/96 to your computer, or from your computer to the MDR24/96. Refer to your FTP client program for details.
  • Page 67 FTP client to connect to the internal file system of the recorder. Because it’s possible that an unknown computer may connect to the MDR24/96 and add or delete files, care should be taken when connecting the MDR to a publicly available network (WAN).
  • Page 68 Hubs are designed to use standard cables. The recorder’s Ethernet card is hardware configured to operate at 100 Mbps. If you wish to connect an MDR24/96 to an existing Ethernet network that is configured for 10 Mbps transmission rates, it is necessary to use a 10/100...
  • Page 71 Operation Guide text composed by Dana Bourke, Benjamin Olswang and Tony Baird, based on a ballet by Jeff Gilbert. It was made possible by the teachings and donations of the MDR24/96 Design Team, most notably Brian McCully and Bob Tudor. Graphics and layout were performed by Tony Baird with technical support from Dave Franzwa, Steve Eborall and Frank “Weasel Boy”...
  • Page 72 16220 Wood-Red Rd. NE • Woodinville, WA 98072 • USA US & Canada: 800/898-3211 Europe, Asia, Central & South America: 425/487-4333 Middle East & Africa: 31-20-654-4000 Fax: 425/487-4337 • www.mackie.com E-mail: sales@mackie.com...