Troubleshooting - M-Audio black box User Manual

General Recording Instructions
The Black Box's DAW inputs (DSP Outputs, Guitar and Mic) will appear in your audio software. Depending on your chosen application,
these may also be labeled as ASIO inputs, WDM inputs or Core Audio inputs. Typically, the inputs will be shown simply as numbers
1-4.
< 1 (Left output of DSP)
< 2 (Right output of DSP)
Mounting the device to a mic stand
A mic stand mounting bracket with 4 mounting screws is included in the box. Once the mounting bracket has been screwed into
the Black Box, a mic stand can be screwed into the bracket. This can be handy for operating the device at a convenient height while
standing up to play, such as in a live setting.

Troubleshooting

The Black Box has been designed to give you high performance and professional quality audio. It has been tested under a wide
range of systems and operating conditions. In the real world, however, there are a nearly infinite number of possible operating
scenarios, any of which could affect your system's performance. Much like owning an automobile, "your mileage may vary." This
section cannot begin to cover all possible issues you may encounter, however we want to give you some basic suggestions on
common problems you may experience.
One thing to avoid is connecting too many devices on the same bus. The computer's USB bus is a dependable, high-speed, high-
bandwidth protocol, which is ideally suited for digital audio. Nonetheless, it's important to remember that audio and multimedia
streaming can place considerable demands on your processor and the available bandwidth of the USB bus. Although it is theoretically
possible to chain many multiple USB devices in series, doing so may potentially degrade your audio performance. Please make an
effort to run the Milky Way on a dedicated USB port connector and not chained through another device or attached to a USB Hub.
Generally, USB devices do not suffer from the IRQ conflicts sometimes encountered with PCI cards. If you are having trouble getting
audio into or out of your Black Box, please check the following.
If you have no sound:
< Be sure your Input/Playback knob is set appropriately and that your output level knob is turned up. Also make sure that you
are plugged in to the proper input jack and the input level knob is turned up.
< If you can hear drums, but no guitar or you can hear guitar but no drums, check the GTR/DRM BAL parameter in the Utility
menu. A setting of P50 will only provide guitar sound. A setting of D50 will only provide drum sounds. Any setting in between
will play a little of both. A middle setting of EQU means that that output of the drums is equal in volume to the output of the
guitar effect. A setting of SEP means the drum signal will come out of one output, while the guitar effect signal will come out
of the other.
< Check to see if the Black Box drivers are properly installed. In Windows XP, go to the Control Panel and double-click the System
icon (under Performance and Maintenance if you're in Category view). Select the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager
button. Click the plus sign ("+") next to "Sound, Video and Game Controllers," and locate the Black Box listing. If you see a
question mark or exclamation point next to it, or if you don't see the Black Box listed, you may need to reinstall the driver
software.
< Make sure your audio software has been properly set up to use the Black Box. Open your application's audio settings page
and check to see if the Black Box's ASIO or WDM drivers have been correctly selected.
< If you're certain the Black Box is correctly installed and configured for your audio software but there is still no audio, check your
signal path. Make sure your inputs are routed correctly by verifying that your application is receiving audio signal. Make sure
your outputs are routed correctly so that your signal is sent to your headphones, amp and/or monitors.
< Check your audio connections to make sure everything is plugged in correctly.
If you are experiencing clicks and pops in your recordings:
< Make sure your input signal levels are not too hot, as overdriving the inputs can cause distortion and clipping. Check the input
level meters in your audio application.
< Additionally, you might want to try using a larger buffer size. Larger buffer sizes can increase input latency time, but if you're
doing a mixdown, for example, this is not an issue. Increasing the buffer size can be helpful, particularly in the case of older or
lower-powered computer systems.
26
< 3 (Dry Guitar)
< 4 (Dry Mic)