Lexicon Alpha Desktop Recording Studio Owner's Manual
Lexicon Alpha Desktop Recording Studio Owner's Manual

Lexicon Alpha Desktop Recording Studio Owner's Manual

Lexicon alpha desktop recording studio owner's manual

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Owner's Manual
Complete reCording solution

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Summary of Contents for Lexicon Alpha Desktop Recording Studio

  • Page 1 Owner’s Manual Complete reCording solution...
  • Page 2: Important Safety Instructions

    IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS The symbols shown above are internationally accepted symbols that warn of potential hazards with electrical products. The lightning flash with arrowpoint in an equilateral triangle means that there are dangerous voltages present within the unit. The exclamation point in an equilateral triangle indicates that it is necessary for the user to refer to the owner’s manual.
  • Page 3: Electromagnetic Compatibility

    Engineering - mI 8760 S. Sandy Parkway Sandy, Utah 84070, USA Date: February 2, 2006 European Contact: Your local Lexicon Professional Sales and Service Office or harman music Group 8760 S. Sandy Pkwy. Sandy, UT 84070 USA Ph: (801) 566-8800...
  • Page 4 5. The foregoing is in lieu of all other warranties, expressed or implied, and Lexicon Professional neither assumes nor authorizes any person to assume on its behalf any obligation or liability in connection with the sale of this product.
  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents TAblE OF CONTENTS INTROdUCTION ... 8 FEATURES ...8 UNPACKING THE ALPHA STUDIO ...9 COMPUTER MINIMUM REqUIREMENTS ...9 ® Windows ... 9 ® ... 9 Macintosh THE FRONT PANEL ...10 ¼" Instrument Input Jack ... 10 Line 1/Inst ... 10 Peak LEDs ...
  • Page 6 Windows ® MACINTOSH Mac OS ... 17 USINg ThE lExICON Section I – Recording Audio With the Alpha Studio™ ... 19 A. Recording Using the Microphone/Line Input... 19 B. Recording a Guitar using the Instrument Input ... 26 Section II – Using Software Input Monitoring ... 28 Section III –...
  • Page 8: Introduction

    Alpha Studio package, providing the lush Lexicon reverbs that have been used on professional recordings for over thirty years. Alternatively, the Lexicon Alpha Studio may be used as an interface with almost any other major audio recording software you may have, such as Steinberg Nuendo...
  • Page 9: Unpacking The Alpha Studio

    Lexicon Alpha Desktop Recording Studio. As with all such systems, adding more RAM than the minimum will allow you to do more processing and improve per- formance, and more disk space will allow you to record more tracks for a longer time.
  • Page 10: The Front Panel

    The Front Panel Line 1 / Instrument Instrument 1/4˝ Instrument Input Jack ThE FRONT PANEl The Alpha Studio™ front panel offers the following features: ¼" INSTRUMENT INPUT JACK This ¼" jack accepts unbalanced, low-level, high impedance instrument sources such as electric guitar, acoustic guitar with a pickup, and electric bass. The input gain is adjusted using the Line 1/Inst knob on the front panel.
  • Page 11: Usb Led

    The Front Panel the faders on the Mixer screen of the software. To hear only the live source input sig- , turn the Monitor Mix knob fully left to Direct. nals plugged into the Alpha Studio To hear only the mix from the computer, turn the Monitor Mix knob fully right to Playback.
  • Page 12: The Rear Panel

    Mic Input Line In Line In 1-2 1/4” Left/Right Line Outputs RCA Left/Right Line Outputs Line Out Line Out Alpha Studio is a trademark of Lexicon Pro, Inc.
  • Page 13: Connecting To The Alpha Studio

    CONNECTINg TO ThE AlPhA STUdIO The Alpha Studio is both a 2 x 2 x 2 mixer and a USB audio interface that can be used in a variety of audio setups. This section describes how to make basic connections for the following applications: •...
  • Page 14: About Recording Connections

    About Recording Connections AbOUT RECORdINg CONNECTIONS Analog audio signals are created by microphones, synthesizers, mixers, and instru- ments with magnetic pickups. Of these sources, microphones and magnetic instrument pickups have the lowest output level, and generally require the most amplification. Keyboards, preamps, and mixers output “line level”...
  • Page 15: Mixdown Connections

    MIxdOWN CONNECTIONS After you record and mix your sessions in either Cubase ® LE 4 or other recording software, you may want to mix them down to a DAT, audio cassette, or other stereo 2-track recording device.
  • Page 16: Connections Diagram

    CONNECTIONS dIAgRAM Chan 2/Mic Chan 1/Inst Monitor Mix Output Leve l I nstrumen t M onito r S tereo Mono kP ea kU SB ¼"...
  • Page 17: Macintosh ® Software Setup

    USB setup. If you haven’t already installed the Cubase ® LE 4 and Lexicon Pantheon™ plug-in software, please do so before continuing on to the next section. MAC OS A USB device must initialize itself with the host computer to operate correctly. The simplest way to avoid problems is to connect the Alpha Studio to the USB port after the computer is booted.
  • Page 18: Using The Lexicon Alpha Studio

    2. Once Cubase LE 4 opens, go to Devices>Device Setup. 3. Under Devices, click on VST Audio System and select Alpha ASIO (for PC) or Lexicon Alpha In/Out (2) (for ® selected. Click on Switch to select the driver, then click OK.
  • Page 19: Section I - Recording Audio With The Alpha Studio

    Recording Audio with the Alpha Studio ™ SECTION I – RECORDING AUDIO WITH THE ALPHA STUDIO The diagram below shows how the Alpha Studio™ is connected for this particular setup. A. RECORDING USING THE MICROPHONE/LINE INPUT Line In 1 Mic Input P l u g y o u r m i cr o p h o n e ca b l e into th e X L R j a c k o r l i ne l e v e l a u d i o s o u r c e to th e...
  • Page 20 Recording Using the Microphone/Line Input 3. Select default and click OK. 4. Select a location to store the project (or use the default location) and click OK. You may want to create a new folder for every new project.
  • Page 21 To set the input of the track to record: 1. Click the Project menu and select Add Track > Audio. When the Add Audio Track dialog appears, make sure the Configuration option is set to Mono and click OK. 2. Make sure the Show Inspector button the screen is lit.
  • Page 22 Recording Using the Microphone/Line Input 3. In the Inspector, click the Left - Stereo In box and select Stereo In - Right for the track input source. (Stereo In - Left relates to Line 1/Inst, Stereo In - Right relates to Line 2/Mic inputs.) 4.
  • Page 23 Recording Using the Microphone/Line Input 5. In the Audio 01 window, make sure the Input Monitoring button is not lit.
  • Page 24 Recording Using the Microphone/Line Input Record Button Line 1/Inst or Line 2/Mic Stop Button Peak 1. Record Line 1/Inst 2. 3. Stop or Line 2/MIc 4. Rewind Play Monitor Button button to listen to the track you have just button on Cubase knob;...
  • Page 25 Rewind and Play Buttons 5. Turn the Alpha Studio™ Output Level knob to adjust the listening volume, and make sure the Monitor Mix knob is somewhere in the middle between Direct and Playback. To overdub a second track: 1. Click the Project menu and select Add Track > Audio. When the Add Audio Track dialog appears, make sure the Configuration option is set to Mono and click OK.
  • Page 26: Recording A Guitar Using The Instrument Input

    Recording a Guitar Using the Instrument Input B. RECORDING A GUITAR USING THE INSTRUMENT INPUT This section explains how to record using the ¼" Instrument input jack on the front panel. 1. Plug your electric, acoustic, or bass guitar into the Instrument input jack on the front of the Alpha Studio™...
  • Page 27 To set the input of the track to record from the 1-2 USB channels: 1. Click anywhere in the gray area (not on the buttons) of the Audio 01 window. 2. In the Inspector, click on the Left - Stereo In box and select Stereo In > Left for the track input source.
  • Page 28: Section Ii - Using Software Input Monitoring

    Using Software Input Monitoring SECTION II - USING SOFTWARE INPUT MONITORING The previous examples have turned off Cubase switches while recording tracks, and used the Monitor Mix knob on the front of the Alpha Studio™ hardware to directly monitor an input without latency. Software moni- toring lets you listen to software-based effects in real time and adjust the monitor mix independently of the recording levels, but also introduces some latency (delay) into the input signal.
  • Page 29 4. Left click on an Insert space and select Earlier VST Plug-ins, Lexicon Pantheon™. 5. Choose Large Hall from the drop down menu at the top of the Pantheon™ Edit Window. Using Software Input Monitoring ®,...
  • Page 30 Using Software Input Monitoring 6. Because this is an insert effect, move the Mix slider to 50% (see the Pantheon manual for more details). 7. Change the level to about -52dB. Now you will record with the Lexicon Reverb on your track. Pantheon...
  • Page 31: Section Iii - Adjusting The Buffer Settings

    SECTION III - ADJUSTING THE BUFFER SETTINGS Audio latency is the minimum time required for a computer to store recorded audio from an audio interface into the recording application memory and playback that...
  • Page 32: Adjusting The Buffers In Mac Osx

    Adjusting the buffer Settings B. ADJUSTING THE BUFFERS IN MAC ® 1. Open Cubase LE 4 and go to Devices>Device Setup. 2. Click on VST Audio System. 3. Click on Audio Buffer Size and select the Number of Samples. 4. When you are finished click OK.
  • Page 34: Specifications

    Dynamic Range: A/D/A (24 Bit) Power Requirements: Dimensions: Weight: Lexicon engineers are constantly working to improve the quality of our products.Specifications are therefore subject to change without notice. Female XLR Pin 2 Hot 600 Ohms balanced +50 dB −115 dB A-weighted @ +50dB gain (150 Ohm source impedance) –7 dBu...
  • Page 35: Signal Routing Diagram

    Lexicon Alpha Studio™ Signal Routing Diagram ®...
  • Page 36 Alpha Desktop Recording Studio™ Harman Music Group Questions or comments? 8760 South Sandy Parkway | Sandy, Utah 84070 U.S.A. Email us at: customer@lexiconpro.com Phone: 801-566-8800 | Fax: 801-566-7005 or visit our World Wide Web home page at: www.lexiconpro.com Copyright 2007 Lexicon Professional Part Number: 18-0346-C ®...

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