MOTU 8pre User Manual
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MOTU 8pre User Manual

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MOTU 8pre
™
User's Guide for Windows
1280 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Business voice: (617) 576-2760
Business fax: (617) 576-3609
Technical support: (617) 576-3066
Tech support fax: (617) 354-3068
Tech support email: techsupport@motu.com
Web site: www.motu.com

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  • Page 1 MOTU 8pre ™ User’s Guide for Windows 1280 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 Business voice: (617) 576-2760 Business fax: (617) 576-3609 Technical support: (617) 576-3066 Tech support fax: (617) 354-3068 Tech support email: techsupport@motu.com Web site: www.motu.com...
  • Page 2 11. Power cord - Protect the 8pre power cord from being 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 8pre.
  • Page 3 Return Merchandise That license agreement is a contract, and clicking “Accept” binds you and MOTU to Authorization Number on the outside of the box below the shipping address.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Quick Reference: 8pre Rear Panel Quick Reference: MOTU Audio Setup About the 8pre Packing List and Windows System Requirements IMPORTANT! Run the 8pre Software Installer First Installing the 8pre Hardware MOTU Audio Setup Front Panel Settings Cubase, Nuendo and Other ASIO Software...

  • Page 7: Quick Reference: Motu Audio Setup

    This setting does not apply software. But lower settings also to the 8pre, which does not have a foot increase the strain on your switch input. computer. For details, see “Samples Per Buffer”...

  • Page 9: About The 8Pre

    About the 8pre CHAPTER OVERVIEW Eight-channel ADAT optical digital I/O at ■ The 8pre is and audio interface that can operate in sample rates up to 96 kHz two general modes: as a FireWire audio interface or MIDI I/O ■...
  • Page 10 The two 1394 FireWire jacks accept a standard trim knobs allow you to adjust each input indepen- IEEE 1394 FireWire cable to connect the 8pre to a FireWire-equipped Macintosh or Windows computer. The second jack can be used to daisy...
  • Page 11 ASIO2 sample-accurate sync protocol. WDM. THE 8PRE FRONT PANEL The 8pre also includes a ASIO and GSIF drivers for multi-channel compatibility with any audio Preamp trims, 48V phantom power and pad applications that support these drivers.
  • Page 12 A B O U T T H E 8 P R E...

  • Page 13: Packing List And Windows System Requirements

    Windows System Requirements PACKING LIST PLEASE REGISTER TODAY! The 8pre ships with the items listed below. If any of Please register your 8pre today. There are two ways these items are not present in your 8pre box when to register.
  • Page 14 P A C K I N G L I S T A N D W I N D O W S S Y S T E M R E Q U I R E M E N T S...

  • Page 15: Important! Run The 8Pre Software Installer First

    Also be sure to read MOTU ASIO driver ........16 the Read Me file for installation assistance.
  • Page 16 This driver allows you to access the 8pre’s MIDI input and output ports. The ports are published in Windows and are available to all MIDI software. Figure 3-1: MOTU Audio Setup gives you access to all of the settings in the 8pre hardware. MOTU CUEMIX CONSOLE...
  • Page 17 Operating the 8pre as an interface....20 An example setup for computer-based mixing/FX. Operating the 8pre as a converter ....21 An example setup for a mixer-based studio.

  • Page 18: Installing The 8Pre Hardware

    The 8pre provides 8-channel digital input and When the 8pre is not connected directly to a output at 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96 kHz. The 8pre rear computer via FireWire, the optical input is disabled panel provides two sets of ADAT optical and the eight optical output channels mirror any (“lightpipe”) connectors: an top row and a bottom...

  • Page 19: Connect Midi Gear

    MIDI cable from the MIDI THRU of a device ADAT-optical equipped interface or a digital already connected to the 8pre to the MIDI IN on mixer, you add an additional eight mic inputs to the additional device as shown below in Figure 4-3.

  • Page 20: Operating The 8Pre As An Interface

    OPERATING THE 8pre AS AN INTERFACE DSP no-latency monitoring to listen to what you Here is a typical studio setup for using the 8pre as are recording via the main outs, headphone outs, an audio interface. All mixing and processing can or any other output pair.

  • Page 21: Operating The 8Pre As A Converter

    8pre as an 8-channel expander” on 8pre’s inputs into the on-board no-latency CueMix page 18, the 8pre can serve as an 8-channel analog- monitor mixing in the interface, since the 8pre’s to-digital converter when disconnected from the inputs are fed into CueMix via the interface’s...

  • Page 22: Syncing Optical Devices

    8pre Clock Source setting = optical Figure 4-6: Two setups for synchronizing an optical device with the 8pre. I N S T A L L I N G T H E 8 P R E H A R D W A R E...

  • Page 23: Motu Audio Setup

    ‘8pre’ tab settings ........26...

  • Page 24: General' Tab Settings

    (for channels 5-8 at 88.2 or Figure 5-1: MOTU Audio Setup gives you access to all of the settings in the 8pre hardware. M O T U A U D I O S E T U P...

  • Page 25: Samples Per Buffer

    96 kHz). In ADAT optical clock mode, the 8pre Adjusting the Samples Per Buffer setting impacts always resolves to the optical input in the top row, the following things: even during 88.2 or 96 kHz operation. So be sure to The strain on your computer’s CPU...

  • Page 26: Enable Pedal

    This setting applies to other MOTU FireWire audio software and as an output destination for the four interfaces, but it does not apply to the 8pre. on-board CueMix DSP mix busses. Wave support for legacy (MME) software Disable interface Windows only exposes the first two channels of a...

  • Page 27: Front Panel Settings

    LEDs (second from the top) provides feedback as you turn the rotary CONVERTER MODE encoder. When the 8pre is operating as an optical converter ADJUSTING MAIN OUT VOLUME (when it is not connected to a computer via Push in the knob twice (so that it clicks two times)
  • Page 28 flashes, turn the knob to change the clock mode. Push it again to confirm the current clock setting exit clock mode. F R O N T P A N E L S E T T I N G S...

  • Page 29: Cubase, Nuendo And Other Asio Software

    Preparation ......... . 29 Run MOTU Audio Setup ......29 chapter 3, “IMPORTANT! Run the 8pre...
  • Page 30 MIDI instruments, samplers, microphones, and so on connected to the analog Figure 7-1: MOTU Audio Setup gives you access to all of the settings in the 8pre hardware, including the clock source, sample rate and inputs of the 8pre. If so, you will often be mixing optical I/O enable/disable.
  • Page 31 8pre, as well as any other connected MOTU audio interfaces. If the list does not match what you expect to see, click the Reset button. Figure 7-2: Activating the 8pre ASIO driver in Nuendo and Cubase. NUMBER OF CHANNELS In Cubase, be sure to choose enough channels in...
  • Page 32 8pre) back to your computer. This input CHANGING 8PRE SETTINGS To change the 8pre settings at any time, go to the serves, for example, as a convenient way for you to Device Setup window in Nuendo or Cubase SX and record the 8pre’s MIX1 monitor mix back into...
  • Page 33 Use MOTU Audio Setup to disable the optical I/O, if it is not being used. Figure 7-5: Keep the Audio Performance window open to keep tabs on your computer’s processing power and hard disk performance.
  • Page 34 C U B A S E , N U E N D O A N D O T H E R A S I O S O F T W A R E...

  • Page 35: Wdm And Wave Driver Compatibility

    Working with 8pre inputs and outputs ....38 Changing 8pre settings......39 Attention: other software users Reducing delay when monitoring live inputs .

  • Page 36: Sonar And Other Wdm Software

    To make a 8pre optical input or output available in SONAR, choose ADAT from the optical input Figure 8-1: MOTU Audio Setup gives you access to all of the settings in the 8pre hardware, including the clock source, sample rate and and/or output menu.

  • Page 37: Enabling The Motu Audio Wdm Driver

    ASIO. Go to the Advanced tab and choose ASIO from the Driver Mode menu: Figure 8-4: Make sure you have chosen a 8pre input and output for the playback and recording timing master settings. S O N A R A N D O T H E R W D M S O F T W A R E...

  • Page 38: Number Of Channels

    OUTPUTS Once you’ve enabled the 8pre inputs and outputs, Enabling the MOTU Audio WDM driver in 8pre audio inputs and outputs will appear in your Sound Forge host software’s input/output menus, and you can To activate the MOTU Audio WDM driver in...

  • Page 39: Changing 8Pre Settings

    For further explanation, see “Phones” on explained in “Installing the 8pre software” on page 26. page 15, the 8pre MIDI ports will appear as a input CHANGING 8PRE SETTINGS source and output destination in the MIDI input You can change the 8pre settings at any time by and output menus of your WDM-compatible host accessing MOTU Audio Setup.
  • Page 40 S O N A R A N D O T H E R W D M S O F T W A R E...

  • Page 41: Gigastudio And Gsif

    Preparation ......... . 41 Run MOTU Audio Setup ......41 Choosing the MOTU GSIF driver .

  • Page 42: Choosing The Motu Gsif Driver

    Hardware Adapter section, choose MOTU Audio require the computer that is running GigaStudio from the menu. (with the 8pre) to work harder. So in general, you want to keep the buffer size a low as possible while still maintaining the performance you need from GigaStudio.

  • Page 43: Changing 8Pre Settings

    The “Mix1 1-2” input CHANGING 8PRE SETTINGS In the GigaStudio Inputs list, you’ll see an 8pre To change the 8pre settings at any time, run MOTU input called Mix1 1-2. This input source delivers Audio Setup (Figure 9-1 on page 41).
  • Page 44 G I G A S T U D I O A N D G S I F...
  • Page 45 Two methods for controlling CueMix DSP... . 48 Using MOTU CueMix Console ......49 This delay is caused by the amount of time it takes Controlling CueMix DSP from your audio software .

  • Page 46: Reducing Monitoring Latency

    Figure 10-1: There are two ways to monitor live audio inputs with an 8pre: 1) through the computer or 2) via CueMix™ DSP hardware monitor- ing. 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.
  • Page 47 Setup, as shown in Figure 10-3 via the Samples Per Buffer setting. Figure 10-3: Lowering the ‘Samples Per Buffer’ setting in MOTU Audio Setup reduces patch thru latency. But doing so increases the process- ing load on your computer, so keep an eye on the Performance Monitor in your host audio software.
  • Page 48 CPU bandwidth for things like real- outputs in the 8pre itself and are mixed with disk time effects processing. On the other hand, if you tracks playing back from your audio software. This...
  • Page 49 CueMix Console” (page 51)) and use it to route live 8pre input directly to an output when you record- inputs directly to outputs, control their volume and arm a track. Exactly how this is handled depends panning, etc.
  • Page 50 R E D U C I N G M O N I T O R I N G L A T E N C Y...

  • Page 51: Motu Cuemix Console

    Master mute (enable/disable) Input pan Mix output Talkback/listen back channels Master fader Input volume Output level Mix tabs Grow box Input section Figure 11-1: MOTU CueMix Console is a virtual mixer that gives you control over the 8pre’s on-board mixing features.

  • Page 52: Advantages Of Cuemix Monitoring

    CueMix provides four separate mixes: Mix1, Mix2, Console window. Mix3 and Mix4. Each mix can have any number of inputs mixed down to any 8pre output pair that Viewing a mix you choose. For example, Mix1 could go to the...

  • Page 53: Shortcuts

    Again, SAVING AND LOADING PRESETS all settings within the gray-shaded channel strip The 8pre can store up to 16 presets in its on-board area belong to the mix currently being viewed. memory. A preset includes of all CueMix DSP...

  • Page 54: Talkback And Listenback

    Load Preset and Save Preset commands to get CueMix Console setup To set up Talkback and/or Listenback in CueMix presets from — and save them to — the 8pre itself.) Console, choose File menu> Talkback settings> Click the Save button to save the current configu- Configure Talkback/Listenback to open the window...

  • Page 55: Mix1 Return Includes Computer

    CueMix Console File menu refers to the Mix1 as demonstrated in the diagram in Figure 11-2, to bus that the 8pre driver provides as an input to host hear the Talkback mic on the headphones in the audio software. This input source delivers the live room, check the Phones check box in the output of CueMix DSP “MIX1”...

  • Page 56: Phones Menu

    Just bring the desired application to going to Mix1’s 8pre output pair (and also back to the front (make it the active application), and your the computer).

  • Page 57: Cuemix In Optical Expander Mode

    Configure… When operating the 8pre at a 2x sample rate (88.2 Choose this menu item to configure your control or 96 kHz), the two optical output banks work in surface product. Launch the on-line help for concert to provide channels 1-4 and 5-8, specific, detailed instructions for configuring...
  • Page 58 M O T U C U E M I X C O N S O L E...

  • Page 59: Motu Smpte Setup

    SMPTE setting in the Clock/Address menu. This MOTU SMPTE Setup ....... . . 59 means that the system will use SMPTE as the clock Clock/Address .

  • Page 60: Motu Smpte Setup

    Choose the amount of time READER SECTION you would like the 8pre to freewheel before it gives The Reader section (on the left-hand side of the up and stops altogether. window in Figure 12-1) provides settings for The 8pre cannot freewheel address without clock.

  • Page 61: Generator Section

    Figure 12-1) provides settings for generating SMPTE time code. Level Turn the level knob to adjust the volume of the SMPTE time code being generated by the 8pre. The level knob disappears when the Destination is set to None. Tach light The Tach light blinks once per second when the 8pre is generating SMPTE time code.

  • Page 62: Setting Up For Smpte Time Code Sync

    SMPTE time code. Also, confirm that the Clock Source/Address is SMPTE/SMPTE. Figure 12-3: Connections for synchronizing the 8pre directly to SMPTE time code. M O T U S M P T E S E T U P...

  • Page 63: Resolving Cubase Or Nuendo To Smpte Time Code

    RESOLVING CUBASE OR NUENDO TO SMPTE TIME CODE To resolve your 8pre directly to SMPTE time code with no additional synchronization devices, use the setup shown in Figure 12-3. Make sure the Clock Source setting in the MOTU Audio Setup window is set to SMPTE.
  • Page 64 M O T U S M P T E S E T U P...

  • Page 65: Performance Tips & Troubleshooting

    Programs Control Panel then restart. Reinstall the If you have checked your clock settings sync cable 8pre software and choose only to install the MOTU connections and you are still getting clicks and ASIO driver, not the WDM Driver. Restart again.
  • Page 66 Check to make sure you have the desired optical 8pre rack unit. You must be able to supply this inputs and/or outputs enabled in MOTU Audio number to receive technical support.

  • Page 67: Index

    ASIO 15, 16, 29 VOLUME rotary encoder settings Audio Nuendo 11, 23 bit resolution 8pre settings General tab choosing the 8pre driver GigaStudio clock source 25, 47 Buffer Size clock source Optical input/output Optical input/output sample rate sample rate...
  • Page 68 7, 24 32, 38, 43 Sample rate Stop Freewheeling feedback loop Samplers Stripe button TRS/XLR jacks connecting Studio setup (example) Type I, II optical mode 7, 25, 30, 36, 42, 47 Samples per buffer Synchronization Share surfaces with other applications Cubase USB2 SMPTE...

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