Alesis MultiMix8FireWire, Reference Manual

Page 1: ...Reference Manual ...

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Page 3: ... the MultiMix 13 Patchbay 13 Mic Inputs Channels 1 4 13 Line Inputs Channels 1 4 13 Line Inputs Channels 5 8 14 PHONE Jack 14 AUX RETURNS 14 AUX SENDS 14 2 TRACK 14 MAIN MIX OUT 14 CTRL RM OUT 14 Channel Strips 15 Level Control 15 PAN or BAL 15 PEAK LED 15 Aux 15 EQ 16 Master Section 16 Main Mix 16 2TK To Mix 16 HDPH CTRL RM 16 2TK TO CTRL ROOM Switch 17 AUX RETURN A LEVEL 17 EFFECTS AUX RET B LEV...

Page 4: ...3 Installing the optional applications 24 Power on Power off order 24 Power on sequence 24 Power off sequence 24 Firewire inputs and outputs 25 Channels sent from the MultiMix to the computer 25 Channels returned from the computer to the MultiMix 25 Sound setup under Windows 26 Disabling Windows System Sounds 28 Connections and settings for Firewire recording and monitoring 29 Using the MultiMix F...

Page 5: ...Firewire 45 Chapter Seven Troubleshooting Firewire 49 Computer or audio application does not see the MultiMix FireWire 49 Basic troubleshooting 49 Advanced troubleshooting under Windows 49 Audio playback or recording is at the wrong speed 51 Audio playback or recording stutters or drops out 51 Audio echoes during recording 51 Chapter Eight Specifications 53 Chapter Nine Block Diagram 55 Glossary 5...

Page 6: ...Table Of Contents 4 This page intentionally left blank ...

Page 7: ...t with all kinds of capabilities if no one explains how to use them So we try to write our manuals as carefully as we build our products The goal of this manual is to get you the information you need as quickly as possible with a minimum of hassle We hope we ve achieved that If not please drop us an email and give us your suggestions on how we could improve future editions of this manual We hope y...

Page 8: ...to create polished professional sounding recordings and live mixes When designing this unit our goal was to give you as much control over your recordings and mixes as possible without requiring a wealth of extra equipment That s why we added tools like the digital effects processor and the mic preamps And with a multitude of ways in which to connect other equipment and instruments the MultiMix 8 F...

Page 9: ...irs for connecting line level instruments y Internal digital effects processor with 100 preset effects and an easy to read display includes a variety of reverbs delays choruses flanges a pitch transposer and multiple combinations of these y 3 band EQ per channel a potent tool for sonically shaping each channel to get that perfect mix y 2 aux sends per channel one can be used to access an external ...

Page 10: ... to know what a certain effect will do to your sound before you select it this is where you should look Chapter 4 Traditional Mixing outlines a number of scenarios in which you can use the MultiMix for live mixing and simple non Firewire based recording Chapter 5 Firewire Recording orients you to the MultiMix s powerful Firewire recording features including software installation and setup with com...

Page 11: ...ry to avoid that with this manual True enough you will find all the technical lingo and specifications you can handle in here but we do our best to make this accessible to you Beginners will find several elements of this manual especially useful Keep your eye out for the tips found in the gray boxes on the right side of the page Be sure to check out the hookup diagrams on page 7 which will give yo...

Page 12: ...Introduction 10 This page intentionally left blank ...

Page 13: ...ersonal preference and on whether you re performing live or recording For example you ll see below that the MAIN MIX OUT can be routed to a recording device for recording to a PA system for live performance or both Be sure to follow the guidelines for which cables to use further down this page and the procedure for setting levels on the next page before you begin mixing ...

Page 14: ...rces with your MultiMix you must set the level for each channel you re using This helps to prevent distortion and clipping The idea is to get the strongest signal possible without clipping Here s how 1 Turn the channel level control to the 12 00 position 2 Turn the AUX SEND and GAIN controls all the way down and turn the EQ knobs to the center detent you ll feel a click 3 Connect the source of the...

Page 15: ...that you can adjust with the Gain knob Another useful feature of these mic inputs is a high pass filter HPF that can be turned on and off with the HPF switch When you activate this switch all frequencies below 75Hz are cut from the signal This is useful for mic or line signals that don t have much bottom end such as vocals snares cymbals and electric guitar You ll want to leave this inactivated fo...

Page 16: ...the mixer s output section AUX SENDS Use these jacks to connect the lines going out of the MultiMix into the input of an external effects processor The aux sends give you 10dB of gain that can be controlled in the AUX section of each channel input 2 TRACK The 2 TRACK IN and OUT jacks are standard RCA jacks You ll use the OUTs for mixing to a tape deck or other recorder With the INs you can bring i...

Page 17: ...amount of the signal being sent to the left main mix bus versus the right main mix bus The balance controls do it by controlling the relative balance of the left and right channel signals being sent to the left and right main mix buses PEAK LED This indicator lets you know when the channel s signal is clipping This light plays an important role in setting channel levels by helping you know when to...

Page 18: ...ignals This knob affects the levels of the signals sent to the MAIN MIX OUT and the 2 TRACK OUT In its leftmost position the signal is cut off completely and in the rightmost position you get an additional 10dB of gain 2TKTo Mix When you press this switch the signal coming in through the 2 TRACK IN gets routed to the MAIN MIX joining whichever other signals are already part of the main mix Used th...

Page 19: ... effects this knob controls the effect level If AUX SEND B is connected to an external device this knob controls the level for AUX RETURN B LED Meters These are the two rows of yellow green and red lights you see in the master section of the mixer The LED meters allow you to view the signal level of the main mix and 2 TRACK IN depending on which signal you have routed to the control room mix POWER...

Page 20: ...esn t Make sure that all master output knobs are turned all the way down when powering your mixer up or down Phantom On This switch activates and deactivates the phantom power described in Mic Inputs Channels 1 4 page 13 This switch controls phantom power for all four mic inputs Firewire ports These ports allow you to connect the MultiMix to a computer for multichannel digital audio communication ...

Page 21: ...B knob You must PRESS the effect knob to activate the selected effect LED Display This display shows you the number of the current program CLIP Indicator When lit this LED tells you that there is a signal clip at the internal effects input This means that you should reduce the signal via the EFFECTS AUX RET B LEVEL control SIG Indicator When lit this LED indicates that the effects processor is rec...

Page 22: ...reate a sweeping swooshing sound effect that you will probably recognize DELAY These effects are based on a discrete repetition or echo of the input PITCH These effects transpose the pitch of the input signal and blend the effect signal with the original to create harmonies MULTI MULTI II These are combinations of two or more of the above effects ...

Page 23: ...lug an additional effects processor into the AUX B SEND and RETURN jacks as well but this will disable the internal effects In a live setup you most likely will connect the MAIN MIX OUT to a PA system amplifier and the CTRL RM OUT to a stage monitor amplifier for monitoring purposes Using Additional External Audio Sources The MultiMix gives you a few extra audio inputs in addition to the mic and l...

Page 24: ... stereo channels and set the levels appropriately To record directly from the mixer to a tape deck or other device connect the MultiMix 8 FireWire s 2 TRACK OUT jacks to the IN jacks of the recorder For monitoring you can connect the CTRL RM OUT jacks to a speaker or headphone amplifier or just simply plug headphones into the PHONES jack ...

Page 25: ...ns the drivers If you are using the drivers from the CD choose to install the drivers automatically when prompted For each of the several installations that occur click Continue Anyway if Windows warns you that the drivers have not passed Microsoft Logo Certification Windows Logo Certification warning Ignore this warning by clicking Continue Anyway Your MultiMix Firewire mixer requires several set...

Page 26: ...rams on the market today We encourage you to install and explore them Power on Power off order To ensure that the MultiMix is recognized correctly by your computer follow these instructions for powering on and off your equipment Power on sequence 1 Connect mics and line level sources to the MultiMix 2 Connect the MultiMix to the computer using the Firewire cable 3 Turn on the MultiMix Wait a coupl...

Page 27: ...he MAIN output of the mixer If you are only interested in making stereo recordings consider recording the MAIN channels in your recording software Channels returned from the computer to the MultiMix The Firewire port receives a stereo audio stream from the computer and assigns it to the 2 TRACK IN left and right channels of your MultiMix mixer Note that if a device is connected to the MultiMix s 2...

Page 28: ... From the Windows Start menu choose Control Panel Depending on your Windows preferences it will appear similar to one of the two pictures below 2 Choose Sounds and Audio Devices 3 Click the Audio tab Change the default devices for both sound playback and sound recording to the MultiMix For sound recording choose the MultiMix Main option ...

Page 29: ...7 4 Click the Voice tab Change the voice playback and voice recording settings to the MultiMix For voice recording you may choose either the MultiMix Main or the MultiMix Channels option 5 Click Apply to apply these changes ...

Page 30: ...ws plays to signal starting up shutting down alerts and so forth can interfere with your audio recording We strongly suggest that you disable these sounds 1 Click the Sounds tab of Sounds and Audio Devices 2 Under Sound Scheme choose No sounds 3 Click OK to accept this entry and close the dialog box ...

Page 31: ...ic being recorded in real time c 2 TK TO CONTROL ROOM Press DOWN This will allow you to hear the output from the computer Using the MultiMix FireWire with Cubase and other ASIO applications Audio recording programs running on Microsoft Windows generally use one of two different audio standards WDM the Windows Driver Model developed by Microsoft or ASIO Audio Stream Input Output developed by Steinb...

Page 32: ... the MultiMix as your audio device 1 Choose the menu option Devices Device Setup 2 Click the VST Multitrack option This discussion uses Steinberg s Cubase software but the principles provided here apply to all ASIO recording software ...

Page 33: ...ire Recording 5 31 3 From within the ASIO Driver drop down box choose the MultiMix 4 Press OK to accept this setting Different versions of Cubase function similarly but not exactly to the examples shown here ...

Page 34: ...s the audio device individual channels must be activated for use Again return to the Devices menu and select VST inputs 6 Click the activation buttons for channel pairs that you want to use Some versions of Cubase do not allow all inputs to be used simultaneously ...

Page 35: ...irewire Recording 5 33 7 In Cubase you can rename channels by clicking in the Label area This is useful if for instance your lead vocals are always on channel 1 your bass drum is always on channel 2 etc ...

Page 36: ...5 Firewire Recording 34 Creating a new audio file Now you re ready to create an audio project 1 Choose File New Project 2 You can begin with a template or an empty file For now begin with an empty file ...

Page 37: ...ject Add an audio track for recording by choosing Project Add Track Audio An excellent scheme for storing your projects is to create a directory called audio projects Then within that folder create a new folder for each song you work on Cubase will store your song file and all associated audio files in that same folder ...

Page 38: ...ou do not see all of the information on the left hand side the Inspector is not active To activate it press the show Inspector button towards the upper left of the screen just below the Edit menu in the following picture 6 Choose an input for your track by selecting it from the in area on the left To record stereo on the track click the button highlighted below Later you can hide the Inspector if ...

Page 39: ...cord Enable button Note that using direct monitoring causes a small delay as the digital audio is being processed For this reason when you use direct monitoring you may want to press the MultiMix s MIX TO CONTROL ROOM button up so as not to hear the audio signal twice 8 Add additional audio tracks as needed Record arm each one and press the RECORD button to begin recording For additional informati...

Page 40: ... s ASIO control panel Setting the mixer nickname You can change the name of the mixer as it s seen by the recording program Once this is done choose Reset All in Cubase or the equivalent command in other programs to make the change to the mixer down flow down to the names of the input and output channels Setting the master device If multiple audio devices are connected one must be designated as th...

Page 41: ...ossible system instability For most systems there is a sweet spot where latency is not too high and system performance is good Experiment with raising or lowering buffer sizes to hit this sweet spot As you begin adding plug in EQ compression and so forth to your project your computer will need to work harder If you start to hear clicks pops and other glitches in your audio consider increasing your...

Page 42: ... the Playback and Record timing masters This discussion uses Cakewalk s Sonar software but the principles provided here apply to all WDM based recording software Choosing the MultiMix as your audio device Unlike ASIO WDM allows multiple audio devices to be used at the same time However doing so can cause all sorts of synchronization problems Therefore we suggest that you use the MultiMix as your s...

Page 43: ... be sure that the Driver Mode is set to WDM KS If you change this setting you will need to exit and then restart Sonar For applications like Sonar that support both WDM and ASIO modes you may want to experiment with each to see if either mode offers greater stability ...

Page 44: ...5 Firewire Recording 42 4 Move to the Drivers tab Click on each input pair and also on the output pair to make them available to Sonar ...

Page 45: ...st arrow You will do most of your monitoring through the mixer However if you want to monitor with Sonar s effects or if you just want to hear what the computer is hearing press the direct monitoring button next to the Record Enable button second arrow Note that using direct monitoring causes a small delay as the digital audio is being processed For this reason when you use direct monitoring you m...

Page 46: ... Setup utility 2 Choose the MultiMix FireWire as both input and output device 3 Choose the MultiMix as the default input and output 4 Under System Preferences choose MultiMix FireWire Adjust the device nickname buffers clock source sample rate etc as needed For additional information on these settings see the discussion of the ASIO control panel on page 38 Mac OS X 10 3 or higher is required by th...

Page 47: ...ot plugged into output jack Check outputs to make sure cables are plugged in securely Headphones are not plugged into PHONE jack Plug headphones into PHONE jack Monitor or headphone amplifier is turned off or down Turn amplifier on or up Bad cable Check all cables substitute cables with known good ones Audio signal is distorted Channel level is too high Set channel levels using the procedure on pa...

Page 48: ...Microphone is damaged Test the microphone on other audio devices If you detect damage contact the manufacturer or dealer No or low sound from a channel Channel level is too low Turn up channel level Instrument volume is too low Turn up the instrument s volume control If problem persists check the instrument by plugging headphones into the instrument s phone jack Gain is too low Adjust the channel ...

Page 49: ...d turn off the MultiMix Turn the MultiMix back on and plug the cable back in If this does not work leave the MultiMix on turn off the computer do not use restart but instead actually turn off the computer and then turn it on again Computer sees the MultiMix but no sound is received and or transmitted MultiMix Firewire is not set as primary sound device In the computer s Control Panel go to the Sou...

Page 50: ...6 Troubleshooting non Firewire 48 This page intentionally left blank ...

Page 51: ...ireWire off wait a few seconds and then power it on again Repeat this process until the MultiMix FireWire is found Advanced troubleshooting under Windows The best way to see that your MultiMix is connected and operating properly is through the Windows Device Manager This is a powerful Windows component that requires some navigation but yields very detailed information 1 Start by finding the My Com...

Page 52: ...wire 50 3 The active tab at the top of this window is now the General tab Click the Hardware tab Then click the Device Manager button 4 Finally expand the Sound video and game controllers section MultiMix Audio should appear ...

Page 53: ...the available range provide the best results Audio playback or recording stutters or drops out Again work with the buffer settings in the ASIO control panel or through your WDM application s audio setup options in order to find the most reliable setting Many audio applications include advanced setting dialog boxes where pre fetch and other parameters can be set Explore those options Audio echoes d...

Page 54: ...7 Troubleshooting Firewire 52 This page intentionally left blank ...

Page 55: ...Gain Range to 10dB Aux Returns Aux Return A Gain Range to 15dB Effects Level Aux Return B Gain Range to 15dB Channel Levels Channel Level Gain Range to 10dB Master Levels Main Mix Ctrl Room Gain Range to 10dB 1 4 Inputs Stereo Aux Return Level 4dBu nominal 20dBu maximum RCA Inputs Tape In Level 10dBV nominal 5dBV maximum 1 4 Outputs Main Mix Ctrl Room Ext Aux Send Level 4dBu nominal 20dBu maximum ...

Page 56: ...8 Specifications 54 This page intentionally left blank ...

Page 57: ...9 Block Diagram 55 ...

Page 58: ...9 Block Diagram 56 This page intentionally left blank ...

Page 59: ...file formats condenser microphone A type of high quality microphone that produces a weak signal usually requiring an external power source like the ones provided by your MultiMix 8 FireWire s XLR mic inputs dB decibel A common unit of measure for audio detent A point of resistance in the path that a mixer knob or fader travels Detents are used to mark important settings As you turn the knob or sli...

Page 60: ...he level of the signal being sent to the left channel as opposed to the right phantom power A way of providing power to condenser microphones Called phantom because the power isn t apparent to dynamic microphones when you connect them to an input that provides phantom power post fader Describes an aux send that sends a signal that already has passed through the channel fader pre fader Describes an...

Page 61: ...hole or in part is prohibited MultiMix and MultiMix FireWire are trademarks of Alesis LLC Specifications subject to change without notice Trademarks All trademarks are the property of their respective owners Specifically Windows and Windows XP are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation ASIO and Cubase are trademarks of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH Sonar is a trademark of Twelve Tone Systems Inc ...