M-Audio Omni I/O, Manual

Page 1: ...Basic Recording Setup for the Omni I O 14 8 Omni Signal Flow Chart 16 9 Sequencing and the Omni I O 17 9 1 MIDI Sequencing 17 9 2 Setting MIDI Playback Levels 18 10 Recording Audio to the Delta 44 or 66 19 10 1 Monitoring the Signals You Are Recording 20 10 2 Monitoring the Record Inputs Using ASIO or EASI 22 10 3 Setting Record Levels 22 10 4 Record Levels Using the Inserts 23 10 5 Setting the Au...

Page 2: ...nctionality of a recording console in a desktop unit The Omni I O is modeled after what is known as a split console design where the recording and monitoring sections function independently Two high quality M Audio Mic Instrument pre amps are routed to the Delta s analog inputs 1 2 The level that you record is controlled by the Omni pre amp s independent gain controls in conjunction with the 4 10 ...

Page 3: ...reduction pad switch and signal clip indicator LEDs Low impedance mic inputs provide 66dB of gain and utilize M Audio s critically acclaimed DMP2 pre amp technology They are switchable to hi impedance instrument inputs with 46dB of gain ideal for electric acoustic guitars The Omni Mic Inst pre amp has a frequency response of 10Hz to 200kHz low THD of 0009 with a dynamic range of 130dB Stereo effec...

Page 4: ...trik connectors accept either a male XLR plug for the low impedance microphone inputs or 1 4 TS phone plugs for the high impedance instrument inputs These are the inputs to the Omni pre amps 2 Pad Switch This is a 20dB gain reduction switch When pressed and locked to the in position the corresponding mic or instrument signal whichever is in use at the time will be trimmed by 20dB Gain reduction is...

Page 5: ...e TRS jacks accept a TRS plugs from standard stereo headphones 8 Signal Clip L R LEDs These LEDs show the output level of the Omni mixer The signals shown are pre monitor and pre headphone level controls and therefore are unaffected by these settings The Signal LED shows signal present while the Clip LED begins to light at 2dB below clipping 9 Monitor Control The position of this control determine...

Page 6: ...ug for unbalanced operation or TRS for balanced The send gets its signal from the position of the Channel 1 4 Effects Send controls in relation to the signal present at the Delta H W Outs 1 4 6 L R Monitor Outs The 1 4 jacks accept TS plugs for unbalanced operation or TRS for balanced These outputs typically feed a monitoring system They receive their signal from the stereo bus of the Omni mixer p...

Page 7: ... the Omni mixer 13 Insert 1 Insert 2 These 1 4 TRS insert jacks access the Mic Instr signal path for unbalanced signal processing An insert cable should be used which is a TRS plug to L R mono TS plugs where left is the send to the effect and right is the return Insert 1 is in the signal path of Mic Instr Input 1 while Insert 2 is in the signal path of Mic Instr Input 2 4 3 Top Panel The rear of t...

Page 8: ...ystem if you re not sure what type of signal it can accept If you need to find a primer on recording or sound reinforcement to learn more about this and the other subjects covered in this manual 5 3 Phantom Power Unlike dynamic microphones large diaphragm condenser microphones need to receive a DC voltage generally 48v from an external source before they can generate an output signal If the conden...

Page 9: ...y be male or female Usually the output is male and the input is female 5 6 Balanced Cabling Connections The acronym TRS stands for Tip Ring Sleeve A 1 4 TRS plug can carry a balanced mono audio signal over a two conductor cable with a shield which applies to certain TRS jacks on the Omni This may be considered a standard 1 4 stereo cable though it carries a mono balanced signal If you are using on...

Page 10: ...ough gain to bring the signal up to the 4 line level at which the Omni is capable of operating The Delta card can be set to three line level references 10dB Consumer which is 4dB and 4 dB which is the default These settings can be found in the Delta Control Panel Hardware Settings page under Variable Signal Levels Refer to section 10 3 for more information on setting levels Most other signals are ...

Page 11: ...mni mixer and also to the Omni Direct Outs 1 4 2 Plug the 9v AC power supply into the wall outlet and connect the 2 5 mm plug into the 9v AC Power Jack on the back of the Omni 3 Connect the Monitor Outs of the Omni to the inputs of your monitoring system If your monitoring system s inputs are unbalanced use a cable with a 1 4 Tip Sleeve plug on the Omni monitor outs with the appropriate plug such ...

Page 12: ...our effect unit has only a mono output you may plug that mono output into the Omni FX Return left input only and that mono signal will appear panned in the center of the stereo soundfield Otherwise left and right signals will be panned hard left and hard right respectively An effects return is an auxiliary input to a mixer You can also return effects to the Aux Ins of the Omni If you have a mono M...

Page 13: ...e Mac NOTE The Delta Patchbay Router when first installed is set to play these software outputs This setting connects the signal from the Delta software outputs to the Delta H W Outs 10 Once you start playback of your music program you should begin to see level indicated on the Output Signal Clip LEDs since this level is pre monitor control settings Raise the level on your monitoring system then r...

Page 14: ...input on channel 2 is disabled until the XLR connector is removed from channel 2 If your microphone requires phantom power press in the Phantom Power Switch on the back panel of the Omni The Phantom LED will light and 48v of phantom power will be sent to the microphone NOTE Mic Input 1 is connected to and sends its signal to the Delta H W In 1 Mic Input 2 is connected to and sends its signal to th...

Page 15: ...those outputs into Omni Line Inputs 3 4 The Omni Line Inputs are on 1 4 TRS jacks that will accept either TS or TRS plugs If the output of your instrument or device is a balanced signal on a TRS or XLR connector use a balanced 2 conductor cable with a shield with a 1 4 TRS plug to connect to the Omni line input NOTE Line Input 3 is connected to and sends its signal to the Delta H W In 3 Line Input...

Page 16: ...ion As we have mentioned the Omni is modeled after a split console design The Omni inputs that are used for recording are connected to the Delta H W inputs This is the record path so we ll call those channels the record channels Note that the circles with arrows represent level controls The section of the flow chart shown above isolates the Omni record channels from the Omni mixer where playback h...

Page 17: ...nels 9 Sequencing and the Omni I O You should be ready to at this point to start getting some work done with the Omni I O and your Delta 44 or 66 PCI Interface If you are using MIDI sequencing in your production work that s where you may want to begin 9 1 MIDI Sequencing We will assume here that you have some basic knowledge of MIDI sequencing If not the manual that came with your music software s...

Page 18: ...to monitor your MIDI instruments and therefore ready to start sequencing using your MIDI sequencing software Even if you wish to begin your recording project with some live audio tracks you may want to establish a MIDI metronome click track as a timing reference This can help especially if you want to record MIDI tracks later 9 2 Setting MIDI Playback Levels Playback levels of your MIDI tracks wil...

Page 19: ...ur levels recording them is fairly basic Recording is also covered extensively in your Delta manual and there should also be a tutorial in your software s manual With the gain controls on the Omni turned down plug a microphone or an instrument such as electric or acoustic guitar into Mic Instr Channel 1 and or Channel 2 Or plug a line level device such as a CD player or additional mic instrument p...

Page 20: ...g setups along those lines Once you have chosen your setup refer to section 10 3 Setting Record Levels NOTE The Omni I O runs at a 4dB line level We suggest leaving the Variable Signal Level in the Delta panel s Hardware Settings page to 4 for the Delta Outs If this setting causes your sound system or mix deck to distort try a lower setting A When recording using the Mic Instr Ins 1 In the Delta p...

Page 21: ... 2 to Monitor Mixer make sure that H W Out 3 4 is set to WavOut 3 4 2 In the Delta panel s Monitor Mixer page unmute the channels for H W In 3 4 Raise the faders all the way to full level this setting will not affect record levels You will later use these faders to adjust listening level after Setting Record Levels in section 10 3 Pan each channel as desired if these are mono instruments you might...

Page 22: ... or EASI do you will also need to select that type of monitoring within the software s audio setup page Most often this is called tape type monitoring as it is similar to an analog tape deck that allows you to monitor the inputs through the machine This is why when you monitor through the software that the Patchbay Router can be set to monitor the software outputs 10 3 Setting Record Levels There ...

Page 23: ...o a lower setting Consumer or 10 in order to reduce headroom Once you have set the record levels you may begin to adjust the listening or monitoring levels for those channels If you are using the Delta Monitor Mixer setting the fader level in the Delta Monitor Mixer page will affect only the monitoring levels and will not affect record levels This is also true of the faders in your software if you...

Page 24: ...tages With the processing controls set to a neutral setting or bypassed 1 If there is an output setting on the outboard device set it to 0dB or unity gain This way the device is not adding or attenuating the original signal 2 Set the input level on the device trying to match the level of the signal according to how it shows up in the Delta mixer or the music software 3 Adjust processing controls s...

Page 25: ...to add effects process to your audio track within the Omni mixer Once you have followed the procedure in section 6 for hooking up your effects unit you will be ready to apply send level on each of the Omni mixer channels 1 Start playback of your music software If you have audio playing out of the Delta H W Out 1 increase the send level on Omni Channels 1 4 Effects Sends 2 You should begin to see l...

Page 26: ...n to set the playback levels once the track is recorded NOTE Aux to Line In switches are only provided for Aux Ins 1 2 Aux Ins 3 4 can not be routed to the Omni Line Ins in this fashion 11 Mixing With the Omni Once you have sequenced your MIDI tracks and recorded all of your audio tracks you are ready to mix your project with the Omni There are two ways that we will suggest that you go about it A ...

Page 27: ...s separately Most likely you will pan the lead vocal in the center and possibly the lead guitar also panned center Add the amount of effect you desire on the lead vocal and give the lead guitar its own amount of effects by increasing the level control on Omni channels 1 and 2 effects sends Providing that you have an Aux In available this setup also allows you to patch in a single effect for each o...

Page 28: ...oftware set the four Omni record channel inputs to record to Delta Left and Right PCM Ins 1 2 and 3 4 respectively Set them to output to Delta WavOuts 1 2 and 3 4 2 In the Delta Patchbay Router page set H W Outs 1 2 to Monitor Mixer as the source Set H W Out 3 4 to H W In 3 4 as the source 3 In the Delta Monitor Mixer page unmute and raise the faders for H W In 1 2 but not H W In 3 4 Unmute and ra...

Page 29: ...effects at the sametimeyou rerecordingtheinstrumentormic 1 Assume that you have a vocal mic plugged into Mic Instr Channel 1 recording onto Left PCM In 1 Delta The software outputs are set to Delta WavOut 1 2 and accordingtomonitorsetupA section10 1 thisisbeingsenttoDeltaH WOut1 2 UseOmniDirectOut1asyoureffectsend Connectittotheinputofyoureffectsunit 3 Take the outputs of your effects unit and ret...

Page 30: ...product requires repair because of user misuse or regular wear it will assess a fair repair or replacement fee The customer will have the option to pay this fee and have the unit repaired and returned or not pay this fee and have the unit returned unrepaired The remedy for breach of this limited warranty shall not include any other damages M Audio will not be liable for consequential special indir...