Solid State Logic Nucleus, User Manual

Page 1: ...Nucleus User Guide Nucleus This is SSL www solidstatelogic com ...

Page 2: ...Document History 82BN0M01A December 2010 Initial Release 82BN0M01B December 2011 Corrected footers and other small typo s Clarified Mac requirements for USB Soundcard ...

Page 3: ...on 11 Physical Connections 11 Audio Connections 11 Data Connections 11 Configuring Network Connections 12 Network Wiring 12 Assigning the Nucleus IP Address 12 Direct Network Connection Configuration Mac 13 Connecting Nucleus to Multiple Computers 14 ipMIDI Configuration 15 MIDI Port Mapping 15 Pro Tools 8 15 Logic Pro 9 16 USB Soundcard Configuration 17 Mac 17 Windows 18 5 Nucleus Remote 19 Estab...

Page 4: ...g Continuous Controller Layers 31 6 DAW Operations 33 Layer Select 33 Soft Keys 33 Channel Control 34 Channel Scrolling 34 Basic Channel Parameters 34 Channel Metering 34 Track Arming 34 Automation Control 34 V Pot and V Sel Control 35 Plug in Control Pro Tools Only 36 Master Control 37 Basic Transport 37 Navigation Controls 37 Additional Master Controls 37 MODE Display MCU Only 37 User Keys 38 7 ...

Page 5: ...it more than a DAW controller Nucleus can be used to control DAW software using either HUI or MCU protocols These are the standardised control languages used by the majority of DAW software on the market today HUI is used by ProTools MCU by Logic and Nuendo Please refer to your DAW software s user guide if you are unclear which protocol you use The Nucleus control surface also replicates a number ...

Page 6: ...se with MIDI devices DAW Digital Audio Workstation Software which emulates a recording studio such as ProTools Logic and Nuendo ipMIDI MIDI control data sent over Ethernet HUI Human User Interface The DAW control protocol used by ProTools and others Layers Different DAW programmes one of which can be controlled by Nucleus at a time though all transports can be activated simultaneously from one tra...

Page 7: ...d V Sel switches in channels 9 16 become soft switches Soft Keys which can be configured using the Nucleus Remote 2 Row Scribble Strip Display In normal operation the top row displays the channel name and the bottom row the V Pot function When the centre section USER switches are selected the digital display on channels 9 16 shows the soft key assignments for each corresponding Mode and V Sel swit...

Page 8: ...eel Enables single letter automation display Defines which DAW is transport master Select DAW to view or edit Nucleus setup Analogue control Monitoring and Mic inputs Channel bank scrollers Transport control USER soft key set selectors Additional DAW Layer selectors DAW channel control modifiers DAW computer modifier keys Global DAW control keys Note The functions of switches in areas with asteris...

Page 9: ...each option DAWs With Proprietary Soundcards Some DAWs can only receive audio via their own proprietary soundcard hardware Many of these soundcards provide digital S PDIF connections allowing you to take full advantage of the SSL quality pre amps and converters The two Nucleus input channels are sent using the left and right channels of the S PDIF Out and the S PDIF In feeds the monitor inputs If ...

Page 10: ...ke use of Nucleus SSL pre amps Nucleus PRE pre amp outputs and EXTERNAL monitor inputs can be used to connect Nucleus to the soundcard inputs and outputs Ethernet DAW control and Remote USB DAW keyboard commands DAW Computer Recording Sources Note Socket locations are approximate Mains Power Monitoring Headphones PRE Out and EXTERNAL In MP3 Player ...

Page 11: ...udio via any soundcard connected to the computer Nucleus can be connected directly to the DAW using the USB connection Ethernet DAW control and Remote USB Soundcard and DAW keyboard commands DAW Computer Recording Sources Note Socket locations are approximate Mains Power Monitoring Headphones MP3 Player ...

Page 12: ...cted to Nucleus simultaneously as described on Page 14 This configuration requires both a Network Router and USB switcher Ethernet DAW control and Remote USB Soundcard and DAW keyboard commands DAW Computer Note Diagram doesn t indicate socket locations Network Router DAW Computer DAW Computer USB switcher ...

Page 13: ... drive if necessary use Finder to open a view of the CD ROM drive You should be presented with a window similar to that opposite Nucleus Remote 2 To install Nucleus Remote simply drag the Nucleus Remote icon to the Applications folder alias This will copy the application onto the computer 3 To run Nucleus Remote locate and double click the Nucleus Remote icon in the Applications folder If required...

Page 14: ...ck this file to run the Nucleus Remote installer Follow the instructions in the installer it should be safe to accept the defaults 3 On completion of the installation process the installer will place a shortcut on the Desktop double click this icon to run Nucleus Remote 4 The Nucleus Remote can be un installed by running the Uninstall application located in the Nucleus Remote folder ipMIDI Driver ...

Page 15: ... the S PDIF inputs feed the External monitor connection Data Connections Both Network and USB connections must be made between Nucleus and the DAW computer s for systems using multiple computers see Page 14 Network This is a standard 8P8C modular RJ45 type Ethernet connector for Nucleus DAW network data USB Use a standard USB A B cable to connect Nucleus to a USB port on your DAW computer This con...

Page 16: ...tor The firewall can then be configured to allow all traffic apart from UDP ports 21928 through 21947 which are used by ipMIDI and port 50081 which is used by the Nucleus Remote application Note that it may be necessary to use a separate Ethernet switch in place of the integrated firewall router switch as some of these can not support the high data transfer rate required The NetGear FS108 an eight...

Page 17: ...s 1 On the Mac open the Network control panel in System Preferences and use the Location drop down to create a new location Next select the Mac Ethernet port to which you have connected Nucleus and configure it as shown below 2 If you have multiple network adaptors select Network Port Configuration from the Show drop down in the Network control panel and drag Nucleus Ethernet port to the top of th...

Page 18: ...or switch a DHCP server will probably be available and so Nucleus would normally be set to use it rather than the default fixed IP address See Page 12 for details USB A USB switch will be necessary for switching the USB connection between computers This can best be provided by using KVM Keyboard Video Mouse switch with switchable USB ports If an automatic unit is obtained Nucleus can be configured...

Page 19: ...g MIDI control for the three Nucleus Layers is split across the six ipMIDI ports which means that your DAW must be configured to match the following Note that CC Layers only use the first MIDI port in their layer All CC data is sent on MIDI Channel 1 Setting which ipMIDI ports the DAW should use is performed using the MIDI controller configuration page of your DAW Below and overleaf are two exampl...

Page 20: ...p correctly to the on screen faders in Logic If Logic is the only DAW connected to Nucleus then provided that there is only one DAW Layer set up with an MCU based Profile Logic should automatically detect the two virtual controllers which will be shown in the Logic Control Surfaces Setup menu as shown above with the appropriate Nucleus ipMIDI ports assigned If Logic fails to detect the control sur...

Page 21: ... at each intersection to define how much of that DAW output column is fed through to that Nucleus output row Note that the vertical position is off turn the knobs clockwise to increase the volume The controller surround goes from red to green to indicate that level is being passed To send your DAW outputs to the Nucleus analogue left analogue right digital left and digital right outputs simply sel...

Page 22: ...ections you wish to make by clicking on the boxes at each intersection crosspoints and adjust the level control for each DAW output column as required The intersection boxes go green to indicate that they are routed To send your DAW outputs to the Nucleus analogue left analogue right digital left and digital right outputs simply select the crosspoints which are green in the display above and turn ...

Page 23: ...d If this is the first time that you have run the Nucleus Remote and it is unable to locate a Nucleus unit the current status will be shown in red as No Nucleus Selected Click on Find Alternatively if the Remote has previously been used but it cannot find the Nucleus console it expected to locate the current status will instead display the message Nucleus SN nnnn is offline where SN nnnn is the ID...

Page 24: ... occurs and is used for configuring the selected Nucleus and its control protocol as described in this Section of the manual The Network Setup Tab The Network tab is used for configuring the Nucleus network connection as described in Section 4 The About Tab The About tab displays current software and firmware versions and provides links to support areas of the Solid State Logic website ...

Page 25: ...iles using the Pro Tools default Profile for DAWs that support the HUI interface and the Logic default Profile for DAWs that conform to the MCU protocol Note that the default Profiles themselves cannot be edited Profiles are personalised by creating copies of a default Profile which can then be edited as described on the following pages The soft key sets included in the default Profiles are descri...

Page 26: ...t simply re power Nucleus using the power switch on the rear of the unit Note that depending on the complexity of your setup you may also need to re find Nucleus in the Remote after the restart as described on Page 19 MCU User Display Configuration In order to cater for variations in the ways in which MCU protocol DAWs return channel data to the scribble strip displays there is a Flip Scribble Str...

Page 27: ...p Type a new name for the Profile into the pop up and click OK The Profile s name will change in the Profile list in the Profile Editor Backing up Profiles To back up a Profile or export it for use elsewhere click on Edit Profile to bring up the Profile Editor popup select the Profile which you wish to back up and click Backup In the pop up which appears edit the name and destination of the file i...

Page 28: ...tion Jog Wheel Function The function of the centre section jog wheel is selected in the Jog Wheel Default area of the Remote s DAW tab The four options are as follows Wheel Sends basic control information which scrolls the timeline in most DAWs Pro Tools Users Note that the wheel does nothing in Wheel mode until Jog Shuttle mode is activated by default Jog Shuttle mode is assigned to the jog wheel...

Page 29: ...faults are in white boxes The MCU protocol defaults are in white letters below the HUI defaults Mode switch 16 labelled KeybID on the far right hand side also comes pre assigned to the Keyboard ID function This function is required for part of the USB set up as described in Section 4 The upper row of buttons left hand Mode switches can become menu selectors accessing eight sub functions assigned t...

Page 30: ...ions These are shown in the command list as Play Foot Switch and Record Foot Switch KVM Hot Key This key located adjacent to the foot switch keys is only required on setups where there is more than one DAW computer connected to Nucleus The key can be programmed with a command to control an automatic USB KVM switch telling it to switch between computer ports When programmed it outputs a keyboard co...

Page 31: ...o you within the selected Profile Note that the list shown below is for Pro Tools See the Appendix for a full list of the commands available for each supported DAW Select the required command from the list and its name will appear in the appropriate part of the Browser s soft key display Soft key assignments must be saved before they become active on Nucleus If there are any unsaved changes when y...

Page 32: ... an error press Cancel and start again Once you have completed the sequence correctly press Learn again to stop the recording followed by OK to close the Keyboard Shortcut Setup box Soft key assignments must be saved before they become active on Nucleus If there are any unsaved changes when you try to exit the current Soft Key Set a pop up will appear inviting you to save changes before exiting Pr...

Page 33: ... scribble strip will then contain dashes above each V Sel switch indicating that they are available for assigning You can now assign functions to the V Sel switch in the same way as you would for any other soft key as described previously Once you have created the soft key assignments for this menu selecting another top row button that has been assigned as a menu selector will switch the on screen...

Page 34: ... the key release signals are sent in the reverse order In other words using HUI DAW protocol as an example if Shift All is the first command and Play the second then when the switch is pressed it will send the press of Shift All followed by the press of Play and when the switch is released it will send the release of Play followed by the release of Shift All This means that modifiers need to be pr...

Page 35: ...ute controllers not as incremental devices and that the SEL and V Sel switches emulate latched switches sending appropriate on and off values as they change state Please refer to your MIDI device s manual for instructions regarding mapping these CC numbers within the MIDI device CC Displays When a Nucleus DAW Layer that is controlling a MIDI device is selected the bottom row of the scribble strip ...

Page 36: ...Page 32 Nucleus User Guide Blank page well nearly ...

Page 37: ... can be controlled simultaneously from one transport master The active layer is selected by pressing the DAW 2 and DAW 3 switches above the jog wheel DAW 1 is controlled when neither switch is selected SOFT KEYS While most of the switches on Nucleus come with a function assigned many of them can be altered to trigger any DAW keyboard command or any command within the appropriate DAW protocol Switc...

Page 38: ...ected It can also be used for track arming by pressing the centre section REC switch see below automation using the centre section AUTO switch see below and for assigning plug ins to the Nucleus plug in editor using the centre section PARAM switch see Page 36 Channel Metering DAW channel meters are replicated at the top of each Nucleus channel strip above the Mode switch Track Arming The channel S...

Page 39: ...User 1 or User 2 user soft keys are selected Note also that the functions assigned to the Mode switches are programmed in the Nucleus Remote See Section 5 for more information Flip Mode Pressing the FLIP switch to the right of the left hand display triggers the HUI Shift command or the MCU Flip command and assigns the V Pot parameter to the fader Pro Tools users FLIP only works on Sends A to E In ...

Page 40: ...aram allows the parameters of the selected plug in to be controlled Insert Mode V Pot 16 scrolls the page between Inserts 1 4 and Insert 5 as indicated in the top row of the scribble strip In the Inserts 1 4 page Inserts 1 4 can be accessed by pressing V Sels 9 11 12 and 14 In the Insert 5 page Insert 5 is accessed via V Sel 9 The selected insert label will flash to indicate that it has been selec...

Page 41: ...es are FF RW and HUI only timeline scrolling resolution is controlled by the Timeline format and Nudge value respectively and TRACKS which assigns the channel scrolling function to the jog wheel Pro Tools Users Note that the wheel does nothing in Wheel mode until Jog or Shuttle mode is activated using the jog wheel switch Jog or Shuttle mode is assigned to the jog wheel switch via the Transport Ut...

Page 42: ...ions deselect both User 1 or User 2 switches Each Mode switch can be run either as a simple soft key triggering any DAW computer keyboard command or any command within the relevant DAW protocol or as a menu switch each menu switch accesses a subset of soft keys laid out across the V Sel switches below Taking the V Sel assignments which will be active with no Mode switches selected in to account th...

Page 43: ...ing the HP LEVEL control below CHANNEL 2 Normally the monitor and headphone outputs receive a mix of the inputs to Channels 1 and 2 and the DAW return allowing for true zero latency monitoring The mix between the two is adjusted using the BLEND control below CHANNEL 1 to hear more of the inputs turn it towards DRY and to hear more of the computer turn it towards WET By default the monitoring treat...

Page 44: ...tch The external source s can replace the normal monitor source or be added to it Press the switch above the EXT switch to sum the monitor sources together or leave it unselected to replace the normal monitoring with the external signal Take care to avoid creating a feed back loop by feeding the processed signal to the stereo master within the DAW METERING The pair of meters at the top of the cent...

Page 45: ...ase Transport RTZ RTZ Stop Stop USB END End LOOP Loop Cycle Cycle ONLINE On Line USB PUNCH Quick Punch Drop Punch PREVIOUS Prev Marker USB Previous NEXT Next Marker USB Next LAST CUE Last Marker NUDGE Keypad USB USB NUDGE Keypad USB USB Utility SHIFT Shift All Shift Shift OPT ALL Option All Option CTRL Control Control USB ALT CMD Alt Fine Alt USB ESC Function Key 8 Esc USB USB ENTER Keypad Enter E...

Page 46: ...uto Suspend AutoS Audition Post AudPst Save Save RTZ RTZ Auto Enable Plugin Plugin End End Auto Enable Pan Pan On line Online Auto Enable Fader Fader Loop Loop Auto Enable Send Mute SMute Quick Punch QPunch Auto Enable Send Send Forward Forwrd Auto Enable Mute Mute Rewind Rewind Auto Mode Read Read Stop Stop Auto Mode Latch Latch Play Play Auto Mode Trim Trim Record Record Auto Mode Touch Touch Ne...

Page 47: ...ey 2 F2 Cycle Cycle Function Key 3 F3 Drop Drop Function Key 4 F4 Replace Rplace Function Key 5 F5 Click Click Function Key 6 F6 Solo Solo Function Key 7 F7 Forward Forwrd Function Key 8 F8 Rewind Rewind MIDI Tracks MIDITr Stop Stop Inputs Inputs Play Play Audio Tracks AudTr Record Record Audio Instruments AudIns VSel 1 VSel 1 Aux Aux VSel 2 VSel 2 Busses Busses VSel 3 VSel 3 Outputs Outpts VSel 4...

Page 48: ... Key 1 F1 Solo Defeat SolDef Function Key 2 F2 Shift Shift Function Key 3 F3 Left Left Function Key 4 F4 Right Right Function Key 5 F5 Cycle Cycle Function Key 6 F6 Punch Punch Function Key 7 F7 Previous Prev Function Key 8 F8 Add Add Fader Group 1 FadGp1 Next Next Fader Group 2 FadGp2 Forward Forwrd Fader Group 3 FadGp3 Rewind Rewind Fader Group 4 FadGp4 Stop Stop Fader Group 5 FadGp5 Play Play F...

Page 49: ...DYN switch 37 E ENTER 37 EQ switch 37 ESC 37 EXT switch 40 EXTERNAL Connections 11 F F1 and F2 37 Flip Mode 35 Foot Switches 26 FOOTSWITCH connector 11 G Glossary 2 H Headphones 39 HEADPHONES connector 11 Hi Z 39 HP LEVEL 39 HUI 2 21 I iJack 40 iJack connector 11 INS 39 INSTRUMENT 35 IP address 12 ipMIDI 2 ipMIDI Installation 9 10 ipMIDI Configuration 15 16 J Jog Wheel 24 37 K Key assign 28 KeybID...

Page 50: ... 11 Profiles 21 Protocols 21 R REC switch 34 Record Ready 34 Recording Sources 39 Remote Installation 9 S S PDIF 5 11 SAVE 37 Scrolling channels 34 SEL key 34 SEND RETURN Connections 11 SHIFT 37 Show Auto Mode 24 Show Sub Keys 29 Soft Key Configuration 25 Soft Keys 33 Software Versions 2 SOLO 34 Soundcards proprietary 5 6 T TERMINAL connector 11 TRACK 35 Track Arming 34 Transport 37 Transport Util...

Page 51: ...Nucleus User Guide Page 47 Notes ...

Page 52: ...are hereby acknowledged No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means whether mechanical or electronic without the written permission of Solid State Logic Oxford OX5 1RU England As research and development is a continual process Solid State Logic reserves the right to change the features and specifications described herein without notice or obligation Solid State Logic ...