Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product Studio Interface MasterControl Alesis
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REFERENCE MANUAL.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 2 FIRST THINGS FIRST: DRIVER INSTALLATION ...............................................
2 INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your purchase of the Alesis Maste rControl! The MasterControl is Alesis’s most advanced computer recording product to date and designed to be the centerpiece of y our studio.
3 FIRST THINGS FIRST : DRIVER INSTALLA TION If your computer has Internet access, go to http://ww w.alesis. com/mastercontrol . It’s possible tha t updated drivers have been posted there since the time the software DVD included with your MasterControl was printed.
4 REAR PANEL FEATURES 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 9 9 10 10 10 11 11 12 13 1. MIC / LINE INPUTS – These two inputs can accept micr ophones (using an XLR cable) or an instrument or line-level device (using a 1/4” cable) such as a guitar, bass, sampler, or other audio device.
5 8. FOOTSWITCH – You may connect a remote footswitch to this jack. This can operate eithe r as a control option surface or as a toggle switch to tur n the Ma sterControl’s talkback function on an d off. Pleas e refer to the GLOBAL M ENU S section to configure your footswitch.
6 TOP PANEL FEATU RES This section breaks down the cont rol surface into its functional areas . The area being discussed is shaded in the accompanying diag rams.
7 (B) DAW CONTROL: CHANNELS 5 6 1 2 4 3 3 3 3 1. CHANNEL FADER – Use this 100mm, touch-sens itive fader to adjust the volume levels of each channel. The exact level will be shown in the DISPLAY . 2. MASTER FADER – This fader controls the DA W’s master fader.
8 (C) DAW CONTROL: MULTI-FUNCTION KNOBS 3 1 2 1. TEMPLATE OVERLAY – Place the long plasticized overlay (included) that matches your currently selected DAW preset h ere. Remove the plastic protective covering from the te mplate overlay before placing it in the slot.
9 (E) DAW CONTROL: ASSIGNABLE BUTTON BANKS 1. TEMPLATE OVERLAY - Place the short plasticized overlay (incl uded) that matches your currently selected DAW preset here. 2. ASSIGNABLE BUTTONS – These buttons perform functions in your DAW such as SAVE, LOOP, etc.
10 2. DIRECT MON LEVEL – This knob raises or lowers your entire direct monitor mix. This allows you to blend your direct monito r signals with the audio b eing played fr om your computer.
11 4. EDIT – In Edit Mode, you can chang e the assignments for the A and B banks of the ASSIGN ABLE buttons – a total of 16 assignable functions. Upon entering Edit Mode, the DISPLAY will look like the image on the right a nd the ASSIGNABLE BUTTONS will ligh t up orange.
12 CONFIGURING YOU R DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTA TION SOFTWARE FOR USE WITH THE MASTERCONTROL Once your MasterControl is connecte d to your compute r, there are thr ee steps to per form to establish audio a.
13 CUBASE AND NUENDO SETUP: SELECTING THE AUDIO DRIVER (WINDOWS ONLY) This discussion addresses Cubase. Nuendo setup is similar. 1. From the menu bar , go to Dev ices f Device Setup… 2. Click on “VST Audio System” in the left-h and pane . Then, in the right-han d pane, select “ASIO Alesis Firewire” for the ASIO driver.
14 CUBASE AND NUENDO SETUP: CONTROL SURFACE (MAC AND WINDOWS) 1. Again from the menu bar, g o to Devices f Device Setup… 2. Click the “+” button on the upper-left corner o f the window and select “Mackie C ontrol” from the list.
15 3. Under Remote Devices f Mackie Control , select “Ales is FireWire” from the MIDI Input and MIDI Output drop-down menus. 4. Press “OK” to accept this setti ng. 5. Once the MasterControl is selected as the audio devi ce, individual channels must be acti vated for use.
16 6. In this first tab labe led “Inpu ts,” you can decide which of t he MasterControl’s channels will be routed to the Cubase’s inputs. Click the entries under “Device Port” to select an available channel from a drop-down menu. (This number and kind of available channels will vary depending on the sampling rate.
17 8. If you want, you can rename channels by clicking on the entry under “B us Name.” This is useful for keeping track of which instrument is on each stereo ch annel. 9. Close the window. You are now ready to b egin recording with the MasterControl.
18 2. Click the MIDI/Sync t ab. Sele ct “MackieControl” from the C ontrol Surface drop-down menu, and select “Alesis FireWire” for the corresponding Input and Outpu t. 3. Click the Audio tab . Select “ASIO” fro m the Driver Type drop-down me nu.
19 4. Click “Input Config.” In the window tha t appears, select the inputs from the MasterContr ol that you want to be sent to the DAW, then click “OK.” 5. Click “Output Config.” In the window that appears, se lect the outpu ts on the MasterControl to which the DAW will send its audio.
20 6. Close the Preferences window. 7. From the menu bar , go to Insert f Audio Track. 8. Be sure the circular button on the ri ght-hand side of the screen labeled “I-O ” is on. Underneath each track, you s hould see the headings “Audio From,” “Monitor,” and “Audio To.
21 11. Underneath “Monitor,” select the monitoring conf iguration you want. “A uto” will monitor the channel when it is “record-armed” or recording. “In” will m onitor the channel continuo usly, whether it is being recorded or not. “Off” will disable monitoring for that track.
22 CAKEWALK SONAR SETUP 1. From the menu bar , go to Options f Controllers/Surfaces . 2. Click the button with th e “star” icon to add a new device. 3. Select “Mackie Control” from the Controller/Surf ace drop-down menu, and select “Alesis FireWi re” for the Input Port and Output P ort.
23 4. From the menu bar , go to Options f Audio…” 5. Click the “Advanced” tab. Selec t “ASIO” as t he “Driver Mode.” Most users will find that this provides better performance than WDM/KS mode. If you change this setting, you will need to exit and then restart Sonar.
24 6. On the “General” tab, select a ny available MasterControl channels as the “Playback Timing Master.” We recommend “ASIO Alesis FireWire MasterControl DAW1,” which corresponds to the physical MON / LINE OUTPUTS 1 and 2 on the MasterCo ntrol.
25 8. Move to the “Drivers” tab. C lick on each input pair an d also on the output pair to make them available to Sonar. The available input c hannels (corresponding to the MasterControl’s input channels) will depend on the sampling rate , which you can set in the “Ge neral” tab.
26 LOGIC PRO SETUP 1. From the menu bar , go to Logic Pro f Preferences f Control Surfaces f Setup . 2. Click on “New” and select “Ins tall” from the drop-down menu.
27 3. Select “Mackie Designs > Mackie Control > Logic Control” from t he list, and click “Add” at the bottom-right. Close the window . 4. Select “Alesis FireWire” for the Out Port and Inpu t. 5. See the Logic no tes later in th is manual for de tails on MasterControl op eration with Log ic.
28 SAMPLITUDE SETUP 1. From the menu bar , go to MIDI f MIDI Options f System O ptions f Hard ware Con troller . 2. Click the “Add New” bu tton and select “Mackie Control” fr om the list. 3. Select “Alesis FireWire” for the “MIDI Inpu t” and “M IDI Output,” and be sure “Activate Controller” is checked.
29 AUDIO INPUTS AND OUTPUTS Channels Sent from the MasterControl to the Computer The FireWire port sends every available individual Ma sterControl channel to the computer.
30 WINDOWS AUDIO CONFIGUR ATION CHOOSING THE MASTERCONTROL AS YOUR DEFAULT AUDIO DEVICE To use your MasterControl as your default Windows sound device, fo llow these steps: 1. From the Windows Start menu, choose Control Panel . 2. Choose Sounds and Audio Devices (XP) or Sounds (Vista).
31 DISABLING WINDOWS SYSTEM SOUNDS Windows System Sounds – the sounds that Windows plays to signal starting up, shutting do wn, alerts and so forth – can interfere with your audio record ing. We strongly suggest disabling these sounds. 1. Click the “Sounds” tab o f Sounds and Audio Devices (XP) or Sounds (Vista).
32 ALESIS FIREWIRE CONTROL PANEL (WINDOWS) Open the Alesis Firewire Contro l Panel from the shortcu t on your Desktop, the Programs menu , or from within your a udio application. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1. Selecting the Alesi s MasterControl: Be sure that your MasterCont ro l is shown here.
33 4. Adjusting the sample rate: You can change the sample rate that the MasterControl uses in this area. Some audio programs require that you change the sample rate under their Project Setup or similar menus. For instance, Cubase w ill take control of this parameter.
34 MAC AUDIO CONFIGURATION AUDIO MIDI SETUP On Mac, after you install the dr ivers, open the Audio MIDI Setup utility. Choose “Alesis Firewire” for your “Default Input” and “De fault Output” devices under Mac’s Audio MIDI Setup utility. Also, choose your clock source, an d set your sample rate here.
35 ALESIS FIREWIRE CONTROL PANEL (MAC) On Mac, buffer sizes are controlled b y individual applications, and clocking and sample ra tes are set in Audio MIDI Setup.
36 GLOBAL MENUS Press the GLOBAL button to edit the MasterControl’s configuration, including where you want to rou te which channels, talkback and foots witch sett ings, and other fe atures. Use the PAGE buttons beneath the DISPLAY to scroll through the settings.
37 Direct Monitoring When the MasterControl’s Direc t Monitoring function is enabled, the signal you are hearing is taken directly from the MasterControl rather than from your DAW. Th is allows you and your musicians to monitor the audi o with no perceptible delay (la tency).
38 Factory Reset Activating a Factory Reset will resto re all default settings and Preset configurations. If you wan t to reset, select “Reset all.” You will be asked, “You sure?” If you wa nt to continue, select “Yes.” The DISPLAY will read “Resetting” with two asterisks moving across the screen to indicate its progre ss.
39 MONITORING & CONTROL RO OM FEATURES Speakers / Out puts Controls The SPEAKERS / OUTPUTS buttons allo w you to monitor the MasterControl’s MON / LINE OUTPUTS as follows: y The “A” SPEA.
40 DIRECT MONITORING The MasterControl contains a hardw are-based, DSP mixer which enables you to route the inputs to the outputs directly, bypassing any lat enci es associated with sending the audio to and fr om the computer.
41 CREATING A CUBASE LE PROJECT FO R RECORDING Once you have set up Cubase to work with the Mast erControl, you’re ready to create an audio pr oject. 1. Choose File f New Project. 2. You can begin with a template or an empty fi le. For now, begin wi th an empty file .
42 4. Now, you have a blank project. Add an audio track for recording by choosing Project f Add Track f Audio . 5. Be sure that the “i nspector” – a strip on the le ft-hand side of Cubase that shows all sorts of in formation about the selected track – is active.
43 6. Choose an input for your track by selecting it from the drop-down menu of available inputs. By default, the input wi ll be the first ster eo bus in the “VST Connections” window.
44 IMPORTANT POINTS FOR USERS OF VARIOUS DAWS When using the MasterControl with various Digital A udio Workstations (DAWs), you will find the contro l surface interacts slightly differently with some of them.
45 LOGIC PRO y Ensure that you choose a “Mackie Control” contro l surface. The “Logic Co ntrol” control surface uses a different set of M IDI messages and is n ot compatible wi th the Alesis MasterContr ol. y Rows 2 and 3 on th e MasterControl correspond to different modes in Logic: Row 2 is Send Mode .
46 DIGITAL PERFORMER y Row 2 of the MasterControl is not mapped. y Vertical Zoom is not possibl e from the Ma sterControl. y MasterControl’s ZOOM button cycles through th ree stages (as opposed to t wo on most other DAWs): unlit, lit, and flashing. It will be lit when it is on and unlit when it is o ff.
47 PRO TOOLS y JOG is unavailable in Pro Tools. This is a limitation of the HUI protocol used by Pro Tools. Pressing the SCRUB bu tton puts the JOG WHEEL into Scrub Mode .
48 PLUG-IN 1, 2 y These presets are designed to cont rol virtual instrumen ts and effects plugins. If you a re using a virtual instrument within a DAW, you will need to disconnect the Alesis Firewire MIDI ports from control surface operation (Mackie Co ntrol or HUI) so that you can use the MasterControl a s a generic MIDI controller.
49 SIGNAL FLOW DIAGRAM.
50 SPECIFICATIONS Microphone preamplifier Gain range: +9.1dB to +59.2dB Impedance: 3.67K @ min gain; 3.33K @ max gain Line preamplifier Gain range: -7dB to +43.1dB Maximum input signal levels before clipping Mic In to Line Out: At min gain: 9.
51 TRADEMARKS All trademarks are the prop erty of their respective owners. Specifically : “MasterControl” is a tr ademark of Ales is, LLC. “Soundtrack,” Soundtrack Pro,” “Logic,” Logic Pro ,” “C oreAudio,” “CoreM IDI,” “M ac” and “Mac O S” are trademarks of Apple, Inc.
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www .alesis.com.
An important point after buying a device Alesis Studio Interface MasterControl (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Alesis Studio Interface MasterControl yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data Alesis Studio Interface MasterControl - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Alesis Studio Interface MasterControl you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Alesis Studio Interface MasterControl will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Alesis Studio Interface MasterControl, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Alesis Studio Interface MasterControl.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Alesis Studio Interface MasterControl. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Alesis Studio Interface MasterControl along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
