B4
| Site: | MOODLE - Guildhall School |
| Course: | GSMD Electronic Music Studios Wiki (TEST) |
| Book: | B4 |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Saturday, 29 June 2024, 4:32 PM |
1. Thunderbolt
Introduction
Connection to the studio including the Apple Display, Focusrite Clarett 8Pre Audio Interface, and Unitor AMT8 MIDI Interface is via Thunderbolt. All of these peripherals are supported by one thunderbolt connector, accessible via the Belkin desktop hub.
Hub
The Belkin Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock is a digital hub for Thunderbolt, USB, and HDMI devices. The Apple Thunderbolt Display and Focusrite Clarett 8Pre Audio Interface are connected permanently to this dock via the yellow marked Thunderbolt cable and yellow marked Thunderbolt Port. The orange marked Thunderbolt port can connect either to the rack-mounted Mac Mini, or to an external Thunderbolt compatible device, like a laptop.
Note: Belkin Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock supports Apple devices only. Thunderbolt-compatible Windows devices are not supported.
1.1. Hub
a hub
1.2. inputs
inputs
2. Studio Computer
General Information
| Mac Mini (Late 2014) | |
| OS | macOS Sierra (10.12.6) |
| Processor | 3 GHz Intel Core i7 |
| Memory | 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 |
| Internal Storage | 256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage |
| Graphics | Intel Iris 1536 MB |
| Processor Name | Intel Core i7 |
| Processor Speed | 3GHz |
| Total no. of Cores | 2 |
The studio Mac Mini is stored in the right-hand bay of the Sonnet RackMac Mini, which is mounted in the left-hand rack unit, just below the patch bays. The 'On' button is on the right hand side of the front panel. Connect the Mac Mini to the Belkin Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock via the orange-marked white Thunderbolt cable.
The Admin user is 'ems' - the password is also 'ems'. Students are welcome to install additional software, drivers, plugins etc.., but please don't uninstall anything or update the operating system without first asking permission. Some software developers are quicker at adapting to macOS updates than others.
Please do not store project files, audio or video locally on the internal SSD. There is very little space available, and this must be kept free to enable users to record and playback directly to and from the internal drive. The easiest way to stay on top of this is to store your files on the desktop whilst you work, then to move them to your own disk, the Staff+Student Drive and/or the EMS File Server once you're finished. Any files left on the Desktop will be moved to the 'Desktop Tidy' folder on the Staff+Student Drive, and any files left elsewhere and improperly labelled will be deleted. For more information about file storage, see the dedicated storage section of this document.
Software
The following software is owned by the department, and is installed for use on the studio Mac Mini. Note: software installed by students, or for which we don't hold a valid licence is not listed here.
| Application | Version |
| Ableton Live 9 | 9.7.4 |
| Ableton Live 8 | 8.2.1 |
| Arduino IDE | 1.6.7 |
| Cubase | 7.0.7 |
| Equator | 1.11 |
| Euphonix EuControl | 3.3 |
| Focusrite Control | 1.0.2 |
| Garageband | 10.2.0 |
| iLok Licence Manager | 3.1.7 |
| iZotope Ozone | 6.1 |
| Logic Pro X | 10.4.1 |
| Max | 7.3.5 |
| Melodyne | 3.2 |
| Pro Tools | 12.3.0 |
| Reaper (+ ReaMote) | 5.80 (64-bit) |
| ROLI Dashboard | 3.1.5 |
| Soundhack | 1.1 |
| Spear | 0.7.4 |
| 3rd Party Plugins | Format |
| Focusrite Red 2 EQ | AU, AAX, VST |
| Focusrite Red 3 Compressor | AU, AAX, VST |
| iZotope Insight | AU, AAX, VST |
| iZotope Meter Tap | AU, AAX, VST |
| Michael Norris Soundmagic Spectral | AU |
| Native Instruments Komplete 8 | AU, AAX*, VST |
| Softube Saturation Knob | AU, AAX, VST |
| Softube TSAR-1R Reverb | AU, AAX, VST |
| Softube Tube Delay | AU, AAX, VST |
| Spitfire Symphonic Strings Ensembles** |
*Note: Battery 3 is 32-bit RTAS only, and thus not compatible with Pro Tools 12.
**Note: The samples are stored on the Staff+Student Drive in the 'Audio' folder. This is not the Kontakt Player compatible pack, so requires a full version of Kontakt 5 to run. You cannot add the entire library to Kontakt as you can with the full version, but instead you'll need to load files manually. This can be done via the ‘Files’ browser, at the top left hand side of Kontakt, or by simply dragging the instrument files over the Kontakt window to load them.
Storage
Please do not store project files, audio or video locally on the internal SSD. There is very little space available, and this must be kept free to enable users to record and playback directly to and from the internal drive. The easiest way to stay on top of this is to store your files on the desktop whilst you work, and to move them to your own disk, the Staff+Student Drive and/or the EMS File Server once you're finished. Any files left on the Desktop will be moved to the 'Desktop Tidy' folder on the Staff+Student Drive, and any files left elsewhere and/or labelled ambiguously will be deleted.
The Staff+Student Drive is a 4TB Hard Disk Drive, connected permanently to the studio Mac Mini via Thunderbolt. It is has a Hard Drive speed of 7200RPM, and a data transfer rate of 20 Gbit/s. Navigate to the correct area of the drive using the 'Student' and 'Staff' aliases on the Mac Mini desktop. Here you can create a personal folder to store / backup up to 100gb of data per student. Please note that the department is not responsible for data loss; any data stored on the Staff+Student Drive must also be backed up elsewhere. Student folders will be moved to their new location over the summer vacation: eg. folders in the 3rd Year area will be moved to the 4th year before the start of the new academic year. Please do not eject the Staff+Student drive.
3. Audio Interface
Focusrite Control
Focusrite Control is the software control interface for Focusrite Audio Interfaces, including the Clarett 8Pre. It is used to set the internal routing and recording parameters of the hardware device, as well as input settings. You must install Focusrite Control before connecting to the Clarett 8Pre.
Note: The desktop Scarlett 6i6 interface is 1st Gen, so must be configured using Scarlett Mix Control as opposed to Focusrite Control.
Incorrect settings within Focusrite Control can cause major problems with audio input and output. If you're having issues with audio playback, check that none of the output routings are set to 'Custom Mix'. Output 1-2 should be set to 'Playback 1-2', Output 3-4 to 'Playback 3-4' and so on. Check also that the clock source is set to 'Internal' and that there is no sample rate discrepancy between the interface and your software or any external hardware. See included screenshots for reference.
Focusrite Clarett 8Pre 
The Focusrite Clarett 8Pre is an 18x20 Thunderbolt Audio Interface, equipped with 24-bit, 192kHz converters, capable of a round-trip latency of 1.67ms. It has eight built in Mic/Line preamps, the first two of which are mounted on the front panel, and double as instrument level inputs. The remaining six analogue inputs are accessible via the patch bay; the normalled connections are from 'Booth Tie Lines' 11-16.
Input and output gain can be adjusted using the row of dials on the front panel, or via Focusrite Control, as can 48v Phantom Power. Air Mode can be switched on and off for each channel via Focusrite Control.
Basic MIDI I/O) is available via the ports on the rear panel. The Yamaha Clavinova is connected permanently, so can be used to input MIDI data with no need for extra peripherals. The MIDI output is unused.
Audio Inputs:
| 1-2 | Analogue | Switchable Mic/Line/Instrument | Front | |
| 3-8 | Analogue | Switchable Mic/Line | Rear | See 'Focusrite Clarett Inputs' on patch bay |
| 9-12 | Digital | S/PDIF | Rear | Unused |
| 13-20* | Digital | ADAT | Rear | Connected to Focusrite ISA 828 Channels 1-8 |
*8 audio inputs via ADAT available at 44.1/48 kHz, four at 88.2/96 kHz or two at 176.4/192 kHz (as per SMUX protocol).
Audio Outputs:
| 1-2 | Analogue | Line Level | Rear | Hardwired to Mackie Big Knob 'DAW Input' |
| 3-10 | Analogue | Line Level | Rear | See 'Focusrite Clarett Outputs' on patch bay |
| 11-12 | Digital | S/PDIF | Rear | Unused |
| 13-20 | Digital | ADAT | Rear | Unused |
Focusrite Scarlett 6i6
The Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 (first gen) is a 6x6 USB 2.0 Audio Interface, equipped with 24bit 96Khz converters. It has two built in Mic/Line/Instrument pre-amps accessible via Combi XLR sockets on the front panel, and two further line amps accessible via 1/4" TRS Jacks on the rear. The final two (digital) inputs are via S/PDIF. There are four analogue outputs on 1/4" TRS Jacks at the rear, which are mirrored by two separate stereo headphone outputs on the front panel.
Note: The Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 is not bus powered, and must be powered via 12v DC adapter.
- Download drivers / Scarlett Mix Control (optional for Mac users)
Audio Inputs:
| 1-2 | Analogue | Switchable Mic/Line/Instrument | Front | XLR Combi |
| 3-4 | Analogue | Line | Rear | 1/4" TRS Jack |
| 5-6 | Digital | S/PDIF | Rear | RCA |
Audio Outputs:
| 1-4 | Analogue | Line Level | Rear | 1/4" TRS Jack |
| 5-6 | Digital | S/PDIF | Rear | RCA |
Focusrite ISA 828 Preamplifier
The ISA 828 amplifiers are of a much higher quality than those installed in the Focusrite Clarett 8Pre. They reproduce frequencies more accurately, have a greater signal to noise ratio, and are able to capture accurately frequencies beyond the range of human hearing (+-3dB over 110kHz). It is recommended that you use these preamplifiers for recording.
The eight analogue outputs are accessible via the patch bay, however the ISA 828 is also equipped with high quality analogue-digital converters, allowing us to transmit 8 channels of digital audio to a computer or recording device via ADAT. As detailed in the above description, channels 1-8 of the ISA 828 are routed to input channels 13-20 of the Focusrite Clarett 8Pre. In most situations you will want to record the output of the ISA 828 using the ADAT inputs (ch. 13-20) of the Focusrite Clarett 8Pre. Unless you're clear in your reasoning for using the analogue outputs via the patch bay, use the digital connection instead.
Before monitoring the input signal in your DAW, ensure that the sample rate selected on the right hand side of the front panel matches the sample rate selected in your audio preferences and in Focusrite Control. Ensure also that both the 'Lock' and 'Word Clock' LEDs are illuminated. Non-identical sample rates may result in the ISA 828 transmitting eight-channels of pure white noise @ 0dB - This could do serious damage to the monitoring equipment (and your hearing!)
Unitor AMT8 MIDI Interface
Unitor AMT8 is compatible with OSX / macOS and Windows XP only.
The Behringer Powerplay Pro-XL is a 4-Channel Headphone Amplifier. In its current configuration a stereo input is routed to all four channels, the outputs of which are duplicated, allowing the user to connect up to eight pairs of headphones (controllable in pairs).
The stereo input is accessible via the patch bay; its normalled connection is the 'Phones Out' output on the Mackie Big Knob. The eight outputs are accessible individually via the patch bay and have normalled connections to 'Booth Jacks' 1-8. Thus without any need for patching, the Behringer Powerplay Pro-XL amplifies the signal it receives from the Mackie Big Knob, and outputs the amplified signal to jack sockets 1-8 in the recording booth.
Controls mounted on the front panel allow the user to set the input and output gain, as well as muting the left / right channels, and adjusting the EQ. It is also possible to connect individual inputs to each of the four channels by connecting a 1/4" TRS Jack to the Aux In. This allows, for example, individual headphone mixes to be created for a group of recording musicians, though this does require some complex hardware/software routing. For further information contact Seth.
The stereo input is accessible via the patch bay; its normalled connection is the 'Phones Out' output on the Mackie Big Knob. The eight outputs are accessible individually via the patch bay and have normalled connections to 'Booth Jacks' 1-8. Thus without any need for patching, the Behringer Powerplay Pro-XL amplifies the signal it receives from the Mackie Big Knob, and outputs the amplified signal to jack sockets 1-8 in the recording booth.
Controls mounted on the front panel allow the user to set the input and output gain, as well as muting the left / right channels, and adjusting the EQ. It is also possible to connect individual inputs to each of the four channels by connecting a 1/4" TRS Jack to the Aux In. This allows, for example, individual headphone mixes to be created for a group of recording musicians, though this does require some complex hardware/software routing. For further information contact Seth.