User Guide Version 8.0.
Legal Notices This guide is copyrighted ©2009 by Avid Technology, Inc, with all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Avid Technology, Inc.
Communications and Safety Regulation Information Compliance Statement This model Digidesign Eleven Rack complies with the following standards regulating interference and EMC: • FCC Part 15 Class B • EN 55103-1 E1 Class B • EN 55103-2 E1 Class B • AS/NZS 3548 Class B • CISPR 22 Class B Radio and Television Interference This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
CE Compliance Statement: 7) Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. 8) Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat. Digidesign is authorized to apply the CE (Conformité Europénne) mark on this compliant equipment thereby declaring conformity to EMC Directive 89/336/EEC and Low Voltage Directive 73/23/EEC.
Contents Part I Playing Guitar through Eleven Rack Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Quick Start Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . System Requirements and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Getting Around This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part II Setting Up and Using Pro Tools With Eleven Rack Chapter 5. Installing Pro Tools on Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Installation Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing Pro Tools LE and Connecting Eleven Rack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Launching Pro Tools LE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part III Reference Chapter 10. User Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Exploring the User Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 User Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Chapter 11. Controlling Eleven Rack with MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
viii Eleven Rack User Guide
Part I: Playing Guitar through Eleven Rack 1
2
Chapter 1: Introduction Quick Start Instructions To get started playing guitar with Eleven Rack: 1 Connect outputs from Eleven Rack to your monitors or headphones: You’ve Got Eleven Rack, You’ve Got Your Guitar. What’s Next? Eleven Rack is a high-quality audio and MIDI interface, with classic guitar amp and effects processing built right in. This means that Eleven Rack is useful when recording, gigging, and practicing.
3 Connect the power cable and set the Power switch to On. The Eleven Rack logo will appear. As Eleven Rack warms up, check your guitar to make sure that its volume is turned up. Before you power on Eleven Rack, make sure any connected amplifiers or powered monitors are turned off or muted. 4 When the name of the first Rig is displayed, try playing your guitar. How’s it sound? You may want to adjust the output volume of Eleven Rack by turning the Volume knob on the front panel.
Getting Around This Guide There are two main ways to use Eleven Rack. In Part 1, we’ll cover using Eleven Rack as a live guitar processor, and in Part 2, we’ll get into how to use Eleven Rack as an audio and MIDI interface, and effects processor with Pro Tools. Part 1: Eleven Rack for Guitar You’re looking at it.
6 Eleven Rack User Guide
Chapter 2: Hardware Overview Eleven Rack Front Panel Power switch Volume knob Edit/Back and Save buttons SW1 and SW2 buttons Scroll wheel Control knobs Effects Control buttons Tap Tempo and Tuner button Phones output Mic input and controls Output To Amp 1 (L) Guitar input Figure 1. Eleven Rack front panel The Eleven Rack front panel provides the following: Power Switch Use the heavy-duty Power switch to turn Eleven Rack on and off. Eleven Rack will take a few seconds to warm up.
User Options Mode Hold the Edit/Back button to enter User Options mode, where many settings that change the behavior and configuration of Eleven Rack can be found. For information on User Options mode, see Chapter 10, “User Options.” SW1 and SW2 Buttons Use the SW1 and SW2 buttons to toggle various switched behaviors and navigate through editing views in Eleven Rack. The part of the display next to the SW1 and SW2 buttons shows the current function of the buttons.
Control Knobs Output To Amp 1 (L) Use the Control knobs to access amp and effects controls, as well as other settings throughout Eleven Rack. The controls are pre-assigned, depending on the current mode. The knobs light up in different colors, depending on their state: The Output To Amp 1 (L) is one of two outputs specifically designed for connecting to the input of a guitar amplifier.
Eleven Rack Back Panel Figure 2 identifies each port on the back panel of the Eleven Rack. FX Loop I/O Main output Output To Amp 2 (R) Line input MIDI I/O AES/EBU digital I/O Exp. Pedal/ Footswitch input AC power input USB port S/PDIF digital I/O Figure 2. Eleven Rack back panel The Eleven Rack back panel provides the following: FX Loop I/O The FX Loop I/O is a pair of 1/4-inch TRS inputs and outputs, which can be used to insert a mono or stereo external effects processor into the guitar signal.
S/PDIF MIDI I/O The S/PDIF In and Out ports are unbalanced two-conductor phono (RCA) connectors that can run at up to 24-bit, 96 kHz resolution. The MIDI In and MIDI Out ports are standard 5-pin MIDI ports, each providing 16 channels of MIDI input or output. These ports can interface with a variety of MIDI devices The Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF) is used in many professional and consumer CD recorders and DAT recorders.
12 Eleven Rack User Guide
Chapter 3: Exploring Rigs Overview Rig Select Mode Eleven Rack is a powerful guitar signal processor that delivers tones from a wide variety of amplifiers, speaker cabinets, microphones, and effects units. The combination of all of this gear and their control settings make up a Rig. When you turn on Eleven Rack, it’s already in Rig Select mode. In this mode, you can turn the Scroll wheel to select a Rig.
The 208 Rigs in Eleven Rack are arranged into two sets of 26 banks, each containing four Rigs. Each bank is marked with a letter, from A to Z. For example, the third preset in bank D is referred to as D3. Banks with lowercase letters are factory presets, and those with uppercase letters are the user banks. Simple Mode This mode shows the Rig number and name in the largest type possible. Perfect for seeing from across a dark stage.
What’s In A Rig? Figure 3.
Page Indicator When playing Eleven Rack through a guitar amp, it is recommended that you bypass the Cab and Mic simulations. Unless the guitar amplifier has a very flat frequency response, its own speakers will affect the tone and make Cab and Mic simulation unneccessary. In Eleven Rack’s editing screens, a Page indicator appears on the display if there is more than one page of controls. The Page indicator shows the number of pages, as well as the name of the page you’re viewing.
REV OUTPUT Turn the lit Control knob to select the type of Reverb effect you want to use. Press CONTROLS to access additional settings for the chosen Reverb effect. DLY Turn the lit Control knob to set the output level of the Rig (known as the Rig volume). Press CONTROLS to access a Control page, where you can set the volume of the signals feeding the To Amp outputs. Press MONO to toggle between stereo or mono output. Turn the lit Control knob to select the type of Delay effect you want to use.
PEDAL Turn the lit Control knob to choose the parameter controlled by an external expression pedal, if attached. The following choices are available: Wah Lets you control the sweep of the Wah effect. Volume Pedal Lets you control the sweep of the Volume Pedal effect. Rig Volume Lets you control the overall Rig volume. Multi FX Lets you control up to four different amp and/or effects parameters at once. Press FX-Sel for options.
Control Pages When there are additional controls available for the device or utility setting you’ve selected, pressing SW1 (labeled CONTROLS) takes you to a special editing screen for that device, called a Control page. If there is more than one page of controls available for the current device or utility setting, a Page indicator is displayed. Turn the scroll wheel to switch between pages. You can also use the Scroll wheel to scroll quickly through all of the Control pages in the current Rig.
To create a new Rig with the new settings: ‘59 Tweed Lux 1 Press the Save button. The display will show the Save View. 2 Turn the scroll wheel to select a preset Rig that you don’t mind overwriting. 3 Choose a name for your new Rig, using the lit Control knobs and SW switches: • The first lit knob moves the cursor from left to right. • The second knob lets you choose an uppercase letter from A-Z. • The third knob lets you choose an lowercase letter from a-z.
‘64 Black Panel Lux Vibrato and Normal The amp we based the ‘64 Black Panel Lux Vibrato and Normal models on is regarded by some as the ultimate small club amp. A 60s tube combo with a single 12-inch ceramic-magnet speaker and a pair of 6V6s putting out just over 20 watts, this amp has long been a standard in the studio as well as onstage.
‘67 Black Panel Duo ‘69 Plexiglas Without a doubt, the blackface-era amp we based our ‘67 Black Panel Duo model upon is considered one of the greatest combo amps ever made. With two 12-inch ceramic-magnet speakers and a quartet of 6L6 tubes pushing 80 watts, no concert stage has been complete without one since it was introduced in the late 60s. Based on one of the most highly sought-after high-volume amplifiers of the late 1960s, our ‘69 Plexiglas model delivers no-nonsense British crunch.
‘85 M-2 Lead which leads to a rounder, thicker sound. The Bright switch circuit has progressively less effect as the gain is raised, and no effect when the preamp is set to 10. Toggle the Bright switch on and off with the SW2 button. Based on a classic mid-80s high-end tube combo amp, the ‘85 M-2 Lead model delivers hotrodded overdrive and searing solo tones.
DC Modern Overdrive and DC Vintage Crunch Rather than base these two models on any two specific amps, we blended the characteristics and features of many of our favorite amps to create a couple of absolute monsters. The Modern model augments a modified highgain British amp flavor with a Bright switch and classic American-style Tremolo. The Vintage model combines tonal attributes of 50s and 60sera American tube amps, with added gain potential and a Bright switch.
Noise Gate Controls Each of the amps in Eleven Rack has a Noise Gate, which can be used to suppress noise coming from the instrument before the signal reaches the amp model. Noise can be especially problematic when boosted heavily at high-gain settings. Its controls are: The Speaker Cabinets This section describes all of the emulated speaker cabinets available in Eleven Rack. Noise Gate Lets you set the threshold of the Noise Gate.
4x10 Tweed Bass Dyn 409 This cab model is based on the original speakers and cabinet that match the Tweed Bass amp model. With four alnico 10-inch speakers in an open-back cabinet, it offers warm, bright, tones with tight bass. Based on a midsize-diaphragm German dynamic mic, the Dyn 409 offers a detailed midrange and a focused, tight pickup pattern. 4x12 Classic 30 This cab model is based on a classic 1960s 4x12 British closed-back cabinet.
The Effects This section takes you through the effects available in Eleven Rack. Volume Pedal Wah Effects Black Wah Black Wah is a standard wah pedal effect, offering a sweepable resonant filter that lets you add animation and special timbral effects to the guitar signal. Like the Volume Pedal, wah effects like Black Wah are particularly useful when controlled with an expression pedal or MIDI foot controller. The Volume Pedal is a sweepable volume control.
Distortion Effects Green JRC Overdrive Tri-Knob Fuzz The pedal that inspired Tri-Knob Fuzz was a transistor-based unit, originally popular with lead guitarists searching for ever-higher gain in the 70s. It shone again in the 90s grunge rock scene, probably pushed further into woolly grind than its makers would have ever anticipated. Volume Sets the overall output volume of the effect.
Depth Sets the amount of delay. The higher the setting, the more “jet-engine” artifacts will be introduced. Fdback Sets the amount of signal fed back into the modulated delay. Higher settings introduce more ringing, whistling artifacts. C1 Chorus/Vibrato Based on a heavyweight late-70s analog chorus/vibrato pedal, CI Chorus/Vibrato offers warm, liquid modulation effects.
Orange Phaser Reverb Effects Blackpanel Spring Reverb Don’t let that single knob fool you. Inspired by a ubiquitous 70s analog phaser pedal, Orange Phaser offers a deep, warm phasing effect that ranges from a slow harmonic sweep to out-of-control wobbles. Speed Controls the Phaser effect’s rate of modulation. Sync Synchronizes the modulation rate to the Rig tempo by a specific rhythmic subdivision. Roto Speaker Blackpanel Spring Reverb was inspired by a classic outboard tube-driven spring reverb.
Delay Effects BBD Delay Tape Echo Inspired by the ultimate vintage solid state tape echo unit, Tape Echo supplies supple, crunchy echoes, and can, with a flick of the wrist, can be pushed into swells of wild self-oscillation, each repeat more murky, dusty, and gritty than the next. A classic. Rec Lev Controls the signal level running to the tape circuitry. Higher settings create a more distorted tone color.
EQ & Compressor Effects General Effects Controls Graphic EQ Sync Useful for simple frequency sculpting, a good Graphic EQ can find a place in almost any pedalboard. Graphic EQ can wring a variety of tones out of other pedals, such as when placed before Distortion effects. The EQ can also be used as a signal booster when positioned in front of amps.
Chapter 4: Eleven Rack Live Setup In live performance or practice, Eleven Rack can be used as a standalone guitar preamp and processor, connected to an amplifier and/or direct to a PA system. This chapter will describe how to make the necessary connections. PA Mixer MIDI Foot Controller Effects Footswitch or Expression Pedal Figure 4.
Basic Live Setup PA Mixer Figure 5. Eleven Rack connected directly to the PA mixer Plugging in Your Guitar Connecting Eleven Rack to a PA System Connect your guitar to the Guitar input on the front of Eleven Rack with a 1/4” TS cable. The simplest way to play live with Eleven Rack is to connect it directly to the PA mixer using the Main XLR outputs.
Using an Amp Onstage PA Mixer Figure 6. Eleven Rack connected to the PA mixer and an onstage amplifier In some cases, having an amplifier onstage can be handy for monitoring or tone reasons. Eleven Rack makes it easy to feed your signal to both a PA mixer and an amp. Connecting Eleven Rack to a Guitar Amplifier The Output To Amp outputs on Eleven Rack can be connected to one or more guitar amplifiers using standard 1/4” TS cables. • If using a single, mono amplifier, use the Output To Amp 1 (L) output.
If you prefer to use the amp simulations in Eleven Rack to set your tone, you will want to send the signal just after the amp simulation, but before the cabinet simulation, to your amplifier. To set the type of signal to send to the amp: 1 Press and hold the Edit/Back button to show the User Options mode. 2 Scroll to Outputs To Amp with the Scroll wheel. 3 Press SW1 to enter the Outputs To Amp screen. 4 Choose the output you plan to use to feed the amp, with the Scroll wheel.
Effects and Foot Controllers Figure 7. Effects and foot controller connections Connecting Effects Use the FX loop jacks to connect stomp boxes, rack effects or other external processors to the live guitar signal. These can be either rack or stompbox effects, or a combination thereof, in mono or stereo. The FX Loop accepts 1/4” plugs. To connect external effects to Eleven Rack: 1 Connect the FX Loop Send output on Eleven Rack to the input of your first (or only) effects unit.
External Foot Controllers Eleven Rack has a 1/4” TRS input that can accept input from an expression pedal or a single or dual momentary footswitch. 7 Sweep the pedal to test its functionality. If the pedal is working correctly, the Active indicator on the display will light up. 8 Press Done to exit calibration mode. 9 Press Edit/Back twice to return to the previ- ously chosen screen.
MIDI Foot Controller You can connect a MIDI foot controller to the MIDI input on Eleven Rack, providing control over a larger range of simultaneous parameters. For details on Eleven Rack controls you can control with a MIDI foot controller, see “Controlling Eleven Rack with MIDI” on page 97. Display Mode and Visibility When playing live, you may find it easier to keep track of what Rig is selected by switching the display to Simple mode.
40 Eleven Rack User Guide
Part II: Setting Up and Using Pro Tools With Eleven Rack 41
42
Chapter 5: Installing Pro Tools on Mac This chapter contains information for Mac systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools on a Windows computer, see Chapter 6, “Installing Pro Tools On Windows.” If you’re installing or upgrading Pro Tools HD to work with Eleven Rack, please refer to the Setup Guide for your system. Before installing this version of Pro Tools, refer to the Read Me information included on the Pro Tools Installer disc.
4 Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed Installation Options with installation. 5 Click Continue each time you are prompted. 6 At the Installation Type page, do one of the following: • To install all Pro Tools application files and free plug-in suites (and associated content), leave the default Installation options selected and click Continue. – or – • Select (or deselect) a custom configuration of Installation options (see “Installation Options” on page 44) and click Continue. 7 Click Install.
Launching Pro Tools LE When launching Pro Tools LE the first time, you are prompted to enter an authorization code to validate your software. The code begins with the letters “DIGI”. To authorize Pro Tools LE software: 1 Make sure Eleven Rack is connected to your computer. 2 Click the Pro Tools LE icon in the Dock (or double-click the application icon in the Pro Tools folder inside the Digidesign folder).
Standalone Eleven Rack CoreAudio Driver The Eleven Rack CoreAudio Driver can be installed as a standalone driver on Mac systems that do not have Pro Tools software installed. The standalone version of this driver is available on the Pro Tools Installer disc (in the Additional Files Folder). . For information on installing and configuring the standalone version of the Eleven Rack CoreAudio Driver, see the CoreAudio Drivers Guide.
Chapter 6: Installing Pro Tools On Windows This chapter contains information for Windows systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools on a Mac computer, see Chapter 5, “Installing Pro Tools on Mac.” If you’re installing or upgrading Pro Tools HD to work with Eleven Rack, please refer to the Setup Guide for your system. Installation Overview Installing the Eleven Rack on a Windows computer includes the following steps: 1 “Installing Pro Tools LE and Connecting Your Interface” on page 48.
Installing Pro Tools LE and Connecting Your Interface Before connecting your Pro Tools LE interface to the computer, you need to install Pro Tools LE software. Do not start this procedure with your Eleven Rack connected to your computer. To install Pro Tools LE: 1 Start Windows, logging in with Administrator privileges. For details on Administrator privileges, refer to your Windows documentation.
Additional Options In Windows XP, a series of Software Installation dialogs about the driver not passing Windows Logo testing may appear. Click Continue Anyway on each one until they go away. If any other dialogs appear (such as the “Found New Hardware” dialog), leave them open and do not click on them. These dialogs will close on their own. 10 Wait for the installer to finish installing all software components, drivers, and PACE System files before proceeding to the next step.
Launching Pro Tools LE When launching Pro Tools LE the first time, you are prompted to enter an authorization code. To authorize Pro Tools LE software: 1 Make sure Eleven Rack is connected to your computer. 2 Double-click the Pro Tools LE shortcut on your desktop (or the application icon in the Pro Tools folder inside the Digidesign folder). 3 Enter the authorization code in the dialog (making sure to type it exactly as printed, and observing any spaces and capitalization), then click Validate.
Digidesign ASIO Driver Pro Tools Demo Session The Digidesign ASIO (Audio Sound Input Output) Driver is a single-client multichannel sound driver that allows third-party audio programs that support the ASIO standard to record and play back through Digidesign hardware. The Pro Tools LE Installer disc includes a demo session that you can use to verify that your system is working. For detailed information on configuring the Digidesign ASIO Driver, see the Windows Audio Drivers Guide.
Uninstalling Pro Tools Use the Uninstall Pro Tools application to uninstall Pro Tools software from your computer. To uninstall Pro Tools from your computer: 1 Start Windows, logging in with Administrator privileges. For details on Administrator privileges, refer to your Windows documentation. 2 Go to C:\Program Files\Digidesign\ Pro Tools\Pro Tools Utilities and double-click Uninstall Pro Tools.exe. 3 Click Next. 4 Click Uninstall to proceed with the uninstallation.
Chapter 7: Pro Tools Configuration After you have connected your system and installed Pro Tools software, you are ready to start up and configure your Pro Tools system. Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System To ensure that the components of your Pro Tools system communicate properly with each other, you need to start them in a particular order. Shut down your Pro Tools system in this order: 1 Quit Pro Tools and any other running applica- tions.
Configuring Pro Tools LE Pro Tools System Settings In the Playback Engine dialog, Pro Tools LE lets you adjust the performance of your system by changing system settings that affect its capacity for processing, playback, and recording. In most cases, the default settings for your system provide optimum performance, but you may want to adjust them to accommodate large or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.
RTAS Processors To set the number of RTAS Processors: The RTAS Processors setting determines the number of processors in your computer allocated for RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) plug-in processing. 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine. With computers that have multiple processors, or that feature multi-core processing or hyperthreading, this setting lets you enable multiprocessor support for RTAS plug-ins.
CPU Usage Limit RTAS Engine (RTAS Error Suppression) The CPU Usage Limit setting controls the percentage of CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks. Used in combination with the RTAS Processors setting, the CPU Usage Limit setting lets you control the way Pro Tools tasks are carried out by the system. The RTAS Engine option determines RTAS error reporting during playback and recording. This is especially useful when working with instrument plug-ins.
RTAS Error Suppression Options Ignore Errors During Playback/Record When enabled, Pro Tools continues to play and record even if the RTAS processing requirements exceed the selected CPU Usage Limit. This can result in pops and clicks in the audio, but does not stop the transport. Minimize Additional I/O Latency (Mac Only) When enabled, any additional latency due to suppressing RTAS errors during playback and record is minimized to 128 samples.
Cache Size Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size The Cache Size setting determines the amount of memory DAE allocates to pre-buffer audio for playback and looping when using Elastic Audio. (Structure Plug-in Only) Minimum Reduces the amount of system memory used for disk operations and frees up memory for other system tasks. However, performance when using Elastic Audio features may decrease. Normal Is the optimum Cache Size for most sessions.
Optimizing the Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size (Structure Plug-in Only) This option appears in the Playback Engine dialog only if one of the Structure sampler instrument plug-in is installed on your system. This option is useful when you are playing samples from the same drive that contains audio for the current session. When this option is selected, Pro Tools automatically optimizes the size of the Plug-in Streaming Buffer to facilitate disk access for both Pro Tools and Structure.
Clock Source Digital Format The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog lets you select the Clock Source for the system. The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog lets you select the format of Eleven Rack’s digital I/Os. Internal Use this setting if you are recording analog signals directly into Eleven Rack, and/or are recording digital inputs into the AES/EBU or S/PDIF ports on Eleven Rack, where the digital device is synchronized to the appropriate digital output.
To rename I/O paths in I/O Setup: 1 Choose Setup > I/O. Backing Up your System Configuration After configuring your system and Pro Tools, you should save an image of your system drive using a backup utility such as Norton Ghost. By doing this, you can quickly restore your system configuration and settings if you encounter any problems. Optimizing a Mac System for Pro Tools I/O Setup dialog for Eleven Rack 2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, or Bus tab to dis- play the corresponding connections.
Turning Off Software Update To turn off the Software Update feature: 1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu and click Software Update. 2 Click the Scheduled Check tab and ensure Check for updates is deselected.
Reassign Spaces Keyboard Shortcuts Disabling Spotlight Indexing If you want to use Spaces, you should reassign the Spaces keyboard shortcuts to avoid conflicts with important Pro Tools keyboard shortcuts. You can reassign Spaces keyboard shortcuts to use a combination of modifier keys (Command+Option+Control+Shift) in addition to the default Spaces keyboard shortcut assignments to avoid these conflicts.
Optimizing a Windows System for Pro Tools To ensure optimum performance with Pro Tools LE, configure your computer before using Pro Tools hardware and software. For Mac System Optimization, see “Optimizing a Mac System for Pro Tools” on page 61. Before configuring your computer, make sure you are logged in as an Administrator for the account where you want to install Pro Tools. For details on Administrator privileges, see your Windows documentation.
To configure Windows Power Management (Windows Vista): Disabling User Account Control (Windows Vista Only) 1 Choose Start > Control Panel. 2 Double-click Power Options. 3 In the Power Options window, select High Performance. 4 Click Change plan settings. For optimal performance with Pro Tools on Windows Vista, disable User Account Control (UAC). To disable User Account Control (UAC): 1 Choose Start > Control Panel. 5 In the Edit Plan Settings window, click Change advanced power settings.
Optional Optimizations The following system optimizations may help Pro Tools perform better on some systems. It is recommended that you only try these optimizations if necessary, as they may disable or adversely affect the functionality of other programs on your system. Disabling Network Cards If applicable, disable any networking cards (other than a FireWire card that you might use to connect an external drive to your system).
Disabling System Startup Items The fewer items in use by your computer, the more resources are available for Pro Tools. Some startup applications may be consuming unnecessary CPU resources, and can be turned off.
68 Eleven Rack User Guide
Chapter 8: Eleven Rack Studio Setup Using Eleven Rack with Pro Tools LE This chapter will take you through connecting and configuring Eleven Rack to work at its best with the other gear in your recording setup, like speakers, headphones, instruments and microphones. Figure 8. Eleven Rack Studio Setup This first section addresses the connections you’ll want to make when recording with Pro Tools LE.
Listen to Your Sound To hear audio from Pro Tools, you will need to connect a set of speakers or a pair of headphones to Eleven Rack. Sound from Pro Tools cannot be played through your computer’s speakers or your computer’s sound output. Connecting the Main Outputs The Main outputs on the back of Eleven Rack are male XLR connectors.
2 Set your device’s output volume to its optimal level. For example, the optimal level for most keyboards is between 80% and 100% of maximum volume. 3 If your device has unbalanced (TS) outputs, set the line inputs on Eleven Rack to –10 dVB by toggling the Level switch between the Line input jacks to its outward position. If your device has balanced (TRS) outputs, set the Line inputs to +4 dVB by toggling the Level switch to its inward position.
To connect a digital device to Eleven Rack, do one of the following: • Connect the AES/EBU output on the device to the AES/EBU input on Eleven Rack, and the device’s AES/EBU input to Eleven Rack’s AES/EBU output, with two AES/EBU-format XLR cables. – or – • Connect the S/PDIF output on the device to the S/PDIF input on Eleven Rack, and the device’s S/PDIF input to Eleven Rack’s S/PDIF output port, using two 75-ohm coaxial cables with male RCA connectors on both ends.
Using Eleven Rack with a Pro Tools|HD or M-Powered System Analog I/O -or- Digital I/O Pro Tools HD Audio Interface Figure 9. Eleven Rack connected to a Pro Tools|HD system Apart from its roles as a Pro Tools LE interface and standalone guitar processor, Eleven Rack can also be used alongside a Pro Tools|HD or Pro Tools M-Powered system, acting as a remote-controlled processing system and guitar preamp.
Audio Connections To connect Eleven Rack to your Pro Tools interface using AES/EBU or S/PDIF digital I/O: To connect Eleven Rack to your Pro Tools interface using analog I/O: 1 Connect the Eleven Rack to an open pair of 1 Connect the Main outputs on Eleven Rack to an open pair of analog line inputs on your audio interface. 2 Hold the Edit/Back button on Eleven Rack to enter Edit mode.
Configuring Your Pro Tools|HD or M-Powered System Setting Eleven Rack Sample Rate and Clock Source First, you’ll need to install the correct Pro Tools software and connect Eleven Rack to your computer using USB. When Eleven Rack is connected to your computer via USB, the sample rate and clock source can no longer be set from within the User Options mode on the front panel.
76 Eleven Rack User Guide
Chapter 9: Eleven Rack with Pro Tools This chapter shows you how to take advantage of some of the unique features that Eleven Rack brings to Pro Tools. If you’ve never recorded with Pro Tools before, be sure to check out the Intro to Pro Tools Guide that comes with Eleven Rack.
The Eleven Rack Control Window Master Control section Rig View section Effect preset selector Control section (Showing the selected effect’s controls) Figure 10. Eleven Rack Control window (in Pro Tools LE) The Eleven Rack Control window is a special window in Pro Tools that lets you control Eleven Rack entirely from your computer. It can be accessed when using Eleven Rack as a Pro Tools LE interface, as well as when connected to a Pro Tools HD or M-Powered system for control using USB.
Accessing the Eleven Rack Control Window When Pro Tools LE, HD or M-Powered is launched and Eleven Rack is connected to your computer using USB, The Eleven Rack Control window is displayed. You can always access it by clicking Window > Eleven Rack. The Eleven Rack Control window can be minimized to a basic floating window. When minimized, it shows the Rig Library menu, basic monitoring controls and a button which activates the Tuner.
Rig View Section Rig Settings Effects name/ bypass button Rig Utility settings Selected Effect To Amp Output 1 selector Effect selector Figure 11. Eleven Rack Control window (in Pro Tools LE) In the Rig View section, you can access all of the amp, cab, effects, and utility parameters of the current Rig, as well as load and save rigs to and from your computer.
Clicking on the Rig number brings up the Rig Librarian, an all-in-one view of all Rigs currently stored in the memory of Eleven Rack. The name shown in the Rig Librarian is that of the most recently loaded Rig. When changes are been made to the Rig, the Save button turns red and the Rig number and name are shown in italics.
Each of the four Configs can be set to one parameter of one of the devices in the Rig. The Toe and Heel settings govern the top and bottom of the sweep of the control. If you set the Heel number higher than the Toe number, the control can be swept in reverse. Output to Amp Selectors The Output to Amp selectors let you choose what point in the signal path feeds Output To Amp outputs one and two, and set the output volume for each, to better match the input sensitivity of the external amp or processor.
Changing The Order Control Section In the Rig View pane, you can change the order of the pedals and effects in the current Rig just like you can in the Rig View on Eleven Rack. Visualize the signal travelling from left to right through the signal chain. When a device is highlighted in the Rig View pane, the controls of the device are shown in the Control section. To change the order of gear in the signal path: 1 Click and drag a device. 2 Drop it into the desired position.
Master Control Section Figure 12. Master Control section The Master Control section houses the controls and features that apply to all of Eleven Rack. Tuner This tuner works like the one you can access using the front panel of Eleven Rack, but is much larger and easier to see when working in Pro Tools. Figure 13. Tuner section For more information on the Tuner controls, see “Tap Tempo/Tuner Button” on page 8.
Recording Guitars The simplest way to record guitar with Eleven Rack is to simply plug in your guitar, create a track in Pro Tools, and record the sound coming from the Rig. To record guitar through the Rig to a track in Pro Tools: 1 Click on the Track menu in Pro Tools and select New. 2 In the New Tracks dialog, create one stereo au- dio track. 3 Using the Input Selector, assign the input on the stereo track you’ve created to Interface > Eleven Rig L/R. 4 Record-enable the track.
4 Assign the input on the stereo track you’ve created to Interface > Eleven Rig L/R. 5 Record-enable the two tracks. 6 Select a Rig in the Eleven Rack Control win- To embed Rig settings in recorded audio: 1 Open the Eleven Rack Control window. 2 Click the User Options button. The Embed Setting From menu appears. dow, and tweak its settings, if necessary. 7 Press Record, then Play, in the Pro Tools trans- port. 8 Record your guitar part.
Retrieving Embedded Rig Settings You can access Rig settings from any region with embedded settings that has been recorded or imported into your Pro Tools session. You can do this by selecting regions directly in the Edit window, or you can access any embedded region in the session using the Eleven Rack Control Window. To load an embedded Rig setting from within the Eleven Rack Control Window: 1 Open the Eleven Rack Control window by clicking Window > Eleven Rack. 2 Click the Rig Settings menu.
Re-Amping Re-Amping is the process of sending pre-recorded audio (in this case, from within Pro Tools,) to an external guitar amplifier or effects unit, and then re-recording the processed audio to a new track. This is sometimes done when a guitar track is recorded dry and the amp and effects sound is to be decided upon later (see “Recording Guitars” on page 85). In the case of Eleven Rack, re-amping can be done one of two ways.
4 Set up and connect your chosen external amp 3 On Eleven Rack, press and hold the Edit but- and microphone and/or processor to the Output To Amp 1 (L) output and the appropriate input on Eleven Rack. ton for 1 second to enter User Options mode. • If using the mic input, ensure that the gain and other settings (such as phantom power and pad) are set correctly.
90 Eleven Rack User Guide
Part III: Reference 91
92
Chapter 10: User Options This section describes the details of the User Options mode within Eleven Rack. User Options mode lets you access the behind-the-scenes controls in Eleven Rack. To explore User Options mode when using Eleven Rack with Pro Tools: 1 Show the Eleven Rack Control window, by clicking Window > Eleven Rack. 2 Press the User Options button on the Control Exploring the User Options Let’s start looking into the changes you can make using User Options. window.
Rig Input This setting lets you specify which input on Eleven Rack will be routed through the Rig. This can be set any of the analog or digital inputs on Eleven Rack, or the signal sent to the Re-Amp output in Pro Tools LE. For more information on Re-Amping, see “Re-Amping” on page 88 Running the mic input through the Rig with your monitor speakers on can result in severe feedback, due to the amount of gain available in the amp and effects emulations.
When Eleven Rack is plugged into a computer with USB for use with Pro Tools LE. Pro Tools HD or Pro Tools M-Powered, these options must be set in the host software (Pro Tools LE or other). The Digital Clock/Input screen will just show the current settings and whether or not there is a valid clock signal present at the currently chosen digital input. For more information on how to access these controls from within Pro Tools LE, see “Pro Tools Hardware Settings” on page 59.
Rig Balancing Action This screen lets you adjust the relative signal level of each of the saved Rigs. If you find that a certain Rig is much louder or quieter than the others, you can tweak it here. This control lets you choose between the following knob behaviors: Turn the scroll wheel to select a Rig to adjust, and use the lit Tone Control knob to adjust the volume.
Chapter 11: Controlling Eleven Rack with MIDI Many of the parameters in Eleven Rack can be controlled using MIDI. This opens up the possibility of using both external MIDI devices (such as foot controllers) and the MIDI capabilities of Pro Tools to vary Eleven Rack’s tonal aspects in real time. This section lists the available MIDI controls for use with Eleven Rack.
Tweed Bass PRESENCE 13 MIDDLE 14 BASS 15 TREBLE 16 BRIGHT VOLUME 21 NORMAL VOLUME 10 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 112 NOISE GATE RELEASE 3 Black Panel Lux Vibrato VOLUME 13 TREBLE 14 BASS 15 VIBRATO SPEED 16 VIBRATO SYNC 21 VIBRATO INTENSITY 10 VIBRATO ON/OFF 112 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 3 NOISE GATE RELEASE 84 Black Panel Lux Normal 98 VOLUME 13 TREBLE 14 BASS 15 VIBRATO SPEED 16 VIBRATO SYNC 21 VIBRATO INTENSITY 10 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 3 NOISE GATE RELEASE 84 Eleven
AC Hi Boost NORMAL VOLUME 13 BRILLIANT VOLUME 14 BASS 15 TREBLE 16 CUT 21 TREMOLO SPEED 10 TREMOLO SYNC 112 TREMOLO DEPTH 3 TREMOLO ON/OFF 22 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 84 NOISE GATE RELEASE 24 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) Black Panel Duo VOLUME 13 TREBLE 14 MIDDLE 15 BASS 16 BRIGHT 21 VIBRATO SPEED 10 VIBRATO SYNC 112 VIBRATO INTENSITY 3 VIBRATO ON/OFF 22 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 84 NOISE GATE RELEASE 24 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) Plexiglas – 100W
Lead 800 – 100W PRESENCE 13 BASS 14 MIDDLE 15 TREBLE 16 PREAMP VOLUME 10 MASTER VOLUME 21 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 112 NOISE GATE RELEASE 3 M-2 Lead VOLUME 13 TREBLE 14 BASS 15 MIDDLE 16 DRIVE 21 MASTER 10 BRIGHT 112 PRESENCE 3 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 84 NOISE GATE RELEASE 24 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) SL-100 Drive 100 PREAMP 13 BASS 14 MIDDLE 15 TREBLE 16 PRESENCE 21 MASTER 10 MOD 112 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 3 NOISE GATE RELEASE 84 Eleven Rack User Guide (0-63
SL-100 Crunch PREAMP 13 BASS 14 MIDDLE 15 TREBLE 16 PRESENCE 21 MASTER 10 BRIGHT 112 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 3 NOISE GATE RELEASE 84 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) SL-100 Clean PREAMP 13 BASS 14 MIDDLE 15 TREBLE 16 PRESENCE 21 MASTER 10 BRIGHT 112 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 3 NOISE GATE RELEASE 84 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) Treadplate Modern MASTER 13 PRESENCE 14 BASS 15 MIDDLE 16 TREBLE 21 GAIN 10 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 112 NOISE GATE RELEASE 3 Chapter 11: Controlling E
Treadplate Vintage MASTER 13 PRESENCE 14 BASS 15 MIDDLE 16 TREBLE 21 GAIN 10 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 112 NOISE GATE RELEASE 3 DC Modern Crunch GAIN 13 BASS 14 MIDDLE 15 TREBLE 16 PRESENCE 21 MASTER 10 BRIGHT 112 TREMOLO SPEED 3 TREMOLO SYNC 84 TREMOLO DEPTH 24 TREMOLO ON/OFF 45 NOISE GATE THRESHOLD 23 NOISE GATE RELEASE 22 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) DC Vintage Overdrive 102 GAIN 13 BASS 14 MIDDLE 15 TREBLE 16 PRESENCE 21 MASTER 1
Effects BBD Delay BYPASS* 28 DELAY 62 SYNC† 33 MIX 85 FEEDBACK 35 INPUT LEVEL 87 MOD 34 DEPTH 48 (0-63=”Chorus”, 64-127=”Vibrato”) NOISE 55 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) EXPANDED DELAY 49 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) Black Op Distortion BYPASS* 25 DISTORTION 27 CUT 78 VOLUME 79 Black Wah BYPASS* 43 POSITION 4 Blackpanel Spring Reverb BYPASS* 36 MIX 18 DECAY 38 TONE 40 Chapter 11: Controlling Eleven Rack with MIDI 103
C1 Chorus/Vibrato BYPASS* (as MOD) (as FX1) (as FX2) 50 63 86 CHORUS 61 20 113 RATE 52 42 114 SYNC† 53 60 115 DEPTH 54 77 96 CHORUS/VIBRATO 57 116 97 (0-63=”CHORUS” 64-127=”VIBRATO”) Eleven SR (Stereo Reverb) BYPASS* 104 36 MIX 18 DECAY 38 TONE 40 PRE-DELAY 39 TYPE 76 TYPE Setting: Value: Echo Room 0-2 Studio 3-7 Small Room 8-13 Jazz Club 14-18 Small Club 19-23 Garage 24-29 Medium Room 30-34 Tiled Room 35-39 Wood Room 40-45 Small Theater 46-50
Canyon 110-114 Supa Long 115-119 Early Reflect 1 120-125 Early Reflect 2 126-127 Flanger (as MOD) (as FX1) BYPASS* 50 63 (as FX2) 86 PRE-DELAY 61 20 113 DEPTH 52 42 114 RATE 53 60 115 SYNC† 54 77 96 FEEDBACK 57 116 97 FX Loop BYPASS* 107 SEND 19 RETURN 108 MIX 88 Graphic EQ (as FX1) (as FX2) BYPASS* 63 86 100 Hz 20 113 370 Hz 42 114 800 Hz 60 115 2 kHz 77 96 3.
Green JRC Overdrive BYPASS* 25 DRIVE 27 TONE 78 LEVEL 79 Orange Phaser (as MOD) (as FX1) (as FX2) BYPASS* 50 63 86 RATE 61 20 113 SYNC† 52 42 114 Roto Speaker (as MOD) (as FX1) (as FX2) BYPASS* 50 63 86 SPEED 61 20 113 BALANCE 52 42 114 TYPE 53 60 115 SPEED Setting: Value: Slow 0-31 Brake 32-95 Fast 96-127 TYPE Setting: Value: 120 0-9 122 10-27 21H 28-45 Foam Drum 46-63 Rover 64-82 Memphis 83-100 Wolf 101-118 Watery 119-127 Shine Wah 106
Tri-Knob Fuzz BYPASS* 25 VOLUME 27 SUSTAIN 78 TONE 79 Tap Tempo TAP 64 (0-63=”tap”, 64-127=”tap”) Tape Echo BYPASS* 28 DELAY 62 SYNC† 33 MIX 85 FEEDBACK 35 REC LEVEL 87 HEAD 34 WOW 48 HISS 55 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) EXPANDED DELAY 49 (0-63=”Off”, 64-127=”On”) Tuner BYPASS* 69 Vibe Phaser BYPASS* (as MOD) (as FX1) (as FX2) 50 63 86 VOLUME 61 20 113 DEPTH 52 42 114 RATE 53 60 115 SYNC† 54 77 96 CHORUS/VIBRATO 57 116 97 (0-63=”CHORUS” 64-127=”VIB
Volume Pedal BYPASS* 75 POSITION 7 *BYPASS Setting Values Bypass 0-63 Un-bypass (ON) 64-127 †FX SYNC Setting Values Off 0-4 Whole Note 5-14 Dotted Half Note 15-24 Half Note 25-34 Half Note Triplet 35-44 Dotted Quarter Note 45-54 Quarter Note 55-63 Quarter Note Triplet 64-73 Dotted Eighth Note 74-83 Eighth Note 84-93 Eighth Note Triplet 94-103 Dotted Sixteenth Note 104-113 Sixteenth Note 114-123 Sixteenth Note Triplet 124-127 Miscellaneous MIDI Controls Multiple FX Control
Chapter 11: Controlling Eleven Rack with MIDI 109
110 Eleven Rack User Guide
Chapter 12: Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance It is recommended that you start with a newly formatted external or secondary internal audio drive. You should also periodically defragment your audio drive to ensure continued system performance. Always back up any important data on your drive before formatting it, as it will erase all data on the drive. Avoid Recording to the System Drive Recording to your system drive is not recommended.
SCSI Hard Drives 2 Click the Erase tab. Digidesign recommends qualified SCSI hard drives and a qualified SCSI host bus adapter (HBA) card or (on Windows systems) a qualified built-in SCSI HBA connector on the motherboard. For complete information on track count and the supported number and configuration of SCSI drives, visit the Digidesign website at: www.digidesign.
To format an audio drive: 1 Right-click Computer (Windows Vista) or My Computer (Windows XP) and choose Manage. 2 Under Storage, choose Disk Management. 4 If the volume is “Unallocated,” do the following: • In the Disk Management window, Rightclick the hard drive you will use for audio and choose New Partition. • In the New Partition Wizard window, click Next. • When prompted, select the partition type. Digidesign recommends using Primary partitions, instead of Extended partitions.
Seek Times on Partitioned Drives Seek times are actually faster on partitioned drives (assuming that reads and writes are performed on a single partition), since the heads only have to seek within the partition boundaries, rather than the whole capacity of the drive. Smaller partitions perform faster than larger partitions, but this comes at the expense of contiguous storage space. When you partition a drive, you will need to find the compromise that best suits your performance and storage requirements.
Defragmenting Windows Audio Drives To defragment an audio drive (Windows Vista): 1 Choose Start > Control Panel. 2 Click System and Maintenance. 3 Click Performance Information and Tools. 4 Click Advanced Tools. Using Mac Drives on Windows Systems Pro Tools for Windows lets you record and play back sessions directly from a Mac-formatted (HFS+) drive connected to a Windows system. This functionality requires that all Mac session and audio files be stored on Mac-formatted drives.
Hard Disk Storage Space Mono audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately 5 MB of hard disk space per minute. The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution require about 7.5 MB per minute. Stereo audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately 10 MB of hard disk space per minute. The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution require about 15 MB per minute.
Chapter 13: Troubleshooting Backing Up Your Work Common Issues It is highly recommended that you back up your work on a regular basis, and especially before making changes to your system configuration. Pro Tools Won’t Launch Problem Backing Up Your Session Data Back up your session and audio data frequently. There are a variety of media that are suited to back up projects of various sizes, from automated tape backup systems to high-capacity optical drives, or to CD burners.
Audio Interface Is Not Recognized Problem When you launch Pro Tools it does not recognize an audio interface, or a connected audio interface is not available. Possible Solutions Turn off your computer and Eleven Rack (remember to save first!) and check to be sure your cables are properly and securely connected to your computer and to your audio interface. Verify that your Hardware Setup dialog settings are correct.
Digidesign Hardware • Type of cards, interfaces, or peripherals Hard Drives • Make, Model • Drive size (GB) • Drive speed (RPM) • Drive type (SCSI, FireWire, IDE/ATA) • Utility used to format the drive • Number and size of partitions on the drive Digidesign Software • Pro Tools software version • Plug-in versions • Other Digidesign software Other Software If you are using other audio or video applications, refer to the manufacturer’s documentation for operational details.
120 Eleven Rack User Guide
Chapter 14: Resources Whether you are new to Pro Tools or just starting out with your new system, we encourage you to read and utilize the many guides that Pro Tools provides. There are also useful online resources available, giving you everything from Pro Tools tips to Pro Tools answers.
Documentation Installed Automatically with Pro Tools When you install Pro Tools, you get useful PDF versions of many Pro Tools guides and Read Mes. This documentation can be found in the following locations: Mac Applications/Digidesign/Documentation Products and Developers Learn about Digidesign products; download demo software or learn about our Development Partners and their plugins, applications, and hardware.
index A D AES/EBU 10 amp models 20 DC Modern & DC Vintage 24 Lead 800 22 Plexiglas 22 SL100 23 Treadplate 23, 20 Amp Output control 25 Amplifier 16 ASIO driver (Windows) 51 audio digital connections 71 audio drivers ASIO driver (Windows) 51 CoreAudio driver (Mac) 45 WaveDriver (Windows) 51 authorizing Pro Tools LE Mac 45 Windows 50 DAE Playback Buffer Size 57 Display 15 DMA option (Windows), enabling 64 drive formatting Mac 112 Windows 113 drive maintenance 111 B banks 14 Black Wah 27 bypass 25 C Cach
Eleven Rack Control window 13 accessing 79 Embedded Rig settings 86 Energy Saver (Mac), turning off 62 Exp.
plug-ins multiprocessors 55 RTAS Processors setting 55 power management settings (Windows) 64 power switch 4, 7 Pro 73 Pro Tools demo session (Windows) 46, 51 removing (Windows) 46, 52 Pro Tools HD using with Eleven Rack 73 Pro Tools LE 13 configuration (Windows) 54 installing (Mac) 43, 48 Pro Tools M-Powered using with Eleven Rack 73 processor performance (Mac) 62 Processor Scheduling performance (Windows) 66 Q QuickTime installing (Windows) 49 R re-amping 88 recording guitars 85 removing Pro Tools Windo
T Tap Tempo 8 technical support product registration required 118 The 20 Tremolo 24 troubleshooting 117 True-Z 9 Tuner view 8 U uninstalling Pro Tools Windows 46, 52 User Account Control (UAC) disabling 65 User Options mode 8 settings 93 Utility settings Display 17 Input 15, 17 Output 15, 17 Pedal 15, 18 Tempo 15, 17 V volume knob 4, 7 W WaveDriver (Windows) 51 website 122 126 Eleven Rack Setup Guide
www.digidesign.com DIGIDESIGN 2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard Daly City, CA 94014-3886 USA TECHNICAL SUPPORT (USA) Visit the Digidesign Online Support Center at www.digidesign.com/support PRODUCT INFORMATION For company and product information, visit us on the web at www.digidesign.
