General how-to quicklist for Rear Studio recording (Peak, Pro Tools, DP, Logic)
(last updated: 11/11/11)

NOTE: Also see the Rear Studio video tutorials for instructions on common rear studio tasks
NOTE: General info regarding Rear Studio (How to Get Sound Out of Computer, Power On & Off, Recording from the Main Room) is also available under Rear Studio Basics in the manual

PEAK RECORDING AND PLAYBACK

* Power up the Tascam mixer and rack using the instructions found here: http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/node/3147

* Load PCI-424 “Proper config” file (TenneyExternal/*Shared/) to set up MOTU-2408; make sure clock is set to “2408:Word Clock In”. NOTE that the MOTU-2408 must be powered up before this config file can be loaded. Use the row of power switches to the right of the computer and below in order to power it up. An alias to the "Proper config" file can be used to load this file at log-in--but if the 2408 is not powered up at log-in this will not work.

* Launch Peak

* Hit Command-R to open recording setup, and then click on left-hand button (Record Settings)

* Click “Select Audio I/O” first and verify that Input Device and Output Device are both set to “PCI-424”; then click Audio Input Settings and verify that Record Through is set to “In 0 (TDIF) 1 & 2”, Sample Rate is set to “Auto”; clock source is set to “2408: Word Clock In”.

* Choose 16 or 24-bit and mono or stereo, then click “OK” twice to close both boxes.

* Set up Peak’s input from the TASCAM board: Connect analog inputs to the digital board, and while the appropriate board input strip(s) are selected, go to the TASCAM’s “bus outs” area (upper left-hand side of the board) and select bus 9, or 10, or both, to assign them to the MOTU 2408 inputs and then on to Peak’s inputs.

* Check the basic meters on the front of the PCI-424 to verify routing.

* Check your record level in Peak’s record window.

* To hear Peak’s output (either for record monitoring or for playback), select Fader Page 2, and bring up faders 25 and 26 to bring up TDIF outputs. While the appropriate board input strip(s) are selected, go to the TASCAM’s output assign area (upper left-hand side of the board), and select “Stereo” to send the output to the HD1 speakers, or to the Genelec 5.1 system, etc.

PRO TOOLS RECORDING AND PLAYBACK

* Power up the Tascam mixer and rack using the instructions found here: http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/node/3147

* Load PCI-424 “Proper config” file to set up MOTU-2408; make sure clock is set to “2408:Word Clock In”. NOTE that the MOTU-2408 must be powered up before this config file can be loaded. Use the row of power switches to the right of the computer and below in order to power it up. An alias to the "Proper config" file can be used to load this file at log-in--but if the 2408 is not powered up at log-in this will not work.

* Launch Pro Tools (either an existing session or a new one), making sure that the Digi002 interface is powered up first.

* Go to the Setup/Hardware menu and set Clock Source to “Optical”, using the pull-down menu.

(For recording directly into the Digi002)
Connect analog input(s) directly to the Digi002. Set mic/line selectors, 48V phantom power, mic trim gains, etc. as needed.
Put the corresponding tracks into Record Ready, either on the PT screen or on the Digi002. Set the inputs for the tracks to correspond with the inputs on the Digi002 (e.g. “In 1 (mono)”, “In 2 (mono)”, “SPDIF L (mono)”, etc. NOTE that the input in Pro Tools tends to default to ADAT, which is not correct for this application. NOTE: if inputs and outputs don't show up correctly in PT's input & output assignments, see below "I/O Problem?"

(For recording through the TASCAM board into the Digi002)
Connect analog inputs to the digital board, and while the appropriate board input strip(s) are selected, go to the TASCAM’s “bus outs” area (upper left-hand side of the board) and select busses 9 through 16 to assign them to the eight Digi 002 inputs and then on to Pro Tools’ inputs.
Put the corresponding Pro Tools tracks into Record Ready, either on the PT screen or on the Digi002. Set the inputs for the tracks to correspond with the inputs on the TASCAM (e.g. “ADAT 1 (mono)” through “ADAT 8 (mono)”, or paired for stereo. NOTE that the input in Pro Tools tends to default to ADAT, which is correct for this application.

Then ...

* Check your record level in Pro Tools.

* To hear PT’s output (either for record monitoring or for playback), select Fader Page 2, and bring up faders 17 through 24 to bring up the ADAT outputs from the Digi 002. While the appropriate board input strip(s) are selected, go to the TASCAM’s output assign area (upper left-hand side of the board), and select “Stereo” to send the output to the HD1 speakers, or to the Genelec 5.1 system, etc.

I/O Problems?

If someone has reconfigured Pro Tools, you may find that the input and output menus show incorrect names (and audio routing will be broken). To fix this, go to the Setup/I/O Setup menu. Check that the Digi 002 shows up when you click on the Input and Output tabs in the I/O Setup window. If they don't (for instance, if someone hooked up an MBox interface and changed the I/O settings so that MBox connections appear instead of the 002), hit the Import Settings button. Then in the resulting Open dialog, choose the "BASIC IO SETTING FOR REAR STUDIO.pio" file and click Open. Then click OK to close the window and accept the new settings. This should restore the correct input and output paths; you can then assign correctly in Pro Tools' input and output menus.

DIGITAL PERFORMER RECORDING AND PLAYBACK

* Power up the Tascam mixer and rack using the instructions found here: http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/node/3147

* Load PCI-424 “Proper config” file to set up MOTU-2408; make sure clock is set to “2408:Word Clock In”. NOTE that the MOTU-2408 must be powered up before this config file can be loaded. Use the row of power switches to the right of the computer and below in order to power it up. An alias to the "Proper config" file can be used to load this file at log-in--but if the 2408 is not powered up at log-in this will not work.

* Launch DP

* Open Setup/Configure Audio System/Configure Hardware Driver and verify the default settings: Core Audio should be set to PCI-424. Choose a sample rate (44.1K or 48K only), and set clock to “2408: Word Clock In”. Buffer size should be set according to nature of material and number of tracks, plug-ins etc.; 512 is a starting point with reasonable latency; increase buffer if processor can’t keep up. Host/Buffer Multiplier should be set to 1, Work Priority to High.

* Set up DP’s input from the TASCAM board: Connect analog inputs to the digital board, and while the appropriate board input strip(s) are selected, go to the TASCAM’s “bus outs” area (upper left-hand side of the board) and select busses 9 through 16 to assign your sources to the MOTU 2408 inputs 1 through 8. In DP, choose inputs for each track in the “Input” pull-down menus in the Tracks window, using the “New Mono (or Stereo) Bundle” submenus as needed. You can assign any of the PCI-424’s 8 TDIF inputs to any DP channel, using the Input pull-down menus (examples: choose “PCI-424: TDIF 3” for a mono track or “PCI-424: TDIF 7-8” for a stereo track). The output for each track is then assigned to the PCI-424 similarly, using the “Output” pull-down menus in the Tracks window; confusingly, the output choices are also labeled PCI-424 TDIF 1 through 8.

* Check the basic meters on the front of the PCI-424 to verify routing.

* Click the record icon to record-enable the tracks and check record levels in DP’s Studio/Audio Monitor window.

* To hear DP’s output (either for record monitoring or for playback), select Fader Page 2 on the TASCAM, and bring up faders 25 through 32 to bring up the PCI-424’s eight TDIF outputs. While the appropriate board input strip(s) are selected, go to the TASCAM’s output assign area (upper left-hand side of the board), and select “Stereo” to send the output to the HD1 speakers, or to the Genelec 5.1 system, etc.

LOGIC PRO RECORDING AND PLAYBACK

* Power up the Tascam mixer and rack using the instructions found here: http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/node/3147

* Load PCI-424 “Proper config” file to set up MOTU-2408; make sure clock is set to “2408:Word Clock In”. NOTE that the MOTU-2408 must be powered up before this config file can be loaded. Use the row of power switches to the right of the computer and below in order to power it up. An alias to the "Proper config" file can be used to load this file at log-in--but if the 2408 is not powered up at log-in this will not work.

* Launch Logic

* Go to Preferences menu and select Audio tab; verify that Core Audio is enabled, and choose PCI-424 as both Input and Output Device in the pull-down menus (you can set buffer size, 24-bit recording on/off, etc. here as well).

* Set up Logic’s input from the TASCAM board: Connect analog inputs to the digital board, and while the appropriate board input strip(s) are selected, go to the TASCAM’s “bus outs” area (upper left-hand side of the board) and select busses 9 through 16 to assign your sources to the MOTU 2408 inputs 1 through 8. In Logic, choose inputs for each track in the “Input” pull-down menus in the Arrange window. You can PCI-424’s TDIF inputs 1-8 to any Logic channel, using the Input pull-down menus. The output for each track is then assigned to the PCI-424 similarly, using the “Output” pull-down menus in the Tracks window to assign to TDIF outputs 1 through 8.

* Check the basic meters on the front of the PCI-424 to verify routing.

* Click the record icon to record-enable the tracks and check record levels in the Arrange Window channel strip or in the Mixer window.

* To hear Logic’s output (either for record monitoring or for playback), select Fader Page 2 on the TASCAM, and bring up faders 25 through 32 to bring up the PCI-424’s eight TDIF outputs. While the appropriate board input strip(s) are selected, go to the TASCAM’s output assign area (upper left-hand side of the board), and select “Stereo” to send the output to the HD1 speakers, or to the Genelec 5.1 system, etc.