Alesis 2 Specifications

Reference Manual

Introduction 8 This page intentionally left blank.

1 Hardware Overview 9 Section Identification Top Panel Here’s what you’ll find on the top of your IO|14/26: 1. Inputs – The

1 Hardware Overview 10 2. Inserts – The IO|14/26 features “insert” jacks on every analog input. These inserts allow you to place additional equip

Hardware Overview 1 11 5. Monitor Blend Knob – This knob controls the amount of direct signal (from the analog and digital inputs) that gets b

1 Hardware Overview 12 Rear Panel You’ll find the following on the rear of your IO|14/26: 1. Headphone Outputs – Connect your headphone

Hardware Overview 1 13 7. FireWire Connectors – Connect one of these plugs to your computer’s FireWire port. You can use the other jack to co

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2 Installation (Windows) 15 Install the software/drivers first Important: Follow these steps BEFORE you plug your IO14/26 into your

2 Installation (Windows) 16 Install Cubase LE (optional) If you are interested in using Cubase LE as your multitrack Digital Audio Workstation, in

Installation (Windows) 2 17 Make IO|14/26 the default audio device To use your IO|14/26 interface as your default Windows sound device, follow

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2 Installation (Windows) 18 4. Click the “Voice” tab. Change the voice playback and voice recording settings to the IO|14/26.

Installation (Windows) 2 19 Disable Windows System Sounds Windows System Sounds—the sounds that Windows plays to signal starting up, shutting

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3 Installation (Macintosh) 21 Install the software/drivers first Important: Follow these steps BEFORE you plug your IO14/26 into yo

3 Installation (Macintosh) 22 Make IO|14/26 the active audio device Open Audio/MIDI Setup and choose your IO|14/26 for both your inputs and output

4 Getting Started with Cubase LE 23 Introducing Cubase LE Your IO|14/26 ships with Cubase LE, a powerful audio and MIDI Digital Audio Workst

4 Getting Started with Cubase LE 24 2. Click the “VST Multitrack” option. 3. From within the ASIO Driver drop-down box, c

Getting Started with Cubase LE 4 25 4. To enable MIDI, click on the “Default MIDI Ports” option on the left-hand side and select IO|14/26’s MIDI

4 Getting Started with Cubase LE 26 7. In Cubase, you can rename channels by clicking in the “Label” area. This is useful if, for instance, your l

Getting Started with Cubase LE 4 27 Creating a new file Now, you’re ready to create an audio project. 1. Choose “File” | “New Project…”

Table Of Contents 1 Introduction...5 About the IO|14 and IO|26 ...

4 Getting Started with Cubase LE 28 3. Cubase needs to know where to place audio. Choose a directory here. 4. Now, you

Getting Started with Cubase LE 4 29 5. Be sure that the “inspector”—a strip on the left-hand side of Cubase that shows all sorts of informat

4 Getting Started with Cubase LE 30 7. If you want to monitor your audio with Cubase’s effects (distortion, reverb, etc.), press the direct monit

5 Using the Control Panel 31 Working with the IO14/26 control panel Accessing the control panel In Windows, open the control panel from th

5 Using the Control Panel 32 3. Adjust latency by changing the buffer size “Latency” refers to the amount of time it takes for audio to get into

Using the Control Panel 5 33 configuration and the types of audio projects you do, you may find that one setting clearly outperforms the others.

5 Using the Control Panel 34 2. S/PDIF or ADAT. Use one of these settings if you have attached either a S/PDIF or ADAT device. If you have at

6 Hardware Direct Monitoring 35 The Alesis Hardware Direct Monitoring and Routing Application A powerful digital mixer is built into you

6 Hardware Direct Monitoring 36 1. Output Monitor Tabs Use these tabs to select the output pairs to which you will blend in the incoming signal.

Hardware Direct Monitoring 6 37 For outputs 1 and 2, the MIX BLEND knob on the front panel of the hardware can also be used to control this slide

Table Of Contents 2 The Alesis Hardware Direct Monitoring and Routing Application...35 Usi

6 Hardware Direct Monitoring 38 Numbers 12 through 15: Load/Save and Audio Routing Settings 12. Save/Recall Settings Your HDM settings will only

7 Getting In Deeper: Hardware 39 Cabling 101 Cables are a crucial (and often overlooked) part of a studio. Many beginners run into pro

7 Getting In Deeper: Hardware 40 Common Hookup Scenarios Singer / Songwriter The following setup will be commonly used by singer/songwriters wo

Getting In Deeper: Hardware 7 41 Full Studio Setup The following setup makes full use of the IO|14’s audio inputs and outputs. All of the arr

7 Getting In Deeper: Hardware 42 Using the Insert Jacks Sometimes, you may want to add additional gear into your signal path before your analog-t

Getting In Deeper: Hardware 7 43 Additional Uses of Insert Jacks Inserts can be used in two additional ways that you may find useful. They are

7 Getting In Deeper: Hardware 44 This page intentionally left blank

8 Getting In Deeper: Recording 45 Watch Your Levels While Recording A basic principle in digital recording is that you want to capture the l

8 Getting In Deeper: Recording 46 Base Sample Rates: 44.1/88.2/ 176.4kHz versus 48/96/192kHz There are two “base” sampling rate standards in th

Getting In Deeper: Recording 8 47 3. Archiving: If you’re capturing a special recording that may have some historical value in the future, i

Table Of Contents 3 Audio playback or recording is at the wrong speed...

8 Getting In Deeper: Recording 48 2. Processor Usage – A second drawback of recording in high definition is that you’ll use sub

Getting In Deeper: Recording 8 49 Surround Sound (IO|26 only) The IO|26’s 8 analog outputs make it perfect for multichannel surround-sound a

8 Getting In Deeper: Recording 50 Using the IO14/26 with Sonar and other WDM applications WDM or ASIO? Experiment with both protocols An incre

Getting In Deeper: Recording 8 51 2. On the “General” tab, select any available IO14/26 channels as the Playback and Record timing masters.

8 Getting In Deeper: Recording 52 Move to the “Drivers” tab. Click on each input pair and also on the output pair to make them available to Sona

Technical Specifications 53 Cables not hooked up properly. Check outputs to make sure cables are plugged in correctly (and securely). B

Technical Specifications 54 Audio signal carries an unwanted hum. Not using balanced cables. Make sure you are using balanced (XLR or 1/4” T

Technical Specifications 55 LED input meters not working. Input level too low Turn up the GAIN knob or the output level of your instrument.

Technical Specifications 56 cable, you need to make sure you’re using a 6-pin FireWire cable that can carry power. The mini, 4-pin connector foun

Technical Specifications 57 2. Right-click the “My Computer” icon and select “Properties.” 3. The active tab at the top of t

Table Of Contents 4 This page intentionally left blank

Technical Specifications 58 4. Finally, expand the “Sound, video and game controllers” section. An “Alesis 1394” entry should appear.

Technical Specifications 59 Audio playback or recording stutters or drops out Again, work with the buffer settings in the ASIO control panel or

Technical Specifications 60 Technical Specifications Analog Inputs Sample rates: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz Frequency

Technical Specifications 61 Output impedance: 220 Ohm Headphone Outputs Frequency response: +/-0.1 dB, 22Hz to 22kHz Power (@ 32 O

Technical Specifications 62

Glossary 63 Here are the definitions to some terms you’ll probably encounter while using your IO|14/26 FireWire Audio Interface. Term Defi

Glossary 64 fader A device that allows you to control the level of an audio signal by sliding the fader up and down a straight path. Each in

Glossary 65 sample rate Digital audio is chopped up into tiny time slices. The sample rate is the number of time slices captured in one s

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Warranty / Contact 67 Alesis Limited Warranty ALESIS CORPORATION ("ALESIS") warrants this product to be free of defects in material a

Introduction 5 Thank you for purchasing the Alesis IO FireWire audio interface! You could say Alesis knows a thing or two about recording.

Warranty/Contact 68 Alesis Contact Information Alesis Distribution, LLC Los Angeles, CA USA E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://

Introduction 6 About the IO|14 and IO|26 Our IO|14 and IO|26 audio interfaces are professional-grade tools with everything you need to turn yo

Introduction 7 How to Use This Manual We know this manual will be an integral part of the experience with your IO 14 or IO|26 interface so we’