Apogee GiO User manual

User’s Guide
support.apogeedigital.com

i GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Table of Contents
Package Contents 1
Introducing GiO 1
Quick Start 2
System Requirements 2
Getting Started 2
Install Apogee Software 2
Connect the USB Cable 2
Choose GiO for Mac Sound I/O 3
Connect Headphones or Speakers 3
Connect Your Guitar 3
Set up GarageBand ‘09 4
GarageBand Preferences 5
Using GiO’s Stompbox Buttons 5
Set the Input Level 5
Record! 5
Connecting GiO 6
Connecting an Apple Macintosh computer 6
Connecting Headphones 7
Connecting Powered Speakers 7
Connecting a Home Stereo 8
Connecting an Instrument Amplier 8
Connecting a Guitar or other Instrument 9
Connecting an Expression Pedal 9
Working With Apple GarageBand 10
Using GiO for GarageBand audio input and output 10
Using GiO’s Transport buttons to control GarageBand 10
Using GiO’s Stompbox buttons to control GarageBand 11
Setting GiO’s audio parameters from GarageBand 11
Working With Apple Logic Pro 12
Using GiO for Logic Pro audio input and output 12
Using GiO’s Transport buttons to control Logic Pro 12
Using GiO’s Stompbox buttons to control Logic Pro 13
Setting GiO’s audio parameters from Logic Pro 13
Using GiO’s Expression Pedal with Apple Logic Pro 14
Working With Apple Mainstage 15
Using GiO for Mainstage Audio Input and Output 15
Using GiO’s Transport Buttons to control Mainstage 15
Using GiO’s Stompbox Buttons to control Mainstage 16
Setting GiO’s audio parameters from Mainstage 16
Additional Hardware & Software Controls 17
OS X System Preferences - Sound 17
Apple Keyboard 17
OS X Audio MIDI Setup 18
Selecting GiO for Mac Sound Input/Output 18
Controlling GiO’s Input/Output Parameters 18
Setting GiO’s Sample Rate 18
Working With GiO 19
How do I set a recording level? 19
How do I set my software’s I/O buer? 19
I/O buer continued 20
What sample rate should I record at? 20
Can I record my session on the startup hard drive? 20
How do I set the input control of my powered speakers? 20
Using GiO Cong 21
FAQs 22
Troubleshooting 23
Specications 24

1 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
GiO
1/4” to RCA Cable
USB Cable
QuickStart Guide
GiO is a USB Guitar Interface and Controller for the Mac.
This QuickStart section describes how to set up GiO with your Mac,
connect speakers, headphones and instruments to GiO, and get
started quickly with GarageBand.
Please check our web site for the most up-to-date information:
http://support.apogeedigital.com
Instrument Input Headphone/Speaker Output
USB Port
Stompbox buttons and indicators
Expression Pedal Input
Previous button Next button
Transport control buttons
Introducing GiOPackage Contents

2 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Connect the USB Cable
Connect GiO’s USB port to a USB port on your Mac using the
provided cable. GiO is powered through the USB connection.
Once the USB connection is made, the Transport buttons light in
sequence and all Stompbox indicators light green, indicating that
GiO is ready for use.
System Requirements
Your Mac should meet the following requirements:
• Intel or PPC G5 processor, OS X 10.5.8 or 10.6 or greater
• 1 GB minimum of installed RAM, 2 GB recommended
• GarageBand ‘09 v. 5.1 and/or Logic Studio 9
(Please consult our website for the most up-to-date
compatibility information: http://support.apogeedigital.com.)
Getting Started
Install Apogee Software
Download the GiO Software Installer from:
http://www.apogeedigital.com/downloads.php
Double-click it and follow on-screen instructions. The installer may
require the connection of your GiO to verify the rmware version, so
please have it ready. When the installation is complete you will be
required to restart your Mac.
Quick Start

3 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Connect Your Guitar
Connect your guitar to the Instrument input using a standard 1/4”
guitar cable. Shown below is a typical GiO setup shown with optional
expression pedal
Choose GiO for Mac Sound I/O
After connecting GiO to your Mac, a dialog box prompts you to
choose GiO for Mac sound output and input. Click Yes.
Connect Headphones or Speakers
Connect headphones to GiO’s back panel jack.
To connect a pair of powered speakers using the included 1/4” TRS
to dual RCA cable, connect the 1/4” TRS plug to GiO’s back panel
Output jack. Next, connect the white-banded RCA plug to the
left speaker and the red-banded RCA plug to the right speaker

4 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Set up GarageBand ‘09
Open GarageBand, found in your
Mac’s Applications folder. In the
Project Window that appears
during launch, click Electric
Guitar then click Choose to
create an audio track.
In GarageBand, double-click the
Track header to show the Track
Info pane. At the top of the pane,
click Guitar Track.
Choose a guitar preset from the
pop-up menu at the top of the
Track Info pane. You can scroll
through the preset list by tapping
GiO’s Previous or Next button.
Set up GarageBand ‘09
(continued)
Click Edit (at the top of the Track
Info pane) and click on the guitar
amp to highlight it.
At the bottom of the pane,
select Mono 1 (GiO) in the Input
Source menu and select On in
the Monitor menu. If GiO can’t
be selected in the Input Source
menu, please see the next page.
Click the faders button to the
right of the Input Source menu
to open the Apogee GiO control
panel

5 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
GarageBand Preferences
If GiO can’t be selected in
the Input Source menu, open
GarageBand Preferences
(GarageBand > Preferences),
click Audio/MIDI, and select GiO
in the Audio Output and Audio
Input menus.
Important!
To experience the full audio
resolution of GiO, open
GarageBand Preferences, click
Advanced, and select Best in the
Audio Resolution menu.
Using GiO’s Stompbox buttons
When you load a GarageBand
guitar preset that includes
stompboxes, each of GiO’s
Stompbox indicators light to a
color that corresponds to the
stompboxes selected in the
preset. Press GiO’s stompbox
switch to turn the effect on - the
indicator glows brightly.
Press again to turn the effect
off - the indicator glows dimly.
Set the Input Level
Click the GarageBand track’s
Record enable button to see
the input signal level on the
track meters and hear it in your
headphones.
In the Apogee GiO control panel,
adjust the Recording Level
slider until a good signal level
is displayed in the track meters.
See page 19 for a more detailed
description of setting recording
levels.
Record!
Once you’ve set a level, tap the
Record Transport button. The
newly created region appears
in GarageBand’s timeline. Once
you’ve completed recording, tap
the Play button to stop recording,
tap either the Go To Beginning or
Rewind button, and tap Play to
listen back to your recording.

6 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Connecting GiO
In this section, the connection of GiO to your Mac, headphones, speakers,
instruments and other audio hardware devices is described.
Type B
Connecting an Apple Macintosh computer
• Using the provided USB cable, connect the Type B connector to
GiO’s back panel USB connector.
• Connect the Type A connector to your Mac computer.
• For the best system stability, it’s recommended to connect
directly to your Mac’s USB port, without passing through a USB
hub.
• To use GiO’s Transport and Stompbox switching, Apogee
software must be installed, as described on page 2
Type A

7 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Connecting Headphones
• Connect headphone to GiO’s back panel Output jack.
• The output level may be controlled from any of these hardware
and software controls:
Apple keyboard volume controls (when System Preferences
Sound is congured as described on page 17).
Menu bar volume slider (when System Preferences
Sound is congured as described on page 17).
Apogee Control Panel found in Logic Pro and Mainstage
System Preferences Sound > Output pane
Audio MIDI Setup
Connecting Powered Speakers
• Using the included 1/4” TRS to dual RCA cable, connect the 1/4”
TRS plug to GiO’s back panel Output jack. Next, connect the
white-banded RCA plug to the left speaker and red-banded RCA
plug to the right speaker.
• The output level may be controlled from any of the hardware and
software controls listed on the facing page.
• To set the speakers’ input level control (sometimes labelled input
sensitivity), please see the description on page 20.
• If hum or buzz is heard in the speakers, please see the
Troubleshooting tip on page 23.

8 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Connecting a Home Stereo
• Using the included 1/4” TRS to dual RCA cable, connect the 1/4”
TRS plug to GiO’s back panel Output jack. Next, connect the
RCA plugs to your stereo system’s Aux or Tape inputs.
• Set GiO’s output level to maximum, and control the listening
level using the home stereo’s volume control.
Connecting an Instrument Amplier
• To connect to most instrument ampliers, it’s necessary to add
a 1/4 TS to RCA female adaptor to the included cable’s RCA
plugs. Connect the 1/4” TRS plug to GiO’s back panel Output
jack and the RCA plugs (with 1/4” TS adaptors) to the instrument
amp’s inputs. If the amp has one channel, connect the left side of
the cable.
• It’s possible to set GiO’s output level to a xed value, so that it
can’t be inadvertently changed. Open Audio MIDI Setup (or any
of the other control panels listed on page 7), and select the Amp
(or Instrument Amp) setting.

9 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Connecting a Guitar or other Instrument
• Connect a guitar, bass or keyboard to GiO’s back panel
Instrument (1/4”) input.
• The input gain may be controlled from any of these hardware
and software controls:
Connecting an Expression pedal
• Connect a standard MIDI expression pedal to GiO’s back panel
Expression Pedal (1/4”) input.
• To be compatible with GiO, the expression pedal’s 1/4” connector
must be a 3-conductor TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) type.
• Please see page 21 for instructions how to optimize the
response of your expression pedal with GiO.
Apogee Control Panel found in Logic Pro and Mainstage
System Preferences Sound > Input pane
Audio MIDI Setup

10 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Working With Apple GarageBand
Please see the Quickstart Guide on pages 4-5 for basic information
on using GarageBand with GiO.
Using GiO for GarageBand audio input and output:
• Choose GarageBand > Preferences, then click Audio/MIDI.
• Select GiO or System Setting in the Audio Output and Audio
Input menus. When System Setting is selected, GarageBand
uses the audio device selected in the System Preferences >
Sound window.
• Click Advanced.
• Select Better or Best in the Audio Resolution menu.
• Close the Preferences window when complete.
Using GiO’s Transport buttons to control GarageBand
With GiO’s Transport buttons, you can record, play and move
the playhead in your Garageband song with your feet. GiO’s
Transport and Stompbox functions are automatically enabled once
GarageBand detects GiO as a MIDI input.
The behavior of each of GiO’s Transport buttons is described below:
Press Record to start recording on record-enabled tracks. If
you press Record again, recording will stop but playback will
continue.
Press the “Go to Beginning” button to move the playhead
to the start of the project. If you’ve set a cycle region, the
playhead will move to the start of the region.
Tap the Rewind button to move the playhead towards the
song start one measure (or a half-second, if absolute time is
selected as the song time). Press and hold down the Rewind
button to continually move the playhead.
Tap the Forward button to advance the playhead one
measure (or a half-second, if absolute time is selected as
the song time). Press and hold down the Rewind button to
continually advance the playhead.
Press the Play button to start or stop playback.
Tap the Previous or Next button to scroll through Electric
Guitar presets, Software instruments or Real instrument
effects.

11 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Using GiO’s Stompbox buttons to control GarageBand eects
With GiO’s Stompbox buttons, you can turn GarageBand’s Stompbox
effects on and off with you feet.
• Add an Electric Guitar track in your GarageBand song by
choosing Track > New Track, selecting Electric Guitar in the
New Track dialog, and clicking Create.
• Select a guitar preset using GiO’s Previous and Next buttons.
• Once the preset is loaded, each of GiO’s Stompbox indicators
light to a color that corresponds to a GarageBand stompbox
effect. Press the stompbox button to toggle the effect on and off;
the corresponding stompbox indicator lights brightly when the
effect is on, dimly when the effect is off.
• To display stompbox effects of another Electric Guitar track,
highlight that track’s header in the timeline. If an Instrument or
Real track header is highlighted, GiO’s stompbox indicators turn
off.
Setting GiO’s audio parameters from GarageBand
• Double-click a Real Instrument or Electric Guitar track header
to open the Track Info pane.
• In the Track Info pane, click the faders button to the right of the
Input Source menu. On an Electric Guitar track, highlight the
guitar amp and click Edit to reveal the faders button.
• Set GiO’s input gain using the Recording Level slider
• Click Connected to: Line (e.g. Home Stereo) when GiO is
connected to headphones, powered speakers, a mixing
console or a home stereo.
• Click Connected to: Instrument Amplier to set GiO’s output
to a xed level, to avoid inadvertently changing GiO’s output
level.
• Mute and unmute GiO’s output with the On and Off buttons

12 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Working With Apple Logic Pro
Using GiO for Logic Pro audio input and output:
• In Logic, choose Logic Pro > Preferences > Audio.
• In the CoreAudio pane, checked Enabled, and select GIO in the
Output Device and Input Device menus.
• Select 128 in the I/O Buffer Size menu. Please see page 19-20
for more details how to optimize the I/O Buffer Size.
• Click Apply Changes.
Using GiO’s Transport buttons to control Logic Pro
With GiO’s Transport buttons, you can record, play and move the
playhead in your Logic Pro project with your feet. GiO’s Transport
and Stombox functions are automatically enabled once Logic Pro
detects GiO as a MIDI input.
The behavior of each of GiO’s Transport buttons is described below:
Record - GiO’s Record button duplicates the functionality of
the Record button found on Logic Pro’s Transport.
Go To Beginning - Press the “Go to Beginning” button to
move the playhead to the start of the project.
Rewind - Tap the Rewind button to move the playhead
towards the song start one measure. Press and hold down
the Rewind button to continually move the playhead.
Fast Forward - Tap the Fast Forward button to advance
the playhead one measure. Press and hold down the Fast
Forward button to continually advance the playhead.
Play - Press the Play button to start or stop playback.
Previous/Next - Tap the Previous or Next button to scroll
through Channel Strip or PedalBoard presets, depending on
the object selected.

13 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Using GiO’s Stompbox buttons to control Logic Pro eects
Stompbox buttons - With GiO’s Stompbox buttons, you can turn
Logic’s Pedalboard effects on and off with your feet.
• Insert a Pedalboard on an Audio or Software Instrument track in
your Logic project by choosing Amps & Pedals > Pedalboard in
a channel strip Insert slot.
• Drag the effects of your choice onto the Pedalboard.
• As effects are added to the Pedalboard, GiO’s Stompbox
indicators light to a color that corresponds to each Pedalboard
effect. Press the stompbox button to toggle the effect on and off;
the corresponding stompbox indicator lights brightly when the
effect is on, dimly when the effect is off. Up to ve pedalboard
effects may be switched from GiO.
• To display pedalboard effects of another track, select that track
in the Arrange window, or that track’s Channel Strip in the Mixer
window. When a track or Channel Strip without a Pedalboard
plug-in is selected, GiO’s stompbox indicators turn off.
Setting GiO’s audio parameters from Logic Pro
• Choose Options > Audio > Open Apogee Control Panel.
• Set GiO’s input gain using the Instrument Gain slider.
• Set GiO’s output level using the Level slider
• Click Line/Headphones when GiO is connected to `
headphones, powered speakers, a mixing
console or a home stereo.
• Click Instrument Amplier to set GiO’s output to a xed level, to
avoid inadvertently changing GiO’s output level.
• Mute and unmute GiO’s output by clicking the Mute
checkbox.

14 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Using GiO’s Expression Pedal with Apple Logic Pro
With a standard expression pedal connected to GiO’s Expression Pedal input, it’s possible to control continuosly variable software parameters
(such as volume) with the pedal. In the following example, the expression pedal is set up to control Logic Pro’s Pedalboard Wah.
• Open a Logic Pro project and insert a Pedalboard plug-in on a Channel Strip.
• Drag a Wah onto the Pedalboard.
• Choose Logic Pro > Preferences > Control Surfaces > Controller Assignments.
• In the Controller Assignments window, click Control Surface : GiO in the Zones column.
• Click Learn Mode.
• With the mouse, move the Pedalboard Wah pedal; the entry “Pedalboard:
Pedal Position” should appear in the Parameter column
• Now move the expression pedal connected to GiO; the entry “Learned” should appear in the Control column.
The expression pedal now controls the Wah pedal.

15 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Working With Apple Mainstage
Using GiO for Mainstage audio input and output:
• In Mainstage, choose Mainstage > Preferences, and click on
Audio.
• In the Audio pane, select GIO in the Audio Output and Audio
Input menus.
• Select 128 in the I/O Buffer Size menu. Please see page 19-20
for more details how to optimize the I/O Buffer Size.
• Close the Preferences window when complete.
Using GiO’s Transport buttons to control Mainstage
With GiO’s Transport buttons, you can control Mainstage’s Playback
and Looper instruments.
Load the Guitar Rig template “Single Amp & One Backing Track”.
With this template loaded, the behavior of GiO’s Transport buttons is
as follow:
Play - Tap the Play button to start or stop playback.
Fast Forward - Tap the Fast Forward button mute the
Playback Channel Strip only.
Rewind - Tap the Rewind button to turn Cycle on and off.
Load the Guitar Rig template “Single Amp & Looper. With this
template loaded, the behavior of GiO’s Transport buttons is as
follows:
Record - Tap Record to start and stop recording.
Go To Beginning - Tap the “Go to Beginning” button to undo
the last recording pass
Rewind - Tap Rewind to reverse something
Fast Forward - Tap Fast Forward to fade out previously
recorded audio
Play - Tap Play to start and stop playback.

16 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Setting GiO’s audio parameters from Mainstage
• Choose Mainstage > Open Apogee Control Panel.
• Set GiO’s input gain using the Instrument Gain slider.
• Set GiO’s output level using the Level slider
• Click Line/Headphones when GiO is connected to `
headphones, powered speakers, a mixing
console or a home stereo.
• Click Instrument Amplier to set GiO’s output to a xed level, to
avoid inadvertently changing GiO’s output level.
• Mute and unmute GiO’s output by clicking the Mute
checkbox.
Using GiO’s Stompbox buttons to control Mainstage eects
Stompbox buttons - With GiO’s Stompbox buttons, you can turn
Mainstage’s Stombox effects on and off with you feet. GiO’s
Transport and Stompbox functions are automatically enabled once
Mainstage detects GiO as a MIDI input.
• To get started quickly, load a Guitar Rig template by choosing
File > New, clicking Guitar Rigs in the Choose Template
window, selecting a template, and clicking Choose.
• GiO’s rst four Stompbox buttons are mapped to the 4 Stompbox
screen controls. Tap GiO’s stompbox buttons to turn on and off
Mainstage stompboxes.
• GiO’s rightmost stompbox button is mapped to the Mainstage
patch’s Mute, which mutes the audio Master. Tap this stompbox
button to mute all audio output (including any playback).

17 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
Additional Hardware & Software Controls
You don’t have to open the GarageBand, Logic or Mainstage control
panel to set GiO’s input and output levels. A variety of additional
hardware and software controls are available, described in this
section. Though several options are offered, you can choose
the hardware and software controls that best suit your individual
preferences.
OS X System Preferences - Sound
The OS X System Preferences Sound window provides settings to
choose GiO for Mac sound input and output and control GiO’s input/
output parameters. If you didn’t choose GiO for Mac sound I/O in
step 3 of the Quickstart guide, you may do so in this window.
• Choose Apple > System Preferences and click Sound.
• Click Output.
• In the devices list, select an operating characteristic for GiO’s
output:
Select GiO: Line Out when connecting to
headphones, powered speakers, a mixing console or
a home stereo.
Select GiO: Amp to set GiO’s output to a xed level, to avoid
inadvertently changing GiO’s output level.
• Set GiO’s output level with the Output volume slider.
• Click Input.
• In the devices list, select GiO.
• Set GiO’s input gain with the Input volume slider.
To control’s GiO’s output level from your Mac’s menu bar, check
Show volume in menu bar.
Apple Keyboard
Once GiO has been selected in the System Preferences Sound
window, it’s possible to control GiO’s output level from your Apple
keyboard’s volume and mute keys.

18 GiO by APOGEE – User’s Guide
OS X Audio MIDI Setup
The OS X utility Audio MIDI Setup provides settings to choose GiO
for Mac sound input/ output and control GiO’s parameters. To open
Audio MIDI Setup, choose Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI
Setup.
Selecting GiO for Mac Sound Input/Output
Controlling GiO’s Input/Output Parameters
• Select GiO in the Default Input menu.
• Select in the Default Output.
• Leave System Output set to Built-In Audio to hear OS X alert
sounds and user interface sound effects via the Mac’s built-in
speakers.
• Select GiO in the Properties For menu.
• To set GiO’s input gain, use the Volume slider under Audio Input.
• Select an output operating characteristic in the Audio Output
Source menu:
Select Line Out when connecting GiO to headphones,
powered speakers, a mixing console or a home stereo;
Select Amp to set GiO’s output to a xed level, to avoid
inadvertently changing GiO’s output level.
Setting GiO’s Sample Rate
GiO operates at a sample rate of 44.1kHz or 48kHz . In most cases
the sample rate is set by the audio application with which GiO is
streaming audio. For example, when working with GarageBand,
GiO’s sample rate is automatically set to 44.1kHz, to match the
GarageBand song’s sample rate. For those audio applications that
don’t include a sample rate selection, such as Apple’s iTunes, GiO’s
sample rate may be selected in either Format menu under Audio
Input or Audio Output. For more information on which sample rate to
work at, see page 20.