Avid Technology M-Audio Fast Track User manual

Avid Recording Studio User Guide
Version 8.0.3
®

Legal Notices
This guide is copyrighted ©2010 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.
Avid, Pro Tools, Pro Tools SE, M-Audio and Fast Track are either
trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.
All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their
respective owners.
Product features, specifications, system requirements, and
availability are subject to change without notice.
Guide Part Number 8420-30231-01 REV A 06/10
Documentation Feedback
At Avid, we are always looking for ways to improve our
documentation. If you have comments, corrections, or
suggestions regarding our documentation, email us at
[email protected].

Contents iii
contents
Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Recording Studio Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Hardware Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Pro Tools SE Guide Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 2. Controls and Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Front Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Back Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Top Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 3. Installing Recording Studio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Installation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mac OS X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
MP3 Export Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Hardware Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Checking Your Signal Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Software and System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 4. The Software Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Accessing the Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Latency Tab (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Sample Rate Tab (Windows Vista and Windows 7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Performance Tab (Mac OS X) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
About Tab (All Systems) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Avid Recording Studio User Guideiv
Chapter 5. Using Recording Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Launching Pro Tools SE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Recording Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Adjusting the Output Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Direct Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Sample Rate and Bit Depth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Opening a Recent Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Appendix A. Additional Information and Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Pro Tools SE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
M-Audio Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Before Updating Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Appendix B. Compliance Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Environmental Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
EMC (Electromagnetic Compliance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Safety Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Chapter 1: Introduction 1
chapter 1
Introduction
Welcome to Avid® Recording Studio. Recording
Studio turns your Mac or PC into a complete
music production environment, by combining a
low-latency M-Audio® Fast Track® audio inter-
face and Pro Tools® SE from Avid®.
Pro Tools is the industry standard platform in
music production software that is used in top re-
cording facilities around the world. Whether
you're new to music production or a seasoned
professional wanting to take Pro Tools SE on the
road, this package includes what you need for a
professional-quality recording setup.
Please take the time to read this User Guide. It
will explain how to get the best results out of
your Recording Studio.
Recording Studio Features
M-Audio Fast Track Audio Interface
• Low latency performance
• Balanced XLR mic-level input with high-
quality mic preamp
• 48V phantom power for condenser micro-
phones
• 1/4-inch guitar input
• Input Signal and Clip LED indicators
• Direct Monitor Button
• 1/4-inch stereo headphone output
• Stereo line-level RCA outputs
• Up to 24-bit, 48 kHz operation
•USBpowered
Pro Tools SE music production
software

Avid Recording Studio User Guide2
System Requirements
Minimum System Requirements can be found
on the Avid website at www.avid.com/support.
Hardware Registration
Please register your product online at
www.avid.com/support. By doing so, you be-
come eligible to receive the following:
• Technical support information
• Software update and upgrade notices
• Hardware warranty information
Pro Tools SE Guide Set
Complete documentation can be accessed via
the Help Menu.
Interactive Guides and Tutorials
Interactive guides and tutorials can be accessed
via the Pro Tools SE Quick Start dialog or the
Help Menu while the program is running.
Conventions Used in This Guide
The following symbols are used to highlight im-
portant information:
A qualified version of Adobe® Flash®
Player is required.
User Tips are helpful hints for getting the
most from your system.
Important Notices include information that
could affect your data or the performance of
your system.
Cross References point to related sections in
this and other Avid guides.

Chapter 2: Controls and Connectors 3
chapter 2
Controls and Connectors
Front Panel
1 Phantom Power Indicator (48V) This LED il-
luminates when Phantom Power switched on.
2 Microphone Input This connector accepts a
standard XLR microphone cable.
3 Signal/Clip Indicator The green LED indicates
the presence of an input signal. The red LED in-
dicates “clipping” or distortion.
4 Guitar Input This 1/4-inch jack lets you con-
nect an electric guitar, bass, or other instrument.
5 Direct Monitor Button This button switches
Direct Monitoring on and off, which provides a
latency-free mix of the input signal and the out-
put of your music software.
6 Headphone Output This 1/4-inch output jack
lets you connect stereo headphones. The level is
controlled by the top-panel Output Gain knob.
7 Power Indicator This LED indicates that
Fast Track is receiving power from the USB port
on your computer.
7
12 34356
Although phantom power can be used
safely with most microphones, it may dam-
age some ribbon microphones. Always turn
off phantom power and wait at least ten
seconds before connecting a ribbon micro-
phone.
For more information, refer to Chapter 5,
“Using Recording Studio.”
For more information, refer to “Direct Mon-
itoring” on page 16
Connecting your headphones disables the
back-panel Line outputs.

Avid Recording Studio User Guide4
Back Panel
8 Line Outputs These line level RCA outputs
(left and right) allow you to connect Fast Track
to a pair of powered studio monitors, a mixer, or
stereo amplifier. The volume level for these out-
puts is controlled by the top-panel Output knob.
These outputs are disabled when headphones
are connected.
9 USB Port This port is used for connecting
Fast Track to your host computer, using the sup-
plied USB cable.
10 48V Phantom Power Switch When this
switch is in the “on” position, 48V phantom
power is sent to the XLR Microphone input.
This is used with condenser microphones re-
quiring external power. The Phantom Power In-
dicator LED illuminates when phantom power
is on.
8910
Although phantom power can be used safely
with most microphones, it is possible to
damage some ribbon microphones. Always
turn off phantom power and wait at least ten
seconds before connecting a ribbon micro-
phone.
For more information, refer to the documen-
tation for your microphone.

Chapter 2: Controls and Connectors 5
Top Panel
11 Microphone Gain Knob This knob controls
the volume for the Microphone input when set-
ting recording levels.
12 Guitar Gain Knob This knob controls the vol-
ume for the Guitar/Line input when setting re-
cording levels.
13 Output Knob This knob controls the volume
for the front-panel Headphone output and back-
panel Line outputs.
Mic Gain Guitar Gain Output
11 12 13
For more information, refer to Chapter 5,
“Using Recording Studio.”

Avid Recording Studio User Guide6

Chapter 3: Installing Recording Studio 7
chapter 3
Installing Recording Studio
This chapter shows you how to install Recording
Studio on Mac OS X and Windows.
Installation Overview
The Recording Studio installation includes the
following steps:
1 Installing Pro Tools SE.
2 Installing M-Audio Fast Track driver.
3 Connecting M-Audio Fast Track.
4 Software configuration.
5 System configuration.
Mac OS X
The Pro Tools SE DVD runs a two-stage installa-
tion process. Stage 1 installs Pro Tool SE, and
Stage 2 installs the Fast Track Driver.
To Install Recording Studio:
1 Make sure Fast Track is not connected to your
computer.
2 Insert the installation DVD into your com-
puter.
3 When the disc opens, double-click the in-
staller icon to launch the installation.
4 Click “Continue” on the Welcome screen, and
follow all on-screen instructions.
It is important to carefully read and follow
all on-screen instructions.
Recording Studio Installer Icon
Pro Tools SE - Welcome Screen

Avid Recording Studio User Guide8
5 When the following screen appears, click
“Continue” and follow the on-screen instruc-
tions.
6 Choose the picture of Fast Track on the next
screen, click “Continue” and follow the on-
screen instructions to install the Fast Track
driver.
7 Once the installation is complete and your
computer has been restarted, connect Fast Track
to an available USB port on your computer.
Windows
The Pro Tools SE DVD runs a two-stage installa-
tion process. Stage 1 installs Pro Tool SE, and
Stage 2 installs the Fast Track Driver.
To Install Recording Studio:
1 Make sure Fast Track is not connected to your
computer.
2 Insert the Pro Tools SE DVD into your com-
puter.
3 Click “Continue” to install Pro Tools SE.
Click Continue
Software instrument content is very large
and may take up to 30 minutes to install.
During this time, the progress bar may not
appear to move but your software is still in-
stalling. Do not terminate your installation.
Driver Selection - Fast Track
It is important to carefully read and follow
all on-screen instructions.
In Windows 7, if the User Account Control
dialog appears, click “Allow.”
If the Welcome screen doesn’t appear, locate
and double-click Setup.exe.
Pro Tool SE - Welcome Screen
Software instrument content is very large
and may take up to 30 minutes to install.
During this time, the progress bar may not
appear to move but your software is still in-
stalling. Do not terminate your installation.

Chapter 3: Installing Recording Studio 9
4 When the following screen appears, choose
the picture of Fast Track, and follow the on-
screen instructions to install the Fast Track
driver.
5 Once the installation is complete and your
computer has been restarted, connect Fast Track
to an available USB port on your computer.
6 Windows XP will ask if you want to search the
Internet for a driver. Choose “No, not this time”
and click “Next.”
7 If the Found New Hardware Wizard dialog ap-
pears, choose “Install the software automati-
cally” and click “Next.”
8 Click “Finish” once the software has been in-
stalled.
MP3 Export Option
The MP3 Export Option lets you create MP3 files
from Pro Tools sessions when exporting a region
or a Timeline selection as a new audio file.
With the MP3 Export Option, the MP3 file type
is available when using File > Export > Audio.
Pro Tools uses the Fraunhofer codec for encod-
ing MP3 files.
Authorizing the MP3 Export Option
The MP3 Export Option is a paid option and can
be purchased and authorized when you export
an audio file as an MP3.
To authorize the MP3 Export Option using an
authorization code:
1 Launch Pro Tools.
2 Open a session.
3 Click on a region or make a Timeline selection
and choose File > Export > Audio.
4 Select Compressed MP3 as the File Type.
5 Click Export.
6 In the Pro Tools MP3 Option dialog, click Au-
thorize.
7 In the Pro Tools MP3 Export Option dialog, se-
lect Manual Activation, then click Next.
Driver Selection - Fast Track
You may be notified that the driver being in-
stalled has not passed Windows Logo Test-
ing, or asked whether the program you wish
to run is a trusted application. Click “Con-
tinue Anyway” (Windows XP) or “Install”
(Windows 7) to proceed with the installa-
tion.
Windows XP users may encounter addi-
tional dialog boxes. If so, proceed with steps
8 through 10.
If the Found New Hardware Wizard reap-
pears, repeat steps 8 through 10.
If the Windows Logo Testing or “trusted ap-
plication dialog appears, Click “Continue
Anyway” (Windows XP) or “Install” (Win-
dows 7).

Avid Recording Studio User Guide10
8 In the Pro Tools MP3 Export Option dialog,
deselect the Use my iLok Smart Key option, then
click Next.
9 When prompted, enter your Pro Tools MP3
Export Option serial code (authorization code).
10 Click Next and follow the on-screen instruc-
tions to complete the authorization process.
Hardware Connections
Once Pro Tools SE and the Fast Track driver have
been installed, connect Fast Track to an avail-
able USB port on your computer. Make sure all
three knobs on the top panel are turned all the
way off (counter-clockwise) and make the addi-
tional connections described below:
Front Panel
Connect your microphone or instrument (elec-
tric guitar or bass) to the appropriate input.
If needed, connect your headphones to the
Headphone output.
Back Panel
Connect your powered monitors, stereo power
amp, or mixer to the Line outputs.
Checking Your Signal Path
Listening to Demo Songs
Listening to demo songs is an easy way to verify
audio. To hear the audio from Pro Tools you will
need your headphones or speakers connected to
your audio interface.
To listen to a demo song:
1 Use the Pro Tools SE icon to launch the pro-
gram:
•Mac Click on the Pro Tools SE icon in the
Dock (or double-click the icon in the
Pro Tools folder inside the Digidesign
folder).
•Windows Click the Start button and locate
the Pro Tools SE icon (or double-click the
icon in the Pro Tools folder inside the
Digidesign folder).
Connecting your headphones disables the
back-panel Line outputs.
Make sure your powered monitors, stereo
power amp, or mixer is turned off before
connecting them to your Fast Track inter-
face.
Pro Tools SE Icon

Chapter 3: Installing Recording Studio 11
2 When the Pro Tools SE Quick Start dialog ap-
pears, select the Demo Songs button.
3 From the list of music styles, select the cate-
gory you want (or select an item from a sub-
menu).
4 Click Audio Preview to listen to the song. If
you want to open the song in a Pro Tools session
click Choose.
Whether you click Audition Preview or the play
button in the open demo session, you will hear
the song playing through your speakers or in
your headphones.
If you do not hear anything, check your hard-
ware connections and signal levels, then repeat
step 4.
Software and System
Configuration
Pro Tools SE automatically selects and config-
ures Fast Track for audio recording.
Detailed information explaining how to config-
ure your system for optimum performance can
be found in the Pro Tools SE User Guide.
This important information covers both
Mac OS X and Windows systems, and includes
tips on hard drive configuration and mainte-
nance.
We strongly recommend reading these chapters
to ensure the best performance from your
Pro Tools SE system.
Pro Tools SE Quick Start Dialog - Demo Songs

Avid Recording Studio User Guide12

Chapter 4: The Software Control Panel 13
chapter 4
The Software Control Panel
The Software Control Panel lets you to adjust
various system settings for Mac OS X and Win-
dows.
The Control Panel is divided into separate pages,
each accessible by clicking on the corresponding
tab.
Accessing the Control Panel
Mac OS X
The Software Control Panel can be found in Sys-
tem Preferences, under “Other.”
Windows
Double-click the M-Audio logo located in the
system tray, generally located at the bottom
right of your Windows desktop.
Latency Tab (Windows)
Latency is the time it takes for an input signal to
pass through your recording software and ap-
pear at the outputs. This latency can result in a
delay when overdubbing to existing tracks.
This slider lets you control the amount of la-
tency by adjusting the buffer size in units of
samples. The default buffer size is 256 samples
Smaller buffer sizes result in lower latency, but
may cause clicks, pops and dropouts on slower
systems. If you are experiencing clicks and pops
in your recording, try increasing the buffer size.
The Control Panel will not be available un-
less the Fast Track driver is installed, and
will be blank unless the interface is con-
nected to your computer.
To adjust the buffer size in Pro Tools SE,
choose File > Preferences to open the Prefer-
ences dialog, then choose the Audio page.
This lets you choose one of the two radio
buttons in the lower half of the dialog.

Avid Recording Studio User Guide14
Mac OS X
In Mac OS X, the buffer size is adjusted within
Pro Tools SE by choosing the File Menu > Prefer-
ences to open the Preferences dialog, and then
choose the Audio page. This lets you choose one
of the two radio buttons in the lower half of the
dialog.
Sample Rate Tab (Windows
Vista and Windows 7)
Although the Sample Rate is adjusted in
Pro Tools SE, This page lets you to select a sam-
ple rate of 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. This is provided
so that MME applications in Vista have access to
both supported sample rates.
Performance Tab (Mac OS X)
This page allows you to choose a sample bit
depth of 16-bit or 24-bit. The default sample bit
depth is 24-bit. On Windows systems, the sam-
ple bit depth is normally adjusted within
Pro Tools SE.
About Tab (All Systems)
This page contains information about your
hardware and current driver versions. These de-
tails are helpful should you ever have to contact
technical support. Clicking the links takes you
to useful pages on the Avid website.
Refer to the Pro Tools SE User Guide for
more information about setting the buffer
size and other important settings when con-
figuring Pro Tools SE.
Refer to the Pro Tools SE User Guide for
more information about setting the buffer
size and other important settings when con-
figuring Pro Tools SE.
For more information, see “Sample Rate
and Bit Depth” on page 18.
For more information, see “Sample Rate
and Bit Depth” on page 18.

Chapter 5: Using Recording Studio 15
chapter 5
Using Recording Studio
Launching Pro Tools SE
The first step in beginning a Pro Tools project is
working with a session. Pro Tools provides a
Quick Start dialog on launch that lets you
quickly and easily work with session templates,
listen to demo songs and view tutorials.
To launch Pro Tools SE and open a session:
1 Use the Pro Tools SE icon to launch the pro-
gram:
•Mac Click on the Pro Tools SE icon in the
Dock (or double-click the icon in the
Pro Tools folder inside the Digidesign
folder).
•Windows Click the Start button and locate
the Pro Tools SE icon (or double-click the
icon in the Pro Tools folder inside the
Digidesign folder).
2 Use the Quick Start dialog to do one of the fol-
lowing:
• Create a session from templates.
• Listen to demo songs (lets you verify
sound). See “Checking Your Signal Path”
on page 10.
• Open any other session on your system.
• Open and view tutorials.
Creating a Session From a
Template
To create a new session from a template:
1 Select the default New Session button.
2 Select any session template from the list.
3 Click the Choose to open the template.
4 In the Save As dialog, name the session,
choose where you want to save the session, and
click Save.
Pro Tools SE Icon
The Pro Tools SE tutorials can be accessed
via the Help menu at any time.
Pro Tools SE Quick Start Dialog - New Session

Avid Recording Studio User Guide16
Recording Audio Tracks
This section shows you how to record audio
tracks in Pro Tools SE.
To record using an audio track:
1 If you are going to record using a microphone,
turn the Microphone Gain knob all the way
down. If you are going to use the Guitar input to
record an instrument, turn the Guitar Gain
know all the way down.
2 Connect a microphone or instrument to your
Fast Track interface:
•Microphone Connect your microphone to
the Microphone input. If the microphone
requires phantom power, enable it using
the back-panel Phantom Power 48V
switch.
•Instrument Connect an electric guitar,
bass, or other instrument to the Guitar in-
put.
3 Press the Direct Monitor button for low-la-
tency monitoring, if required.
4 Sing, or play your instrument at the loudest
level you expect to reach during your recording
while slowly increasing the appropriate input
gain until the red clip indicator begins to illumi-
nate.
5 While continuing to sing or play, turn the
knob counter-clockwise until the clip indicator
no longer illuminates.
6 Choose an Audio track by clicking on an ap-
propriate track name, such as “Audio 1” on the
left side of the Pro Tools SE Edit window.
7 Click on the Input Selector (In) to the left of
the track name, and choose the appropriate in-
put source. Choose “Input 1” for the Micro-
phone input or “Input 2”for the Instrument
input.
8 Click the Mute button for the track to prevent
it from sending the input signal to the output of
Fast Track.
Although phantom power can be used
safely with most microphones, it may dam-
age some ribbon microphones. Always turn
off phantom power and wait at least ten
seconds before connecting a ribbon micro-
phone.
Refer to the documentation for your micro-
phone for more information about its power
requirements.
To achieve the best signal-to-noise ratio,
turn the Gain knob for the input you are not
using all the way down.
For more information, see “” on page 17.
To create a track, go to the Track menu and
click Track > New and choose Audio track.
Audio Track
Input Selector
Track Mute Button