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About
This page contains information on your hardware and current driver software
versions. This information may be helpful, should you ever have the occasion to
call for technical support. Clicking on the M-AUDIO logo in the lower left hand
corner will link you directly to our website, if you are currently online.
Firmware Info
This field displays the current firmware version of your FireWire Solo.
Update
By clicking this box, you will be connected with the M-Audio website to
check for driver and firmware updates.
Using the FireWire Solo
The following sections address a number of real-life situations that you may encounter while using your FireWire Solo. These brief tutorials should
help guide you. We also recommend you check the M-Audio website from time to time for other tutorials or FAQ’s that might provide additional
valuable information.
Setting Up Your Record Levels
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Using the Mic and Guitar Inputs
Connect your microphone input to the front-panel
Mic Input
. Connect your guitar, bass or other instrument level source to the front-panel
Guitar
Input
. Make certain the front-panel’s
Front/Rear Input selector
is set to “FRONT.”
The signal level you receive from these inputs will appear on the mixer page as Left (Mic) and Right (Guitar) inputs on the
Analog 1/2 In
meters.
The GUI’s channel faders are attenuation-only faders – this means you can reduce the input signal, but not boost it. If you need to boost the input
signal, you must do so with the front panel’s level pot controls. Most recording software will allow you to add gain to a recording that is made at
a level that is initially too low, but be careful that the recording level is not reaching digital clipping (going into the red) while recording.
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Using the Line Inputs
Connect your line-level output device to the FireWire Solo’s rear panel
Line Inputs
. Make certain the front-panel’s
Front/Rear Input selector
is set
to “REAR.”
The signal level that you receive at the line inputs will appear on the mixer page as Left and Right stereo inputs on the
Analog 1/2 In
meters. The
channel faders are attenuation-only faders – this means you can reduce the input signal, but not boost it. If you need to boost the input signal,
you must boost the output level or your line level source. Most recording software will allow you to add gain to a recording that is made at a level
that is initially too low, but be careful that the recording level is not reaching digital clipping (going into the red) while recording.
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Using the S/PDIF Input
Connect your S/PDIF digital output to the FireWire Solo’s rear panel digital input.
Make sure that “external” is selected as the sync source in the FireWire Solo control panel’s
Hardware
page.
The signal level that you receive at the S/PDIF input will be the signal level that you record. In most cases, this level cannot be modified at the
source, depending on your source device.
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Routing the Input Signal
You will then want to route the input signal to your DAW’s inputs. Using the Output buttons on each stereo pair, you can assign the output of the
Analog 1/2 and S/PDIF inputs to the FireWire Solo’s analog Line Outputs or S/PDIF Outputs.
You can also use the Output buttons on the FireWire Solo’s Analog (1/2) and S/PDIF SW Return channels to assign their outputs to the FireWire Solo’s
analog Line Outputs or S/PDIF Outputs.
Refer to the Mixer Page section for more information.