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MixPre-3M

Multitrack Recorder | USB Audio Interface

User Guide

Summary of Contents for MixPre-3M

Page 1: ...MixPre 3M Multitrack Recorder USB Audio Interface User Guide ...

Page 2: ...ontain omissions and technical or typographical inaccura cies Sound Devices LLC does not accept responsi bility for any losses due to the use of this guide Trademarks The wave logo is a registered trademark and Kashmir is a trademark of Sound Devices LLC iPad iPhone Mac and OS X are trademarks of Apple Inc registered in the U S and other countries Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Cor...

Page 3: ...ng the Gain 21 Using Solo Mute 21 Arming a Track 22 Understanding Pan 22 Using Reverb 22 Rendering a Vocal Air Effect 23 Setting the Low Cut Filter 23 Toggling Phase Inversion 24 Stereo Track Linking 24 Configuring Aux In Mode 24 Track Bank Selector 25 Outputs Adjusting Output Level 27 Output Muting 27 Headphone Output and Presets 28 Metering LEDs and Metering 29 Channel Knob Ring LEDs 29 Channel ...

Page 4: ...tem Settings Saving and Recalling Presets 49 System Settings 50 Remote Control Wingman Application 51 Connecting to a MixPre Recorder 53 Music Projects via Wingman 54 Third Party USB Controllers Connecting the MixPre to a Controller 56 Map User Definable Buttons to Shortcuts 57 Controller Interfaces 57 Akai MidiMix Interface 58 Korg NanoKontrol 2 Interface 59 Korg NanoKontrol Studio Interface 61 N...

Page 5: ...D slot before attaching the sled to rear panel 2 Power up the MixPre X X Slide the power switch left side panel to On The MixPre will boot and light up 3 Connect an audio source X X Connect an audio source either a microphone line or instrument line level signal to one of the input jacks on the side panels 4 Connect headphones X X Connect your preferred headphones to the headphone jack on the righ...

Page 6: ...tc by default D Tap Sample Rate to select from available rates E Tap Create 7 Configure an input A Press the Channel knob associated with the track onto which you want to record For example press knob 1 to record on track 1 The Channel screen appears B Tap Input and use the HP encoder to select a source for the track Op tions include Mic Line Aux In and USB In C Select Phantom if your microphone D...

Page 7: ...ou will hear a preview of the metronome in headphones while in this sub menu C Make adjustments to the volume and to fit your intended time signature and tempo D Tap Count in to select how many measures the metronome will count at the beginning before recording begins E On page 2 of the Metronome sub menu tap On During to determine when you ll hear the metronome Options include Count in Record or ...

Page 8: ... laying down all of your tracks play your song and adjust track mix levels pans reverb air etc 16 When you have a mix that you like you can easily share your file by using the Render feature A Tap and then tap Render B Select the format you want to use to render export the file Options include Wav stereo AAC stereo or Wav All Isos This will perform a real time render of your project Feel free to d...

Page 9: ...iety of fundamental ways 12 channel multitrack recorder mixer up to 96kHz 24 bit 3 simultaneous inputs including 3 ultra low noise mic preamplifiers 5 in 2 out USB computer audio interface The MixPre 3M includes many indispensable features for musicians including Track Laying Overdubbing Punch In Out Q Points Track Bouncing Reverb and Vocal Air Effects Metronome Export The MixPre 3M works in a sim...

Page 10: ...udio interface for any DAW application The MixPre 3M s versatility is augmented by the various powering options Whether you want to power the MixPre 3M from a USB connection AA batter ies L mount batteries or optional AC wall plug adapter it s ready willing and able to go anywhere anytime always handling your audio needs with grace We sincerely hope that you enjoy working with the MixPre 3M as muc...

Page 11: ...tional 8 AA battery sled called MX 8AA One or two Sony type L mount batteries installed in the optional L mount battery sled accessory called MX LMount USB C to USB C cable connected to a USB C host computer or AC wall adapter USB A to USB C cable connected to a USB A host computer or AC wall adapter Dual USB A to USB C cable connected to a USB A host computer Use this cable option if your compute...

Page 12: ...ide 12 To ensure Battery Status indicator displays accurate levels status 1 Tap 2 Page through submenu and tap Power 3 Select the type of batteries being used in the sled Options include NiMH Alkaline L Mount ...

Page 13: ...annel Knobs Channel Knob Ring LEDs Power Light LCD The Channel knobs on the front panel have two purposes Rotate to adjust the level of the selected track in the LR mix Press to access the selected track s Channel screen Left Side Panel USB connections XLR inputs 1 2 2 channel 3 5 mm output and power switch Power Switch USB A Port XLR Inputs 3 5 mm Stereo Output USB C Port ...

Page 14: ... input 3 headphone en coder HP Encoder XLR Input 3 5 mm Headphone Output 3 5 mm Aux Mic Input Back Panel Battery mounts SD memory card slot Allen wrench for inch 20 thread cap tive screw and anti rotational pin SD Memory Card Slot Battery Mounts Allen wrench anti rotational pin ...

Page 15: ...e touch screen allowing you to easily interact with the MixPre As you become familiar with the user interface changing set tings for inputs outputs recording and metering will become fast and intuitive Home Screen The Home screen view is the default view that appears on the touch screen when the device is powered up The Home screen looks like this Status Bar Q Icon Cue Number Music Icon Time Count...

Page 16: ...ue Points menu For more information see Working with Cue Points Power Status Icons Green USB USB power source is ideal Orange USB USB power source low Brightness dimmed USB A port disabled 48v phantom on 2 channels only Green Battery Healthy battery Plan to change batteries when green level drops to about full Flashing Red Battery Battery power is critically low Change batteries Menu icon Provides...

Page 17: ...s Provides routing and gain settings for the stereo output as well as ability to mute the stereo output 2 Reverb Provides access to Reverb settings 2 Metronome Provides access to Metronome settings 2 Record Provides access to L R Gain and AAC export quality 2 SD Card Displays SD card and allows for format and empty trash card func tions 3 System Provides settings for file transfers setting and sen...

Page 18: ...e Q List the Solo Mute screen metronome on off project render and access to project history For more information see Working with Cue Points Using Solo Mute Metro nome Project History and Sharing Projects To access the Music Control menu X X Tap in the top left corner of the Home screen ...

Page 19: ...ings are adjusted in its Channel screen Accessing Channel Screen Settings To access the Channel screen X X Push in a Channel knob Each Channel screen provides two pages of settings indicated by Dots icon Tap the Dots icon to switch pages Settings For More Information Solo Mute Using Solo Mute Arm Arming a Track Input Setting Input Source Monitor Enabling Monitoring Gain Setting the Gain Pan Unders...

Page 20: ...eed to rearrange instruments plugged into inputs when you want to record that input to a differ ent track You can also select the MixPre 3M s mixer outputs see Bouncing a metronome click see Metronome or turn on Phantom power To route inputs 1 Enter the Channel screen tap Input The Routing screen appears as shown in the following examples 2 Select an input for the track A track can only have one l...

Page 21: ...Gain sets the trim gain pre fader gain for the channel This gain determines the signal level on the channel s individual track i e the ISO track level The gain range is dependant on the input type selected Mic 6dB 76dB Line 20dB 30dB Aux Mic 10dB 40dB Aux Line 10dB 20dB USB 20dB 30dB Using Solo Mute The MixPre 3M offers a few different ways to mute or solo tracks From each track s Channel screen t...

Page 22: ...select them Soloed channels appear orange muted tracks appear red X X Use the HP encoder to highlight green outline a track and then tap either Solo or Mute 4 Tap to exit the screen Arming a Track Armed tracks appear with red numbered boxes on the Home screen s Meter view To arm disarm a track X X From the Channel screen tap Arm to enable or disable a track for record ing Understanding Pan Pan set...

Page 23: ...ff 0 20 Rendering a Vocal Air Effect Applying Air to a lead vocal can help it stand out in a mix It adds a desirable airy sheen to vocals Vocal Air sets how much Air is added to a track in the LR mix The range is Off 1 100 Only the mix is affected not the individual recorded tracks To render the Air effect into the individual recorded tracks you must use the Bounce feature L L Air can only be appl...

Page 24: ... source such as keyboard or drum machine plug that instrument into a neighboring pair of inputs such as 1 2 3 4 etc Link the tracks by setting the pair s first Channel Screen Linking menu to 1 2 3 4 etc Linking allows you to control the level of both channels with just the odd numbered knob For example the following procedure links tracks 1 and 2 To link tracks 1 2 1 Push Channel 1 knob to access ...

Page 25: ...rol tracks 10 12 with the knobs A tap on the meters moves the box to around 1 3 which indicates you can now control tracks 1 3 with the knobs Another tap moves control to tracks 4 6 and so forth When a track bank is switched rotating a Channel knob in the newly selected bank will not have an effect on level until it reaches its previously stored fader value As soon as it reaches that value the gai...

Page 26: ...rom its current fader value of 18dB Once it reaches the track s previously stored value of 15dB the mix level will start to be affected L L Adjust the Channel knob a small fraction to display the stored value and arrow in orange text The displayed arrow and stored value will inform you which way to rotate the knob ...

Page 27: ...ver is being output in the headphones stereo or mono This is useful for providing a secondary headphone output feed Adjusting Output Level Adjust output gains to optimize the level feeding downstream devices such as active speakers external mixers PA gear etc To adjust output gain 1 Tap 2 Tap Outputs 3 Select St Out Gain You can adjust L R output gains from Off 40 to 20dB Output Muting On the MixP...

Page 28: ... adjacent to the headphone jack Since the headphone amplifier is capable of very high output levels please use caution when wearing headphones as hearing damage could result with inappropriate volume levels From the main Menu screen the headphone presets HP Presets may be accessed by pressing this icon in the upper left corner of the screen Above this icon the currently selected HP preset is displ...

Page 29: ...peaking orange signal limiting In addi tion a channel s ring LED will flash orange when soloed or illuminate solid red when muted Recorder Transport Controls Channel Knob Ring LEDs Power Light Touchscreen The LEDs around any of the three knobs will also pulse orange if upon chang ing track banks the knob s rotational position is not aligned with its fader val ue this pulsing stops once position an...

Page 30: ...h bearing the track number appear along the bottom of the meter view and will change color based on routing and transport status The following table shows the various options you may see during the music creation process Track Label Description Solid red Track is armed for recording and is monitoring live input Red with green outline Track is armed for recording but is currently monitoring track p...

Page 31: ... A play cursor moves across a horizontal timeline and audio tracks referred to as channels in the MixPre are laid out as rows A song always starts at 00 00 00 0 hh mm ss tenths bar 1 You can store many projects on an SD card which is great if you are working on multiple songs or an album because you can quickly switch between them Only one project is active at any one time All project audio files ...

Page 32: ...d or off speed playback issues Reverb is unavailable when sample rate is set at 96kHz 4 Tap Create when you re ready to create the new Music project L L The new project s name is shown at the top of the Home screen For more information see Project History and Project Folder Structure Import Recording When creating a new project you may choose to import a wav audio file up to 12 tracks as the found...

Page 33: ...on the SD card is displayed 3 Rotate the HP encoder to highlight the chosen project push in encoder to open the project Once selected the project is opened and the Home screen is displayed You are ready to start recording Trashing Projects Since SD cards are capable of holding many gigabytes of data the list of proj ects can become quite long You can trash any project apart from the one that is cu...

Page 34: ... of March 2018 would have a name like this 001 031218 142200 To restart the current project from scratch X X From the History list scroll to the bottom and select Restart Song This will clear all audio from the project and cannot be undone Howev er the audio files themselves are not actually deleted they remain in the project folder which can be accessed using a computer Project Folder Structure A...

Page 35: ...ereo performs a real time render of the LR mix to an uncom pressed 2ch stereo wav file All track level pan mute reverb and air ad justments made during rendering are reflected in the resulting stereo wav file AAC Stereo performs a real time render of the LR mix to a compressed 2ch stereo AAC file AAC files are much smaller in size than a WAV file and so are faster to share over the internet All tr...

Page 36: ... Cards SD cards must be formatted by the MixPre 3M for reliable recording and play back Be sure to backup any wanted audio recordings or data before formatting since the formatting process erases all data We highly recommend using Sound Devices branded SD cards as these have been optimized to provide the best performance If these are not available most reputable manufacturers cards such as SanDisk...

Page 37: ... headphone encoder then rotate it to move the playhead forward or backward in 1 10 second steps Play The button illuminates green while playback is underway Press to start playback from the current position Press again during playback to pause at the current position If at the end of the song pressing play does nothing Scrub While playing or paused press the headphone encoder to enter Scrub mode T...

Page 38: ...a verse or chorus You can name cues for easy identification A cue mark may also be set as any other type of cue point Play In Defines when playback begins Typically used as pre roll before punch in Record In Record In Defines when automatic recording begins the start of the Punch In Out region Record Out Defines when automatic recording ends the end of the Punch In Out region Stop Defines when pla...

Page 39: ... added is displayed next to the Q icon X X Alternatively when stopped tap the Q icon at the top of the Home screen to access the Cue Points menu Then tap the Q button to add a cue at current song position The MixPre automatically renumbers cue marks if one is inserted between exist ing cue marks to maintain their ascending numerical order from the start of the song 01 02 03 etc Cues appear in nume...

Page 40: ...s or Bridge To set a cue as a Play In Record In Out or Stop point 1 From the Cue List select a cue 2 Tap Set As 3 Tap Play In Record In Record Out or Stop to set the selected cue mark as an In Out point for recording or playback Moving Cue Points You can finely tune the position of In and Out points in 0 1 second increments To move Cue Points 1 Tap Cue List 2 Use the HP encoder to select a cue poi...

Page 41: ...from the Cue List and tap Disable To delete a cue mark 1 From the Cue List select a cue mark 2 Tap Delete Locating to Cue Marks You can cue the song to a certain point that is quickly jump to specific cue marks within a song using the Play button and HP encoder To jump between cue marks X X While playing paused or stopped press in and hold the Play button and then turn the HP encoder to jump to th...

Page 42: ... roll depending on your preference 3 Press REC The Play button will illuminate green and the MixPre will start playing from the Play In point if set or from the current playback cursor po sition if not set Once the Record In point is reached the MixPre will auto matically start recording on the armed tracks and REC button will illuminate red Recording will continue until the Record Out point is re...

Page 43: ...et s call these the source tracks 4 Mute all tracks except the source and destination tracks 5 Disarm all tracks except for the destination tracks 6 Set the source track levels pans reverb and air effects as required Effects are burned in to the destination track s 7 You are now ready to bounce 8 Manually start recording or use auto punch to begin bouncing from the re quired location As with norma...

Page 44: ...ed to a track Select Click in a track s Input screen To set up the metronome 1 Tap 2 Tap Metronome then do any or all of the following L L You will hear a preview of the metronome while in this screen X X Tap Signature and set the beat time signature for the song Options include 1 4 2 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 6 4 7 4 8 4 6 8 7 8 9 8 X X Tap Tempo and set the song tempo metronome click rate by tapping the arr...

Page 45: ...des access to the settings detailed in the following table Sub menu Description Options L R Gain Sets the gain for the LR mix 30 0 dB 1 dB increment L L Tip You can quickly access L R Gain by tapping the L left horizontal meter on the Home screen AAC Quality Sets the quality value for AAC rendering For more information see Sharing Proj ects 32 kbps 64 kbps 128 kbps 192 kbps 256 kbps To access the ...

Page 46: ... route the USB 1 4 sources appropriately Should you want to mix the USB audio from the host computer with live audio from the MixPre 3M s inputs to the LR bus use the channel screen and select input source The MixPre 3M is capable of recording and streaming audio to a USB host si multaneously It is also capable of recording the USB audio stream out of a computer directly to its SD recorder This is...

Page 47: ...DAW software for a new track with its source being Channel 3 and be sure that record monitoring is disabled for this track Optionally you may mute the channel s output in the DAW 8 You should now be able to hear and adjust the output of your DAW audio through Channels 1 and 2 while adjusting your low latency feed in your headphones and to the DAW with Channel 3 Use the channel 3 knob to adjust the...

Page 48: ...ction F1 or Menu key Accesses the Main menu F12 Home Ctrl R Record Ctrl S Stop Spacebar Play Left Arrow Main screen Rewind skip back to Q point Menu and Channel screens Toggles through pages Right Arrow Main screen Fast forward skip forward to Q point Menu and Channel screens Toggles through pages Up Down Arrows Main screen Adjusts headphone volume In menus Duplicates encoder rotation such as move...

Page 49: ... created a slick feature where you can store and recall snapshots of all of MixPre settings There are four internal Preset slots available Also the SD card can store virtually unlimited Presets To save a Preset 1 Tap 2 Tap Presets Save to Internal 1 4 or SD Card 3 Enter a Preset Name and tap OK To recall a Preset 1 Tap 2 Tap Presets Load Preset 3 Select preset with encoder 4 Tap OK ...

Page 50: ... 1 Tone Lets you turn tone on off set the tone s level from 20dBFS to 0dBFS in 1 dBFS increments and mode to either Contin uous or L Ident 2 Limiters Lets you turn limiters on off 2 Brightness Lets you independently adjust the brightness of the touch screen and the ring LEDs 2 Date Time Provides access to set the date time and formats for both 2 Regulatory Provides full Federal Communications Comm...

Page 51: ...s from iOS or Android devices To enable Bluetooth on the MixPre recorder 1 Tap 2 Tap System Bluetooth This toggles Bluetooth On and Off L L If a remote password is configured on the recorder in the System Wingman Pass word menu Wingman will prompt for that password to be entered prior to making the connection Status Bar Viewing Area Tab Bar Connection Icon ...

Page 52: ...oggles between Transport and Track views handy when using Wingman app on devices with smaller screens Transport View Track View L L Editing track names may be done in Transport view on tablets but on smart phones it is achieved in Track view Tab bar Remaining on screen all the time the bar has icons enabling access to other views such as the About screen which provides links to guides and device a...

Page 53: ...ers of the same model tapping the Circled I icon helps identify the correct device by displaying an Identifying from Wingman message on the chosen recorder s screen When running Wingman the Connection icon which bears the Sound Devices logo displays different colors The color of the icon is significant Color Icon Status Gray Disconnected either no activity or scanning for devices Orange Bluetooth ...

Page 54: ...lets or in Track view on smaller screen mobile devices like smartphones To rename tracks 1 Do either of the following X X On large mobile devices from the Transport view tap anywhere in a vertical meter for the track you want to edit X X On small mobile devices swipe horizontally to display the Track view then tap anywhere in a horizontal meter for the track you want to edit 2 Use the virtual on s...

Page 55: ...hen the input is off the label is black and cannot be armed And in Music projects when playing back or overdubbing labels for on but disarmed tracks appear green L L Meter labels are joined displayed as a single label to indicate when channels are linked This is shown in the previous example see the meter labels for 9 and 10 ...

Page 56: ...g in Music or Audio projects L L Not all functions are supported by all controllers Connecting the MixPre to a Controller Power and control is provided via a single USB cable to better facilitate simple connection between the MixPre and controller To ensure compatibility with the connected controller the MixPre must first configure itself accordingly L L For the MixPre 3 and 6 USB Controllers will...

Page 57: ... project only Add Q Record Stop Play Rewind Fast Fwd Shuttle not all controllers To map controller buttons to perform MixPre functions 1 Connect a controller 2 On the MixPre access Menu Shortcuts Control Surface 3 Set any of the user definable shortcut buttons to your required function Controller Interfaces Each third party controller has different capabilities The following tables Akai MidiMix In...

Page 58: ...le shortcut RWD X2 X16 via user definable shortcut via user definable shortcut Skip Next File via user definable shortcut Tap Fast Forward Skip Prev File via user definable shortcut Tap Rewind Skip Next Mark via user definable shortcut Fast Forward via user definable shortcut Fast Forward Skip Prev Mark via user definable shortcut Rewind via user definable shortcut Rewind Return to Zero via user d...

Page 59: ...a user definable shortcut X1 X2 Mute 10M 10T only via user definable shortcut via user definable shortcut Tone via user definable shortcut via user definable shortcut Metronome via user definable shortcut Create Q via user definable shortcut via user definable shortcut Undo Only via History List on MixPre via user definable shortcut Internal Mic 10M 10T only Only via Input patchbay via user defina...

Page 60: ...on Faders Linear faders 1 8 Linear faders 1 8 Trims Rotary knobs set to trim Rotary knobs set to trim Pans Rotary knobs set to pan Rotary knobs set to pan Reverb Rotary knobs set to reverb Low Cut Only via MixPre Rotary knobs set to low cut Mute M button M button Solo S button S button Mute Status Red M button Red M button Solo Status Red S button Red S button L R Stereo Output Gain Only via MixPr...

Page 61: ...D X2 X16 Hold button Hold button Skip Next File Tap or Marker button Skip Prev File Tap or Marker button Skip Next Mark Tap or Marker button Tap or Marker button Skip Prev Mark Tap or Marker button Tap or Marker button Return to Zero Tap or Stop when stopped Tap or Stop Shuttle Press MixPre HP encoder or set Shuttle as a shortcut then use se lected shortcut and scrub wheel Press MixPre HP encoder ...

Page 62: ...ite Solo button L R Stereo Output Gain Only via MixPre Only via MixPre L R Stereo Output Mute via user definable shortcut via user definable shortcut X1 X2 Mute 10M 10T only via user definable shortcut via user definable shortcut Tone via user definable shortcut via user definable shortcut Metronome via user definable shortcut Create Q Marker Set button Marker Set button Undo Only via History List...

Page 63: ...ecord Arm Status Red Track Control button when Re cord Arm is selected Red Track Control button when Re cord Arm is selected Input Monitor Track Focus buttons Input Monitor Status Illuminated Track Focus button Monitor is On Channel Screen Access Hold Device button then Track Focus button Track Focus buttons Faders Linear Faders 1 8 Linear Faders 1 8 Trims Top row of knobs Top row of knobs Pans Bo...

Page 64: ...ects Metronome via user definable shortcut Create Q via user definable shortcut via user definable shortcut Undo Only via History List on MixPre via user definable shortcut Internal Mic 10M 10T only via Input patchbay only via user definable shortcut ...

Page 65: ...nbalanced 100k input Z USB Audio 4 channels All inputs fully RF filtered and overload protected Gain Mic input 6 dB to 76 dB Line input 20 dB to 30 dB Fader inf to 20 dB Total Mic to recording max 96 dB Aux In Mic 10 dB to 40 dB Aux In Line 10 dB to 20 dB Total Aux Gain including Fader Mic to recording 60 dB ADC Dynamic Range 32 bit precision 120 dB dynamic range min A weighted gain 10 dB fader 0 ...

Page 66: ...city SDXC Secure Digital High Capacity SDHC Secure Digital SD Maximum Storage Size 512 GB SDXC Card Format FAT32 formatted 32GB or less exFAT for 32GB File Type Monophonic WAV AAC render Stereo WAV render Max WAV File Size 4GB Files seamlessly auto split at 4GB Effects Reverb types Plate Room Hall 48 kHz max sampling rate Vocal Air USB Name Description Audio Interface USB C 5 in 2 out 44 1 to 96 k...

Page 67: ...BY USB C to dual USB A Y cable AC Adapter MX PSU 15W PSU w USB C connector includes wall adapter plugs for US UK Australia and Europe Environmental Name Description Operation and Storage Operating 20 C to 60 C Storage 40 C to 85 C 0 to 90 relative humidity non condensing Dimensions and Weight Name Description Size H x W x D 1 4 in x 5 68 in x 4 35 in 36 mm x 144 mm x 110 mm Weight 16 8 oz unpackag...

Page 68: ...the SOFTWARE PRODUCT and any copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT are owned by Sound Devices LLC or its suppliers The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions Therefore you must treat the SOFTWARE PRODUCT like any other copyrighted material except that you may make copies as only provided below You may not copy the printed materials accompanying the SOFTWARE PR...

Page 69: ...ed in accordance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or mor...

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