X.200 Digital Production Console
FAQ
3
NOTE:
Don’t forget that if you use an external digital device with the Digital X Bus, you will need to establish
synchronization between them through either Word Clock (BNC) or the sample clock reference signal that travels
along with the digital audio. See your external digital device’s product documentation for more information about
hookups and sync.
Q. Is there a MADI I/O option for the Digital X Bus?
A. We are currently considering the development and release of a MADI option card for the Digital X Bus.
Q. Do any of the Digital X Bus I/O Option Cards offer analog insert points?
A. No. But we offer Floating Insert Points for inserting analog gear into your signal pathways, which works in a very
similar way. Each channel, aux master, bus, or L/R mix bus has a “Floating Insert Send” and “Floating Insert
Return” pull-down menu assignment as a “patch point.” You can use these fl oating inserts as you would a regular
tip-send, ring-return analog insert point.
The
benefi t of fl oating inserts is that you can choose the I/O card you want to use to route the selected channel(s)
to your outboard gear. Hence, you can designate a single analog Line Card, for example, to be your send/return
highway between the mixer and your rack of outboard gear, and pull up those inserts anywhere you want to use
them in the mixer. Each patch point offers a selection of any physical output for a send, and any physical input for
a return. This is designed to allow you to insert outboard gear (analog or digital, your choice) right in the signal
pathway without any additional routing headaches. Think of these as your “virtual insert points” that allow you to
insert a hardware processor or module into any signal pathway in the mixer. What you do with that signal outside
the mixer is entirely up to you.
Another
benefi t of the Floating Insert Points on the Digital X Bus is that balanced sends and returns are used, as
opposed to the unbalanced, “tip-send, ring-return” method employed by a majority of the world’s analog mixers’
built-in insert jacks.
Q. Can you boot the X.200 with external digital and/or word clock on?
A. Yes. External digital and word clock connections will not interfere with the Digital X Bus boot process.
Q. How many faders will work on the Control Surface layer?
A. You can have up to 24 channels of simultaneous control on the MIDI layer. The Digital X Bus appears to your com-
puter as either:
• Mackie Control and two Extenders
• A Logic Control and two XTs
• Three HUI™ controllers
All the same programs supported by the Mackie Control Universal are also supported by the Digital X Bus. You
simply select what DAW software you want to control, activate your MIDI ports according to your connection pref-
erences, and engage the controllers from your audio software application. Every time you push the MIDI button on
the console, the mixer enters into the Control Surface Mode.
