R USBPODCASTINGKit QUICKSTART GUIDE MANUAL DE INICIO RÁPIDO MANUEL D'UTILISATION RAPIDE MANUALE RAPIDO DI UTILIZZAZIONE SCHNELLBEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG WWW.ALESIS.COM QUICKSTART GUIDE [ENGLISH] ::::: 3 ­ 15 MANUAL DE INICIO RÁPIDO [ESPAÑOL] ::::: 16 ­ 28 MANUEL D'UTILISATION RAPIDE [FRANÇAIS] ::::: 29 ­ 41 MANUALE RAPIDO DI UTILIZZAZIONE [ITALIANO] ::::: 42 ­ 54 SCHNELLBEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG [DEUTSCH] ::::: 55 ­ 67 1 2 ABOUT PODCASTING AND THIS KIT Podcasting allows you to record audio files and make them available online for everyone to hear ­ these can include independent audio shows and original music shows. The process of podcasting begins with digitally recording audio content into your computer. Once the show has been recorded, usually there is a software converter that is used to process the recorded audio into an mp3 file and lastly the file, along with a special ID tag, is uploaded to the Internet. When a podcast is uploaded to the Internet, it is usually sent out via an aggregator program to notify podcast websites that the file is now available to be downloaded to a listener's computer from the Internet. Podcasts are free and can also be downloaded to portable media players. And since podcasting uses the Internet as its medium, it makes available an enormous listener base ­ anyone with an Internet connection is a potential listener. From recording and mixing content to uploading it on the web, the Alesis Podcasting Kit provides everything you need to get your show up and running. We have simplified the entire process for you so you can begin podcasting to the world in a matter of minutes! In this kit you will find: · · · · · · A high-quality dynamic microphone An Alesis MultiMix 8 USB mixer A desktop microphone stand A microphone cable USB cable A lightweight carrying bag Please read through the instructions of this guide as it contains important information on connecting the equipment and using the software needed to successfully begin podcasting. We hope you enjoy it! Sincerely, The People of Alesis 3 HOOKING UP YOUR PODCAST RECORDING SYSTEM MICROPHONE COMPUTER HEADPHONES USB POWERED SPEAKERS CD-PLAYER OR OTHER LINE-LEVEL DEVICE 1. Connect the included microphone to the XLR input of Channel 1 using the microphone cable also included in the kit. 2. Connect the Multimix to your computer using the included USB cable. 3. Connect the MAIN MIX output of the Multimix to your speakers using ¼ inch TS cables. Alternatively, if you do not own speakers, you can connect the headphones that come with your kit to the PHONES output so you can monitor your session. This is a good idea since you will probably experience feedback from your speakers if you have them turned on while your microphone is on. POWER ON/OFF ORDER To ensure that the MultiMix is recognized correctly by your computer, follow these instructions for powering on and off your equipment: Power-on sequence 1. 2. 3. 4. Connect mics and line-level sources to the MultiMix. Connect the MultiMix to the computer using the USB cable. Turn on the MultiMix. Wait a couple of seconds. Turn on the computer. Power-off sequence 1. 2. Turn off the computer. Wait for the computer to shut down entirely. Turn off the MultiMix. 4 SOUND SETUP UNDER WINDOWS To use your MultiMix USB as your default Windows sound device, follow these steps: 1. From the Windows Start menu, choose Control Panel. Depending on your Windows preferences, it will appear similar to one of the two pictures below: 2. Double click on Sounds and Audio Devices. 3. Click the Audio tab. Change the default devices for both sound playback and sound recording to the MultiMix. (For sound recording, choose the "MultiMix Main" option.) 4. Click the Voice tab. Change the voice playback and voice recording settings to the MultiMix. For voice recording, you may choose either the "MultiMix Main" or the "MultiMix Channels" option. Click Apply to apply these changes. 5. DISABLING WINDOWS SYSTEM SOUNDS Windows System Sounds--the sounds that Windows plays to signal starting up, shutting down, alerts and so forth--can interfere with your audio recording. We strongly suggest that you disable these sounds. 1. 2. 3. Click the Sounds tab of Sounds and Audio Devices. Under Sound Scheme, choose No sounds. Click OK to accept this entry and close the dialog box. 5 INSTALLING THE CUBASE LE RECORDING SOFTWARE WINDOWS INSTALLATION 1 Before beginning, we suggest that you write down the 25-letter registration code that is printed on the CD. Insert Cubase LE CD included in kit. The installation program should automatically load. If it does not automatically load, you can go to My Computer and double-click on the "Cubase LE Install" CD. 2 3 4 Click on "Install Cubase LE" button on screen. Enter your name and the serial number that is printed on the CD and click OK. Click Next. 5 6 7 Read the User License Agreement, click I Agree and then click Next. Click Next and the software will install in its default folder. Click Next. 8 9 10 Click "Next" again. You can decide whether you shall be the only person who has access to use Cubase LE. Then click "Next." Click "Next." 11 12 13 Click Next to start installation. The installation program will begin installing Cubase LE. This may take a couple of minutes. When the screen above is displayed, click Finish. YOU ARE NOW READY TO USE CUBASE LE. 6 INSTALLING THE CUBASE LE RECORDING SOFTWARE MAC INSTALLATION 1 Before beginning, we suggest that you write down the 25-letter registration code that is printed on the CD. 2 3 Insert Cubase LE CD included in kit. Double-click Cubase LE installation file. Click Continue. 4 5 6 Read the Software License Agreement and click Continue. Click Agree. Click Continue. 7 8 9 Click Install to begin the installation. Once Cubase LE begins installing, you will be prompted to enter your Name and the serial number that came with the CD. Enter these and click OK. The software will finish installing and this screen will be displayed. YOU ARE NOW READY TO USE CUBASE LE. 7 WORKING WITH CUBASE LE After installing necessary drivers and the Cubase LE, you are now ready to start recording your first show. Make sure that you have plugged in your microphone and that the Multimix is connected to your computer's USB port and is turned on. If you are working with Windows, go to your Start Menu | All Programs | Steinberg Cubase LE and click on Cubase LE to launch the program. If you are working on a Mac, go to Finder | Applications and click on Cubase LE to launch the program. Following is step-by-step instructions on how to setup your recording software and begin recording: CHOOSING THE MULTIMIX AS YOUR AUDIO DEVICE Initializing the Cubase LE software to work with your MultiMix 1. Choose the menu option Devices | Device Setup. 2. Click the "VST Multitrack" option. 3. From within the ASIO Driver drop-down box, choose the MultiMix. 4. Press OK to accept this setting. 5. Now that the MultiMix is selected as the audio device, individual channels must be activated for use. Again, return to the Devices menu, and select VST Inputs. 8 6. Click the activation buttons for channel pairs that you want to use. Some versions of Cubase do not allow all inputs to be used simultaneously. 7. In Cubase, you can rename channels by clicking in the "Label" area. CREATING A NEW AUDIO FILE Now, you're ready to create an audio project. 1. Choose File | New Project. 2. You can begin with a template or an empty file. For now, begin with an empty file. 3. Cubase needs to know where to place audio. Choose a directory here. An excellent scheme for storing your projects is to create a directory called "audio projects." Then, within that folder, create a new folder for each song you work on. Cubase will store your song file and all associated audio files in that same folder. 4. Now, you have a blank project. Add an audio track for recording by choosing Project | Add Track | Audio. 9 5. Be sure that the "inspector"--a strip on the left-hand side of Cubase that shows information about the selected track--is active. If it is not, click on the button circled in the picture above. 6. Choose an input channel for your track by selecting it from the "in" area on the left. 7. Press one of the Record Enable buttons (either on the track strip itself or in the Inspector) to check if there is any audio signal on that input. 8. Tap or speak into the microphone. Check the Meter on the track strip. If the Meter is showing a green level as you use the microphone, then you have set the correct input channel. If not, go back to step 6 and try selecting a different input. 9. If the meter in Cubase LE is barely showing a signal, then adjust the Level on the Channel Strip of the MultiMixthat your microphone is plugged into. 10. If you would like to monitor your mix, turn up the Main Mix knob on the MultiMix or plug in headphones and turn up the HDPH/CTRL RM knob on the mixer. YOU ARE NOW READY TO START YOUR FIRST RECORDING! 10 RECORDING YOUR SESSION Now, you're ready to record. 1. Make sure that the track is record enabled (the buttons will be lit red if it is). If it is not, press either record enable button. Then press the Record button to begin the recording. 2. Now you are recording. Speak into the microphone and you should see the sound waveform on the screen, as well as the green meter going up as you speak. 3. When you are finished recording, press the Stop button. 4. To listen to your recording, you have to turn off the Record Enable buttons first. Press either one to turn it off. 5. You can use the buttons on the transport control to audition your recording. 6. You may also wish to normalize your audio so it is as optimally loud. Choose Audio | Process | Normalize. Then click on Process button. 11 EXPORTING YOUR SESSION Getting your session ready for podcasting. 1. Once you have finished recording, you will need to create a Mixdown of your session so it can be podcast. Click on File | Export | Audio Mixdown. 2. You will see the window to the right. 3. In the File name field, type a name for the audio file Mixdown (name of your session) and select where you would like to save the file. 4. For Files of type, select MPEG Layer 3 file (.mp3). This is the format that you will need to save to in order to be able to upload your podcast. 5. Under Attributes you can set the quality of the Mixdown file. Keep in mind that higher kBit/s rate and sample rate (kHz) will result in better quality audio but slower upload speeds. Also note that speech can be discernible at much lower bit and sample rates than music so if you are planning on including music in your podcast, try using 96 kBit/s rate or higher. BIT RATE & COMPRESSION TABLE: Format Bit rate Compression ratio File size per minute Notes If the wave wav file was sampled at 16 bits/44.1kHz, you've got CD quality sound Very low compression, superior sound quality The standard "CD quality" bit rate About the same quality as an FM radio station About the same quality as an AM radio station WAV uncompressed 1:1 10 MB MP3 160 kbps 9:1 1.5 MB MP3 128 kbps 11:1 1 MB MP3 64 kbps 22:1 400K MP3 32 kbps 44:1 200K 12 UPLOADING YOUR PODCAST As part of the Podcasting Kit, Alesis includes a free 30-day hosting of your podcast through Cyberears.com. Once you have finished recording and saving your session as an mp3, you will need to upload it to our custom Alesis website which will host and promote your podcast to major podcast syndication websites. ACTIVATING YOUR ACCOUNT: 1. Go to the Alesis Podcasting Center as www.alesispodcast.com ­ this is the custom website that has been created to help you promote your podcasts. 2. Click on Register to create a user account. The registration process will provide you with a secured login ID & password so that you can manage your audio files that have been uploaded. 3. You will be prompted to fill out some information about yourself. Enter this information and then type in a Login ID and password that you would like to use with this account. Then click on Save & Next.. 4. An email from service@cyberears.com will be sent to the address that you provide with the sign-up information. You will need to open your email and unlock the Cyber Ears account you just created. Just simply click on the link that is included in the email. 5. Now you are ready to upload your podcasts! Tip: Once you are logged in, you may wish to go through the available tutorials on Podcasting.. These tutorials explain how to use the site in depth and how to get the most out of your podcast experience. Click on Tutorials. 13 UPLOADING: 1. Once you have activated your account by clicking on the link provided in the email that you received, go to www.cyberears.com and log in using your Login ID and password that you created. 2. After you have successfully logged into Cyberears, you will ...