CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1. Overview ............................................................................................................................................................. 2 1.2. System requirements .......................................................................................................................................... 2 1.3. Box contents ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 2. 3. INSTALLING THE HERCULES 16/12 FW RACK................................................................................ 3 OPTIMIZING YOUR SYSTEM .............................................................................................................. 5 6. THE HERCULES 16/12 FW CONTROL PANEL INTERFACE..........................................................16 7. USING THE RACK WITH AUDIO SOFTWARE.................................................................................19 8. 7.1. 7.2. 7.3. 7.4. 8.1. 8.2. 8.3. 8.4. TUTORIALS ........................................................................................................................................20 General points................................................................................................................................................... 19 Selecting the drivers to be used ........................................................................................................................ 19 Configuring the audio resolution........................................................................................................................ 20 Configuring the monitoring mode ...................................................................................................................... 20 Recording an instrument ................................................................................................................................... 20 Recording a MIDI sequence.............................................................................................................................. 23 Recording a guitar-bass-drums type of group ................................................................................................... 23 Recording a piece onto a DAT or MiniDisc........................................................................................................ 26 9. 10. 11. FUNCTIONAL DIAGRAM ...................................................................................................................27 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.........................................................................................................28 TECHNICAL SUPPORT......................................................................................................................29 11.1. Warranty information......................................................................................................................................... 29 11.2. Additional warranty provisions........................................................................................................................... 29 ESPAÑOL ITALIANO 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5. 6.6. 6.7. General points................................................................................................................................................... 16 Managing presets.............................................................................................................................................. 16 Advanced options.............................................................................................................................................. 16 Selecting the synchronization mode.................................................................................................................. 17 Configuring hardware monitoring ...................................................................................................................... 18 Configuring the analog inputs............................................................................................................................ 18 Configuring the analog outputs ......................................................................................................................... 18 NEDERLANDS 5.1. The analog inputs/outputs ................................................................................................................................. 10 5.1.1. General points..................................................................................................................................... 10 5.1.2. Switching from +4dBu to -10dBV ........................................................................................................ 10 5.1.3. Balanced/unbalanced signals.............................................................................................................. 10 5.1.4. The Neutrik inputs ............................................................................................................................... 11 5.2. The digital inputs/outputs .................................................................................................................................. 12 5.3. The MIDI inputs/outputs .................................................................................................................................... 12 5.4. Monitoring ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 5.4.1. Hardware ............................................................................................................................................ 13 5.4.2. With headphones ................................................................................................................................ 13 5.5. Synchronization................................................................................................................................................. 14 5.6. Multi-client......................................................................................................................................................... 14 5.7. Firmware updating ............................................................................................................................................ 15 DEUTSCH FRANÇAIS 4. 5. 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. 3.4. A LOOK AT THE HERCULES 16/12 FW RACK.................................................................................. 8 FUNCTIONALITY OVERVIEW ...........................................................................................................10 Preparing to store your audio data ...................................................................................................................... 5 Freeing up system resources .............................................................................................................................. 5 Recovering resources from the desktop.............................................................................................................. 6 Optimization ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 ENGLISH 2.1. Installing the drivers in Windows ......................................................................................................................... 3 2.2. Installing the applications .................................................................................................................................... 4 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Overview Hercules 16/12 FW is a high-quality FireWire audio and MIDI interface for PCs running Windows and for Macintosh computers. It offers 16 inputs and 12 outputs for a total of 28 simultaneous audio channels at an audio resolution of up to 24 bits and 96kHz. 16 independent inputs: 10 gold-plated balanced or unbalanced jack plugs, +4dBu and ­10dBV compatible 2 Neutrik combo connectors (XLR/TRS) 1 optical stereo S/PDIF I/O 1 coaxial stereo S/PDIF I/O 12 independent outputs: 8 gold-plated balanced or unbalanced jack plugs, +4dBu and ­10dBV compatible 1 optical stereo S/PDIF I/O 1 coaxial stereo S/PDIF I/O Hercules 16/12 FW is a rack with multiple inputs and outputs that can be connected to any computer's FireWire port using the supplied FireWire cable. PC 1.2. System requirements Microsoft Windows 2000 (SP4), XP (SP1A) Intel Pentium III/AMD Athlon 800MHz or compatible 128MB RAM (256MB recommended) CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive 10GB free hard disk space (UDMA compatibility recommended) Macintosh Macintosh OS X 10.3 G4/Power Macintosh 1GHz equipped with a FireWire port 256MB RAM (512MB recommended) CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive 10GB free hard disk space 1.3. Box contents Hercules 16/12 FW rack FireWire cable FireWire/mini DV adapter 2 brackets for attachment to a 19" 1U rack unit 4 rubber supports for stability and 6 screws to attach the brackets to the rack Power supply CD-ROM including drivers, electronic documentation and software suite User Manual 2/30 ­ User Manual 2. INSTALLING THE HERCULES 16/12 FW RACK Install the Hercules 16/12 FW drivers BEFORE connecting the rack to your computer's FireWire port for the first time. If you have already connected the rack without first having installed the drivers, switch off the rack and disconnect it, restart your computer and then follow the software installation procedure. Note: the screens and installation procedure may vary noticeably in relation to the procedure described in this manual. Since drivers and software are in a constant state of evolution, those provided on your installation CD-ROM may have been updated. Please visit our website now (www.hercules.com) to check whether this is the case and download the latest driver and software versions if necessary. 2.1. Installing the drivers in Windows - Insert the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. The installation menu appears automatically, displaying all of the options available. - Double-click My Computer. - Double-click the Hercules 16/12 FW CD-ROM icon. - Double-click Setup.exe, if necessary. - Click the Drivers button and follow the on-screen instructions. - Connect one end of the FireWire cable to your computer's FireWire port. If your computer has a mini DV FireWire port: - Connect the FireWire cable to the included FireWire/mini DV adapter. - Connect the other end of the FireWire cable to the FireWire 1394 port on the back face of the Hercules 16/12 FW rack. - Connect the 15V DC power supply's cable to the power plug on the back face of the Hercules 16/12 FW rack and plug the power supply into an electrical outlet. - Switch on the rack by pressing the Power switch on the front face. Windows will detect each of the 6 devices that make up your Hercules 16/12 FW rack in succession (Hercules 16/12 FW, Hercules 16/12 FW WDM Analog Audio Device, Hercules 16/12 FW WDM Optical S/PDIF Audio Device, Hercules 16/12 FW WDM Coax S/PDIF Audio Device, Hercules 16/12 FW GSIF, Hercules 16/12 FW MIDI). Repeat the procedure described below for each device. ESPAÑOL User Manual ­ 3/30 ITALIANO NEDERLANDS If the installation menu does not launch automatically: DEUTSCH FRANÇAIS ENGLISH The Found New Hardware Wizard dialog box appears and informs you that the system has detected a new device. - Click Next as many times as is necessary to launch the installation. A message regarding driver certification may appear onscreen. - Click Yes (Windows 2000) or Continue Anyway (Windows XP). - Click Finish to complete the installation. 2.2. Installing the applications - Insert the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. The installation menu appears automatically, displaying all of the options available. If the installation menu does not launch automatically: - Double-click My Computer. - Double-click the Hercules 16/12 FW CD-ROM icon. - Double-click Setup.exe, if necessary. - Select each of the elements you wish to install, and then follow the on-screen instructions. If you have interrupted the installation procedure, you can launch it again as follows: - Double-click My Computer. - Double-click the Hercules 16/12 FW CD-ROM icon. - Double-click Setup.exe, if necessary. 4/30 ­ User Manual 3. OPTIMIZING YOUR SYSTEM Digital audio processing takes up a good deal of your computer's resources. Your computer must therefore be perfectly optimized in order to record audio signals without any losses in quality. This section will help you to configure your Windows environment for optimal performance. Finally, you should defragment your hard disk drive(s) regularly in order to ...