User manual M-AUDIO BLACKBOX

IMPORTANT! Audio equipment should ALWAYS be powered up and down in a certain order. The power amp feeding your speakers should ALWAYS be turned on last and turned off first. If you turn other pieces of audio equipment on while they are connected to the powered speakers, loud transient pops will occur which can damage your hearing and your speakers. Always turn on all of your other audio devices that are connected to your powered speakers BEFORE you turn on your powered speakers. The same is true for turning things off. ALWAYS turn off your powered speakers BEFORE you turn off any other equipment connected to them. Following this simple rule will ensure that both your ears and your speakers will function normally for a long time to come. Hello From Roger Linn Thank you for purchasing the Black Box, a very exciting product created collaboratively by Roger Linn Design and the great folks at M-Audio. You may know of me from having invented the first digital drum machines in the 1980s, or from my MPC MIDI Production Center products with Akai in the 1990s. But you may not know that I'm also a guitarist, and my passion for guitar sound led to my more recent creation of the award-winning AdrenaLinn beat-synced guitar effects processor (www.rogerlinndesign.com.) Now I'm very proud to combine many of the best parts of AdrenaLinn with M-Audio's considerable expertise in computer-centric products. The result is the Black Box. What is the Black Box? It's a superb amp modeler combined with a unique effects processor that syncs to an internal drum machine. Plus, it's a complete digital audio interface to your computer. The beat-synced effects are the part I enjoy most: tremolo, flanging, delay--even looped sequences of filtered tones or arpeggiated notes and more--all playing in perfect sync to the beat or your recording software. I think you'll find--as others have--that the Black Box will lead you down a path of new musical ideas and headturning recordings. On behalf of all the creative minds at both M-Audio and Roger Linn Design, I'd like to welcome you to the brave new world of the Black Box. Introduction Thank you for choosing the M-Audio Black Box. The Black Box has been designed to inspire any guitarist by providing great-sounding amp models, drum loops and beat-synced effects. Using the convenience of USB, the Black Box is also a high-resolution 24bit/44.1kHz audio interface for your computer, complete with instrument input, microphone input and balanced analog outputs. Included WDM, ASIO II, and Core Audio drivers allow for easy setup with any Windows XP or Mac OS 10.3.7 or higher compatible recording application. As a stand-alone device, the Black Box is primarily a songwriting tool. However, the analog outputs or digital S/PDIF output can be used to send your guitar's processed signal to other recording devices. The main outputs can be used with powered monitors like the M-Audio BX5s and the headphone jack can be used with standard headphones. There are 12 amp models, 43 beat-synced effect types, an independent beat-synced delay effect and 99 different drumbeats to choose from. You can tap the tempo on the Black Box front panel or use an external momentary pedal like the M-Audio SP-1 to set up your rhythms. All of the effects automatically lock to the tempo of the drumbeat. This way, the sounds of your effects are always in perfect sync with the drums. A chromatic tuner is also included. Even if you are an experienced musician and digital recording enthusiast, we recommend you take a few moments to read through this owners' manual and familiarize yourself with the Black Box's features and operation. You may also want to refer to your audio software's documentation, to better understand how the Black Box's features are integrated with the audio program. Your experience and enjoyment of your Black Box will be greatly enhanced by a good working knowledge of your audio software. 3 English What's in the Box Your Black Box package contains the following: < < < < < < < Black Box CD-ROM containing driver software and user manual in PDF form. CD-ROM containing Ableton Live Lite 4 GTR and Pro Sessions Drum Loops Printed Quick Start Guide USB cable 9 Volt AC 1A Power Supply Mic stand mounting bracket with screws Minimum Computer System Requirements If you intend to use your Black Box as an audio interface with your computer, please make certain that your computer meets the minimum requirements below. See the "Driver Installation" section later in this manual for instructions on use of the Black Box with a computer. Windows < < < < Pentium III ­ 500 MHz or higher 128 MB RAM Windows XP (SP1) with DirectX 9.0b or higher Onboard USB connection The Black Box is not supported under Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME or Windows 2000. Mac OS < Macintosh G3/G4* 500 MHz or higher < OS X 10.3.7 or later, 512 MB RAM < Onboard USB connection or installed USB-interface PCI card *G3/G4 accelerator cards not supported Front Panel Connectors < Plug your headphones in to the jack with the headphone icon (11) < Plug your guitar into the Guitar Input jack (12) 4 < < < < < < < < < Plug dynamic microphones into the Mic input (1) Use the Balanced Outputs to connect to powered speakers or an analog mixer (2) Use a 75-ohm S/PDIF cable to record from the S/PDIF digital output (44.1kHz only) (3) Included, optional mic stand mounting hardware (4) Connect an expression pedal, like the M-Audio EX-P, to the Expression pedal jack to control functions like wah effects (5) Connect a momentary pedal, like the M-Audio SP-1, to the P1 (6) and/or P2 (7) jacks to control functions like Start/Stop (6) Connect the USB connection on the Black Box to your computer with the included USB cable (8) Only use the 9V AC 1000ma power supply included in the package. Using an improper power supply can damage your unit (9) Use a Kensington lock system with the Kensington lock slot to protect your unit from theft (10) Top Panel Tap Tempo Key (31) This key allows you to enter the tempo for the drum machine by tapping the tempo. As the effects are beat-synced to the drum machine, this also sets the tempo of the effects. The drums do not need to be playing for the effects to lock to the tempo. Amp Key (22) Pressing the AMP key brings up the four AMP menus in the LCD; Amp Select, Amp Drive, Amp Bass and Amp Treble. The rotary control under each menu parameter in the LCD allows you to change the parameter value. Holding the AMP key down for 1/2 second will turn the amp effect off. AMP OFF will be displayed in the LCD. Holding the AMP key down for 1/2 second again will turn the amp effect back on, and AMP OFF will disappear from the LCD display. 5 English Rear Panel Connectors FX Key (24) Pressing the FX key brings up the four Effects menus in the LCD; Effect Select, FX Speed/FX Frequency, FX Depth/FX Key and FX Wet/ Dry mix. The rotary control under each menu parameter in the LCD allows you to change the parameter value. Holding the FX key down for 1/2 second will turn the effect off. FX OFF will display in the LCD. Holding the FX key down for 1/2 second again will turn the effect back on, and FX OFF will disappear from the LCD display. (When both the Amp and FX keys are pressed simultaneously, the Compare function is activated. COMPARE will be displayed in the LCD. This allows you to hear the sound and see the settings of the preset before you edited any of the values. Press the Amp and FX keys simultaneously again to exit the Compare function.) COMPARE will disappear from the LCD display. Delay Key (26) Pressing the Delay key brings up the four Delay menus in the LCD; Delay Time, Delay Repeats, Delay Volume and Drums to Delay and Filter. The rotary control under each menu parameter in the LCD allows you to change the parameter value. Holding the Delay key down for 1/2 second will turn the amp Delay effect off. DLY OFF will display in the LCD. Holding the Delay key down for 1/2 second again will turn the Delay effect back on. DLY OFF will disappear from the LCD display. Utility Key (28) Pressing the Utility key brings up the four Utility menus in the LCD; Preset Volume, Guitar/Drums Mix Balance, Expression and Momentary Pedal Assign and Tempo. The rotary control under each menu parameter in the LCD allows you to change the parameter value. When both the Delay and Utility keys are quickly pressed simultaneously, the Tuner function is activated. TUNER will be displayed on the LCD along with the note value of the currently played string. Quickly press the Delay and Utility keys simultaneously again to exit the Tuner function. TUNER will disappear from the LCD display. The Start/Stop Key (32) Will start and stop the drum machine. When in play mode, the tempo LED will blink at the current tempo. When in stop mode, the LED will be dark. Rotary Controls (13) These are used to change the parameter values. They are also used to name presets. When a parameter value has been changed, EDIT will blink in the LCD display and PARAMETER will be displayed. This is a reminder that you must store any changes to keep them. If the changes are not stored and another preset is loaded, the previous preset will revert to its stored settings. LCD Display (33) All presets, parameters and values are displayed in the LCD. Mic Input Controls The mic input knob (17) boosts the level of the mic input signal. The green Signal LED (21) will light when a detectable threshold input level is reached. The red Clip LED (20) will light if the input signal is too hot. The best input signal level is achieved when the green LED is solid and the red LED only blinks occasionally. Input/Playback Knob (16) This knob is used when recording into a multi-track recording application or DAW via USB. It is a ratio control you can use to balance how much input signal you hear versus how much playback signal you hear from the DAW. When you are overdubbing tracks, you'll need to hear previously recorded tracks or a click track to play along with as well as your input signal. Adjust this control to fit your needs. When you are mixing down a song, this knob should be turned all the way to the right as you will not need to hear any input signals while mixing. Output Level (15) This is your volume knob. It controls the level sent to the Main Outputs as well as the headphones. Guitar Input Controls (14) The guitar input knob boosts the level of the guitar input signal. The green Signal LED (19) will light when a detectable threshold input level is reached. The red Clip LED (18) will light if the input signal is too hot. The best input signal level is achieved when the green LED is solid and the red LED only blinks occasionally. Operation of the Black Box is primarily accomplished by changing presets and drumbeats. Presets A preset is a unique combination of all the settings that affect the guitar sound, including guitar amp models, effects and delay. There are 100 fixed factory presets (0-99) and 100 editable user presets (0-99). To change between presets, press the Preset Increment (Up arrow) and Preset Decrement (Down arrow) keys. The 100 user presets follow the 100 factory presets. The active preset number and 6-character name will always appear after a preset is selected. To edit the settings that comprise a preset, you'll use the AMP, FX, DELAY and UTIL buttons. When one of these buttons is pressed, the lower part of the display will show 4 names. These are the functions of the 4 rotary controls below the display. For example, when 6 you press AMP, the 4 rotary controls will have the functions AMP, DRIVE, AMP BASS and AMP TREBLE. Drumbeats A drumbeat is a unique rhythmic drum pattern. There are 100 drumbeats numbered 0 to 99. To change between drumbeats, press the Drumbeat Increment and Drumbeat Decrement keys. The active drumbeat number and name will appear after it is selected, and remain in the display for 1.5 seconds. After that, the display will revert to what it was showing previously. To view the active drumbeat, press both buttons simultaneously and the active drumbeat number and name will appear for 1.5 seconds. Below is a list of all the drumbeat names. Editing the Parameters of the Black Box Editing the Amp The Black Box has 12 different amp models for you to choose from: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 FBSMAN . . . . . . . . . . . Fender Bassman FDELUX . . . . . . . . . . . . Fender Deluxe Reverb FTWINR . . . . . . . . . . . . Fender Twin BRTCLN . . . . . . . . . . . . Vox AC 30 BRTRCK . . . . . . . . . . . . Marshall JTM-45 BRTPLX . . . . . . . . . . . . Marshall Plexi JMP-50 BRTHVY . . . . . . . . . . . . Marshall JCM-2000 MAVRIC . . . . . . . . . . . . Mesa Boogie Maverick HYWTT . . . . . . . . . . . . HiWatt DR103 LAMOD . . . . . . . . . . . . Soldano SLO 100 USMETL . . . . . . . . . . . . Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier UBER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bogner Uberschall 7 English Adjusting the Amp When you press AMP, the 4 rotary controls will show the functions AMP, DRIVE, AMP BASS and AMP TREBLE in the bottom of the LCD: Amp This knob (#1) is used to select one of 12 guitar amplifier simulations. Amp Drive This knob (#2) changes the Amp Drive (0-99) will affect the amount of distortion in the signal. The Black Box has "tons" of gain. If you're trying to dial in a very heavy tone, start with a setting of (20) and go higher until you find what you're looking for. Amp Bass This knob (#3) lets you control the amount of low frequency signal for the selected amp. Amp Treble This knob (#4) lets you control the amount of high frequency signal for the selected amp. Amp Descriptions This section describes the sound of the Amp models in the Black Box. Fender Bassman (6L6) FBSMAN This is what's known as the "Tweed Tone." This classic from 1959 has been popular ever since it was released, and is a favorite among country and blues players. As it had four 10" speakers and 50 watts, it had more bite than the 100 watt, 2x12 Twin. Fender Deluxe Reverb (6L6) FDELUX You can think of the Deluxe as half of a Twin. It uses only one twelve- inch speaker with 50 watts. This amp has a much brighter, cutting sound than the Twin. This amp also breaks up nicely because of its lower wattage. Fender Twin (6L6) FTWINR This is probably the most popular Fender amplifier of all time. This is the clean tone that all other amps are judged by. It has a very unique, round sound to it. With 100 watts and 2 twelve-inch speakers, this amp does not break up very easily, which is great when you want a very loud, clean sound. Vox AC-30TB (EL-84) BRTCLN ECC82 ECC83 preamp tubes, GZ34 rectifier tube and four EL84 tubes. Vox amps were popular with little known bands like the Beatles and Queen. They have a great clean sound with a much different character than Fender amps. They also break up very nicely. Marshall JTM-45 (5881) BRTRCK This is the very first amp that Marshall released in 1962. It had 30 watts of power using 5881 tubes and a GZ-34 rectifier tube. It was actually modeled after a Fender Bassman, however you'll find that it sounds quite different. Marshall JMP-50 (EL-34) BRTPLX The switch was made from 5881 tubes to EL-34s in the power amp. On the preamp it comes with three 12AX7 pre amp tubes. The tube rectifier was changed to a silicon rectifier. It does not really have two channels, rather one is a normal input and the other is a treble boosted channel. The popular thing to do was to jump inputs 1 and 2 together with a small cable for more gain. This is the classic Marshall sound. Marshall JCM-2000 (EL-34) BRTHVY One of the reasons that the JCM-800 was so popular is because all of the big name players who used them had them modified for more gain. The JCM-2000 added the same modifications from the factory. This is the first real high gain amp from Marshall. Mesa Boogie Maverick (EL-84) MAVRIC This is a pure Class A, 35-watt amp with a GZ34 tube rectifier. It has a very smooth, compressed tone. It has a lot of great highmid range frequencies and very little low end, which makes it great for solos. This one sounds great both with very little gain and with tons of gain. Hiwatt DR103 (EL-34) HYWTT Dave Reeve's released this Hiwatt classic around 1967. These amps were all hand made, thus only about 40 amps a month could be released. So these amps are not quite as well known as Marshalls. The Who's Pete Townsend and Pink Floyd's David Gilmore created some classic songs with their Hiwatt amps. Our model is of the "Brilliant" (lead) channel. It's been said that "Marshall amps want to be Hiwatts when they grow up." 8 Soldano SLO 100 (5881) LAMOD Michael Soldano has modified amplifiers for some of the biggest names in the industry. In 1987 he released the SLO 100. SLO (Super Lead Overdrive.) This is one of those boutique amplifiers that a major artist will use on stage and in the studio even though they're endorsed by a bigger name amp company that pays them a lot of money to use that artist's name. This is known as one of the best sounding high gain amps of all time. Mesa Dual Rectifier (6L6) USMETL Class A/B tube rectifier. This is the amp that turned all of the Marshall metal players into Mesa Boogie metal players. Even AC/DC switched after using Marshall for over 20 years! With its Ford bumper cover armor and extremely high gain sound, it became the industry standard heavy metal amp almost overnight. Bogner Uberschall (EL-34) UBER This amp has a very unique, thick tone to it. It has a focused low-midrange sound. This amp sounds huge even with low amounts of gain. Reinhold Bogner had been designing and building amplifiers long before leaving Germany in 1989. Van Halen entrusted Reinhold to overhaul and revitalize Eddies #1 Marshall Plexi, Eddie was pleased. BOGNER AMPLIFICATION was born. Editing Effects The Black Box has 43 different effects for you to choose from: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. TREM1 TREM2 FTREM1 FTREM2 FLANG1 FLANG2 CHORS1 CHORS2 RNFI 8 RNFI8T RNFI16 RNFL 8 RNFL8T RNFL16 TRMSQ1 TRMSQ2 TRMSQ3 TRMSQ4 TRMSQ5 TRMSQ6 FLTSQ1 FLTSQ2 FLTSQ3 FLTSQ4 FLTSQ5 FLTSQ6 ARPEG1 ARPEG2 ARPEG3 Tremolo 1 Tremolo 2 Filter Tremolo 1 Filter Tremolo 2 Flanger 1 Flanger 2 Chorus 1 Chorus 2 Random Filter 1/8 notes Random Filter 1/8 triplets Random Filter 1/16 notes Random Flanger 1/8 notes Random Flanger 1/8 triplets Random Flanger 1/16 notes Tremolo Sequence 1 Tremolo Sequence 2 Tremolo Sequence 3 Tremolo Sequence 4 Tremolo Sequence 5 Tremolo Sequence 6 Filter Sequence 1 Filter Sequence 2 Filter Sequence 3 Filter Sequence 4 Filter Sequence 5 Filter Sequence 6 Arpeggiator 1 Arpeggiator 2 Arpeggiator 3 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42 43. ARPEG4 ARPEG5 ARPEG6 ATOWA1 ATOWA2 WAHPDL TKBOX1 TKBOX2 MVE2FI MNT2FI MMD2FI MVE2FL MNT2FL MMD2F Arpeggiator 4 Arpeggiator 5 Arpeggiator 6 Auto wah 1 Auto wah 2 Wah Pedal Talk box 1 Talk box 2 MIDI velocity to filter MIDI note to filter MIDI mod (5 controllers) to filter MIDI velocity to flanger MIDI note to flanger MIDI mod (5 controllers) to flanger Effects 1-32 are normally beat-synced to the internal drum machine tempo and can also lock to incoming MIDI Clock tempo. This assures that your effects are always in perfect time with the drum machine or your DAW session. 9 English The left rotary control is used to select the desired Effect from the above list. Once selected, this effect can be modified with 3 additional controls: < Rotary control 2: Speed or Frequency < Rotary control 3: Depth or Key < Rotary control 4: Wet/Dry Mix Here's a description of each of these controls: Speed Adjusts range from 0-99 (fixed speeds of .1 second through 10 cycles per second) followed by 16 beat-synced values: 8M 4M 2M 2Mt 1M 1M 2 2 8 measures 4 measures 2 measures One cycle every 2 whole note triplets 1 measure One cycle every whole note triplet 1/2 note 1/2 note triplet 4 4 8 8 16 16 32 32 1/4 note 1/4 note triplet 1/8 note 1/8 note triplet 1/16 note 1/16 note triplet 1/32 note 1/32 note triplet When Filter Tremolo, Random Filter or Filter Sequence effects are engaged, FX FREQ (Frequency) will control the "brightness" of the effect. "0" is the lowest frequency setting, which creates a deep tone. The highest setting is "99" which creates a very bright tone. FX Depth The FX Depth parameter is treated differently. ­99 is the maximum negative modulation. 0 is no modulation. 99 is the maximum positive modulation value. When the Arpeggiator effect (ARPEG) is selected, The FX Key parameter value will allow you to transpose the arpeggio sequence to a different musical key in semitone steps from 0 to 99. Settings of 0, 12, 24, 36, etc., are different octaves in the key of E. Most of the included sequences are set by default to 24, which is the key of E at an octave that is not too low and not too high. To transpose the sequence, change this value up or down by the number of semitones you which to transpose. For example, if the value is 24 (key of E) and you wish to transpose the arpeggiator sequence up to A, change the Key value from 24 to 29 (5 semitones). FX Wet/Dry This controls the amount of dry amp model sound you hear versus how much of the effect sound you hear. 0 is full dry amp signal with no effect (effect is bypassed) and 99 is full effect with no dry amp signal. A setting of 50 will result in an even balance between the effect and dry amp signal. Effect Descriptions This section will describe the effects in the Black Box. You'll find that the Black Box has some very unique effects that you will not find in other effect processors. To get the true feel of the effects, it is recommended that you audition them while the drum machine is on. This will allow you to fully appreciate the beat-sync feature. An effect by itself may sound interesting, but that same effect heard beat-synced to the drums suddenly becomes inspiring. Remember that your effect sounds are totally dependent upon your Wet/Dry mix setting. This is set per preset allowing you great flexibility. Keep the Wet/Dry value to at least (70) until you become familiar with the sounds. Simply play open chords at first to get the full sound of the effect. The MIDI effects permit various MIDI messages (note number, note velocity or controller) to alter the frequency of either the internal bandpass filter (wah wah) or resonant flanger (also useful for arpeggiator effects). For example, you could use a computer sequencer to record your own custom filter or arpeggiator sequences. The Black Box's effects will then follow this sequence as you play along with your composition. These effects are for MIDI geeks only (you know who you are) and some fantastic sounds can be created using these tools. 10 Tremolo This is a classic effect where the volume pulses up and down slightly at a selected speed. With a slow speed (8N) and low depth (30) you can achieve a nice mellow effect that can give a guitar track some character. With a high speed (16N) setting and a full depth setting (99) you can get an extreme machine-gun sound. There are two different Tremolo effects to choose from--normal tremolo and "pulse" tremolo, in which the sound is switched fully on or off instead of a gradually pulsing. Filter Tremolo This is similar to a standard tremolo, except rather than the volume pulsing up and down, the filter frequency (tone) will pulse, sounding similar to a wah-wah pedal automatically rocking back and forth. Try 1/4 note triplets (4T) with a depth of (40) for a cool sound. There are two filter tremolo effects to choose from. Flanger Flanging imparts a whooshing, "jet airplane" sound that slowly cycles up and down over time. Try a speed of two measures (2M) and a Depth of (-4). This will give you a long sweeping flange over two measures. There are two Flanger effects to choose from. Chorus This effect adds a subtle doubling effect to your sound. With a speed of one measure (1M) and a depth of (4) you'll get a nice, mellow chorus sound. Extreme settings like (8N) with a depth of (99) will make you seasick! There are two chorus effects to choose from. Random Filter In this effect, the instrument tone changes to a randomly chosen filter frequency at every new 1/8, 1/8 triplet or 1/16 note. The Frequency parameter allows you to set a base frequency value. The Depth parameter determines how far above and below the base frequency the random frequencies will be. For tempo settings of 110BPM or less, try the (16N) effect. For tempo settings above 110BPM, try the (8) or (8T) effect. A depth setting of (15) is good for both. There are three different Random Filter effects to choose from: 8 (1/8 notes), 8T (1/8 note triplets) and 16 (1/16 notes). Random Flanger This effect is similar to the classic Flanger effect except that instead of slowly sweeping up and down, it generates a new, random flanger tone at every 1/8, 1/8 triplet or 1/16 note. The Frequency parameter allows you to set a base frequency value. The Depth parameter determines how far above and below the base frequency the random flanger frequencies will be. For tempo settings of 110BPM or less, try the (16) effect. For tempo settings above 110BPM, try the (8) or (8T) effect. A depth setting of (15) is good for both. There are three different random flanger effects to choose from: 8 (1/8 notes), 8T (1/8 note triplets) and 16 (1/16 notes). Tremolo Sequence Similar to the classic Tremolo effect, but here the volume pulses in pre-programmed two-measure looping rhythmic patterns. There is no speed control for this effect as is simply follows the current tempo or incoming MIDI Clock. The depth should be set at (99) for best results. There are six different Tremolo Sequence effects, using 6 different sequences. At first, try holding sustained chords in time to the drumbeat in order to get the best effect. Filter Sequence This is one of the effects that really makes the Black Box unique. You'll probably be writing a new song based around this sound within minutes of trying it. In this effect, your instrument tone changes in two-measure looping rhythmic patterns of filter tones. As with the Tremolo Sequences, try playing sustained chords at first in order to get a feel for how the rhythm of the sequences best complements your playing. There are six different Filter Sequence effects for you to try, each with a unique pre-programmed filter sequence. Instead of a Speed control, this effect has a "Frequency" control. You can think of Frequency as a "brightness" control. Lower values create a deeper tone while higher values create a brighter tone. Try a setting of about (15) to start with. Higher depth settings (about 60 to 99) produce best results. There are 6 different filter sequence effects to choose from. 11 English Arpeggiator This effect definitely pushes the weird/cool meter to the limit. It accentuates specific musical notes in two-measure patterns. Even if you play muted strings on the guitar, you'll still hear the generated note sequence because the sequence's notes are actually generated in response to your playing. This effect from Roger Linn Design's AdrenaLinn was used on John Mayer's 2003 hit "Bigger Than My Body." The note sequence is fixed and does not change depending on what you play, however you can transpose it up or down. You can choose from six different Arpeggiator effects, each with a different pre-programmed note sequence, all in the key of E by default. There is no speed control for this effect as it simply follows the current tempo or incoming MIDI Clock. Instead of a Depth control, this effect has a "FX Key" control, which allows you to transpose the sequence to a different musical key from its normal key of "E." Changing the Key value transposes the arpeggio sequence in semi-tone steps numbered 0 to 99. Simply change the Key value up or down to transpose the sequence to match your song. For example, the normal Key value for a sequence in the key of "E" is usually 24; to transpose 3 semitones up to "G, change the value from 24 to 27. The Arpeggiator will also react to MIDI note values, which will transpose the key of the sequence in real time. Auto Wah Also known as envelope wah, this effect simulates, for example, a wah pedal that automatically rocks back and forth each time a new note is played. Because of this automatic rocking back and fourth, you can achieve an affect that is simply not possible with a standard wah pedal. A perfect example of this effect can be heard on the guitar solo in Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians' song "What I am." Instead of a Speed control, this effect has a "Frequency" control. You can think of Frequency as a "brightness" control. Lower values create a deeper tone while higher values create a brighter tone. Try a setting of about (35). The depth should be set at (99) for best results. There are two different Auto Wah effects to choose from: 1) the wah frequency closely follows your note volume as it is picked and decays, and 2) picking the note starts the wah frequency to slowly rise then fall at fixed rates, and rise higher if you pick harder. Wah Pedal The "wah" pedal has been around since the early 60's. The wah pedal uses a bandpass filter that exhibits a resonant peak at its bandpass frequency. The resonant peak can be moved up and down in frequency by the player, and this makes for a striking emulation of the human voice making a "waaaah" sound. A standard wah pedal has an on/off switch at the toe position. As expression pedals have no such on/off function, a momentary foot switch connected to the rear panel must be used to turn the wah effect on and off. Talk Box This simulates the classic talk box effect made popular by Peter Frampton's song "Show Me the Way" and later by Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer." Originally, this effect was generated by a device that piped the instrument's sound into your mouth via a plastic tube. Moving your mouth as you played added vocal characteristic to the sound, which was picked up by a mic. This simulation doesn't generate specific words, but it does replicate a variety of mouth movements--without making you choke on a plastic tube. There is no speed control for this effect, as it will follow the current tempo or incoming MIDI Clock. The depth should be set at (40) for best results. There are two different talk box effects to choose from. MIDI Velocity to Filter In this effect, a bandpass filter is used with incoming MIDI velocity modulating the filter frequency. For example, if you record a MIDI track into a sequencer by simply pressing a keyboard key over and over at different velocity values, then play that MIDI track back to the Black Box while you play guitar, the filter frequency will change proportionally to the note velocities you played. This allows you to create your own custom filter sequences. MIDI Note to Filter In this effect, a bandpass filter is used with incoming MIDI note values modulating the filter frequency. For example, if you record a MIDI piano track in your sequencer and play that track in to the Black Box as you play guitar, the filter frequency will match the frequency of the notes played by the sequencer. MIDI Modulation to Filter In this effect, a bandpass filter is used with incoming MIDI controller values modulating the filter frequency. The filter will respond to controller numbers 1 (mod wheel), 11, 16, 70 and 74. MIDI Velocity to Flanger In this effect, a flanger is used with incoming MIDI velocity modulating the flanger delay. For example, if you record a MIDI track into a sequencer by simply pressing a keyboard key over and over at different velocity values, then play that MIDI track back to the Black Box while you play guitar, the flanger tone will change proportionally to those velocity values. 12 MIDI Note to Flanger English In this effect, a flanger is used with incoming MIDI note values modulating the flanger delay. For example, if you record a MIDI piano track into a sequencer and play that track in to the Black Box as you play guitar, the flanger tone will match the frequency of the notes played by the sequencer. This allows you to create your own custom arpeggiating flanger sequences. MIDI Modulation to Flanger In this effect, a flanger is used with incoming MIDI controller values modulating the flanger delay. The flanger will respond to controller numbers 1 (mod wheel), 11, 16, 70 and 74. You can also use the Expression pedal to control the effects of your MIDI Preset parameters in the place of using a MIDI Keyboard. Editing the Delay The Black Box has a dedicated Delay effect. Push the Delay menu key to bring up the four Delay menus; Delay Time, Delay Repeats, Delay Volume and Drums to Delay/Input. The delay time can be fixed or beat-synced to the internal drum machine or incoming MIDI Clock. Delay Time This parameter value sets the time between your original signal and the delayed signal. This is where the Black Box differs from other delay effects. Most delay effects make you set delay time in milliseconds (ms). This is useful and the Black Box can do this too. However, it is nearly impossible to try to make a (ms) setting match the tempo of your song. On the Black Box you simply set the delay time using note values. Try a half note (2N) for starters or dotted 1/8 notes (8D) for a great syncopated effect. This is the beauty of beat-synced effects. The delay time settings are: 0-10: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-100 millisecond delay in increments of 10 ms each) 10-99: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 ms to 2.7 seconds delay in 30 ms increments. 2M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 measures (Uses `1M' below 172 BPM, `2n' below 86 BPM and `4n' below 43 BPM) 2MT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 `measure triplets' (3 delays in 4 measures. Uses `1Mt' below 115 BPM and `2t' below 58 BPM) 1Md . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dotted whole note (1.5 measures. Uses `2d' below 129 BPM and 4d below 65) 1M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 measure (Uses `2n' below 86 BPM and `4n' below 43 BPM) 1MT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 `measure triplet' (3 delays in 2 measures. Uses `2t' below 58 BPM) 2D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dotted 1/2 note (1/2 note + 50%. Uses `4d' below 65 BPM) 2N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/2 note (Uses `4n' below 43 BPM) 2T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/2 note triplet (3 delays in 1 measure) 4D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dotted 1/4 note (1/4 note + 50%) 4N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/4 note 4T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/4 note triplet (3 delays in a 1/2 note) 8D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dotted 1/8 note (1/8 note + 50%) 8N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/8 note 8T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/8 note triplet (3 delays in a 1/4 note) 16D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dotted 1/16 note (1/16 note + 50%) 16N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/16 note 16T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/16 note triplet (3 delays in an 1/8 note) 32N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/32 note 32T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/32 note triplet (3 delays in a 1/16 note) Delay Repeats This parameter value sets the amount of repeats in your delayed signal. Lower settings have fewer repeats, while higher settings have more repeats. Sometimes too many repeats can get in the way of an up-tempo song. However slower tempo pieces can sometimes benefit from many repeats. Try a setting of (25) for starters. Delay Volume This parameter value simply sets how loud the delayed signal is compared to your original signal. Normally you would want your delay signal to be equal to (99) or less then your original signal. This is simply a matter of taste. Try a setting of (50) for starters. 13 Drums to Delay/Input This is a special feature that allows you to send the Drum machine signal into the Delay effect or directly into the input path of the Black Box. The whole idea here is to create interesting drum sounds. Since you can record the output of the DSP via USB, S/PDIF or the analog outputs, you can now also create a custom drum loop library based on drum sounds created with the Black Box. The parameter value can be set to "DLY 00" to "DLY 99" for delay. The higher the number, the more delayed drum signal you will hear along with your original drum sound. You can always turn the Delay effect OFF to quickly hear the difference between the dry sound and the delayed sound. This parameter can also be used to send the drums signal to the input of the amp modeling, effects and delay signal chain, just like the guitar input. To do this, turn the rotary control past the 100 delay settings for another 100 settings: "INP 00" to "INP 99." Again, since the effects are beat-synced to the drum machine, all of the effects stay in perfect time. You can get some truly new and inspiring drum sounds. This is something that you can experiment with for years! Adjusting the Utilities Pressing the UTIL key brings up the four Utility menus in the LCD: Preset Volume This controls the amp output level of the amp model per preset and will have no effect is the amp processing is bypassed. Guitar/Drums Mix Balance This controls the relative balance between the guitar and drum signals. This is a global parameter, meaning that it stays where you set it even after you change presets. A setting of P50 will only provide guitar sound. A setting of D50 will only provide drum sounds. Any setting in between will play a combination of both. A middle setting of EQU means that the output of the drums is equal in volume to the output of the guitar effect. A setting of SEP means the drum signal will come out of one output, while the guitar effect signal will come out of the other. Expression Pedal Assign This allows you to assign the function of the expression pedal. (For more information please refer to "How to assign expression pedal functions" below.) Tempo This allows you to view and manually set a specific tempo value rather then using the tap-tempo feature. How to Assign Expression Pedal Functions The Black Box has three pedal connections on the back panel. One is for an expression pedal and the two others are for momentary foot switch pedals. An expression pedal has a range of travel from one extreme to another, passing many other values in between, like a wah-wah pedal. In contrast, a momentary pedal is a simple, two-position switch: Open or Closed, On or Off, like a distortion pedal. We recommend using the M-Audio EX-P expression pedal with the Black Box. The expression pedal must be connected when the Black Box is powered up in order for it to work. Press the Utility key and use the third rotary control under EXP PEDAL on the LCD to assign a function to the expression pedal. Many expression pedals, including the M-Audio EX-P, have a level control. This level controls needs to be turned all the way up for the expression pedal to have maximum effect. Turning the knob down limits the lowest value of the parameter you are controlling. For example if you are controlling the Amp Drive value and the pedals level control is all the way up, the value of the Amp Drive will be zero when the pedal is at the heel position. If you're trying to achieve a rhythm gain and lead gain with the pedal, turn the pedals level control down until the Amp Gain value is where you want it for the rhythm gain setting with the pedal at the heel position. Expression Pedal Settings: Amp Drive (AmpDrv) The pedal acts as an attenuator right after the drive parameter, varying the signal level from Off up to the current drive setting. FX Speed (FXSped) If your current setting is tempo-based, the pedal will range from -2 to +2, limited to the extent of allowed tempo-based settings; if the current setting is number-based, the pedal ranges from halfway between 0 and current setting to halfway between current setting and 99. FX Frequency (FXFreq) Pedal range is -30 to +30 of current panel setting. 14 FX Key (FXKey) Range is from current setting to +7 semitones. FX Wet/Dry (FX WetDry) Pedal movement replaces panel parameter and has range of 0-99. Delay Volume (DlyVol) Pedal range is from 0 to current setting. Delay Repeats (DlyRpt) Pedal movement replaces panel parameter and has range of 0-99. Drums to Delay (Dm2Dly) Pedal movement replaces panel parameter and has range of D0-D99, the first half of the parameter's range. Drums to Filter (Dm2Flt) Pedal movement replaces panel parameter and has range of F0-F99, the second half of the parameter's range. Assigning Momentary Pedal Settings Two momentary pedals may be connected to the Black Box. These pedals can perform the same functions as the keys on the left side of the Black Box (The only key that does not function this way is the UTILITY key). To assign these pedals, simply step on the pedal you wish to assign and hold it down while you press and hold down one of the keys on the left side of the Black Box for one second, then let up on the pedal. We recommend using the M-Audio SP-1 momentary pedal with the Black Box. Examples: < While pressing down on the pedal plugged into P1, press the TAP TEMPO key on the unit and release the pedal. The pedal plugged into the P1 jack will now allow you to tap the tempo of the drum machine with your foot. < While pressing down on the pedal plugged into P2, press the START key on the unit and release the pedal. The pedal plugged into the P2 jack will now allow you to start and stop the drum machine with your foot. < While pressing down on the pedal plugged into P1, press the DELAY key on the unit and release the pedal. The pedal plugged into the P1 jack will now allow you to turn the Delay effect on/off with your foot. The following parameter values function can also be assigned to a momentary pedal: < Preset Increment/Decrement < Drum preset Increment/Decrement < Tap Tempo < Drum Machine Start/Stop < Amp On/Off < FX On/Off < Delay On/Off < Tuner On/Off Tuner Function Tuner Function When both the Delay and Utility keys are quickly pressed simultaneously, the Tuner function is activated. TUNER will be displayed on the LCD along with the note value of the currently played string. Quickly press the Delay and Utility keys simultaneously again to exit the Tuner function. TUNER will disappear from the LCD display. How to Store and Name a Preset When browsing presets, the PRESET icon will be displayed along with the USER icon (if a user preset is selected). The preset name will also be shown in the LCD. Any time a change is made to a preset, the EDIT icon will display letting you know that you must store the change if you wish to keep the changes. To engage the STORE function, quickly tap both the PRESET Increment and Decrement keys simultaneously. When the store function is engaged the preset number icon will blink and the first three 14-segment characters will blink. To rename the preset, turn the first three encoders to change the values of the first three characters. Available characters are: A-Z and 0-9. The fourth encoder is used to select the first three or the last three characters. Turning the encoder to the left selects the first three characters. Turning the encoder to the right selects the last three characters. You can then use the Preset Increment and Decrement keys to select a different preset number to store to. If a factory preset was being edited, the correlating user preset 15 English FX Depth (FXDpth) Pedal range is from 0 to current setting (positive or negative) name and number will be displayed. When the PRESET Increment and Decrement keys are quickly taped again, all of the current values will be stored to the newly selected user preset, and the preset number icon will stop blinking. The newly written preset will now be loaded. Connecting your Hardware to the Computer The Black Box is a class-compliant device for both Windows XP (SP-1) and Mac OS 10.3.7 and above. "Class-Compliant" means that there is no need to install M-Audio software drivers on your computer in order to achieve minimum functionality. Minimum functionality means that you will be able to record the processed guitar sound in most standard DAW applications, including Ableton Live Lite 4 GTR. However, without the drivers installed, the DAW will not have access to the dry guitar or the XLR mic input, nor will your unit be able to lock to MIDI Clock from a DAW. You will also not be able to save and load presets to your computer, as this is a function of the Black Box control panel. You will also not be able to update the firmware of your unit. You can always start by running the unit as a class-compliant device and then install the drivers later to obtain these other features if you need them. However, be sure that your Black Box is not connected to your computer via USB when you begin to install the drivers. To start using the Black Box as a class-compliant device simply power the unit on and connect it to your computer via USB. Windows XP Setup In your Windows XP control panel, double-click on the Sounds and Audio Devices icon. You should see the screen below. If the Black Box does not show up automatically, use the drop-down menus to select it. If the device is not available, restart your computer and try again. Mac OS X Setup On the Mac, open Audio MIDI Setup in your Applications > Utilities folder. You should see the screen below. If the Black Box does not show up automatically, use the drop-down menus to select it. If the device is not available, restart your computer and try again. 16 As a stand-alone device, the Black Box does not require a computer in any way. Many users may never hook their Black Box up to a computer and be perfectly happy with it. For those of you who wish to use the audio/MIDI interface features of your unit...read on. Latency One of the major issues that people often experience with computer-based recording is latency. Latency is defined by the time it takes from the moment you play a note until the time your computer records this note and plays that note back to you. It may come as a surprise to you that there can be a substantial delay between the time you play that note and the time your hear that note. The amount of delay (latency) you may experience depends on many things: the speed of your computer, your operating system and your audio hardware. Even settings in your software application can make a difference. Additionally, using plug-ins can increase latency. When recording guitar parts on a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), some people will use plug-ins. These are software-based effects processors that can be inserted into your dry input signal. Many plug-ins can sound very good. However, using plug-ins also adds even more latency. It comes down to the fact that if you can't hear your guitar sound at the exact moment you play it, you cannot possibly play in time with the rest of the tracks. You'll be happy to know that you don't have to worry about ANY of this silliness using the Black Box. When recording with the Black Box, you are ALWAYS monitoring your guitar sound in real time. There is no delay whatsoever. You are NOT input-monitoring the track you are recording. You are monitoring the DSP sound output of the Black Box. Simply set the Input/Playback knob on the unit to 12 O'clock (right in the middle), MUTE the track in your sequencer that you are recording on, and adjust the Output level to taste. When you are done recording that track, turn the mute off. Turn the mute ON for the next track you wish to record. When you start recording a new track at the beginning of the song again, now you will hear your previous track along with the input of the sound you are recording on the new track. If you find that you need to hear more of the input signal or the playback signal, simply adjust the Input/Playback knob. Even when using the Black Box as a class-compliant device, you will never experience any latency when you record. MIDI Clock One of the coolest features of the Black Box is the fact that the effects are beat-synced to the internal drum machine. However, if you install the Black Box drivers on your computer, the drum machine and beat-synced effects can also lock to incoming MIDI Clock from the DAW via USB. This way, if you set your session tempo to 135 BPM, the internal drum machine and beat-synced effects on the Black Box will also follow that tempo. There are a few settings that must be made to make this happen. On the Effects & MIDI tab of the Black Box control panel, you must change the timing source to External MIDI Beat Clock. Then, in your DAW software, you must tell it to send MIDI Beat Clock to the Black Box. For example, in Live Lite 4 GTR, select PREFERENCES and then click on the MIDI/SYNC page. In your Active Devices area, check Black Box as OUTPUT. In the Sync area, select MIDI CLOCK, and under Output, select Black Box. Now, the drum machine and the beat-synced effects will follow the tempo you have set in Live. When you click on Play in Live, the drum machine will automatically begin to play and the tempo LED on the Black Box will blink to the incoming tempo. If you don't wish to hear the drum machine and only wish to clock the beat-synced effects, press the Utility key on the Black Box, then change the GTR/DRM BAL parameter to P50. Now only the effects will be heard. 17 English Using the Black Box with the Computer Driver Installation Windows XP NOTE: Do NOT connect the Black Box to your computer until you have run the installer application. Insert the Black Box driver CD-ROM into your computer. If your computer's "Autoplay" function is on, an M-Audio menu screen will come up. If not, you'll need to browse the contents of the CD and select "Autoplay." With the M-Audio menu up, use the Product drop-down menu to select Black Box. Then click on "Install." The installation process will begin. Click "Next>" to continue. After you've read the license agreement, please click the "I accept..." circle if you agree to the terms. Then click "Next" to continue. The installer will copy the necessary files to your computer's hard drive when you click on INSTALL. 18 During the installation, you will be prompted with a message warning that the driver software has not passed Windows Logo testing. Select "Continue Anyway" and proceed with the installation. Once the installer has finished copying the files, you will see the "Installation Successful" screen. Click FINISH. Plug your USB cable into your Black Box, and then plug the other end of the USB cable into the computer. Your computer will pop up a "new hardware found" message indicating your Black Box is now installed and ready to use. You will see the M-Audio Black Box control panel icon in your system tray (lower right corner of your desktop). Double-click on the icon to open the Black Box control panel. In your Windows XP control panel, double-click on the Sounds and Audio Devices icon. You should see the screen below. If the Black Box does not show up automatically, use the drop down menu to select it. If the device is not available, restart your computer and try again. Skip to the Control Panels section following the Mac installation instructions. 19 English Mac OS X Version 10.3.x (Panther) Insert the M-Audio driver CD into your CD-ROM drive and open the CD to view its contents. Click the "Open Me" icon. An M-Audio menu will appear. Use the Product drop-down menu to select Black Box. Then click on "Install." The installation process wil begin. Click "Continue." The Read Me box will appear next. This box contains important information on changes that may have occurred since the writing of this manual, so be certain to read through it. Then click "Continue." You will then be presented with the License Agreement. Click "Continue," and then click "Agree" if you agree with the License Agreement. 20 Select a destination disk for the installation, and then click "Continue." In the Easy Install box, click "Upgrade." You will need your Administrator Password for the next step. Once it has been entered, click "OK" and then click "Upgrade." 21 English On the following box, click "Continue Installation." Your M-Audio drivers will install. You will then see that the software was successfully installed. Click Restart. After the computer has restarted connect the Black Box to your computer via USB. The Black Box will now be available in your Audio MIDI Setup. Be sure that the device is shown as "M-Audio Black Box." If it is only listed as "Black Box," the unit is still being recognized only as a class-compliant device. Try reinstalling the driver if this happens. 22