Make the Audio Express the centerpiece of your personal studio! This 6-in/6-out audio interface puts the right connectivity where you need it: on your desktop. It’s perfect for the singer/songwriter first starting to record, yet the Audio Express offers premium sound quality (better than CD, at 24-bit/96kHz) so it’s perfect for the top-level engineer who needs a mobile recording solution. Better yet, the MOTU Audio Express features both USB and FireWire ports. That means it’ll work with nearly any computer you’ll come across, so it’s easier than ever to collaborate. Just put the MOTU Audio Express in your laptop bag, bring it to your bandmate’s house, and you can get going.
Audio Quality
For your personal studio
As an audio interface for Mac or PC, the Audio Express serves as a capable hub for your personal recording studio. Here is a typical personal studio setup.
For live performance
As a stage mixer, the Audio Express can mix your live instrument inputs to a PA, stage wedges, and even a digital recorder to capture your performance, all with convenient front-panel volume control of each input and separate mix levels for each pair of outputs.
Here is a typical live performance setup for the Audio Express.
Mixing
You can use the Audio Express 8-bus digital mixer on stage for live performance, in your personal studio without a computer, or together with your host audio software as a low-latency monitor mixer.
Hands-on control of your mix
What makes the Audio Express unique? Immediate, hands-on control of your mix using the front-panel knobs and status LEDs. To adjust the volume of an input, just turn its knob. The Audio Express lets you control mix volume independently from the input’s trim level, so you never have to sacrifice sound quality for a balanced mix.
A separate mix for each output pair
The Audio Express mixer takes signals from its six inputs and mixes them to an output pair, such as the main outs. You control the volume of each input. Better yet, you can adjust input volumes differently for each output pair. In other words, each output pair can have its own unique mix. For example, you might create a balanced mix going to your PA via the main outs, but bring up the guitar for the mix going to your stage monitors via the line outs, so you can easily monitor your guitar sound. You get a separate mix for main outs, line outs, S/PDIF digital out, and phones.
As a live mixer
Because immediate volume adjustments are always within reach, the Audio Express serves as the perfect compact, portable live mixer, with or without a computer. Even without a computer, the Audio Express gives you complete control over all four mix busses with direct access to volume, mute and solo for each input.
As a studio mixer
Back in your personal studio, you can of course use the Audio Express to connect your mic, guitar, and other inputs to your computer. Sometimes, however, you just want to play your instruments, without the computer. The Audio Express continues to serve as your studio mixer, even when your PC or Mac is turned off.
As a Monitor mixer
When recording into your computer, host audio software can sometimes introduce a slight delay (latency) in what you hear as you track. You can use the Audio Express mixer, instead of monitoring through the software, to completely eliminate this delay.
On-screen mixing with CueMix FX app
CueMix FX gives you comprehensive graphic control over your mix and other settings in the Audio Express. CueMix FX can be operated side by side with any host audio software for Mac or Windows, and it can be controlled from the Mackie Control Universal Pro automated worksurface.
Feature Highlights
The Audio Express provides a wealth of professional features for producing broadcast-ready audio recordings.
Hybrid Firewire/USB 2.0 connectivity
FireWire has long been recognized as a reliable, high-performance connectivity standard for professional audio interfaces. Meanwhile, high-speed USB 2.0 has also developed into a widely adopted standard for connecting audio devices to personal computers.
To fully support both formats, the Audio Express hybrid audio interface is equipped with a FireWire jack (400 Mbit/sec) and a high-speed USB 2.0 jack (480 Mbit/sec). This gives you maximum flexibility and compatibility when connecting to today’s ever-expanding universe of Mac and Windows computers.
If your computer doesn’t have FireWire, you can use USB. If it has both, then the choice is yours and may depend mostly on other peripherals you have.
| The Audio Express can connect to any Firewire port. Just plug in and go, with any standard cable. If your computer has FireWire Type A ports, use the included 6-pin-to-6-pin FireWire cable. If your computer has either standard Type B ports or miniature Type A ports, use the appropriate 6-pin-to-9-pin or 6-pin-to-4-pin FireWire cable (sold separately). |
Mic/Guitar Inputs
The Audio Express combo mic/guitar inputs are equipped with pristine, transparent preamps and offer individually adjustable 48V phantom power and -20 dB pad. The quarter-inch guitar jack provides high-impedance load characteristics suitable for passive and active pickups alike. For even more authentic feel and response when using virtual guitar amp and cabinet plug-ins, use a ZBox guitar impedance adapter.
Digitally controlled analog trim
The Audio Express’s analog trim circuits deliver clean sound, combined with the precision of digital control. Trim is adjusted at the input, before the mixer, so it applies to all mixes. Mix levels are controlled separately from trim, so you never sacrifice sound quality for a balanced mix.
MIDI I/O
The Audio Express provides MIDI input and output featuring sample-accurate timing with supporting software. Connect a MIDI keyboard, sound module or control surface, and you are ready to go. The FireWire or USB connection to the computer carries both MIDI and audio so you don’t need to connect an additional USB cable for MIDI.
Foot switch
Connect any standard momentary foot switch to trigger hands-free punch-ins during recording. Or map the foot switch to any keystrokes you wish in your host audio software.
SMPTE time code sync
You can resolve the Audio Express directly to SMPTE time code, without a dedicated synchronizer, via any analog input. The Audio Express provides a DSP-driven phase-lock engine with sophisticated filtering that provides fast lockup times and sub-frame accuracy. This technology represents the very latest in extremely high-performance, yet cost-effective digital audio clocking. DDS also allows the Audio Express to maintain an extremely stable clock while resolved to incoming clock sources that have substantially more jitter than the Audio Express itself.
SMPTE Console software
The included MOTU SMPTE Console™ software (for Mac OS X and Windows) provides a complete set of tools to generate SMPTE for striping, regenerating or slaving other devices to the computer. Like CueMix, the synchronization features are cross-platform and compatible with all audio sequencer software that supports the ASIO2 sample-accurate sync protocol.
Expansion
Add another Audio Express (or other MOTU audio interface) as your needs grow via a standard Firewire or USB 2.0 hub. The Audio Express provides driver-level support for resolving multiple interfaces with each other so that their audio streams never drift apart over time during recording or playback.
Included software
The Audio Express includes CueMix FX software for Mac and Windows, and AudioDesk workstation software for Mac.
CueMix™ FX
The included CueMix FX software for Mac OS X and Windows gives you graphic, on-screen control of the Audio Express’s on-board audio mixer, with up to four separate stereo mixes ( a separate mix for output pair). For example, you can mix all the inputs to the main outs, but also mix them to the line outs with completely different levels than the main outs. Advanced features include a tuner, oscilloscope, FFT/spectrogram, and phase analysis tools.
AudioDesk®
The Audio Express includes AudioDesk, the workstation software for Mac OS X and Windows, which provides advanced recording, editing, mixing, processing, and mastering. AudioDesk delivers the power of modern digital audio workstation technology in an easy-to-use, inspiring multitrack recording experience. Together, AudioDesk and the Audio Express are a complete, professional recording studio for your computer desktop.
Compatible software
The Audio Express employs industry standard drivers for across-the-board compatibility on both Mac and Windows.
mac
The Audio Express ships with standard Core Audio drivers for Mac OS X for compatibility with virtually all Core Audio-compatible apps, including:
- MOTU Digital Performer
- MOTU AudioDesk
- Avid Pro Tools (version 9 or later)
- Apple Logic Pro
- Apple Logic Express
- Apple Garage Band
- Apple SoundTrack Pro
- Ableton Live
- Propellerhead Record & Reason
- Steinberg Cubase
- Cockos Reaper
- Native Instruments Kontakt
- Waves stand-alone apps (and plug-ins, via any compatible host)
windows
The Audio Express ships with standard Wave and ASIO drivers for Windows 7 and Windows Vista for compatibility with virtually all Wave-compatible audio apps, including:
- Avid Pro Tools (version 9 or later)
- Ableton Live
- Cakewalk Sonar
- Steinberg Cubase
- Propellerhead Record & Reason
- Image Line FL Studio
- Sony Vegas Pro
- Sony Sound Forge
- Sony Acid
- Cockos Reaper
- Native Instruments Kontakt
- Waves stand-alone apps (and plug-ins, via any compatible host)
Tuner and analysis tools
The CueMix FX software included with the Audio Express provides an instrument tuner, plus a wealth of tools for audio analysis and diagnostics to awaken your inner engineer.
Instrument Tuner
Before you play or record, you need to be in tune, right?
The CueMix FX app’s instrument Tuner lets you quickly tune your guitar, bass, sax, or other pitched instrument. The more complex the harmonics of the input signal, the wider the LED band gets. So if your guitar strings are wearing out, the Tuner’s LED meter will let you know. Other features include adjustable tuning reference and test tone generation.
FFT and Spectrogram
Visually monitor the frequency content of your music or other audio material as it plays. The Audio Express superimposes a Fast Fourier Transform directly on the sonogram display so that you can see the relationship between the two for the audio material being monitored.
Oscilloscope
This is not your grandpa’s oscilloscope. With modern digital precision, you have unprecedented control over how you view audio material using features like waveform recognition, split screen, trigger (with programmable criteria), and much more. Analyze harmonic content, view transients, or detect clipping with one-sample precision.
X-Y Plot
The X-Y Plot graphs the amplitude of a stereo signal on a two-dimensional grid, allowing you to see the width of the stereo field of a mix in real time. It also helps you detect issues with polarity in stereo mixes, which, if left unresolved, can cause the mix to completely cancel itself out when collapsed to mono.
Phase Analysis
Does your mix sound thin? Do you hear strange “flangy” artifacts? It could be suffering from phase or polarity issues. The Phase Analysis display helps you check the phase alignment and polarity of a stereo mix — especially mixes that might be summed to mono — or instruments (like drums) recorded with multiple mics.
