Solid State Logic 82BN0M01A manual

Nucleus User Guide Nucleus. This is SSL. www .solidstatelogic.com[...]

Document History 82BN0M01A December 2010 Initial Release 82BN0M01B December 2011 Corrected footers and other small typo ’ s Clarified Mac requir ements for USB Soundcard[...]

T able of Contents Introduction 1 Nucleus 1 DA W Co ntrol Pr inc ip le s 1 How to use this Manual 2 Conventions 2 Glossary 2 Software V ersions 2 Help! 2 1. Nucleus Overview 3 Channel Strip a nd Mode Switches 3 Centre Section and A n alogue Control 4 Nucleus Remote 4 2. Nucleus Configura ti ons 5 DA Ws With Pro pr ietary Soundcar ds 5 DA Ws Without[...]

Timeline Funct io ns 24 T ransport Master 24 Jog Wh eel Func tio n 24 Automation Display (HU I Only) 24 Soft K ey Configuration 25 Default Soft Ke ys 25 User 1, User 2 Soft K eys 25 T ransport / Utility Soft K eys 26 Assigning Soft K ey Functions 26 DA W P ro to col Commands 2 7 DA W Keyboar d S hortcuts 28 Soft K ey Menus 29 Renaming Softkey Assig[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 1 Introduct ion N UCLEUS Welcom e to Nucleus, SSL ’ s integrated D AW controller and soundcard. Nucleus allo ws you to record audio and monitor your stu dio sof twa re throug h SSL’ s lege nda ry anal ogue circuit ry and con ver ter s, whil e plac ing ful l control of your ses sio n underneath your finger tips. While the[...]

Page 2 Nucleus User Guide H OW T O USE THIS M ANUAL A fter this introduct ion, you will find a quick ov erview of Nucleus, foll owed by mor e de tailed sections co verin g in stallation, us e o f the Nucleus L ogictivity Remote, and general Nucleus oper ation. Conventions Throughout this manual, the follo wing conventions will be used: • Labels f[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 3 1. Nucleus Ov er view The diagrams below and overleaf provide an overview of the Nucleus control surface along with the main DAW screen of the Nucleus Remote. C HANNEL S TRIP AND M ODE S WIT CHES Channel meter and recor d status indicator Mode Switches The Mode switches are not part of the channel in which they are located[...]

Page 4 Nucleus User Guide C ENTRE S ECTION AND A NAL OGUE C ONTROL N UCLEUS R EMO TE Defines which layer is being edited in the Remote Defines the DA W being controlled Selects soft key sets for the Soft K ey Setup display Soft K ey Setup Defines default function of Jog Wheel Enables single-letter automation display Defines which DA W is transport [...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 5 2. Nucleus Configur ations Nucleus operation r equires the following: - an Ethernet connection between Nucleus and the D AW computer(s) – for DA W control and the Nucleus Remote - a USB connection between Nucleus and the host D AW computer(s) – for DAW keyboard commands (and soundcard audio i f applicable) - audio conn[...]

Page 6 Nucleus User Guide Using Nucleus’ Analogue IO F or soundcar ds which don’t hav e digital IO, line-level analogue connections all ow you still to make use of Nucleus’ SSL pre- a mps . N ucleus PR E (pre-a mp) output s a nd EXTER NAL monit or inputs ca n b e u sed to conne ct Nucleus to t he soundca rd input s a nd outputs. Ethernet (DAW[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 7 D AWs Without P roprietar y Soundcards F or software which can send and receive audio via any soundcard connected to the computer , Nuc leus ca n be connec ted d irectly to the D AW using the USB connection. Ethernet (DAW co ntrol and Remote) USB (Soundcard and DAW key board commands) DAW Computer Recordin g Sources Note. [...]

Page 8 Nucleus User Guide M ultiple DAWs Up to thr ee DA W a pplicat ions on up to thr ee compu ters can be co nnected to N ucleus simulta neousl y , as descr ibed on Pa ge 14. This configuration r equires both a Network Router and USB switcher . Ethernet (DAW con trol and Remote) USB (S o un dc ar d a nd D A W k ey bo ar d c om ma nd s) D AW C omp[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 9 3. Softwar e Installation In order for N ucleus to integrate into yo ur w orking environ ment, it will be necessary to install driv ers and supporting software on your D AW computer(s) and/or studio computer(s). The following computers and operating systems ar e suppor ted: Mac • Intel only , 1.2G Hz or faster • OS X V[...]

Page 10 Nucleus User Guide 6. T o u ninstall the ipMIDI driv er , si mply delete the ipMIDIDr iver.plugin file fro m the /Library /Audio/MIDI Dri vers folder . U SB Soundcard I nstallation of the USB soundcard is optional; if you intend to connect Nucleus to your DAW using only analogue or S /PDI F audio connections, you do not need to install the [...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 11 4. Connection and Softwar e Configuration P HYSIC AL C ONNECTIONS T he Installation Guide that came with Nucleus contains important safety information. Please be sure to r ead that guide b efore attempting to connect Nucleus . The mains po wer con necti on for Nuc leus is via a st andar d 3-pin IEC32 0 powe r cable. The f[...]

Page 12 Nucleus User Guide C ONF IGURING N ET W ORK C ONNECTIONS Network Wiring T o ensure the fastest possible communication between your DAW computer and Nucleus – and to simplify the installation wiring – Nucleus com municates wi th you r w orkstation over Ethernet us ing the ipM I DI driver to emula te a multipor t M I DI interface. T o ens[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 13 D irect Network Connection Conf iguration (Mac) C onnect your Nucleus directly to the DA W computer using a standard network cable, and check that the I P addr ess is set to F ixed in the Nucleus R emote (see previous page). OS X does not curren tly allow two ports to be u sed for I P traf fic – y our main network conne[...]

Page 14 Nucleus User Guide C onnecting Nucleus to Multiple Computers C onnecting a Nucleus to multiple D AW computers inevitably introduces a little mor e complexity . Network T o connect Nucleus to multiple DAW computers, you will probably need to connect the Nucleus and all the computers via a network switch or router with sufficient bandwid th t[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 15 IP MIDI C ONFIGURA T ION T he ip M IDI driv er enab les you r DAW t o s end and r eceiv e MI DI con trol da ta via the ne twork co nnect ion, an d m ust be con figur ed t o match the requir ements of Nucleus before it can be used. Mac Onc e t he d river ha s b een in stal led an d you ha ve lo gge d b ack in , us e t he F[...]

Page 16 Nucleus User Guide L ogic P ro 9 T he DAW pr otocol used by Logic Pr o 9 is the Mackie Control Unit (MCU) protocol. Therefore when a L ogic Profile is assigned t o a Nucleus DAW layer , in order for Nucleus to control L ogic, a Mackie Control together with a Mackie Control Extender must b e added to L ogic Pro. Click on P references then Co[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 17 USB S OUNDC ARD C ONF IGURA TION W hether using Mac or Windows, the U SB So undcard will require a small amount of confi guration to interface correctly to y our chosen D AW application. Mac Once the installation process is complete, open the Applications folder and locate the USB Soundcard Con trol Pane l app lic atio n.[...]

Page 18 Nucleus User Guide W indo ws O nce th e i nstalla tion proc ess is comple te, click on S tart , All Progra ms and locate the N ucleus C ontrol P anel (it may also be residing in the T ask B ar ). Ope n the cont rol pane l and you wil l be p r esent ed with a w indo w simil ar to the on e show n h ere; click on DeviceO to access the mixer co[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 19 5. Nucleus R emote The Nucleus Remote performs an essential role in defining how Nucleus functions, from the control protocol being used to the fu nction s a ssigne d to many of the Nu cleus sw itches . The Re mote can be r un from an y c omput er that has acc ess to Nucl eus ov er Ethernet. E ST ABLISHING THE R EMOT E C [...]

Page 20 Nucleus User Guide R EMO TE T ABS T he row of tab s across the top of the window define what is displayed i n the rest of the window . The ‘DAW ’ T ab The DAW tab is wher e most of the action occurs and is used for configuring the selected Nucleus and its con trol protocol as described in this Section of the manual. The ‘Network Setup[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 21 R EMO TE L A YER S ELECTION B efore adjusting any of the settings in the Remote, the Layer to which the settings refer must b e defined. This is done by clicking on the DAW 1 , D AW 2 and DAW 3 buttons in the Layer area t owards the to p of the DAW tab in the Remote windo w . Note that the only area of th e D AW tab which[...]

Page 22 Nucleus User Guide C reating Pr ofiles – Method 2 An alter native way to create new P rofiles is to use the Save As button in the Soft K ey Setup area which makes up the b ottom half of the DAW tab . 1. First select the Profile y ou want to use as a star ting point and assign it to a layer , as described on the previous pages. 2. Click th[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 23 M anaging Profil es T he Pr ofiles ar e all store d o n t he SD card plug ged into the re ar of Nucleus, n ot the compute r t he R emote is ru nning on. Pr ofiles a re ho wever easily copied, renamed, deleted and backed up using the bro wser as well as being physically tr ansferable from o ne unit to another if requir ed.[...]

Page 24 Nucleus User Guide T IMELINE F UNCTIONS T ransport Master Nucleus directs transport commands to whichever DAW is currently selected on Nucleus but if multiple DA Ws are being used simultaneo usly it is possible for one DAW to be made the T rans por t Master . When a DA W h as been set as the T ransport Master , Nucleus will the n always dir[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 25 S OFT K EY C ONFIGURA T ION The functions assigned to almost half of the switches on Nucleus are ‘soft’ and can be altered. This is done in the Soft Key Setup area at the bottom of the R emote’ s DAW tab. T here ar e four Soft K ey S etup pages, selected via the Soft K ey Set buttons in the m iddle of the DAW tab ?[...]

Page 26 Nucleus User Guide T ransport / Utility Soft K eys The T ranspor t / Utility soft key set comprises all of the assignable switches within the N ucleus centre section. All of these switches (with the exception of EQ and D YN) come pre-assigned to the functions printed on the Nucleus control surface. Due to the constr aints of displaying a fa[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 27 D AW P rotocol Commands T o assign a H U I or MCU protocol function to a switch, select the relevant Soft K ey Set in the Remote ’ s DAW tab a nd click on the on-screen key that you wish to assign. The key will go yello w to indicate that it is being edited. F ro m the drop-down menu which appears, selecting DAW CM DS p[...]

Page 28 Nucleus User Guide D AW K eyboard Shor tcuts Soft keys can be set up to issue DAW keyboard key presses; either single keys or more complex combinations such as <Shift>OZ<Alt>G . T o assign key presses, first select the relevant Soft K ey Set in the DAW tab and click the on-scr een button that you wish to assign key presses to. T[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 29 S oft K ey Menus T o cr eate a menu under a soft key switch, select the Soft K ey Set for Defa ult , User 1 or User 2 i n the DAW tab and click on the on -screen key corresponding to the Nucleus switch which y ou wish to use to access the new menu. Fro m the drop-down menu which appears, selecting Menu sets that switch o [...]

Page 30 Nucleus User Guide R enaming Softkey Assignments Ev ery time you assign a soft key in any of the ways described abo ve, they are named automatically: - DAW pr otocol functions are labelled accor ding to the function you have chosen, as listed in the Appendix - DAW key board shor tcuts are labelled ‘ USB n ’ where ‘ n ’ is a number t[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 31 C onfiguring Continuous Contro ller Layers W hen a Continuous Controller Pro file is assigned to a Nucleus DAW Layer , Contin uous Contr oller (‘CC’) messages are sent on c hannel 1 of the first M I DI send por t assigned to that Layer . These messages can be used to control software instruments w ithin the current D [...]

Page 32 Nucleus User Guide Blank page – well, nearly[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 33 6. DAW O perations This section provides an overview of Nucleus’ DAW control capabilities once Nucleus and the Nucleus Remote have be en ful ly con nec ted, i nsta lle d and c onfi gured . We wil l con cent rate o n the t hree m ain a reas o f con trol: t he ch anne l str ip, the transport, and additional master control[...]

Page 34 Nucleus User Guide C HANNEL C ONTR OL Channel Scrolling On sessions with mo re t han 16 channels, the CHANNEL and BANK switches allow you to choose which DAW channels are controlled by the 16 Nucleus faders. T o s croll th e Nucl eus thro ugh th e DAW c hanne ls in in crement s of one , use t he left a nd rig ht CHANNEL switc hes. T o sc ro[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 35 V -Pot and V -Sel Contr ol T he channel V -Pots and V -Sel switches below the digital display fulfill a number of different D AW -specific functions. The V -Pot value is displayed using the LEDs surrounding it and the s mall r ed LED beneath indicates that the V -Sel switch is in its activ e position (a s sh own right) . [...]

Page 36 Nucleus User Guide P lug-in Control (P ro T ools Only) N ucleus is able to contr ol plug-ins and their parameters using the standar d HU I plug-in editor . This consists of four encoders w ith integral switches, a two-line 40-character parameter displ ay , plus additional switches to assign and control the plug-ins w ithin a Pro T ools chan[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 37 M ASTER C ONTR OL Basic T ransport Y our D AW ’ s tr anspor t can be controlled from the rewind, fast forwar d, sto p, pl ay and reco rd T RAN SP ORT switches at the bottom of the centre section. Above the main t rans por t con trols a re t hree sm all er swit che s. Th e functions assigned to these switches are defined[...]

Page 38 Nucleus User Guide U SER K EYS T wo sof t keys sets a re av ailab le for users to confi gure. Thes e soft keys e mploy the Mo de and V -Sel swi tches in channe ls 9-16 : The two so ft key set s a re ca lled User 1 and Us er 2 , and are acti vated by pres sing the Us er 1 or User 2 switc h, below the Nucleus logo in the centre section. The t[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 39 7. Analogue Oper ations Nucleus has two areas of analogue operation: the input section (used fo r recor ding sour ces to the D AW) and the monitoring. R ECORDING S OUR CES The input sectio n of Nucleus is located in the top right-hand corner of the centre section. There are two input channels, with inse r t circ uits for [...]

Page 40 Nucleus User Guide M ixdown Mode W hen mixing down , Nuc leus can be used to inse r t external processing to the stereo maste r b y pr essing the MIXDOWN switch a bov e the HP LEVEL control. In mixdown mode, the monitor inputs replace the input channels as the source for the channel i nsert sends. The inser t return is routed to the channel[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 41 Appendix T RANSPOR T /U T ILITY F UNCTION M AP The chart below details the assignments of the transport and utility functions within Pr o T ools, Logic and Nuendo/Cubase: Note that all U SB key comman ds listed refer to the Logic or Nuendo/Cubase default command key m appings; see your DAW Us er Guide for more details. S [...]

Page 42 Nucleus User Guide DAW P R O TOC OL C OMMAND S OFT K EY L ABELL ING T he fol lowing l ist det ails t he way in w hich e ach DAW proto col com mand i s label led wh en the co mmand i s assi gned to a N ucleus soft key . Non-standard commands are asterisked (*): Pro T ools F unction S oft K ey Label F unction S oft K ey Label Mix to For egrou[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 43 L ogic F unction Soft K ey Label F unction Soft K ey Label T rack T rack W rite W rite Pan/Surr ound PanSur T ouch T ouch EQ EQ Latch Latch S end S end T rim T rim Plugin Plugi n Save Save Instrument Instr Undo Undo Flip Flip Group Gro up Global Global Cancel Cancel Name/V alue N M/VAL Enter Enter SMPTE/Beats SM PTE Marke[...]

Page 44 Nucleus User Guide N uendo F unction Soft K ey Label F unction Soft K ey Label Page Down P ageDn Save Save Pan Pan Revert Revert E Q E Q R ead R ead Page Up PageUp Write Write Inserts In ser t Project P rject FX Sends FXSend Mixer Mixer F lip F lip S ends S ends Edit Edit Instruments Instrm Name/V alue Nm/V al Master Master S MPTE/Beats S M[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 45 ø switch 39 ∑ switch 40 +48v switch 39 80Hz switch 39 A About tab 20 AL T 37 Auto Mode 24 AUT O switch 34 Automation 34 Automation Display 24 B BAN K 34 BLEN D pot 39, 40 C CC Layers 31 CHAN N EL 34 Connections 11 CTRL 37 Cursor keys 37 CUT 34 D DAW 2 DAW 2 / D AW 3 switches 33 DAW CMDS 27 DAW K eyboard Shor tcuts 28 D[...]

Page 46 Nucleus User Guide MI DI Controllers (Pro T ools) 15 MIXDOW N 39, 40 M ODE Display 37 MODE key 37 Mode switches 35 Modifiers (DA W keyboard) 28, 37 MONITOR Connections 11 Monitoring 39 MONO L and R 39 M UTE 35 N Network 11, 14 Network Setup tab 20 Network Wiring 12 O OPT 37 P P AD 39 P AN 35 P ARAM switch 36 Plug-in Control (L ogic) 35 Plug[...]

Nucleus User Guide Page 47 Notes[...]

www .solidstatelogic.com Visit SSL at: www .solidstatelogic.com 82BN0M01B © Solid State L ogic All Rights reserved under International and P an-American Copyright Conventions Nucleus , SSL and Solid State Logic are trademarks of Solid S tate Logic All other product names and tr ademarks are the property of their respective o wners and are hereby a[...]