Monitoring in 003 Standby Mode

[bentropy]

Hello,
I'm not able to monitor instruments plugged into 003's inputs through the monitors I have plugged into "Main Monitor" unless I'm using my Mac, running Protools or a 3rd-party app. I don't know if I'm stupidly missing something, or if there's a malfunction, or if this capability doesn't exist on the 003.

Previously, I'd assumed this problem was related to"mixer mode" being dropped in the upgrade from 002 to 003. This seemed ridiculous and annoying, so finally I checked the manual and web. All the manual says is "In Standby mode, the Monitor section and MIDI I/O ports are available, without having to power on the computer." (pp 31) So, can I have signals coming into the inputs and audible at the monitors? It sounds like 'yes' since 'the monitor section is available'.

Basically, I want to be able to play instruments through my monitors without having to turn on my Mac and set up a Protools/Ableton session, and without rerouting the 003 back and forth to a separate mixer/monitor. Seems so basic!

Any guidance?
thanks,
Ben

[albee1952]

You can use the Aux inputs(hit the AuxIn button on the front) and listen to those without the computer. You could also patch a little mixer in there for multiple signals.

[bentropy]

Thanks for the reply!
So, only the 'aux in' is accessible in standby mode but the primary inputs are not? I guess I could put my Mackie 1202 into that, but that seems a 3rd rate solution. For one, I'd have to repatch my instruments from the (rather noisy, since it's old) Mackie, when I'm ready to record, if I wanted discrete multiple tracks, which is the point of having 8 inputs.

Anyway, sorry to bitch about your suggestion – I appreciate it[bleep]– but I'm disappointed Digi dropped 'mixer mode' and didn't even replace it with a basic but adequate 'monitor mode'. You shouldn't need a separate mixer for this sort of task, IMHO.

Anyone have any other info or ideas? The manual makes it *sound* like you can monitor (presumably the inputs) in Standby Mode.

[syd]

Not sure about the 003, but on the 003R there's a button to patch the Aux In to input 7-8 in PT.

[albee1952]

Good call there. There is indeed a switch to feed the Aux inputs to 7&8 in your protools session. Also, depending on what you are hooking up, there may be an easy workaround For instance, my Motif is patched to my 003 inputs 1&2 but I ran a TRS to dual mono cable(typical mixer insert cable) to an extra set of inputs on my Presonus Central Station so I can listen to the keyboard without opening protools. Maybe that trick to the Aux inputs? If you lay it out on paper, you may come up with something that works great for your setup.

[mjteix]

Aux In -› 7/8
-------------------------
The Digi002 console had a mixer mode (8 analogue inputs + EQ/comp/Reverb/Delay), unfortunaly it's gone on the 003. I guess more midi functionality was a priority on the new design, but for those mainly recording (real) instruments, I think that the mixer mode was a nice feature, the only thing that was missing was the possibility to use it in the background while recording (cue mixer).

[bentropy]

First, I really appreciate the suggestions and help you all have offered. I'm disappointed with paying (to me) a generous sum and finding they've removed basic features (monitoring more than one pair, when no computer), but that dissatisfaction isn't directed at you.

Originally Posted by albee1952

Good call there. There is indeed a switch to feed the Aux inputs to 7&8 in your protools session. If you lay it out on paper, you may come up with something that works great for your setup.

Okay, so my compromise is to have my Mackie 1202's main (or control room) outs to 003's aux in, and I guess I'll press the 'aux to 7/8' button to bring that stereo feed into a Pro Tools session. Realistically, I'd need to repatch things from mixer to 003 since I may need to record more than 2 channels at a time. And the Mackie is old and buzzy. But it's better than where I was.

Originally Posted by albee1952

Also, depending on what you are hooking up, there may be an easy workaround For instance, my Motif is patched to my 003 inputs 1&2 but I ran a TRS to dual mono cable(typical mixer insert cable) to an extra set of inputs on my Presonus Central Station so I can listen to the keyboard without opening protools. Maybe that trick to the Aux inputs?

The TRS plug comes from the Motif then? headphone out? Or into the Central Station? So you have the same signal from Motif running into the 003 to be recorded, and into the other interface, when just listening/playing. Glad it works for you, but it just doesn't seem fair to have to concoct work arounds that still leave you limited. Products should be allowing greater simplicity, at least for simple tasks like monitoring.

Originally Posted by mjteix

Aux In -› 7/8
-------------------------
The Digi002 console had a mixer mode (8 analogue inputs + EQ/comp/Reverb/Delay), unfortunaly it's gone on the 003. I guess more midi functionality was a priority on the new design, but for those mainly recording (real) instruments, I think that the mixer mode was a nice feature, the only thing that was missing was the possibility to use it in the background while recording (cue mixer).

Yeah. I can't believe adding some MIDI functionality had much to do with cutting this corner. Why reverse development? [shaking head in disappointment]

thanks again for all the thoughts guys

[albee1952]

the Motif is hooked up as follows: 2 standard guitar type cables from the Motif outputs to 003 inputs 1&2. The "insert" type cable goes from the motif headphone jack to a pair of inputs on the Central Station(TRS 2). That could be sent to the Aux inputs of the 003 instead.(I like how you broke up the quotes but haven't figured that one out)

A newer(cleaner) mixer might help and don't forget that the mixer likely has some aux outputs so you could also use those to send other sources(other keyboards) to more inputs on the 003 for recording to separate tracks without any repatching. You also could use(on the Mackie) cables from the insert jacks(if they exist) so you could feed each keyboard to the 003 separately, while still having all available to the Aux inputs for "no-computer" monitoring. Maybe send the headphone outputs of all your external sources to the mixer(and on to the Aux inputs) while leaving all the main outputs patched directly into the 003. All that takes is the right batch of cables.

As for the lost "mixer mode". I would not be so hard on DIGI. They build the product based on protools recording first, so other non-PT functions may not rank very high on their list of priorities(despite how they might be important to the rest of us).