CASE STUDY: Line 6s BackTrack

CASE STUDY

Innovation at Line 6: The BackTrack Digital Recorder
Through the outcome-driven innovation process, we were able to enter a new market with a product that is very different and successful.
Michael Murphy BackTrack Product Manager, Line 6
Strategyn Incorporated All Rights Reserved.

CASE IN BRIEF

Having already made a name for itself in the guitar business, Line 6 realized that it needed a detailed understanding of its customers needs if it wanted to continue to meet its aggressive growth goals. Using Strategyns outcome-driven innovation (ODI) methodology, the company was able to: Discover opportunities for new market creation related to the jobs guitarists are trying to get done Develop a revolutionary digital recording device called BackTrack, which focused squarely on the unmet needs of guitarists Introduce a product to the market that is capturing significant market share and receiving glowing accolades from customers and professional reviewers

CLIENT CHALLENGE

Line 6 made a name for itself by developing the leading guitar amplifier in the music industry, along with a host of other successful products, including digital modeling guitars. Yet despite its success, the company saw a risk in relying on the innovation approach that had worked for it in the past. Marcus Ryle, Line 6s cofounder and senior vice president of research and development, noted, Our past successes were largely based upon the experience and knowledge of our staff. However, as we continued to grow, we recognized that there was a risk in relying solely on employee intuition and experiences to drive decisions that become larger and larger investments for our organization. Line 6s management realized that customer needs, not technical capability, were the key to meeting its aggressive growth goals and pioneering new markets. Michael Murphy is the product manager for the BackTrack, the product that was eventually developed using Strategyns ODI methodology. He recalls, We knew how to make this product, but we did not understand why we should make it. And we didnt want to make a product just because we could. Rachel Cruz, Line 6s user experience group manager, believed that if the company understood the jobs its customers were trying to get done, it could expand its customer base through innovation. As an organization, we are really good at understanding our current customers, notes Cruz. But we know that to meet our aggressive growth goals, we need to understand how to bring additional types of customers into the fold.

HOW STRATEGYN HELPED

Line 6 applied Strategyns ODI methodology to uncover the jobs (customer needs) that guitarists playing music at home were struggling to get done. Drawing on the responses of 51 guitarists, Line 6 uncovered 108 functional jobs (jobs related to the act of playing the guitar) and 18 emotional jobs (jobs related to how guitarists want to feel when playing) in a broad spectrum of areas, including preparing to play, learning material, developing skills, playing for inspiration, composing, and capturing a performance. Next, using ODI-based quantitative research techniques, Line 6 had 668 guitarists prioritize those jobs. The opportunity landscape (see Figure 1) revealed that 17 of the guitarists functional jobs and 13 of their emotional jobs were underserved that is, current offerings by Line 6 and others were not helping customers get the jobs done satisfactorily. These underserved jobs highlighted opportunities for Line 6 and provided indispensable direction to the companys innovation efforts. As Ryle explains, When you are trying to provide solutions, knowing the prioritization of customer needs can have a big impact on what features you include and how you communicate with customers about a new product.
Figure 1. The Opportunity Landscape
The opportunity landscape for guitarists jobs revealed a number of opportunities for product innovation. Underserved functional and emotional jobs led to the development and launch of the BackTrack, which opened up a completely new market for Line 6.
To learn more about the opportunity landscape, see Anthony W. Ulwick, What Customers Want (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005).
It was during the qualitative interviews with guitarists that Line 6 had its original epiphany for the product that would ultimately be introduced to the market as the BackTrack. A focus on jobs led to a recurring discussion theme: the frustration guitarists experienced when they tried to capture improvised melodies, harmonies, riffs, etc. The recording solutions already on the market were unsatisfactory because they required the guitarist to be a technician while seeking musical inspiration. The prioritized results indicated that this underserved job represented a promising opportunity. They also revealed related underserved

jobs both functional ones, such as creating a song based on an idea, and emotional ones, such as feeling like you can perform your ideas without interruption. These ODI results guided product development and messaging efforts for the BackTrack, a completely novel recording device designed specifically for guitarists. Introduced in late 2008, it is the only digital recorder on the market without a record button and in that strategic omission lies its genius. It is always ready to record, thanks to technology that lets it operate only when the musician is playing. Once it is plugged into the guitar and turned on, a guitarist doesnt need to think about it again like TiVo for guitar. Based on the ODI opportunity landscape, Line 6 knew which features would add customer value and which ones would simply add cost. By staying focused only on the underserved jobs during product development, Line 6 was able to position BackTrack between high-end solutions, which provided unnecessary features at greater cost, and low-end solutions, which compromised sound quality and required too much user involvement. Ryle describes BackTrack as the solution to the classic left-brain, right-brain conundrum, and adds, BackTrack helps the musician to stay in that creative mode without having to think or worry about capturing their inspired ideas.
BackTrack is something we probably would not have developed without the strong showing in the ODI qualitative results, which were then confirmed in the quantitative study. It helped us to see a whole new market opportunity.
Marcus Ryle Cofounder and Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Line 6

THE RESULTS

Using Strategyns ODI process, Line 6 uncovered 31 unmet needs and created a new product to address several of those needs the BackTrack portable digital recorder. The focus on underserved functional and emotional jobs led to features such as always on (nobutton) recording, a prominent "Mark" button to call out the best ideas on-the-fly, and a "Play" button for instant-replay playback. Other features included better-than-CD-quality audio recording, flash memory that records up to eight hours of playing time, and a fast USB connection for importing audio files to the computer. In addition, the focus on underserved jobs gave Line 6 the confidence to stay away from features such as displays, meters, stereo recording, and level adjustments

that would have added costs without satisfying the underserved needs of the musician. Finally, the ODI results enabled Line 6 to craft messaging that resonated with guitarists. Playing on the concern that great musical ideas often come when there is no recording of them, Line 6 came up with the slogan Inspiration Insurance to describe the BackTrack. The result is an innovative product that delivers exceptional value, squarely focused on the functional and emotional needs of guitarists. As a reviewer on Harmony Central remarked, Every songwriter or improvising musician has wished at least once that he could rewind his life to capture that moment of inspiration that got away. That one second of perfect poetry that sped fleetingly by, never to be repeated. Well, the Line 6 BackTrack aims to ensure that your epiphanies never escape again by offering up a small, cleverly designed, and surprisingly functional recording device thats about the size of a cell phone and a lot lighter. Customers have responded with similar praise for BackTrack. On a guitar enthusiast message board, one guitarist writes, Absolutely brilliant idea. First, I'd like to say thanks. This is something I've been looking for at a reasonable price for quite a long time. It's exactly what I want. It'll automatically record my guitar when I'm writing, without breaking the creative flow. It'll record band rehearsals and shows, and it's very reasonably priced. Bravo, Line 6!
Based on the consistent, positive comments from reviewers and customers, we are really confident that the new BackTrack product serves the market well.
Sales response has also been highly favorable. In just six months, BackTrack captured more than 25 percent market share for digital music recorders among the largest retailers in the industry. And the long-term prospects for expanding the total market offer even more promise. As Ryle concludes, I think that we have a much bigger market opportunity ahead of us because BackTrack is serving a job much better than existing recorders. The long-term opportunity may be about reaching guitar players who have not bothered to buy todays recorders because they have not served their needs well.

United States 970 East Hopkins Aspen, CO 81611 Tel: 866-729-8400 Fax: 877-607-8728 info@strategyn.com Australia Level 27, 101 Collins Street Melbourne, Vic 3000 Australia Tel: 9554 Fax: 9307 asiapacific@strategyn.com France / Italy 37, Avenue du Roule 92200 Neuilly sur Seine Tel: fr@strategyn.com Austria / Germany / Switzerland Franz-Kollmann-Strae Amstetten Austria Tel: DACH@strategyn.com
United Kingdom Cranfield Innovation Centre Cranfield University Technology Park Cranfield Bedfordshire United Kingdom, MK43 0AL Tel: 44 (0)0401 Fax: 44 (0)222 uk@strategyn.com Central & Eastern Europe Filtrowa 39/1 02-057 Warsaw, Poland Tel: CEE@strategyn.com The Netherlands Atlas 11, 5591 PJ Heeze The Netherlands Tel: 1800 nl@strategyn.com

LEARN MORE

Strategyn is a consulting, training, and software firm specializing in the management of innovation. To learn how to make Strategyns outcome-driven innovation methodology the cornerstone of your companys corporate innovation efforts, visit www.strategyn.com. Publications that explain the details behind Strategyns methodology include:
Anthony W. Ulwick, Turn Customer Input into Innovation, Harvard Business Review 80, no. 1 (January 2002). Anthony W. Ulwick, What Customers Want (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005). Anthony W. Ulwick and Lance Bettencourt, Giving Customers a Fair Hearing, MIT Sloan Management Review 49, no. 3 (Spring 2008). Lance Bettencourt and Anthony W. Ulwick, The Customer-Centered Innovation Map, Harvard Business Review 86, no. 5 (May 2008).
2009 Strategyn, Inc., and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. Strategyn shall have no liability for errors, omissions, or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof.

BackTrack Series

Pilots Guide
Manuel de pilotage Pilotenhandbuch Pilotenhandboek Manual del Piloto

40-00-0189

Electrophonic Limited Edition available @ www.line6.com/manuals
Register and Get Free Stuff
Included with BackTrack is a handy, postage-paid card for you to send back to us to register your purchase. It is very important you either fill that card out right now and send it in the mail, or register online at www.line6.com/register. Youll be all set up for warranty service should you have a warranty issue, and youll also enjoy all the benefits of the Line 6 All Access offerings.

LINE 6 ALL ACCESS

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www.line6.com/manuals

Select BackTrack in our online manual archive to download our Advanced Guide, as well as any updated version of this Pilots Guide that may be released.
You should read these Important Safety Instructions. Keep these instructions in a safe place.
Before using your BackTrack, carefully read the applicable items of these operating instructions and the safety suggestions. 1. Obey all warnings in the BackTrack Pilots Guide. 2. Do not perform service operations beyond those described in the BackTrack Pilots Guide. Service is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as: liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus the unit has been exposed to rain or moisture the unit does not operate normally or changes in performance in a significant way the unit is dropped or the enclosure is damaged. 4. Do not place near heat sources, such as radiators, heat registers, or appliances which produce heat. 5. Guard against objects or liquids entering the device. Do not use or place unit near water. 6. Do not step on cords. Do not place items on top of cords so that they are pinched or leaned on. Pay particular attention to the cord at the plug end and the point where it connects to the device. 7. Always switch to OFF and unplug the guitar cable when not in use for extended periods of time for extended battery life. 8. Clean only with a damp cloth. 9. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer. 10. Prolonged listening at high volume levels may cause irreparable hearing loss and/or damage. Always be sure to practice safe listening.
THIS EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN TESTED AND FOUND TO COMPLY WITH THE LIMITS FOR A CLASS B DIGITAL DEVICE PURSUANT TO PART 15 OF THE FCC RULES. OPERATION IS SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TWO CONDITIONS: (1) THIS DEVICE MAY NOT CAUSE HARMFUL INTERFERENCE, AND (2) THIS DEVICE MUST ACCEPT ANY INTERFERENCE RECEIVED, INCLUDING INTERFERENCE THAT MAY CAUSE UNDESIRABLE OPERATION.
Line 6, the Line 6 logo, BackTrack and POD are trademarks of Line 6, Inc. 2008

Welcome to BackTrack

BackTrack makes it easy for you to capture and replay any moment of musical inspiration, without preparing to record it in advance. BackTrack can constantly capture everything you play to its internal Flash memory. It notices when you start and stop playing, and automatically splits out individual audio events for each of these musical moments. This makes it easy to mark individual events as ones that you want to save and return to. After one of these happens, press the MARK button, and BackTrack will mark this as something important that it will keep. Press the play button, and you can hear that event played back again, giving you instant replay for inspiration. Its also easy to select any other marked event to play back. Playback can be looped, so you hear one particular event over and over again, while you jam on other ideas to go with it. You can also choose to revew all the audio in BackTracks memory, just in case there was some other recent moment that you didnt mark, but want to return to. Connect BackTrack to your computer, and youve got access to all these audio events as individual.WAV files. Theres one folder for the MARKED events, and another folder for the UNMARKED ones. The MARKED files will never be erased by BackTrack, unless you remove them yourself while connected to the computer. The UNMARKED files may be deleted by BackTrack when it needs to make room to capture newer audio events. Make copies of the files on your computer to build up a library of inspiration, burn them to CD, or convert them to MP3 to share them with your fans or collaborators. You can play them in your favorite audio software, and even load them into your recording software as a foundation for a fuller recording of your ideas. You can also put other.WAV files in the USER folder on BackTrack to have them available for playback away from your computer. The included software lets you choose the quality settings that will be used for audio capture. BackTrack supports CD-standard 44.1 kHz, 16 bit quality, as well as settings up to 48 kHz, 24 bit. Chose lower settings to increase recording capacity, or higher settings for pristine audio quality. (See pages 9 thru 12 for details.) For added versatility, BackTrack also includes these features: Flip the switch to PLAY ONLY for those times when you dont want auto capture Forced Capture lets you use BackTrack as a regular recording device, for planned recordings (see page 4) Ready to learn more? Flip the page. and look for to indicate other hidden features.

Side Panels & Connections

No mic or stereo output

PLAY MARKED

ON PLAY ONLY

Includes mic & stereo output

VOLUME

Microphone Stereo/Headphone Out Volume adjust affects this output only This jack receives playback of audio captured from mic as well as IN jack The OUT jack is disabled (does not output audio) when the stereo/headphone jack is connected
Capture Source for BackTrack + Mic Disconnect IN jack to use the mic to capture audio. IN jack will always be used as source for audio capture if connected.

Hook Up

+MIC only
Alternate Hookups to Record and Playback Processed POD audio

CD/MP3 input

OUT IN

Amp out

Amp out Connect headphones directly to OUT jack or loop back to POD as shown

Audio Capture

Prepare to auto capture from guitar input Connect your guitar, electric acoustic or bass to IN jack Prepare to auto capture from mic (supported by BackTrack + MIC only) Do NOT connect IN jack (when connected, it is used to capture input source instead of mic) Please note: other significant noise (like a TV) in the room may prevent accurate auto-separation of events Let BackTrack capture and separate musical events as you play Set OFF/PLAY ONLY/ON switch to ON: light is white while starting up Light blinks blue to tell you BackTrack is ready to capture Start playing music Light is continually lit when capturing an audio event (see page 8 for details) Light blinks rapidly several times when the end of an audio event is detected If that last event was a keeper, press MARK button to mark it Configure auto capture settings Connect BackTrack to computer via USB and launch BackTrack Setup Utility software You can enable/disable auto capture separately for the guitar and mic inputs You can adjust the settings used for auto capture separately for the guitar and mic inputs

ON PLAY ONLY OFF

MARK button
Forced capture Connect your guitar, electric acoustic or bass to the IN jack Or to use mic as capture source (for BackTrack + MIC only), do NOT connect IN jack While holding (play), also press MARK Light is red to indicate you're forcing a new marked event to be captured Press MARK to end the event Adjust mic levels The BackTrack Setup Utility software lets you fine tune mic capture settings, including capture volume To temporarily increase audio capture volume, hold (play) and also press headphone volume + To temporarily decrease audio capture volume, hold (play) and also press headphone volume When you power BackTrack + Mic off, this temporary mic capture volume adjustment is defeated Automatic gain control (AGC) can also be enabled/defeated, using the BackTrack Setup Utility

Audio Playback

Prepare to hear playback For audio captured direct from a guitars output, connect OUT jack to your amp, POD etc. like a stomp box, before any other stompboxes, so it feeds signal to your setup just like your guitar does Or connect (headphone output) to headphones or full range amp/speaker system (not a guitar amp) to hear playback. This is the preferred set up, for instance, if youve recorded from the mic. Choose to play back only marked events, or all audio Set PLAY MARKED/ALL to PLAY MARKED to hear only marked events when playing back Set PLAY MARKED/ALL to ALL to hear all audio, including marked and unmarked, when playing back Select audio events for playback Press (play) to hear the most recent audio event Press (back) once to reset play to start of current event Press (back) repeatedly to play previous events Press (back) from first event to play last event Press (forward) to play next event Press (forward) from last event to hear first event
Loop playback The BackTrack Setup Utility software lets you enable or disable looped playback When enabled, when the end of an event is reached during playback, it will immediately play again To temporarily enable/disable loop playback, hold (play) and press or When you power BackTrack off, this temporary override of loop enable/disable is defeated Capture audio playback as new marked event While playing back audio, press and hold MARK to begin capturing a new copy of the audio being played back, as a new marked event Release MARK at the end of the desired event Press (play) to hear playback of that newly copied and marked audio event

Status Light

Colored Status indicator light The color of the BackTrack light tells you the current type of operation or status Charging While Off or Mounted on Computer When switched OFF, or connected to computer via USB, audio capture or playback is not available When charging in this state, color indicates progess toward full charge, as follows Red (0-25% charge), orange (25-50%), yellow (50-75%), green (75-100%), white (full charge) White: Startup/Shutdown/Busy Light will be continually white while starting up or shutting down Light will blink white while busy and unavailable for other functions Blue: Auto Capture Flashing dark blue indicates ready to capture, but not capturing yet Continually dark blue indicates audio that will be captured if it continues long enough Pale blue confirms audio has continued long enough, and continues to be captured Light blinks pale blue rapidly several times to indicate end of captured event
Red: Forced Capture or Mic Clipping Red indicates forced capture (see page 5) or capturing playback as new marked event (see page 6) Light blinks rapidly several times to indicate end of capture During mic capture, the light will be red if clipping (overly loud audio) occurs
Green: Playback Light is green during playback, and blinks when in Play Only mode, but not currently playing When looped playback is enabled, color slowly fades between light green and dark green while playing Purple: Low Memory Occasional purple blink means less than 30 minutes remaining, and double blink means less than 15 minutes Yellow: Low Battery An occasional yellow blink indicates low battery charge (approximately less than 1 hour of operation) Light will fade from yellow to red and flash rapidly just prior to the battery being completely discharged

Computer

Connected to computer BackTrack will automatically charge its battery and mount as a mass storage device (appears on your computer like a CD-Rom, Flash Drive, etc.) when its USB jack is connected to a computer While mounted, normal BackTrack operation is defeated: audio capture and playback are disabled To unmount from Windows, click safely remove hardware icon in your onscreen System Tray, and remove BackTrack. If unsuccessful, quit Backup Setup Utility, close all files, and disconnect USB cable to unmount. To unmount from Mac, drag BackTrack icon to trash (eject icon replaces trash icon as you are dragging) BackTrack Setup Utility For Windows, install BackTrack Setup Utility by launching installer available from BackTrack when mounted on computer For Mac, a disk image (a.dmg file) is provided: double-click it to mount a disc image that contains the BackTrack Setup Utility, which you can then drag to your computer to install Set date and time from utility software so files created by BackTrack will have accurate date/time information Windows Requires.NET Framework 2.0 or Higher The Windows version of the BackTrack Setup Utility requires the Microsoft.NET Framework version 2.0 or higher. This is included in the BackTrack Setup Utility Installer, available for download from www.line6.com/software, and on BackTrack, accessible from computer when mounted via USB. Microsoft.NET Framework version 2.0 can also be installed using Windows Update or by installing the "Windows Installer Redistributable" version 3.1 or higher and the.NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package which are available for download from Microsofts web site. Files BackTrack stores audio as.WAV files The BackTrack MARKED folder/directory holds all marked audio The BackTrack UNMARKED folder/directory holds the other captured audio that was not marked Drag any of these audio files from MARKED or UNMARKED to your computer to copy/backup Double-click any of these audio files to play in your default audio player software To have additional.WAVs available for playback from BackTrack, put them only in the USER folder/directory Files stored in the UNMARKED folder/directory may be deleted by BackTrack during normal operation Files stored in the MARKED folder/directory are never deleted by BackTrack during normal operation BackTrack can play properly formatted mono or stereo.WAV files that are: 16 or 24 bit word length 11, 22, 32, 44.1 or 48 kHz sample rate
Files (continued) BackTrack can not play files such as.mp3,.m4p,.AIFF, compressed or.WAVs that dont match the file options listed on the previous page Sample Rates Over 48kHz Attempting to play a.WAV file created at a sample rate higher than 48kHz may cause that file to play at odd speeds, etc. Audio Files Created By BackTrack Files created by BackTrack will be named beginning with BT, followed by a 5 digit number, then G (if the audio was recorded from 1/4-inch guitar input) or M (if the audio was recorded from mic), then.WAV. Erasing Files You can erase files while BackTrack is mounted on a computer to free up space for additional audio capture Copy these files to your computer first if you do not want to lose them permanently After installing the utility software, you can delete those files from BackTrack to maximize audio capacity Storing Other Files On BackTrack You can store other files on BackTrack, to transport them between computers. If you want to do this, we recommend that you create a MY FILES folder at the top level root directory of BackTrack (the same location that holds the MARKED and UNMARKED folders). Place your other files in that folder. This will help ensure that you dont get these files confused with the files that BackTrack creates. No matter where you put files, they should be ignored by BackTrack, and not deleted, etc. even if they are in the UNMARKED folder. Firmware Updates The latest firmware for your BackTrack is available for download from www.line6.com/software. To update your BackTracks firmware: 1. Download the firmware file to your computer 2. Click the Update Firmware button on the BackTrack Setup Utility (as illustrated on page 13) 3. Locate the firmware file you just downloaded using the Open File window that is provided 4. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the update

Guitar And Mic Auto Capture Presets
The following Guitar And Mic Auto Capture Presets are available from the BackTrack Setup Utility: GUITAR PRESETS Electric Guitar/Bass Auto Capture Soft Min Event 2 sec Min Silence 1 sec Active Bass/Noisy Guitar Auto Capture Medium Min Event - 2 sec Min Silence 1 sec Guitar through POD or FX Auto Capture Loud Min Event - 2 sec Min Silence 2 sec MIC PRESETS Soft/Acoustic Auto Capture Medium Min Event 1 sec Min Silence 1.5 sec Mic Gain 5 AGC - Off Med/Electric Auto Capture Medium Min Event 1.5 sec Min Silence 2 sec Mic Gain 5 AGC - Off Loud/Full Band Auto Capture Loud Min Event - 2 sec Min Silence 2 sec Mic Gain 2 AGC - Off

BackTrack Setup Utility

1: Record/Playback Settings Lower sample rates/bit depths allow more recording time, and higher settings increase audio quality See page 14 for possible settings The maximum possible recording capacity is calculated for the rate/depth settings you choose Checkbox enables looped playback, so an event loops as it plays (see page 7) Click Show files to show the BackTrack directories/folders in Windows Explorer or Mac Finder 2: Device Information This is your firmware version: always include it in communication with Line 6 Customer Support Auto-Shutdown can be enabled to conserve battery when BackTrack is left on, but not capturing If no audio is detected within the time you select, BackTrack powers off: indicator light will be off To again use BackTrack, you must move the Off/Play Only/On to Off, then to On or Play Only Press Set Date/Time to set the clock in your BackTrack to match your computers date/time Follow the instructions that will be shown onscreen New files created by BackTrack will then show the proper creation date/time when viewed on your computer 3: Guitar Auto Capture Presets configure the auto capture settings for the IN jack Selecting Off for Auto Capture prevents auto capture from the IN jack Selecting Soft for Auto Capture allows low level audio to trigger auto recording Selecting Medium for Auto Capture requires medium level audio to trigger auto recording Selecting Loud for Auto Capture requires high level audio to trigger auto recording An audio event will be not be captured if shorter than the Discard events setting When auto capturing, light is dark blue until this time is exceeded An event ends when the audio level drops below the Auto Capture level, for at least the Split time When auto capturing, light blinks rapidly to indicate the end of an event 4: Mic Auto Capture (settings apply to BackTrack + Mic only) The mic can be configured for auto capture like the IN jack There is also a Gain setting for increasing/decreasing the mic preamp level Enable AGC (Auto Level) to allow mic preamp gain to be auto adjusted in response to incoming audio, but note that this may reduce the ability of BackTrack to split events during auto capture

Power/Capacity/Troubleshooting
Internal rechargeable battery Provides 8+ hours of operation on a full charge Charges via USB connector Set OFF/PLAY ONLY/ON switch to OFF to power unit off when not in use, to preserve battery charge Powering via USB BackTrack includes a mini-B 5-pin USB connector Can be powered from computer USB jack, or a power adaptor that supports the mini-USB charging standard Allows continual use without discharging battery, and charges battery at the same time When BackTrack is connected to your computer it will recharge the unit, allow file transfer, and interact with the BackTrack Setup Utility - but normal recording and playback will be suspended Capacity The BackTrack Setup Utility software lets you select sample rate, bit depth and other audio capture settings BackTrack + Mic 24 hours 12 hours 8 hours 6 hours 5 hours 4 hours 4 hours BackTrack 12 hours 6 hours 4 hours 3 hours 2.5 hours 2 hours 2 hours Sample Rate 11 kHz 22 kHz 32 kHz 44.1 kHz 48 kHz 44.1 kHz 48 kHz Bit Depth 16 bit 16 bit 16 bit 16 bit 16 bit 24 bit 24 bit CD audio standard Notes * *
* These settings are not recommended for mic full range audio, but may be sufficient for direct guitar Colored Lights If your unit fails to operate normally, it may show a series of colors to help in diagnosing the problem High volume audio can cause constant recording while auto capturing Auto capture relies on periods of low volume to detect when a musical event ends. If audio always continues at a high level, it may never detect the end of an event, and may continue recording continuously. You may be able to improve this situation by setting the Auto Capture value to Loud in the Backtrack Setup Utility.