Press Release

M-Audio Announces Release of Transit USB
Inexpensive new USB audio upgrade brings high-resolution audio to mobile users
Arcadia, CA, August 1, 2003 M-Audio, a leading manufacturer of creative tools for musicians, is proud to announce shipment of the new Transit USB, a high-resolution mobile audio upgrade. Small enough to fit in your shirt pocket, Transit USB brings 24bit/96kHz recording and playback to any USB-compatible computer. USB bus-powered design allows users to play and record virtually anywhere a laptop can go. Transit USBs 1/8 stereo analog/optical digital input and TOSlink optical digital output allow for a variety of convenient functions including recording from stereo mics and transferring pristine audio between the computer and other digital devices such as MiniDisc and DAT. The digital output also provides AC3 and DTS passthrough from the computer to an external decoder such as a surround receiver. A 1/8 stereo output accommodates line levels for a stereo receiver or powered monitors, as well as stereo headphones for users on the go. The package also includes drivers for Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, Mac OS9 and OSX, as well as a convenient male 3.5mm to female TOSlink adapter. Transit USB exemplifies and enables the mobile music lifestyle that many of our customers are embracing, says Adam Castillo Marketing Director for M-Audio. While laptops allows musicians to work anywhere, the analog outputs on laptops leave much to be desired. Transit USB delivers the high fidelity musicians expect in an extremely compact accessory and an extremely low price point. Transit USB is now shipping at an MSRP of $99.95.
About M-Audio M-Audio is a leading provider of creative tools for todays electronic musicians and audio professionals. Founded in 1988, M-Audio now has independent offices in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France and Japan. M-Audios ability to parlay advanced technology into affordable products has led the company to win some of the international audio communitys highest praise and awards. M-Audios mission of Redefining the Studio delivers new levels of control, virtualization and mobility that transform the way computer-centric musicians compose, perform and live their creative lives. In addition to manufacturing its own product lines like the popular Delta audio cards, Studiophile reference monitors and USB MIDI controllers, M-Audio also distributes best-of-class products such as Propellerheads Reason, Abletons Live, ArKaos VJ and Groove Tubes microphones. In 2002, the Company successfully launched a product line that brings professional-quality audio to the consumer electronics market. U.S. media contact: Kevin Walt at 800-969-6434 x229 or kevin@m-audio.com. High-res images of M-Audio products are available at www.m-audio.com/company/images.php.
M-Audio USA: 45 E. Saint Joseph Street Arcadia, CA 91006-2861 Tel: (626) 445-2842 Fax: (626) 445-7564 www.m-audio.com info@m-audio.com M-Audio UK: Unit 5, Saracen Industrial Estate, Mark Rd Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 7BJ England Tel: 44 (0) 6590 Fax: 44 (0) 6832 www.maudio.co.uk info@maudio.co.uk M-Audio Germany: Kuhallmand 34 D-74613 Ohringen Germany Tel: Fax: www.m-audio.de info@m-audio.de M-Audio Canada:1400 St. Jean Baptiste Ave., #150 Quebec City, QC G2E 5B7 Tel: (418) 872-0444 Fax: (418) 872-0034 www.m-audio.ca info@m-audio.ca M-Audio Japan: Annex Building 6F 2-18-10 Maranouchi Naka-Ku Nagoya Japan 460-0002 Tel: 81-52-218-3375 Fax: 81-52-218-0875 Web: www.m-audio.co.jp info@m-audio.co.jp M-Audio France: Unit 5, Saracen Industrial Estate, Mark Rd Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 7BJ England Tel: 105 (Azur) Fax: 731 (Indigo) www.m-audio-france.com M-Audio Latin-America: 45 E. Saint Joseph Street Arcadia, CA 91006-2861 Tel: (949) 766-7589 Fax: (949) 766-7590 cadams@m-audio.com

www.m-audio.com

Thank you for choosing GrooveLab from M-Audio. GrooveLab is a complete, integrated hardware and software solution that provides you with a powerful set of musical composition and production tools, assembled in an easy-to-use package to get you started making music right away. Your GrooveLab package includes:

Introduction

This Quick Start Guide will give you an overview of your GrooveLab. It is not intended to replace the included user guides for GrooveLab Transit, or Live Delta, which we strongly recommend reading in order to get the most out of your purchase.
GrooveLab Transit a compact, mobile, professional 24-bit/96kHz audio interface for your Windows or Macintosh computer GrooveLab CD-ROM contains GrooveLab Transit Driver software that allows your computer to communicate with your GrooveLab Transit, and Grooves Demo Loops, an assortment of sample loops to get you started Ableton Live Delta CD-ROM a special introductory version of Abletons digital audio workstation Compact stereo headset with microphone
On Windows systems, the GrooveLab Transit is capable of plug-and-play installation, which means that you can simply connect it to your computer using the supplied USB cable, so that your system will detect the GrooveLab Transit as a USB Audio Device, and you can start using it right away. However, we recommend that you use the supplied driver, which will give you the additional functionality of a device control panel, low-latency ASIO drivers and audio resolution up to 24-bit/96kHz (explained below). Our ASIO driver allows faster response (lower latency) than standard audio drivers, so this, in addition to superior 24-bit/96kHz sound quality, is why youll definitely want to use the GrooveLab Transit instead of a standard soundcard or laptop audio port. Begin by installing the GrooveLab Transit drivers to your Windows or Macintosh computer. Insert the GrooveLab Transit drivers/Grooves CD-ROM and run the GrooveLab Transit installation programs. Windows Note: In this quick start, well install the GrooveLab Transits driver, rather than just using plug-and-play installation, so do not connect the GrooveLab Transit to your computer until after you have installed the driver software.
Installing GrooveLab Transit
After running the installation programs, reboot your computer. For a more detailed guide on installing the GrooveLab Transit USBs drivers, refer to the Users Manual included in the GrooveLab Transit drivers/Grooves CD-ROM.
Once your computer has rebooted, connect the GrooveLab Transit to your computer with the included USB cable, and complete any remaining software installation windows if necessary.
Now connect your headset to the GrooveLab Transits inputs. Connect the green (headphone) plug to the GrooveLab Transits green Line Output, and the red (microphone) plug to the GrooveLab Transits Line/Optical Input.
Open the GrooveLab Transits control panel. To do this on PC, double-click the M icon located in the System Tray at the bottom-right corner of your screen.

If using Mac OS X, click the System Preferences option in the Apple menu, and then click the GrooveLab Transit icon.
If using Mac OS 9, open the Control Panel from the Apple menu, and click the GrooveLab Transit icon.
The control panel menu shows the default settings as 2 inputs/outputs, 16-bit, sample rates up to 48000 Hz, Medium Latency, and 0dB Mic Boost.
We recommend leaving these settings for the moment. You may wish to experiment with mic levels and latency settings once youve got familiar with your setup. Refer to the GrooveLab Transit manual for additional information on the control panel and these settings. PC Users: Insert the Live Delta CD-ROM, run the installer, and follow the installation procedures.

Installing Live Delta

Once youve successfully installed Live Delta, we suggest you have a look at the manual, which you will find in your Start/Programs menu under the newly installed Ableton menu. Mac OS Users: Insert the Live Delta CD-ROM into your computer. The CD will appear as an icon on your desktop. Double-click the CD icon to view its contents.
On the CD, youll find a Live Delta folder. Click and drag this folder into the Applications folder on your computer. The computer will copy the program from the CD onto your hard drive. Once youve successfully installed Live Delta, we suggest you have a look at the manual, which can be found in the Docs folder inside the Live Delta folder. The first time you open Live Delta, you will be required to enter your serial number. You will find the serial number on the CD-ROM jacket.
Do not lose this number, as you will need it if you ever need to reinstall the program. The first time you use Live Delta, you will need to select GrooveLab Transit as your audio device. Select Preferences from the Options menu if on a PC, or from the Live Delta menu if on a Mac.

Getting to Work

Click the Audio tab. Under Device Type, select the ASIO driver (or Core Audio if on Mac OS X). NOTE: Our ASIO drivers allow faster response than standard audio drivers, so this, in addition to high 24-bit/96kHz audio resolution, is why youll definitely want to use the GrooveLab Transit instead of a standard soundcard or laptop audio port. Under Device, select M-Audio GrooveLab Transit. If using a Mac, select M-Audio GrooveLab Transit (2 in, 2 out) for both input and output.

Also under the Preferences menu, select the Misc tab. The Audio Record Folder is the location where Live Delta will save your audio files. Press the Browse button and select a folder for this purpose. If you want to run VST plug-ins, then select the hard drive location for your VST plug-ins by clicking Browse for the VST plug-in folder. If you wish to use an external sample editor, browse to that programs path in a similar fashion. You can close the Preferences window after youve made these settings.
Next, select the tempo and time signature for your song. The Tempo and Time Signature settings are located at the top left of the screen just below the program menus. Simply click
within the field, type a value, and press Enter (or Return if on a Mac).
To the left of the Browser window (which is located on the left side of the program), click once on the File Browser 1 icon (Of the 6 vertical circular icons, this is the fourth icon from the top, with a file folder image displaying a number 1 in the center) to view the list of loops and audio files included in the Live Delta package. You can then drag and drop audio loops on to the Live Delta tracks to load the loops.
Lets create a simple song by loading sample loops and adding a vocal recording. Currently, you are working under the Session view. Well change views by selecting Arranger from the View menu. Unlike the previous Session view, which displayed tracks vertically, youll notice that tracks are now displayed horizontally in the Arranger view. As mentioned above, selecting the File Browser 1 icon displays a list of available sample loops from the Delta Demo Sounds folder. Use your mouse to click on the 120dbox loop and drag it in to the left most blank square of track 1. Upon releasing the mouse button, you should see your sample loop displayed in the track area where you dropped it. You will also find the waveform of your loop displayed at the bottom of the screen, which you can use for further editing (Refer to the GrooveLab Transit manual for additional information on editing).
Use this drag-and-drop technique to load the atmo loop into Track 2. You should now see two
loops displayed in the Arranger.
You can lengthen each loop by clicking the end (right side) of any loaded loop and dragging your mouse to the right. You can listen to your arrangement by using your mouse to press the Play button (triangular icon) located at the top of the program. You can easily go back to the beginning of your song by double-clicking the Stop button (square icon).

Using the included headset mic, you can also record your own audio. Full details on recording audio can be found in the Live Delta manual, and we strongly recommend you read them, but heres a brief overview to get you started. We are assuming youve selected the GrooveLab Transits ASIO drivers (or Core Audio on OS X) as described above. To add vocals to your loop arrangement, select a track for recording by clicking a track number located to the right of a track. In this case, use track 3 since you currently have loops on tracks 1 and 2.
Enable the channels Monitoring (microphone icon) and Arm Session Recording (right-most icon) buttons. You must select Live In as your input source. To view this option, you must first browse to the View menu and select In/Out. This will display a drop-down menu of your in/out options in the first column to the right of the track number labels within your track. By default, it is set to None. Click this field and select Live In.
Now you are ready to record, so locate your transport controls at the top of the program window, and enable the Record button (circular icon).
Finally, enable the Play button (triangular icon). At this point, the record button will be highlighted in red, and the Play button will be highlighted in green. You will also see the song position pointer scrolling.
Speak into the microphone to record your voice. Now click the Stop button (square icon). You will see a new bar representing your recording within the track. Now change your input source from Live Input to none, so that you can hear your audio when played back. Finally press play to play back what youve recorded. You can record additional tracks in a similar manner.
If you find that youre not getting enough level from the microphone for your tracks, open the GrooveLab Transit control panel (as described above), and increase the Mic Boost setting. The default setting is 0 dB (no gain), but you can select one of three higher gain settings. We recommend using +14dB, but dont let that stop you from experimenting on your own. Refer to the Live Delta manual for full details on recording.

You can add effects, EQ and VST plug-ins to your composition, and then mix it using Live Deltas onboard automation and mixdown function. For this example, well add EQ to the rhythm in Track 1. Click the Solo icon (button with an S to the left of the Monitoring button described above) of Track 1, to solo the rhythm track so that you wont hear the other tracks when placing EQ on Track 1. Now double-click the name, Track 1. The Track View window at the bottom of the program states to Drop Effects Here.
Click the Live Effects chooser icon (of the 6 vertical circular icons to the left of the Browser window, this is the second icon from the top with a file folder image icon displaying the Ableton
logo). This displays a list of Effects in the Browser window. From this list, double-click EQ Four.
This will display an EQ Four graphic within the Track View window. Note the numbers 1 through 4 on the EQ display. These act as EQ handles to grab and move with your mouse.
Press Play. As you listen, grab the number 1 and raise it to the top of the display (+12). You can hear the bass drum become louder because you just raised the bass frequencies. Now press stop.
Lets add a delay effect to the vocals. This is similar to the EQ we added above. First, click the Solo button of Track 1 to de-select it, and click the Solo button of Track 3 to solo Track 3. Now click Track 3 to select and highlight the track. The Track View and Browser windows remain unchanged, so double-click the Ping Pong Delay to add it to the Track View window for Track 3.
Notice that the Ping Pong Delay image has a circular green ring for movement similar to the EQ handles mentioned above. Press Play and move the green ring to hear how you can change the delay on your vocal to find the desired setting. Click the Solo button of Track 3 to de-select it, and hear all of your tracks play back together.
You can raise or lower individual track volumes. For this example, well raise the volume of the vocal track. Click the down-arrow to the left of Track 3. Notice that Track 3 has expanded to show more available options. Press Play to hear all tracks play simultaneously. Click within the white box below Track 3s Arm Session Recording & Monitoring buttons and drag upward so that the number 0 increases. Be careful to guard your ears because this can get loud. You should hear a noticeable volume increase on your vocal track (You can press Stop now).
At this point, you can save your arrangement by choosing Save Live Set As from the File menu. A new Save window will display. Here, you can name your song and choose where on your hard drive to save your song. Make note of this so that you can remember where to browse if you later want to open this song. The easiest location for saving is the Desktop. You can export your arrangement in order to burn your mix to CD using third-party CD burning software. For this example, choose Render to Disk from the File menu. You will see a window that displays various setting options. For now, leave these set to the defaults of WAV, 16-bit, 44100 Hz sample rate, Create analysis enabled, Convert to Mono disabled, and click OK. A new Save window will display. Here, you can name your song and choose where on your hard drive to save your song. Make note of this so that you can remember where to browse if you later want to burn this song to an audio CD using a separate CD burning program. The easiest location for saving is the Desktop.

Finally, you can play back your rendered WAV file using your computers default media player. Assuming the rendered WAV was saved to your desktop, simply double-click the file to open it automatically in your computers default media player. In order to further familiarize yourself with Live Deltas features and operation, we recommend you run the Delta demo file. Youll find it in the Browser section of the program, in the Content directory.
Loading this file defaults to the Session view. Notice the Master track, which is the farthest track to the right. Within this track, youll find Start, Theme A, Bvariation, and Fin. You can click the triangle icons located to the left of each of these names to play each part.
The GrooveLab CD-ROM also contains a selection of loops and samples you can work with in Live Delta to create your own tracks. You will need to copy the source files you want to use over to your hard drive, as Live Delta will not play them from the CD-ROM. To do this, browse to your CD-ROM drive to view its contents (using Windows Explorer or My Computer if on PC, or the Desktop CD-ROM icon if on Mac). Browse to and open the CD-ROMs Grooves Loops folder. This is the location of the sample loops. Copy the Grooves Loops folder to your hard drive (The easiest way on PC is to single-click the Grooves Loops folder to highlight its name. Then choose Copy from the Edit menu. Minimize your windows to view your Desktop. Then right-click on your Desktop to display a Desktop menu. Choose Paste from this menu. If using a Mac, simply drag the Grooves Loops folder to your Desktop. Now you will see a copy of the Grooves Loops folder on your desktop).
Working with the demo song and referring to the First Steps section of the Live Delta manual will further acquaint you with Live Deltas operation and features.
To demonstrate how to import the included Grooves Loops in Live Delta, use the Up-Arrow button located at the top of Live Deltas Browser window (mentioned earlier) to browse to your computer drives, and then browse to the location where you copied your Grooves Loops folder.

Open the Grooves Loops folder. Notice that the loops have been organized into sub-folders by instrument types. Browse to any of these sub-folders to view their audio loops. You can drag and drop these loops as previously described. As you can see, weve barely scratched the surface of what you can accomplish with your GrooveLab. We suggest you spend some time browsing the documentation for Live Delta and GrooveLab Transit. The more familiar you become with the advanced functions of your system, the more fun youll have making music.

Conclusion