In(s) and out(s) of the Motu Ultralite Mk3

Monday, December 28th, 2009

I recently bought the Motu Ultralite Mk3 and a pair of Yamaha MSP5 Pro speakers, installed the drivers and CueMix using the easy install option on my MacBook Pro running Leopard and noticed that

  1. It installed the windows versions of the software along with the mac versions… so I had .exe files in the Applications folders!
  2. The common input for XLR and phono had only the microphone working with or without CueMix fired up and the phono only when CueMix was NOT fired up!
  3. The multiple outs behaved weirdly… If I sent one channel (in Live) to Main 1-2 and another to 3-4, it would play out of only one pair at a time! None of the muliplte (phono) inputs worked either.

Solution (that worked for me :P )

Remove the installed drivers and software and reinstall, this time I did not select Easy Install and from the Custom menu I selected only the mac specific stuff… Voila, all problems solved!

Well there is one small glitch,

  • Main Out (1-2) channels act as 1 and 2 (:P)
  • Analog Out 1-2 act as 3-4
  • Analog Out 3-4 act as 5-6
  • etc.

This is applicable to Live as well as Reason :)

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Recording MIDI with a simple MIDI cable: Its a Cakewalk!

Thursday, February 8th, 2007

I installed Cakewalk 9! When the world is using SX and Sonar and Logic and all that jazz, I installed Cakewalk! No VST, no mastering plugins, no hardcore reverb…nothing! Still Cakewalk 9! About 6 years ago, when I was still a noob when it came to the computer and the internet, I used to have a walkman which could record. I had a keyboard that could allow me to record 2 tracks. I used to hanker for more tracks. I used to create a song using the 2 tracks and while playing them back, I used to play yet another track over it and record it on my walkman on a cassette. I made an entire album out of it and the only friend who heard it and appreciated it, suggested that I should call it ‘The Empty Boat’.

Then Computers happened and then something called Audio Architect happened. Unlimited tracks! I was spellbound and didnt know head or tail of using it. Then Cakewalk 7 happened. Still clueless! Rebirth followed but it had 4 tracks! I used to record many ‘four’ tracks from Rebirth and import it into Cakewalk as audio and then mixdown a track.

After some more time, I saw that a guy had a cable that connected from the musical keyboard to the computer and record MIDI in Cakewalk! I was going to kill myself for this technological advancement. I got this cable for 2000 bucks(roughly $40)! I was cheated as that cable was faulty and I thought it isnt working because I dont understand MIDI connectivity! Some more time went by and then Fruity Loops 3 happened. It was easier and created better sounding stuff. Then of course Reason and Cubase and then SX.

I bought the same MIDI cable again and this time for 300 bucks(roughly $6) and it connected with no problems. But every solution gives birth to a new problem. This one led to LATENCY. Some more years went by in fruitless thoughts of ‘how I am not supposed to be a musician’ and all the rest of it.

Day before yesterday I found the Cakewalk 9 CD and I installed it. Played it using my MIDI cable and WOAH…. no latency! Not even a bit! I quickly recorded some melody and exported it as a MIDI file and imported it in FL Studio 6. I pasted it on a Sytrus track and there was a masterpiece! Finally!

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