Fast Track Ultra 1 User Guide Introduction Thanks for choosing M-Audio Fast Track Ultra. Fast Track Ultra has been designed to give you a professional, portable audio and MIDI interface for your Windows or Macintosh laptop or desktop computer. Using the convenience and dependability of the industry-standard USB 2.
Fast Track Ultra 3 User Guide Fast Track Ultra Features ‣ Two front-panel balanced/unbalanced Mic/Instrument Inputs on combo XLR/TS jacks ‣ Two front-panel balanced Mic inputs on XLR jacks ‣ Four Mic/Line input switches ‣ Four high-quality microphone preamps, based on M-Audio’s acclaimed Octane technology ‣ Six balanced/unbalanced line inputs on TRS jacks ‣ Six balanced/unbalanced line outputs on TRS jacks ‣ Two inserts on TRS jacks ‣ Phantom Power switch with front-panel indicator LED ‣ Stereo S/PDIF
Fast Track Ultra 4 User Guide Minimum System Requirements Windows Fast Track Ultra is supported under Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later, or Windows Vista (32-bit editions). It is not supported under Windows 2000, Windows 98, 98SE or Windows ME. Visit the Windows update web pages to make certain you have the most current updates and fixes supplied by Microsoft. Minimum System Requirements* Windows XP with SP2 Windows Vista (32-bit editions) • 1.
Fast Track Ultra 5 User Guide Controls and Connectors Front Panel � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �� �� �� 1 . Microphone/Instrument Inputs 1 and 2 (Mic/Inst) – These combo connectors provide mic- or instrument-level inputs for analog channels 1 and 2. Each input will accept a low-impedance mic level signal on a standard three-pin balanced XLR plug, or a high-impedance instrument level signal on an unbalanced 1/4” TS plug. 2 .
Fast Track Ultra User Guide 5 Rear Panel �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� 13 . Power Button (Power) – Pressing this button will power on Fast Track Ultra, illuminating the front-panel Power LED 7 . The unit must be connected to a host computer’s USB bus, or to the external power supply. 14 .
Fast Track Ultra 6 User Guide Installing Fast Track Ultra For instructions on installing Fast Track Ultra, please refer to the accompanying Quick Start Guide. 7 Hardware Connections Recording Microphones Fast Track Ultra can record from up to four microphones simultaneously, connected to inputs 1 through 4 via the two front-panel XLR/TRS inputs 1 and two XLR inputs 3 . The front-panel front/rear selector switches 4 must be set to the “front” position.
Fast Track Ultra 8 User Guide Using Fast Track Ultra Monitoring The internal monitor mixer allows you to monitor any combination of sources from its hardware inputs, along with eight channels of audio from your DAW. The Control Panel gives you access to a 16 x 8 channel monitor mixer, allowing you to send any input or DAW return to any output. Four independent monitor mixes can be created for outputs 1/2 through 7/8.
Fast Track Ultra User Guide Setting the Sample Rate The default sample rate for Fast Track Ultra is 44.1 kHz. Supported sample rates are 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96 kHz. Most applications allow you to change the sample rate from within your audio software. You can also change the sample rate in the Control Panel. It is recommended that you do not change the sample rate from the Control Panel while your DAW application is running, as this can cause some applications to exhibit unexpected behavior.
Fast Track Ultra User Guide Monitor Tabs The four Monitor tabs are similar in layout and in operation. Each will allow you to monitor and control the routing of the eight hardware inputs, along with eight returns from your DAW, and send those signals to the tab’s corresponding output pair. The Monitor tabs’ outputs correspond to Fast Track Ultra’s hardware outputs. Monitor outputs 1/2, 3/4, and 5/6 correspond to the six analog outputs 16 . Monitor outputs 7/8 correspond to the S/PDIF digital output 21 .
Fast Track Ultra User Guide Input Channels The first eight channels on each of the Monitor pages correspond to the six analog inputs and two S/PDIF digital inputs. The next eight channels are returns from your DAW application software. Any of these 16 channels can be sent to any of eight possible output busses by selecting the Monitor tab for the desired output pair and setting the levels for the input and software return channels respectively.
Fast Track Ultra User Guide Output Channels The right side of each Monitor tab provides level meters and faders for its corresponding stereo pair of outputs. Each Monitor tab’s output faders control the output level sent to that pair of hardware outputs. The Monitor tabs correspond to each pair of hardware outputs: Monitor outputs 1/2, 3/4, and 5/6 correspond to the six analog outputs 16 . Monitor outputs 7/8 correspond to the S/PDIF digital outputs 21 .
Fast Track Ultra User Guide External Signal Status This box displays messages indicating the current synchronization status:. If the status in the Clock panel (see the Clock section below) is set to “Internal,” the External Signal Status panel will display this message: “Because the clock has been set to ‘internal’ you may use the sample rate controls to adjust the sample rate and external signals will be ignored.
Fast Track Ultra User Guide Driver Settings ASIO/WDM Buffer Size (Windows only) Latency is defined as the time it takes for your input signal to pass through your audio software and appear at the outputs. This latency can result in a delay that is undesirable when overdubbing to existing tracks. Smaller buffer sizes result in lower latency, but may not function well with slower systems, causing clicks, pops and dropouts in the audio playback.
Fast Track Ultra User Guide Meters Tab This tab provides an immediate overview of the eight hardware inputs and outputs. This is useful when setting up levels for live tracking or mixdown. Flow Tab This tab displays a graphic of Fast Track Ultra signal flow.
Fast Track Ultra User Guide About Tab This page contains information on your hardware and current driver software versions. This information may be helpful, should you ever have the occasion to call for technical support. Clicking the buttons in the lower right will take you to useful pages on the M-Audio website. If your computer does not see a valid connection to Fast Track Ultra, or if the unit is powered off, you will see a message noting that on this page.
Fast Track Ultra User Guide 10 Troubleshooting Fast Track Ultra has been designed to give you high performance and professional-quality audio. It has been tested under a wide range of systems and operating conditions. However, there are a virtually limitless number of operating scenarios, any of which could affect your system’s performance. Though this section cannot cover all possible issues you may encounter, we would like to offer you some suggestions for dealing with common problems.
Fast Track Ultra User Guide 11 Specifications Line Outputs Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 22 kHz, +/- 0.1 dB @ 48 kHz sample rate SNR and Dynamic Range: -104 dB, A-weighted THD+N: 0.002%@ -1dBFS, 1kHz Signal Level: +10 dBu balanced +2 dBV, unbalanced Impedance: 300 Ohm balanced 150 Ohm unbalanced Crosstalk: < -100 dB @ 1 kHz Line Inputs Frequency response: 20 Hz to 22 kHz, +/- 0.3 dB @ 48 kHz sample rate SNR and Dynamic Range: -103 dB, A-weighted THD+N: 0.
Fast Track Ultra User Guide 12 Warranty Terms and Registration Warranty Terms M-Audio warrants products to be free from defects in materials and workmanship, under normal use and provided that the product is owned by the original, registered user. Visit www.m-audio.com/warranty for terms and limitations applying to your specific product.
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