Apple Logic Pro /LogicExpress Discussion

--- In Logic_Cafe@yahoogroups.com, Gregory <glists@...> wrote:
>
> All I've ever wanted for Christmas is a recording setup that allows  
> me to turn it on and start making music right away.  I thought buying  
> a MOTU 828 mk I would do that for me, but it's been a nightmare of  
> troubleshooting every time I launch Logic.
> 
> My setup is such that my "front end" is my EZBus, and I am going ADAT  
> from EZ to 828, then FW into the iMac.  I am using the 828's internal  
> clock, which is being transmitted to the EZBus through the ADAT optical.
> 
> The problem is that every time turn on my setup, the 2 units fail to  
> sync up, and I get no sound.  Sometimes I get an error msg on the  
> EZBus that says my clock source has changed to internal, so I have to  
> go in and reset it to external optical, and sometimes that fixes it,  
> but most of the time I then have to turn off the EZBus and turn it  
> back on, do the same to the 828 or to both of them.   There's no  
> consistent solution to the problem, but it always somehow resolves if  
> I turn my equipment off and on again enough times.
> 
> I'm thinking part of the problem is that I am turning on all my  
> equipment by turning on the power on my Furman power conditioner, and  
> the simultaneous start up makes it hard for my equipment to  
> communicate with one another.  But I don't know this for a fact, and  
> it would be a real pain to have to leave the power on and turn on  
> each individual piece of equipment in the right order whenever I  
> wanted to write, so I'm hoping someone out there has a better solution.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Gregory
>

Hi Gregory,
For digital sync its always best to start the master first, so the slave won't slip into internal 
mode if it doesn't get clock. So switch on the 828, wait for its lights to stop dancing (and 
for its sync light to stop movig), start the EZBus.
If you start them 'simultaneously' then its going to be really hit-or-miss, as so many 
seemingly arbitary factors are going to become pertinent. For example the charge/
discharge rate from the PSU's capacitors will vary by temperature, so if its warmer the 
MOTU *might* charge its PSU faster and so sync would be successful, or it could be the 
other way round, or it could be phase of the mains when you power-up, or etc. etc. etc.

Mike