Steinberg V-Stack Operation Manual
Have a look at the manual Steinberg V-Stack Operation Manual online for free. It’s possible to download the document as PDF or print. UserManuals.tech offer 523 Steinberg manuals and user’s guides for free. Share the user manual or guide on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
V-STACK3 – 22 Installation and requirements for Mac OS X About this chapter This chapter describes the system requirements and installation pro- cedures for V-STACK for Mac OS X. Installing V-STACK for Windows is described on page 11. Requirements To use V-STACK, you need the following: •A Macintosh computer running Mac OS X (version 10.2 or later). For more details about the computer requirements, see below. •Mac OS X compatible audio hardware. While the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh may be adequate for basic audio playback, we strongly recommend audio hardware that is specifically designed for au- dio recording and music applications. For MIDI •At least one MIDI interface. •At least one MIDI instrument. •Any audio equipment necessary to listen to the sound from your MIDI devices.
V-STACKInstallation and requirements for Mac OS X 3 – 23 Computer requirements Hardware – Mac The absolute minimum requirements for running V-STACK on a Macintosh are as follows: •Macintosh with a G4 processor, 256 MB RAM and OS X 10.2. We recommend 512 MB RAM or more. RAM Audio work requires a lot of RAM! In fact, there is a direct relation be- tween the amount of available RAM and the number of audio channels that you can have running. As specified earlier, 256 MB is the minimum requirement, but as a general rule “the more the better” applies. Hard disk size •The size of the hard disk determines how many minutes of audio you will be able to record. Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio, requires 10 MB of hard disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in V-STACK use up at least 80 MB of disk space per re- cording minute. Hard disk speed The speed of the hard drive also determines the number of audio tracks you can run. That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually expressed as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better” applies. Mouse Although a regular mouse will work perfectly fine with V-STACK, we recommend that you use a wheel mouse with two mouse buttons. • Having a wheel mouse will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably. • If your mouse has two mouse buttons you should program the right mouse button to generate a [Ctrl]-click (this is typically the default behaviour of the right mouse button). This will allow you to bring up context menus by right clicking.
V-STACK3 – 24 Installation and requirements for Mac OS X Audio hardware V-STACK will run with audio hardware that meets the following basic specifications: • Stereo. • 16 bit. • Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate. • Is supplied with proper Mac OS X (Core Audio) drivers. A basic rule of thumb is: if the hardware works under Mac OS X, you can use it in V-STACK. • V-STACK also supports audio hardware with Mac OS X compliant ASIO drivers. ASIO drivers may provide special support for routing, monitoring, synchronization, etc. Note that the ASIO drivers must be written specifically for Mac OS X – Mac OS 9.X ASIO drivers cannot be used. Using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh As of this writing, all current Macintosh models have built-in 16 bit ste- reo audio hardware. Depending on your preferences and requirements, this may be sufficient for use with V-STACK (although we recommend using multi-output audio hardware). The built-in audio hardware is al- ways available for selection in V-STACK – you don’t need to install any additional drivers. ❐Some Macintosh models have audio outputs but no inputs. This means that you can only play back audio – recording is not possible without ad- ditional audio hardware.
V-STACKInstallation and requirements for Mac OS X 3 – 25 Hardware installation Installing the audio hardware and its driver 1.Make sure you have the latest Mac OS X drivers for the audio hardware! Please check the manufacturer’s web site for the latest versions. 2.Install the driver(s) for the audio hardware. This is usually done by running an installer application. 3.Install or connect the audio interface, as described in the card’s documentation. Installing a MIDI interface 1.Make sure you have the latest Mac OS X drivers for the MIDI interface! Please check the manufacturer’s web site for the latest versions. 2.Install the driver(s) for the interface. This is usually done by running an installer application. 3.Connect the MIDI interface to the computer, as described in the inter- face documentation.
V-STACK3 – 26 Installation and requirements for Mac OS X Installing V-STAC K Defragment the hard disk If you plan to record audio on a hard disk where you have already stored other files, now is the time to defragment it. Defragmentation reorganizes the physical allocation of space on the hard disk in order to optimize its performance using a special defragmentation program. ❐It is crucial to the audio recording performance that your hard disk is op- timized (defragmented). You should make sure to defragment regularly. Installing V-STAC K To install V-STACK, simpy run the V-STACK installer application and follow the directions in the dialogs that appear. •At one point during the installation, you will be asked to fill in your serial number. You should have received this serial number when purchasing and downloading the program over the internet. If you purchased the CD version of the program, you will find the serial number on the registration card in your package. This completes the installation of your V-STACK program! The instal- lation procedure puts all files in the right places, automatically. You can now start the program from your Applications folder. When you launch V-STACK for the first time, you will be asked whether you want to add a V-STACK icon to the Dock. Register your software! Registering your software will make sure you are entitled to technical support and kept aware of updates and news regarding V-STACK. If your computer has a working Internet connection, you can register online. Launch V-STACK and select “Register Online…” from the V-STACK menu. If your computer does not have a working Internet connection, you can also register from another computer.
V-STACK4 – 28 Setting up your system About this chapter This chapter describes how to make the necessary connections and set up audio and MIDI in V-STACK. As already mentioned, there are two different ways to use the program: • As a stand-alone VST Instrument host, played via MIDI from a regular MIDI interface. • With VST System Link, where the VST Instruments are played by MIDI signals from another computer in the VST System Link network. Connections and settings are different for these two methods, and they are described separately on the following pages. • If you just want to get started and try out V-STACK, we recommend that you start with setting up the program for stand-alone (non-VSL) use (see page 29) and then move on to the chapters about VST Instruments and mixing. After you’ve got to know the program, go back to the section about setting up VST System Link (see page 35). This chapter also contains a section about optimizing your perfor- mance – see page 45.
V-STACKSetting up your system 4 – 29 Setting up audio (stand-alone) This section describes how to set up your system for basic VST Instru- ment playback – setting up VST System Link is described on page 35. ❐Always make all connections with all equipment turned off! Connecting audio Making audio connections is a relatively simply matter in V-STACK: you just need to connect the outputs on your audio interface to your listening equipment, recording devices, etc. • If you are using an audio interface with a single stereo output, you would typi- cally connect the outputs to an amplifier, powered monitors, headphones, etc. • If your audio interface has more than a single stereo output, you would typi- cally connect the outputs to a hardware mixer. Driver and helper application setup The audio hardware setup application Most audio cards come with one or more small applications that allow you to configure the inputs of the hardware to your liking. This includes: • Selecting which outputs are active. • Setting levels for the outputs, so that they match the equipment you use for monitoring. For more details about your audio hardware setup application please refer to the documentation that came with the hardware.
V-STACK4 – 30 Setting up your system VST Multitrack setup – Basic Settings 1.In V-STACK, select Device Setup from the Devices menu and click on VST Multitrack in the list. Make sure the “Setup” tab is selected. The VST Multitrack panel in the Device Setup dialog. 2.Select your audio hardware from the ASIO Driver menu. There may be several options here that all refer to the same audio hardware: ❐We strongly recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO driver written specifically for the hardware, if available. If no ASIO driver is installed we recommend that you check with your audio hardware manu- facturer if they have an ASIO driver available, for example for download via the Internet. 3.Bring up the control panel for the audio hardware and adjust the set- tings as recommended by the audio hardware manufacturer.