Syncing to motu

S

starch

New member
I am running Sonar 3, with a MOTU 2408mkII. I have been using the Focusrite Octopre and sending the signal via lightpipe to the 2408, with the Octopre being the master clock device, and it has worked flawlessly. I am trying to add a Behringer ADA8000 unit to the system for the extra pre's, but when I connect it to the MOTU, I suddenly have problems with the system recognizing any of the input channels (including the Octopre). When I put the Behringer unit in place of the Focusrite unit all is well, but they won't both work at the same time.
I am thinking it may have something to do with syncing and I am not sure how to sync all of these together. Can I set the MOTU as the master device and the Octopre and ADA8000 as slaves and get the signal to the preamp units via lightpipe or do the source units (Octopre/ADA8000) need to provide a clock source, or do I need some external unit to clock all of this together.
I hope there is a way to do this with what I have as I have a live session coming up in a few days and need all the inputs. Any help would be incredibly appreciated!!

Thanks,

Starch
 
I used to have a lot of problems like this until I added a Lucid GenX clock, and slaved everything to it. Look on ebay for one.
 
Thanks screws.

I have read a lot on these threads about the Lucid GenX clock. I will definitely look into it. What I was wondering is if I should be able to sync everything together, or if it just isn't possible without a dedicated clock. I was under the assumtion that I should be able to get everything running with what I had. Any thoughts??
 
Look in the manual for the MOTU and see if it can be set up as a Master clock source and slave the other units off of it.
You may need to utilize the word out BNC connector along with the ADAT :confused: Not sure though.
Maybe chain the units word clock connections like MOTU out to ADA8000 IN then ADA8000 out to Octopre IN.
Just speculation, as I really haven't a clue. I would think that it should be covered in the manuals for the three units on syncing to other digital gear.
A master clock such as the Lucid would be the ideal setup, but it was my understanding that the MOTU can generate a word clock. At least my 828mkII is supposed to be able to. Yet I only have one 8 channel preamp connecting to it via ADAT.
The more I think about it .... I tend to believe it may not be a clock issue seeing as how you are just using preamps and not some other digital recording unit that would require sample accurate sync. I could be wrong though, but I would go through the manual on the MOTU and see if maybe there is just some configuration you need to do to the ADAT ports via the MOTU control panel.
I guess it couldn't hurt to have a master clock any way. Then there would be no second guessing on the sync.

HTH
 
Thanks for the reply crankz1, I was at work when I sent the original post and I will check the manual now. I think you and screws are both right about going to an external clock source. I think it would definitely make life easier and probably sound better too. I'll start saving my pennies!!

Thanks again
 
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