Apogee supports the connection of GiO to the USB hub in Apple Cinema Displays. Otherwise, it is recommended to connect GiO directly to a USB port on your Mac.

Yes you can. Simply connect both devices and choose ONE as your audio input/output device. GiO’s footswitch functions will automatically be recognized, regardless of the audio input/output setting.

Playback from any audio application such as iTunes or DVD Player has greater clarity and dynamic range through GiO’s output. GiO’s complete functionality, including footswitch control and illuminated user feedback, is only available with Logic Pro, MainStage, and GarageBand.

Under certain circumstances of normal operation, none of GiO’s lights are illuminated. In order for GiO’s Stompbox Indicators to light, the track onto which stompboxes have been inserted must be selected. If you’ve selected a track with no stompboxes, the Stompbox Indicators go out. If you have selected a track with stompboxes in Logic 9 and GiO is still not lighting up, go to the Logic Pro menu > Preferences > Control Surfaces > Setup. Select the GiO icon by clicking on it. Press delete. Quit Logic and then relaunch it.

First, the expression pedal’s 1/4” connector must be a 3-conductor TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) type. Pedals with a 2-conductor TS (tip-sleeve) are usually meant for analog volume control, and won’t work properly. Even amongst 3-conductor expression pedals, there are two commonly used connection standards. Through the utility app GiOConfig, GiO supports both standards. Please see page 21 of the GiO User's Guide for details.

Apogee has tested the Yamaha FC-7 and the Roland EV-5. We will post more as we have an opportunity to test other pedals.

Verify that the System Preferences Sound windows are configured as described on page 17 of the User's Guide. If there’s no output after checking the System Preferences, open Audio MIDI Setup, set "Properties For" to GiO, and toggle the sample rate (labeled as Format) from one setting to the other and back.

Check that the audio software has been configured to use GiO for audio inputs and outputs, as described on pages 10-18 of the GiO User's Guide.

To hear the input signal of a record-enabled track, Monitoring must be set to On. Double-click a Real Instrument or Electric Guitar track header to open the Track Info pane, and verify the Monitoring setting at the bottom of the pane. On an Electric Guitar track, highlight the guitar amp and click Edit to reveal the Monitoring menu.

Once your instrument is connected, your audio software is configured and you’ve created a new recording track, just how do you set the input gain for a proper recording level in your audio software? There’s no simple answer, but with a few guidelines and a bit of experience, you can master setting a proper level. Ideally, the input gain should be set so that when the input signal is at its loudest, the level in audio software is just below maximum without lighting the Over indicator.

In reality, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to guess just the right gain setting to accomplish this - when your gain is too low, the signal never gets close to maximum and when your gain is too high, a digital Over may occur. Now, with a 24-bit system (such as GiO), the noise floor is so low that there’s no real penalty for undershooting the gain setting and recording at a lower level. There IS a penalty for overshooting the gain setting - a digital Over that results in significantly increased distortion. Thus, it’s better to work with a recording level that’s a bit too low than a level that’s a bit too high.Just how much to undershoot the gain setting is determined by the nature of the sound being recorded. As a general rule, instruments such as bass and organ have a more consistent level than percussive instruments, such as a tambourine, and may be recorded at a higher level.

Also, the performer’s skill and playing style can dictate more or less caution when setting levels. As you gain experience, you’ll be able to more accurately set a good recording level while avoiding digital overs.

The I/O Buffer setting found in most audio software is one of the most crucial, but often ignored, settings in a Mac-based recording system. When choosing a buffer setting, a compromise between the latency through the application and the amount of computer processor power accessible to the application must be made.

Latency - the slight delay between the moment you play a note and hear it in your headphones after conversion and processing.A lower buffer setting results in lower latency but less available processing power. If the application can’t access enough processor power, processor overruns may occur, resulting in audible clicks and pops or error messages that interrupt playback and recording. A higher buffer setting, on the other hand, results in greater amount of accessible processor power (i.e. less chance of overruns) but increases the latency. Determining the best setting requires some trial-and-error in order to find the best compromise.

Keep in mind that as tracks and plug-ins are added to a software session, processor requirements increase. Thus, the buffer setting that works during the early stages of a session might result in processor overruns during later stages. The best strategy is to set the buffer to a lower setting during recording and accept certain limitations on plug-in usage, and then raise the buffer during mixing to utilize the computer’s full processor power when latency isn’t an issue. With the processing power of today’s Macs, you may find that adjustment of the buffer isn’t necessary, and you can leave it at a setting for low latency and still access a sufficient amount of processing power when adding tracks and plug-ins. If you do encounter clicks, pops or software errors, don’t hesitate to experiment with the buffer setting. Please consult the section on Working with GarageBand, Logic and Mainstage to determine how to se the I/O buffer setting is found in your audio application.

GiO offers a choice of two sample rates, 44.1kHz or 48kHz. So, what’s the best sample rate to record your project at? It’s a good idea to avoid unnecessary sample rate conversion stages, so the answer is determined by the sample rate of media on which you plan to distribute your recording. If the final distribution media is CD, record at 44.1kHz. If the media is video or TV, most often 48 kHz is the best choice. If you’re part of a larger production chain, and aren’t sure, ask whomever is responsible for assembling the final product - they’ll undoubtedly appreciate the forethought.

It’s an accepted “best practice” of most audio software providers that audio files should be recorded on a hard drive other than the Mac’s Startup drive (i.e. the drive on which the operating system is installed). You can probably get away with recording a few tracks to your computer’s Startup disk, but for the best performance of your GiO recording system, record onto a separate ATA/IDE, SATA, or FireWire drive whose spindle speed is at least 7200 RPM.

Most powered speakers offer an input volume control, often labelled as input sensitivity. Rather than describe an overly complicated method for setting this control, the easiest way to determine the right setting is to note where you generally set GiO’s output level. If you find yourself rarely turning the output past a very low output level (say, -35 dB), decrease the input sensitivity on the speaker. If, on the other hand, you find yourself setting GiO for full output and the speakers aren’t loud enough, increase the input sensitivity. Ideally, GiO’s output should be at 0 dB when you’re listening at your absolute maximum desired volume.

Decrease the I/O buffer size in your audio application.

Problems with clicks and pops usually indicates that the I/O buffer in your DAW (audio application) is set too low.

To hear the input signal of a record-enabled track, Monitoring must be set to On. Double-click a Real Instrument or Electric Guitar track header to open the Track Info pane, and verify the Monitoring setting at the bottom of the pane. On an Electric Guitar track, highlight the guitar amp and click Edit to reveal the Monitoring menu.

In most cases, a steady hum or buzz at the output is caused by grounding issues between GiO and the connected equipment. Because bus-powered USB interfaces are grounded through the USB and audio connections, and not through a 3-prong grounded AC connection, the situation may arise where the grounding configuration of the connected equipment must be modified. Check that the computer is grounded with a 3-prong AC connection. Some experimentation may be required to find the groundingconfiguration that results in the lowest noise. It may be useful to disconnect all equipment except GiO, the Mac and a pair of headphones, and then connect additional equipment one piece at a time.

Verify that OS X 10.5.7 or later is installed. If so, choose About This Mac, then click More Info... to open System Profiler. In the Contents column, open the Hardware disclosure triangle and click USB.Verify that GiO appears in the USB Device Tree pane. If GiO does not appear, try another USB cable or port.

Ensure that GiO software and MIDI drivers have been installed and Verify that the correct version of GarageBand (version 5.1 or later) or Logic Studio (9 or later) is installed.

Currently, it's possible to aggregate ONE and GiO (using the OS X utility Audio MIDI Setup), but the system may be less tolerant to sleep/wake cycles of the computer, session sample rate changes, and hot-plugging. It's best to minimize these activities when aggregating.</p><p>Keep in mind that with Logic 9 and GarageBand it's possible to assign the input to one device and the output to another without the need to aggregate the devices. In Logic Pro, for example, choose Logic Pro > Preferences > Audio, and set Output Device to ONE and Input Device to GiO