PC Audio Mixer

The PC Audio Mixer automatically detects the components on your Pinnacle sound card and configures the display accordingly.

Use the PC Audio Mixer to control the input, output and monitoring levels of the various devices on the Pinnacle.

Buttons and Controls

Mixer Controls

Advanced Controls

Customizing Your Mixer

System Menu

Sound Sources

Contact Information


Operating the Volume Controls

To control the volume sliders with the mouse:

1.	Place the mouse pointer on the desired slider.

2.	Click and hold the left mouse button and drag the slider up or down.

If you click and hold the mouse pointer above or below the slider, the slider moves toward the pointer.

To move the left and right sliders simultaneously:

1.	Place the mouse pointer between the two sliders.

2.	The pointer changes to an up/down arrow. By clicking and dragging, you can move both sliders together.

If you prefer to use the keyboard:

1.	Press the Tab key to select each button.

2.	Then use the Spacebar to activate the selected control.

3.	Use the arrows keys on the keyboard to move the sliders up or down.


Sound Sources

Your computer generates sound in a number of ways:

CD Audio	Your computer can play a music (audio) CD similar to the way you would play a CD in your home stereo system.
MIDI Music Synthesis	Your Pinnacle sound card's synthesizer generates music for games and multimedia applications.
Digital Audio	Your computer can play and record digital audio files.

The Mixer has controls to adjust CD, MIDI, and WAV volumes, as well as the volumes for the Microphone, Line and Auxiliary inputs.

Use the PC Audio Mixer with all of your Windows multimedia and sound applications.


Mixer Controls

Playback Controls

	Mute Buttons	Each slider has a button that silences the selected source's volume
	Avanced Buttons	Opens a dialog box for Advanced Controls.
	Master Output	Adjusts the volume level for the Master Output
	Auxiliary Input	Adjusts the volume level for the Auxiliary Input
	Wave Output	Adjusts the volume level for the Wave Output
	Input Monitor	Adjusts the volume level of the Input Monitor.
	Daughter Synth	Adjusts the volume level for the Daughter Synthesizer.
	Main Synth	Adjusts the volume level for the Main Synthesizer.
Record Controls

	Record Select	Selects the source for recording.
	Avanced Buttons	Opens a dialog box for Advanced Controls.
	Mic Input	Adjusts the recording level for the Mic Input
	CD/Line	Adjusts the recording level for the CD/Line Input.
	S/PDIF Input	Due to the nature of the S/PDIF, the volume controls are not scalable. However, you can still view the input levels with the Peak Meters.
	Digital Synth	Due to the nature of the Digital Synth, the volume controls are not scalable. However, you can still view the input levels with the Peak Meters.
See also...

Operating the Volume Controls

Advanced Controls


Contact Information

Turtle Beach Systems

A Division of Voyetra Technologies Inc.

5 Odell Plaza

Yonkers, NY 10701-1406 USA

Sales & Information: Sales: Fax: BBS: CompuServe(R) e-mail: Customer Technical Support: World Wide Web:	800.233.9377 (inside U.S.A.)  914.966.0600 (outside U.S.A.)  Sales@tbeach.com 914.966.1102 914.966.1216 N, 8, 1 71333.2432@compuserve.com 914.966.2150 support@tbeach.com http://www.tbeach.com


Advanced Controls

Use the Advanced button to access additional controls on the PC Audio Mixer.

The Pinnacle contains Advanced Controls for the Auxiliary Input, Input Monitor, Daughter Synth, Main Synth, CD/Line Input, Mic Input and the S/PDIF input.

See also...

Auxiliary Input Advanced Options Dialog Box

Input Monitor Advanced Options Dialog Box

Main Synth Advanced Options Dialog Box

Daughter Synth Advanced Options Dialog Box

CD/Line Input Advanced Options Dialog Box

Mic Input Advanced Options Dialog Box

S/PDIF Advanced Options Dialog Box

Digital Synth Advanced Options Dialog Box


Auxiliary Input Advanced Options Dialog Box

Use the Auxiliary Input Advanced Options dialog box to change the maximum gain available for the Auxiliary Input. This control sets the volume range for the Auxiliary Input. The decibel level of the connected source can be raised or lowered by adjusting the Gain amount.

To Adjust the Gain for the Auxiliary Input:

1.	Click the Spin buttons to raise or lower the decibel amount. The decibel amount changes in increments of .5 dB.

2.	 Click Close.


Input Monitor Advanced Options Dialog Box

Use the Input Monitor Advanced Options dialog box to automatically turn the Mute button off to monitor recording when recording begins — and to reapply Mute when recording ends.

If the Input Monitor is muted (the Mute button is lit) and the Record Monitor in the Advanced Options dialog box is On (it is lit), when you begin to record, you will be able to hear the recording source even though Mute is On. The Record Monitor acts as an "override" for the Input Monitor's Mute button.

 To Toggle the Record Monitor On/Off:

1.	Click Record Monitor to toggle it On or Off.

•	If you want to hear the selected recording source when recording begins and Mute is On, click the Record Monitor so it is lit.

•	If you do not want to hear the selected recording source when recording begins and Mute is On, click the Record Monitor so it is not lit.

2.	Click Close.


Daughter Synth Advanced Options Dialog Box

The Daughter Synth Advanced Options dialog box lets you select the MIDI In Device Priority, the type of MIDI daughterboard installed on your system and set the Gain on the Daughter Synth.

Daughter Synth Advanced Options Button

The External Input and the MIDI Input from the Daughter Board use the same hardware and as such cannot be used simultaneously. The button for the selected device lights to display the active input when an application (or multiple applications) attempt to open both devices.

Normally, there is no reason to change this control from its default (External). If you are using a Daughter Board which can send System Exclusive Messages (such as the Turtle Beach Rio) you may need to change this control.

To Select the Daughterboard:

1.	Select the daughterboard you have installed by clicking its name.

2.	Click Close.

NOTE

This should only be changed if you replaced the WaveArtist daughterboard included with the Pinnacle Project Studio.

Daughter Synth Gain Slider

If the volume of the daughterboard is too low, its volume can be raised with the Output Gain slider. If you are encountering distortion, try lowering the Output Gain.

To Adjust the Gain on the Daughter Synth:

1.	Click-and-drag the Output Gain slider to the desired setting.

2.	Click Close.


Main Synth Advanced Options Dialog Box

The Synth Voice Gain sets the maximum available gain that the Main Synth can output. If you are encountering distortion, try lowering the Synth Voice Gain.

To Adjust the Gain for the Main Synth:

1.	Click-and-drag the Synth Voice Gain slider to the desired setting.

2.	Click Close.


CD/Line Input Advanced Options Dialog Box

If the volume of the device connected to the CD/Line Input is either too low or high, the Max Line Input Gain controls can easily adjust it.

To Adjust the Gain for the CD/Line Input:

1.	Click the Spin buttons, to raise or lower the decibel amount. The decibel amount changes in increments of .5 dB.

2.	Click Close.


Mic Input Advanced Options Dialog Box

If the volume of the device connected to the Mic Input is either too low or high, the Max Mic Gain controls can easily adjust it.

To Adjust the Gain for the Mic Input:

1.	Click the Spin buttons, to raise or lower the decibel amount. The decibel amount changes in increments of .5 dB.

2.	Click Close.


S/PDIF Advanced Options Dialog Box

When the Line In if Digital In unlocks button is selected (it is lit), and the Pinnacle detects digital data, the Record Select automatically switches to S/PDIF. Conversely, when digital audio is no longer detected the Record Select automatically switches to the CD/Line Input. Furthermore, when this button is selected, you will not be able to choose the S/PDIF Input as a record source until digital data is received.

If the Line In if Digital In unlocks button is not selected, when you change the Record Select to S/PDIF, you will receive a message stating that there is no input to the digital audio receiver.

The buttons in the Digital In Receive Rate box are for display only. A button lights to show the current rate at which digital data is being received.

To Use the S/PDIF Advanced Options Dialog Box:

1.	Click the Line In if Digital In unlocks button to toggle it On/Off.

•	If you do NOT want the Pinnacle to automatically switch to the CD/Line Record Source when digital data is not detected, click the button so it is no longer lit.

•	If you want the Pinnacle to automatically switch to the CD/Line Record Source when digital data is no longer detected, click the button to light it.

2.	Click Close.


Digital Synth Advanced Options Dialog Box

When you want to record the onboard Kurzweil Synthesizer using the Digital I/O, you can select the sample rate at which it is recorded — either 44.1 or 48 kHz.

Selecting the Synthesizer Sample Rate only effects the device connected to the Digital I/O, it does not matter when an analog recording is made — recording from the Stereo Out.

To Change the Sample Rate of the Digital Synth:

1.	Click the sample rate you want to use. The button lights for the selected sample rate.

2.	Click Close.


Customizing Your Mixer

The PC Audio Mixeruses an auto-detection feature to duplicate the functions of the Windows' Mixer that came with your sound card. Due to Mixer's ability to auto-detect the drivers on a sound card, different sound card mixers may vary in appearance.

You can customize your mixer in any of the following ways:

•	You can change the icons under the volume controls

•	Reorganize the order in which the controls appear

•	Add or remove controls -- as long as these controls are available on your system.

See also...

Changing the Icon Under the Slider

Configuring Your Mixer


Changing the Icon under the Slider

To change an icon under the slider:

1.	Move the mouse pointer over the icon you wish to change and click the right mouse button. A dialog box containing several icons displays.

2.	Use the scroll bar or the arrows to find an icon that best represents the volume slider control.

3.	Click the icon you want, then click OK. The old icon is replaced.

NOTE

You are only changing the icon -- not the device the volume slider is controlling.


Configuring Your Mixer

You can configure both the Playback and Record mixer controls.  The button of the Mixer you are currently working with -- Play or Record -- will be lit.

To Add a Mixer Control:

1	In the Driver box on the left, click to highlight the name of the control you want to add.

2	Click the Add button. The control is added to the list in the Mixer box.

3	Click OK. You will now see the control added to the PC Audio Mixer.

NOTE

•	You can only add one instance of each control to the PC Audio Mixer.

•	Controls are always added to the end of the list.

To Remove a Mixer Control:

1	In the Mixer box on the right, click to highlight the name of the control you want to remove.

2	Click the Remove button. This removes the control from the Mixer box.

3	Click OK. You will notice that the control is no longer on the PC Audio Mixer.

NOTE

Removing controls from the PC Audio Mixer does not remove them from your system -- it only removes them from the PC Audio Mixer. You can always add the controls back to the PC Audio Mixer at a later date.

Changing the Order of the Mixer Controls

The order of the list, from top to bottom, corresponds to the Mixer controls from left to right.

It is easy to change the order in which the controls appear on your Mixer. When adding controls, their names are only added to the end of the list -- you cannot add a control to the middle of the list. Therefore, the top most control listed in the Mixer box will be the first control on the left of the PC Audio Mixer.

If, for example, you had three controls -- MIDI, WAV and CD -- and you wanted them to appear in reverse order, you would need to take the following steps.

To Change the Order of the Mixer Controls:

1	Click each control to highlight it, then click the Remove button. You should now have no controls in the Mixer box.

2	In the Drivers box, click CD, then click Add.

3	Click WAV, then Add.

4	Click MIDI, then Add.

The order should now appear as CD, WAV and MIDI -- reverse of the original order. This can be helpful when locating the controllers on the PC Audio Mixer.


System Menu

Clicking the icon at the top left of the PC Audio Mixer displays a menu that contains information about the Mixer and gives you control over its appearance.

The System menu contains the following controls:

Restore	Restores the PC Audio Mixer after minimizing.
Move	Moves the PC Audio Mixer to any location on the screen.
Size	Is not used with the PC Audio Mixer.
Minimize	Minimizes the PC Audio Mixer.
Maximize	Is not used with the PC Audio Mixer.
Close	Exits the PC Audio Mixer.
About…	Displays information about the version number, date, and Product ID number.
Help…	Opens Help for the PC Audio Mixer.
Configure Mixer…	Opens the Configure Mixer dialog box to change the appearance of the PC Audio Mixer.
Always On Top	Keeps the PC Audio Mixer on top of any other opened windows.