Recording - August 2010 - 40

CC121, MR816 X/MR816 CSX, and CI2

button which can launch Cubase’s browser window for selecting project templates, track presets and more. Below the AI knob is a button called the Action Pad— more on its function in a second. Assistance please New to Cubase AI and the CI2 is the Project Assistant, which is a pop-up window of starting templates that launches as soon as you start Cubase AI. These include templates for recording, mixing, mastering and production. For instance choosing “Acoustic Guitar and Vocal” brings up a pair of tracks ready to arm and preloaded with eq, dynamics and chorus on the guitar channel and eq and dynamics on the vocal channel, each pre-tweaked. Choosing “Distorted Guitar and Vocal” calls up a channel with a slimmed down Steinberg Amp similator inserted, and so on. ...and Action! Pressing the abovementioned Action Pad (or an attached footswitch) brings up the last unique feature of the CI2, the Action Panel. The Action Panel contains a circle with arrows on it. Each arrow represents a function, and a successive press of the action pad initiates these functions. There can be as few as two and as many as six. For example: Function 1 – record, function 2 – stop, function 3 – return to start. So you hit the Action Pad to bring up the Action Window, hit it again and start recording, hit the button again when done, hit it again and return to the beginning to listen to your work or record again. Simply simple I installed the CI2 on my Macbook, installed AI5, launched the program, chose a preset and recorded a few tracks, all in less time than grinding beans and making a cappuccino, it’s that painless and easy. Sure, its maximum sample rate is 48 kHz and it doesn’t offer the mic pres of the MR816. However, I rarely record at anything above 48k in my studio anyway and I like to do editing at home on my laptop, where the CI2 works great and still sounds good as a portable interface. As you can tell, the CI2 is all about a plugand-play experience, but it’s not just for beginners. I know quite a few songwriters and musicians who have no interest in being audio engineers or computer techs. The CI2 is perfect for them. They can work quickly and effortlessly without worrying about how to route the channels, set up effects and so on. (It also saves me time from being their built-in tech support and Cubase Guru!) At $199 the CI2 is again equal to similar devices in its quality range, but its integration and features with the included Cubase AI5 give it a healthy edge.

DSP Both models have an onboard reverb engine, and the CSX model also contains what Yamaha has dubbed the Sweet Spot Morphing Channel Strip. This channel strip includes a standard compressor and a 3-band eq. What’s the “morphing” part, you ask? With the turn of one of the multifunction knobs you can scroll quickly through preset combinations of eq and compression to find the one that works for a given source. This can then be fine-tuned to taste. The reverb (plate, hall or room) can also be tweaked simply from the front panel for decay time and mix as well as fine-tuned on screen. You can monitor through the DSP signal, and it can be applied to the inputs and tracked; up to eight instances of the channel strip and one of the reverb can be used as VST 3 plug-ins in Cubase during mixdown. Sonically these effects are equal to those you would find in most of Yamaha’s digital mixers, ‘cause that’s where they originated. The reverb is especially nice and actually better than many of the VST verbs on the market that come stock with most DAWs. Integration with Cubase The MR816’s control panel resembles a standard mixer where you can set up mixing schemes, access the channel strip and reverb and even preset the unit for standalone computer-free mixing. All of said features work fine in any DAW... however, when paired with Cubase the Advanced Integration is seamless. For starters, each input channel in Cubase will include all of the MR816’s DSP controls, routing options and input metering. Another huge feature is the MR816’s Quick Connect option. Say you have your bass connected to input 1, vocal mic on 2 and a stereo keyboard on 5 and 6. You pull up a new track and realize it’s routed to bass, when you were about to track a vocal overdub. No problem: simply highlight your new track in Cubase, press the channel button on the MR816 that corresponds to your vocal input (in this case input 2) and presto—the routing changes instantly to the correct channel. You will also see that when you create a new Cubase session, you now have a healthy selection of MR816 templates to choose from.
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RECORDING AUGUST 2010

Summary Of course all the cool integration in the world is pointless if the unit does not hold up sonically. Well, the MR816 sounds amazing and holds its own with some of the best digital converters on the market. I compared it to my beloved Lynx Aurora and the sonic differences were subject to subtle sonic taste, but not quality. The MR816 CSX is a joy for the Cubase user on every front. It’s simple to set up, routes instantly, works great, has seamless integration of its onboard DSP and sounds absolutely stellar. If I had one complaint it would be that there is no way to defeat or bypass the onboard preamps. Sure they sound great, but many folks take pride in their varied mic pre collections and will want to use them with the 816’s stellar conversion. Sure you can use the two channel inserts to achieve this, and/or simply run your pre into this pre, but neither is optimal. $699 street for the X and $999 for the CSX places the MR816 in line with similar competing models. Cubase or no Cubase, the MR816 is a great sounding, well built, feature-laden box.

CI2
The CI2 is a simple 2-in/2-out interface. The back contains a pair of Neutrik Combo XLR–1/4" inputs, a pair of 1/4" TRS outputs, a single 1/4" headphone jack, a footswitch jack, and the USB connector. On the surface of the unit are control knobs for each channel’s input, master volume, headphone volume, and a knob for blending the sound between the CI2’s inputs and the DAW’s output mix. Inputs 1 and 2 have globally-switchable phantom power, peak indicator LEDs, and are switchable between dual mono and stereo use. Input 1 is also switchable to HiZ for direct instrument connection. On the right of the unit is an AI knob similar in look and in functionality to that of the CC121. It also functions as a push

Prices: CC121, $429; MR816 X, $699; MR816 CSX, $999; CI2, $199 (all prices street) • More from: Steinberg, www.steinberg.net.

http://www.steinberg.net

Recording - August 2010

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