MOTU MicroBook

MicroBook

Professional recording and mixing that fits in your pocket.

The MicroBook turns your Mac or PC computer into a personal 4x2 recording studio with all the audio I/O and mixing you need for professional-quality recording and playback.

Plug in your mic, guitar and keyboard (or other instrument) and record up to four inputs simultaneously. You can even connect your iPod for rehearsing or sampling. Mix your tracks with on-screen CueMix FX software and apply DSP-powered effects such as multi-band EQ and compression.

With professional analog stereo outputs, digital output, and stereo-mini output jacks for both headphones and desktop speakers, you can monitor your live audio and recorded tracks any way you like.

Edit and finalize your recording with the included AudioDesk software.

From initial inspiration to polished track, the MicroBook gets you there with broad compatibility, bus-powered convenience, and professional quality.

Advanced features

From on-the-go remote recording, to personal studio production, to laptop-based DJing and remixing, the MicroBook delivers professional audio quality and advanced features in a highly compact form factor.

Complete personal recording

The MicroBook gives you a complete personal recording solution, with simultaneous inputs for a microphone, a guitar, and a keyboard or other stereo line level device. The mic preamp delivers neutral coloration and pristine sound, with 20 dB pad and 48V phantom power for condenser mics. Programmable analog, digital, and headphone outputs provide flexible monitoring options.

Balanced line level connectors

Other audio interface brands (even expensive ones) cut corners with unbalanced analog inputs and outputs, which can result in significantly compromised performance well below an equivalent balanced circuit. Not the MicroBook: your balanced I/O connections are well-protected against RF interference, AC hum, and other noise-producing environmental factors.

Precision Digital Trim™

Each MicroBook analog input is equipped with digitally controlled analog trim. This gives you the best of both worlds: the pristine signal quality of analog audio circuitry and the fine-tune precision of digital control. You can even save and recall trim settings on your computer.

Superb audio quality

The MicroBook delivers uncompromising audio quality intended for the most demanding professional recording applications. Born from MOTU's award-winning line of FireWire, USB, and PCI audio interfaces, the MicroBook embodies decades of engineering expertise.

Included software

The MicroBook includes CueMix FX console software for Mac and Windows, and AudioDesk workstation software for Mac.

CueMix FX™

The included CueMix FX software for Mac OS X and Windows gives you graphic, on-screen control of the MicroBook's on-board audio mixer, with up to five separate stereo mixes, 7-band parametric EQ, and compression on every input and output. Flexible routing options abound. Advanced features include a sine wave generator, oscilloscope, FFT/spectrogram display, and phase analysis tools.

AudioDesk®

The MicroBook includes AudioDesk, the workstation software for Mac OS X, which provides advanced recording, editing, mixing, processing, and mastering. AudioDesk delivers the power of modern digital audio workstation technology in an easy-to-use, inspiring multitrack recording experience. Together, AudioDesk and the MicroBook are a complete, professional recording studio for your computer desktop

Compatible software

The MicroBook employs industry standard drivers for across-the-board compatibility on both Mac and Windows.

Mac

The MicroBook ships with standard Core Audio drivers for Mac OS X for compatibility with virtually all Core Audio-compatible apps, including:

MOTU Digital Performer
MOTU AudioDesk
Apple Logic Pro
Apple Logic Express
Apple Garage Band
Apple SoundTrack Pro
Ableton Live
Propellerhead Record & Reason
Steinberg Cubase
Native Instruments Kontakt
Waves stand-alone apps (and plug-ins, via any compatible host)

Windows

The MicroBook ships with standard Wave and ASIO drivers for Windows 7, Vista and XP for compatibility with virtually all Wave-compatible audio apps, including:

Ableton Live
Cakewalk Sonar
Steinberg Cubase
Propellerhead Record & Reason
Image Line FL Studio
Sony Vegas Pro
Sony Sound Forge
Sony Acid
Native Instruments Kontakt
Waves stand-alone apps (and plug-ins, via any compatible host)

Mixing and processing

The MicroBook is not just an audio interface: it's also an audio mixer that allows you to mix live inputs (voice, guitar, keys, etc.) with your host software playback tracks.

A 10-bus digital mixer

The MicroBook is a 10-bus digital mixer that lets you mix live inputs with each other — with or without host software tracks. With CueMix FX running on your computer, you can create separate mixes of live audio from your mic, guitar, and keyboard, and send each mix to separate outputs (main out, line out, and phones out) or any combination of all three.

Modeled analog EQ

British analog mixing consoles are renowned for their musical EQ profiles. The MicroBook meticulously models these classic EQ curves to give you the very same, magical EQ settings found on these coveted desks. Seven separate filters are available on every input and output, including low-shelf and high-shelf, with intuitive graphic control of each EQ parameter.

Advanced mixing features

The MicroBook's included CueMix FX software environment is easy to use and nice to look at. Click simple tabs to configure settings for input, output, mixes, channel settings, and much more. The MicroBook is full of surprise advanced mixing features. For example, you can route a mix that includes both live inputs and host audio tracks back to the computer.

Compression

The MicroBook provides a classic compressor on each input and output, so you can apply compression liberally with the flexibility to decide if and when you want to "commit" to your mix. You can change the MicroBook's compression settings at any time while recording or listening.

Analysis and diagnostics

The MicroBook provides a wealth of tools for audio analysis and diagnostics to awaken your inner engineer.

Sine wave generator Set the frequency, set the amplitude, and choose an output. It's that simple. Sine waves can be immeasurably useful for setting levels, performing calibration, troubleshooting, sound design, and annoying the heck out of unwanted visitors when they invade your studio	White/pink noise generator Sometimes, noise is useful and good. That's why the MicroBook provides both white noise and pink noise, which can be used for sound effects, filter sweeps, masking, testing, calibration, and much more. With noise this close to your fingertips, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.
FFT and Spectrogram Visually monitor the frequency content of your music or other audio material as it plays. The MicroBook superimposes a Fast Fourier Transform and sonogram display directly on the graphic EQ curve so that you can see the effect of the EQ filters on the audio material being monitored.	Oscilloscope This is not your grandpa's oscilloscope. With modern digital precision, you have unprecedented control over how you view audio material using features like waveform recognition, split screen, trigger (with programmable criteria), and much more. Analyze harmonic content, view transients, or detect clipping with one-sample precision.
X-Y Plot The X-Y Plot graphs the amplitude of a stereo signal on a two-dimensional grid, allowing you to see the width of the stereo field of a mix in real time. It also helps you detect issues with polarity in stereo mixes, which, if left unresolved, can cause the mix to completely cancel itself out when collapsed to mono.	Phase Analysis Does your mix sound thin? Do you hear strange "flangy" artifacts? It could be suffering from phase or polarity issues. The Phase Analysis display helps you check the phase alignment and polarity of a stereo mix — especially mixes that might be summed to mono — or instruments (like drums) recorded with multiple mics.

Feature summary

4-input, 2-output bus-powered "plug-and-play" USB audio interface for Mac and Windows.
4 x 8 physical input/output channels.
10-bus digital mixer to route and mix live inputs with live computer tracks.
Pre-amp equipped mic input with Precision Digital Trim™, 48V phantom power, and 20 dB pad.
Guitar input with Precision Digital Trim.
Stereo line level analog input (balanced TRS quarter-inch or stereo mini).
Stereo balanced TRS quarter-inch line level main outs.
Stereo eighth-inch “mini” line level out.
S/PDIF digital out (duplicates main out).
Headphone output on eighth-inch stereo "mini" jack with independent volume control.
Support for both 44.1 and 48 kHz sample rates on all analog and digital ins/outs.
Digitally controlled analog trim for all analog inputs.
Digital trim for all outputs.
CueMix™ FX no-latency mixing and monitoring with EQ and dynamics processing.
7-band parametric EQ and compression.
Test tone and white/pink noise generator.
Advanced audio analysis software tools, including FFT display, spectrogram "waterfall" display, oscilloscope, X-Y plot, and phase analysis.
Industry standard Mac and Windows drivers (Core Audio, Wave, and ASIO) for across-the-board software compatibility.
Compatible with all current and recent generation Macs and PCs.
Includes AudioDesk DAW software for Mac, USB cable, and mic cable adapter.

System requirements for the MicroBook

For Mac OS X:

PowerPC G4 CPU 1 GHz or faster (including PowerPC G5 CPUs and all Intel processor Macs)
Mac OS X version 10.5 or 10.6; v10.5.8 or later is required

For Windows:

Pentium 4 CPU (or equivalent) 1 GHz or faster
Windows 7, Vista, or XP, 32- or 64-bit

For all systems:

512 MB of RAM; 1 GB or more recommended
Available USB port
Large hard disk drive (preferably at least 100 GB)
CD-ROM disc drive for installation