Getting started with the Saffire 24

[jcourtial]

Hi everyone,

Sorry, this is a dummy question, but I haven't been able to find the answer for it anywhere, probably because its so dumb. Anyway, here goes.

I've got a recent Macbook pro running ableton 8.

I've got a MPK49 and a shure58. No monitors, just headphones.

I've just bought the Saffire 24 pro but can't figure out what cables I need to plug the whole lot (well, I've figured the mic one, and I guess the Midi keyboard will need a Midi). But there seems to be issues with connecting it on a Macbook pro. Something about Firewire?

What sort of cable do i need?

Also people seem to have quite a lot of difficulty setting it up. Is it that complicated getting all ready and good to go? I'm a real novice as you can tell. Should I just sell it and get a more user friendly one?

Any thoughts welcome.

Thanks, J

[koranek]

I've also got a saffire pro 24 which I'm using with my Mac Pro desktop. You didn't say exactly which Macbook Pro that you are using, but if it's fairly recent it probably has a firewire 800 port on it. Older Macs had firewire 400 ports on them. There is a difference in speed (the 800's being about twice as fast as the 400's).

The port connectors are also different, so you need a different cable for firewire 800 than for firewire 400. The Saffire has firewire 400 ports on it, so if your mac has firewire 800 ports on it, that might be your problem.

Firewire 400 ports are backwards compatible with Firewire 800 machines, so you just need the right cable. A cable with the proper 800 connector on one end and 400 connector on the other end is ungodly expensive (like $80).

Your best bet is a convertor that plugs into your macbook and then allows you to plug a standard firewire cable between the saffire and the convertor. I bought one from somewhere that's kind of crappy. Apple makes one for $15 that looks better and should solve all of your problems. Do a search for firewire convertor at the apple store.

Hope that helps. Man that was a long answer. I guess my coffee is working.

[Akshara]

Is it that complicated getting all ready and good to go? I'm a real novice as you can tell. Should I just sell it and get a more user friendly one?

I have the 24ProDSP model, and it is a great portable interface for the price; however, I can see it feeling a bit complicated at first, with setting up the routing in the Saffire MixControl software, as it isn't well designed for intuitively figuring things out.

While this is a great interface, and worth overcoming the initial hurdles and learning curve, my honest recommendation is to read through the manual completely (a PDF version is available on the Focusrite website if you have yet to open the box), and if after two or three complete readings, if it just doesn't make any sense, or feels like too much, then trust your instincts and either sell it or return it, and then look for a more user friendly option.

I have heard good things about Native Instruments' recent interfaces, such as the USB Audio Kontrol.

[jcourtial]

Thanks guys.

I bought my Mcbook pro in may last year, i guess not that recent in Mac's world. Do you think it will have a 800 port? And if so, do I still need a cable as I think the saffire only comes with a 400 cable?

I will have a look, I just realised I bought the saffire pro by mistake, I'm returning it to get the dsp instead.

Will give it a go once I have it.

There is so much to learn just with Ableton, I feel I'm spending all my time in manuals and websites trying to understand what to buy, how to make it work, etc. rather than actually making music! its doing my head in.

Probably already 30 hours in and feels like I'm nowhere!

But thanks again for your input, its invaluable help.

[koranek]

The information about what firewire you have can be found in a lot of different places. An easy way is to look under the apple menu (the apple icon at the upper leftmost part of your screen). Choose "about this mac." This will pop up a little window that gives basic info with a button to provide more information. Pressing this brings up a ton of details about your machine.

If you click on Firewire in the list on the left of this window, it will give information about the port. Just look to see whether it's showing a speed of 400 or 800 Mb/sec.

The saffire has a whole mixer for doing all kinds of exotic things with the interface. For the most part I never use it. Once set up, I just use Live's mixer to do everything. However, if you are using the DSP stuff, especially the Vroom stuff, you'll have to learn more about the saffire mixer, especially to be able to turn Vroom off and on. There's other onboard effects you can use like saffire's reverb, but I'm not a big fan. It is weird to have a mixer for your mixer in Live, so don't be surprised if it's confusing at first. Lots of other interfaces have similar arrangements.

There is a huge amount of power in modern computer DAWs that was not available 10 years ago. Anytime you have a lot of power, you have a big setup/learning curve. My advice is to not fight it. Maybe even try to figure out how to like it.

Take lots of notes, it's easy to get overwhelmed, or to forget how you figured something out. Be patient. Go slow. Once set up and familiar you should get a big reward for how much you can do. It will probably take way more time than you expect, but why are you expecting anything, especially if you've never done it before. It takes as long as it takes, regardless of our expectations (although our expectations can drive us totally insane). That said, we've all done it ourselves.

-John

[Akshara]

I bought my Mcbook pro in may last year...

It is likely that your MBP has a FW800 port only, as all models made from Oct '08 and on have the FW800 port only.

There is so much to learn just with Ableton, I feel I'm spending all my time in manuals and websites trying to understand what to buy, how to make it work, etc. rather than actually making music! its doing my head in.

I understand, it can be a lot at first. John is giving you great advice; as he said, all of us here has been through it. Go easy on yourself, and take it one step at a time. Once the physical setup all works, it will likely stay that way for awhile, and you will be both happier and wiser.

When you are ready, and if it helps, I got a lot out of watching the following professional video tutorial... http://www.macprovideo.com/tutorial/live8101

[jcourtial]

Thank you so much guys, much more than I was expecting.

Ok, so I have a firewire 800 success! (thanks for the tip on how to get the info, amazing!).
So it would seem I need a cable firewire 800 to 400.
Like that one?
http://amzn.to/jDYvJD

You are so right John. I knew it would be difficult, but I thought it'd be difficult figuring out how to use the software and hardware, i didn't think it'd be such a headache actually getting it.

Combined with a day job, I don't actually have much time to play with it, which is where the frustration comes from I think.

At least, it gives me more time to learn ableton.

Funny, I started the tutorial on Macbookpro but i thought it was too advanced for me, I really needed to understand all the basics. The sonic academy intro course was good. I also really enjoyed the nick tutorials. Slowwwly getting there. The book ableton Power was also very handy to understand the vocabulary...

I'll go back to Bill's tutorial soon I think.

Thanks again guys.

[jcourtial]

yes that's the cable I need.

success!