M-Audio Ozonic - works with T2 on Mac and PC??

[beebul]

I've just bought an Ozonic, am hoping to use it with my PC (XP) and Mac Powerbook (OSX) has anyone else got one of these set up OK with Tracktion..?

Any tips, pointers? Are they good devices, it was bought on a whim because I managed to get one cheap with a minor knock to the side....

Thanks

[headquest]

Yeah, I have Ozonic. I like it a lot - great audio quality, nice keyboard, etc. But there's a couple of stories to tell about this...

1) Regarding use with Tracktion, firstly. I had real difficulties getting the MIDI controller mapping feature in Tracktion to work at first. I posted about it here and on the Mackie forum. Although I repeatedly followed the instructions to the letter, Tracktion seemed not to be recognising the movements I made on the Ozonic... anyway, mysteriously it resolved itself. At first it started working *sometimes*, now *mostly* (I rarely use Tracktion at present though because I have had other issues to do with GUI update, audio problems, etc). I never established why there had even been a problem. Hopefully it will all work fine for you straight up

2) Then I had a hardware issue with Ozonic itself... basically the headphone out socket was dodgy (loose connections inside, I think). It did that thing where one ear crackles and cuts out. There was a dude on the Propellerheads forum reporting an identical problem. I tested the headphones (Sennheiser HD25s ) on other keyboards and HIFI, etc, and found they were fine. So I took the Ozonic back to the store where I bought it. They agreed there was a fault and ordered up a replacement... which took no less than THREE months to arrive

The most interesting part is that the replacement feels like an entirely different unit The keyboard itself (I am a pro player and teacher) is much nicer on the new one - the keys have a slightly better and more matt finish - less plasticky. The aftertouch is less extreem (on the original it resulted on the casing rising if I depressed the aftertouch right through to cc127). The sliders are all firmer, better friction, etc. Some of this may be simply that the device is newer, but I suspect that there may also be some variety between one Ozonic and the next! I suspect that the first one I bought (the month that Ozonic was launched) was a demo NFR model given to the store, which they sold me opportunistically when I showed up asking if it was available yet ... but I'll probably never really know!

Last thing - the drivers on the CDROM are out of date... hop over to the M-Audio site and get hold of version 5.10.0.5034.

Good luck!

[beebul]

Thanks, not seen the unit yet but I have been told by the guy at the store that the end cheek is slightly warped and that this causes a some friction on that final key... I may be able to fix this, or may not... I'm not the world's best keyboard player anyway so it shouldn't bother me.

I can live with this anyway as it only cost £220

What is the sound recording quality like, as I am hoping to plug my Theremin (just built) and guitar into it?

Dave

[headquest]

Well I think the sound quality is very transparent and well rounded. I moved up to ozonic from an Edirol UA-20 USB interface and I was taken aback by the very obvious improvement. Also of course the latency is much better. I generally run it on 256 samples, giving in/out combined latency of around 14ms.

Also you have four inputs, including two (switchable) phantom-powered ones. Ozonic has its own simple mixer where you can assign how the inputs behave (mono, stereo pairs, etc). So you could configure this to record theramin/guitar/vocals all at once if you had other players involved .

I think I need to know more about your theramin - I love the sound that thing makes - so expressive. I remember first hearing it in a classical piece by the Czeck composer Martinu while I was driving along. It was one of those moments where I had to pull into a layby because I was so moved...

Anyway, back to earth, another important thing to point out is that you must power-on the Ozonic BEFORE you switch the computer on, and power-off AFTER the computer is fully shut down. Otherwise the drivers won't load up for you. I hadn't used a firewire device before Ozonic, and the fact is that firewire stuff isn't so easy to just plug-and-play as USB stuff is.

And yet another point to note - there is a software utility program called "ENIGMA" which you will be able to download free from the M-Audio site once you have registered your Ozonic. This is a fab bit of software that makes it MUCH easier to assign MIDI commands to the Ozonic knobs/sliders/etc, and includes a whole pile of templates that are ready to use.

£220 was a good price

[headquest]

One last point...

In the box you should find a copy of either Reason Adapted or Live 4 Lite. According to the box it's Reason Adapted (and that's what I got with the first Ozonic) but the replacement came with Live 4 Lite instead.

Either way, you're getting top software with a good upgrade path to the full professional versions if you want them and don't already own them (I already owned both Live and Reason anyway ... but I have students who will make good use of them )

[beebul]

Well the Theremin was a present so I don't know where it came from... but it's in kit form and doesn't look that expensive. I haven't actually played it yet, because even though I finished building the device today, it didn't come with a power supply!!

However, once I've got it going I will send you some sample sounds recorded thru my new Ozonic

Thanks for your informative replies, could you tell me, how well does it work with soft synths such as Minimonsta?

[headquest]

Hey! sorry for the delay replying again...

Looking forward to the Theramin samples

I don't have Minimonsta specifically, but Ozonic is certainly great as an interface for playing (any) software synths.

I use Reason a lot here, and the controller mapping is first rate (in fact I would say that as of Reason 3.0's new "ReMote" technology, it's really the best there is at present by a considerable margin...).

However, in Tracktion you can map any of the various parameters of a VST synth to the different knobs/sliders/mod wheel/joystick on Ozonic. It really gives you a very hands on feel. For me as a keyboard player, I found that when I bought Ozonic it pretty much revolutionised the way I worked with software instruments.

I hope you have as much fun with it as I'm having!
Cheers, Andy

[beebul]

Hey Headquest - I think I've got the same problem here with the headphone socket!?

Is there anything I should do to get audio in both headphones? I am using two different pairs of Seinheisers that work fine with other equipment?

[headquest]

Hey Headquest - I think I've got the same problem here with the headphone socket!?

That's bad news - at least three of these deices that I know of had this fault then

Is there anything I should do to get audio in both headphones? I am using two different pairs of Seinheisers that work fine with other equipment?

I think it is a circuit-board problem... i.e. the headphone output needs soldering more firmly inside the unit. If your experience is like mine, it will get worse with time, as it works its way looser on the inside. Unless you are the sort of person who can open it up and mend the hardware, the only solution is to take it back and get a replacement.

Sorry - that's bad news.

[beebul]

Well. it doesn't work at all through the right ear, however if I plug the headphones into analogue output 'a' I do get sound in both headphones... is this acceptable?

[headquest]

Not really because you will only be getting a mono image (I think...check the manual).

But I guess it could be a workaround if...
1) You do your mixdown using monitors, not headphones
2) Basically use headphones mainly for cueing stuff in a gig, where stereo is not an issue
3) Can't mend the unit
4) Can't replace the unit because of the special deal you got, but love the rest of its features enough not to take it back for a cash refund/alternative controller.

[beebul]

Hmm, yes it's a bit of a quandry due to point 4...???

I mean I could get a refund but really I would have to shell out full price for a new unit.

Might phone Absolute Solutions (bought it from their eBay store) and see what they say?

There's definately nothing I am doing wrong with the unit to only be getting a left audio signal in the headphone pot?

Thanks again for all your assistance

[headquest]

There's definately nothing I am doing wrong with the unit to only be getting a left audio signal in the headphone pot?

There are two knobs for the headphone - as well as its own volume (top left knob) the source knob underneath affects the headphone.

Your problem sounds different to the one I had, because I got crackle and one ear cutting out. You sound like you never got both cans working in the first place

I would take out/put back in the headphone jack, twiddle both knobs, and if nothing improves...

[beebul]

Bumping this up from a while back

Hi Headquest... sorry for the late reply I've been on my hols.

Decided to send this Ozonic back and ordered a brand-new one. One thing I was going to ask is have you managed to get it set up so that the transport controls (play, record, etc) work in Tracktion? And if so how did you do it...?

Thanks

[headquest]

Decided to send this Ozonic back and ordered a brand-new one.

Hopefully have better luck this time then

One thing I was going to ask is have you managed to get it set up so that the transport controls (play, record, etc) work in Tracktion? And if so how did you do it...?

Thanks

I don't think that you can do that. As I understand the transport controls are not assignable in Tracktion unless you have a Mackie controller.

All the other stuff is assignable via the MIDI controller mapping menu, which is hidden away under the "Automation" tab on the bottom left of the screen. Good luck!