Connect RME 12Mic with UFXIII and TotalMix using MADI Coaxial

I am stoked. This is a pretty amazing piece of hardware. My goal is to have 16 channels of pristine preamps (twelve from 12Mic, four from my UFX III) in my studio, all controllable from the same TotalMix software: achieved!

Derek at SynthAxe and perusing the RME Forum were very helpful. However, I needed to read a few different posts from the forum to get enough information to make it all work together. Most of what I saw on the forum was about doing MADI over optical. I wanted to do MADI over coaxial, so I wouldn’t need to buy an RME SFP Module for the optical. So I’m putting together all the info for this particular setup in one place in case it helps for others—and also as a gift for my future self in case I forgot how I got it working. (The very last step hung me up for longer than I care to say.)

Specs: This is working at the time of this writing with TotalMix v1.99, UFX III Firmware v21 and Drive v4.27, 12Mic firmware 2.0.1

Instructions:

  1. I needed hardware that was not in the box: two 75-ohm BNC cables. I purchased a pair for $12.99 on Amazon, and it was delivered the next day.
  2. Connect one 75 ohm BNC from the MADI out of the UFXIII to the MADI in of the 12mic
  3. Connect one 75 ohm BNC from the MADI in of the UFXIII to the MADI out of the 12mic
  4. Settings, UFX III:
    • Note: There is no dedicated “Coaxial” setting for MADI output, but “Mirror” works.
  1. TotalMix, Select Enable MIDI Control in the Options Menu.
  2. TotalMix MIDI Settings (Options Menu-> Settings-> MIDI Tab)
    • Some of the Forum recommended Port 3, but that is for Optical MADI. Use 4 for coaxial.
  1. TotalMix Aux. Device Settings (Options Menu-> Settings-> Aux. Devices Tab)
    • To “add” the second device, you just select it in the pulldown. Aux. Device will remember what isn’t showing.
  1. Total Mix Settings (TotalMix Menu-> Settings)
  1. Finally, on the 12Mic, follow the “Quick Start (MADI)” instructions in Chapter 6 of the manual. (Very easy and quick.)
  2. PLUS, be sure to enable the correct Remote setting on the 12Mic.
    • Click the rotary encoder/button on the front panel of the 12Mic.
      • Select “State”
      • Select “Remote”
      • Select “MIDI”
      • And here, set MIDI Input and MIDI Output to “Coaxial”
      • (You can also change your device number here.)