Looking for opinion on recording hardware-I need help!
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Posted on Feb 07, 2006 11:20 pm
Ian McIvor
Member Since: Feb 07, 2006
Good day everyone---
I currently have a starting home project studio (PC/XP/MBox/ProTools)and would like to upgrade, where my budget permits. My main 'want' is the ability to record more then 2 tracks at a time (Mbox). You know, track all drums...I was thinking about getting a Digi 002R, but that means I need to upgrade my PC with more balls. Another option is the MOTU 896HD. If I decided to go with this option, what software would be comparable to ProTools? Cubase? I guess the third option would be something like the Korg D3200 all-in-one thingy. I guess they all have their advantages and disadvantages, but I was looking to get some banter on this board with some ideas/pros/cons...
Just now seems that everytime I start looking through my mags, I get another idea on what I want...
Papa's got some money buring a hole in is pocket...LOL
Thanks a bunch,
Ian
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Feb 08, 2006 07:41 am Cubase, Sonar, ProTools, all the big guns do pretty much the same things with just little tweaks different, each having unique twists...but ProTools is only compatible with DigiDesign hardware and will only use PRoTools plugins, whereas Cubase, Sonar, Vegas and other will use any directX or VST standard plugin, which are a lot less expensive.
lucky13Your mom's favorite sonMember
Since: Feb 07, 2006
Feb 08, 2006 10:43 am Pro Tools is now kind of expanding their hardware compatability. With the new Pro Tools M Powered you can now use M-audio interfaces. (I say kind of expanding because Avid, the company that owns Digidesign also owns M-Audio) Any way it offers an alternative to the expensive digi hardware while still working with the program you are most familiar with. The M-Audio interfaces are much cheaper than digi interfaces and there are some with quite a few ins and outs. The drawback is that when you buy the M-Audio interface you then have to spend around $300 for the Pro Tools M Powered software.
Feb 08, 2006 10:46 am Yea, I really like the PC interface in ProTools. Does M-Audio make an interface that has 8+ inputs?
Thanks for the info,
Ian
lucky13Your mom's favorite sonMember
Since: Feb 07, 2006
Feb 08, 2006 10:48 am Pro Tools is now kind of expanding their hardware compatability. With the new Pro Tools M Powered you can now use M-audio interfaces. (I say kind of expanding because Avid, the company that owns Digidesign also owns M-Audio) Any way it offers an alternative to the expensive digi hardware while still working with the program you are most familiar with. The M-Audio interfaces are much cheaper than digi interfaces and there are some with quite a few ins and outs. The drawback is that when you buy the M-Audio interface you then have to spend around $300 for the Pro Tools M Powered software.
Feb 08, 2006 10:49 am Ooo. Mix reviews on M-Powered...That has me a bit scared...What have you heard?
Feb 08, 2006 10:51 am Just that it really doesn't match up to the real ProTools...specifics I do not recall, I'll do some digging and see if I can find the reviews I have read...
To be fair, you should at least download demos of Cubase and Sonar and maybe others and try them if you haven't...can't hurt to do some demo shopping if you plan to spend the big bucks, be positive you spent them well and did your research.
Feb 08, 2006 10:53 am Cool. The other thing is that I am using a laptop and the M-Audio is a PCI card. Is there anything out there that can convert the PCI card to another format?
Feb 08, 2006 10:56 am Then you need to look for a USB and Firewire solution...
lucky13Your mom's favorite sonMember
Since: Feb 07, 2006
Feb 08, 2006 10:57 am The M-Audio firewire 1814 has 18 ins and 14 outs with some onboard mic pres. It can handle 24bit/192K recording and is about $500. There is also the M-Audio Project Mix I/O which is the same interface but in the form of a control surface that looks a lot like the Command|8. I think that runs about $1500.
Feb 08, 2006 10:58 am That's what I figured. One of the reasons why I was looking at MOTU. Man, everytime I turn around, I want something else and can't make up my mind...lol. I guess one of the things that is holding me to software rather then a stand alone (of which nobody has remarked about, funny enough) is all the plug ins that I have. It would be a shame to waste all of those.
Thanks again,
Ian
lucky13Your mom's favorite sonMember
Since: Feb 07, 2006
Feb 08, 2006 10:59 am I personally have not used M Powered but it is still pretty new on the market, and there is almost always glitches with new software.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Feb 08, 2006 11:34 am There's also a PCMCIA card by EMU, the 1616M. I contemplated going to a laptop and thought pretty heavily about this card. I hear kind of mixed reviews about its driver stability but apparently the converters on the card are pretty good stuff.
lucky13Your mom's favorite sonMember
Since: Feb 07, 2006
Feb 08, 2006 12:27 pm An adendum to my previous post about the M-Audio 1814. The interface supports 24/192. That does not mean that the M Powered software supports that sample rate or bit resolution. I'm not sure what the limits are on M powered software but I'm guessing it is similar to Pro Tools LE. Also not all M-Audio interfaces are compatible with the M powered software, make sure you check and see if it is.
