M-box, inquires Options

[lbdonp]

Hello everyone, I was wondering if anybody had info on the m-box, I have a G4 powermac with 5 slots, 533 mhz.,sdram 128 mb, L2 cache 1mb, and running on OS X 10.2.6 (and a 15" studio display monitor, is it too small?) and looking for a soundcard for mpc and turntable stuff, with mic and instrument connections, and something to fit my budget around 500-600. The M-box seem's interesting, so does working with PT. How does the USB connection hold up? and do I need to get a pair of studio monitor speakers for that? I'm not limiting it to m-box alone, any info would be greatly appreciated. I also had an offer for a roland VM3100pro but not sure if it's supported by OS X, and rolands sound quality? thanx..

This post has been edited by lbdonp: Wed 21 May 2003, 08:19

[bilhep]

I would consider one of the latest 17" LCD screens. Prices have come way down. That's got to be part of a different budget!

The USB, as long as it is native, should be great. I tried it on the G3(non-native) and it was just fine but quit once in awhile due to the fact that I was using a card for the USB.

Definitely! On the Studio Monitors!

[bbmozee]

The M-Box works great for me on a 667 TiBook with 512 MB RAM. Just get more RAM!

[aokjoey]

The USB, as long as it is native, should be great. I tried it on the G3(non-native)

I was considering getting MBOX for my 400 Mhz G3 PB. I only need 2 or 3 audio tracks at most; most of my stuff is MIDI based. Digidesign's documents recommend G4 only. Does this mean you actually can use a G3 with MBOX (assuming OS 10.2.X)?

Thanks, in advance,
aokjoey

[pesji]

To get a good overwiew just read the Digidesign article
http://www.digidesign.com/diginews/2003/5-...3/tech_tip.html

I'm afraid that you will have a hard time with so little RAM, another thing to consider is the type of OS you want to run if you want to go to OSX I think a 400mHz will probably be a bit short in CPU ressource.
Don't forget to dowmload the update 6.0.1 if you dont receive it with the package

For me the mBox connection with USB is fine (you have to get a real USB slot and not connected to a hub!)

Sometimes you get error message but most of the time it's running smoothly

Pesji

[aokjoey]

I'm afraid that you will have a hard time with so little RAM, another thing to consider is the type of OS you want to run if you want to go to OSX I think a 400mHz will probably be a bit short in CPU ressource.
Don't forget to dowmload the update 6.0.1 if you dont receive it with the package

I read the DigiDesign stuff, but it never really says WHY G3 is not recommended, so I appreciate your response. I'm running OS 10.1.5 on that machine now with no issues. I added RAM a while back for video editing, so I'm at 384 Mb.

So it looks like it will work, barely. That's okay, since I do plan to get a new PB this year anyway.

Thanks for the info!

[Synthetic]

I have no problems with Digidesign products but apparently someone else does but is afraid to post it.

Quote "The m-box sucks!!!!! A piece of gear that is marketed towards the musician should have a click track plug in. This is just another ploy to rip the public off." ... this was sent to me via jantho

feel free to contact him with your thoughts on this matter whether you agree or disagree.

[pesji]

Well why don't Jantho post himself about the mBox if he is not happy about it I would be very interested to read his arguments

And for aokjoey man I didn't want to discourage you i am just afraid that you will run into trouble if you start to manipulate to much tracks w/o plugins that's all but as I mentionned earlier I am still a Newbie, the french forum is full of exchanges on the thread of purchasing the mBox if you can read french ( which I am)

Pesji

[Synthetic]

  Well why don't Jantho post himself about the mBox if he is not happy about it I would be very interested to read his arguments

And for aokjoey man I didn't want to discourage you i am just afraid that you will run into trouble if you start to manipulate to much tracks w/o plugins that's all but as I mentionned earlier I am still a Newbie, the french forum is full of exchanges on the thread of purchasing the mBox if you can read french ( which I am)

Pesji

yeah... I wondered that myself as I got his comment emailed to the moderators as private message

as for G3 requirement... if you have ever run ProTools LE on a G3... a person would quickly see why as it takes lots of CPU cycles for automation and plugins. OSX will run on G3 but I have G3 350mhz B/W and its just too slow for OSX in my opinion. Unless you have the 800mhz G3's... the G3 is almost obsolete when you consider the requirements from new system apps or music apps. That is why sometimes is just as good to keep an older OS and older apps if you have a dated machine as myself. Its nice to have newer technology and more features but when it requires you to upgrade hardware constantly to keep up... then you have to step back and ask yourself if its worth it at that point in your computer life and financial situation.

With that being said... I run Digi001 on my 350mhz G3 and it works fine except it can't handle too many plugs and reverb plugs really tax the CPU a lot. I still am able to do mostly anything I want in PTLE but I just have to watch how many plugs and automation I use or it will bog down and cause me problems.

This post has been edited by Synthetic: Sun 15 Jun 2003, 17:57