Advice About The Mbox, would anybody recommend this Options

[gollumis]

i am a new commer to digital recording, i have a strong mac with plenty of power. i was thinking about purchasing the mbox, is anybody familiar with this device? i am looking for quality vocal recording at a low price. can anybody throw down some 2 cents......

thanks

[arvidtp]

hey

In short, I would say probably no. I own one and I'm not really satisfied. But then again I do a lot of crazy stuff with realtime instruments and sound processing. I think you would be better off with something else unless you already know / really want to use Pro Tools or just need to do what Pro Tools does (which is pretty damn impressive, but not everything there is, especially not in MIDI or realtime stuff). The mbox has serious compatibility issues with other software besides Pro Tools and limits the amount of processing power you can use for realtime stuff because it is USB. It also has a high degree of latency which will come out as a bit annoying if you play software instruments. Pro Tools is a great app for audio and multitracking and recording/editing, but not for composing. I often get frustrated with it for that.

I own an Mbox and a powerbook G4 1.25GHz. It has good sound quality, but I am not happy with its lack of functionality with other software I use. I think Digidesign wants to make it difficult to use with other software besides Pro Tools. Anyway I'm not recommending it. I'm gonna get lOgic express soon and try that out - I think it will be much nicer for composing, but i will still have to use the annoying mbox which includes such great features as only being able to be used by one application at a time and putting your mac to sleep will cause any software accessing the mbox to crash.

Anyway, good luck, sorry for my rant but I think Digidesign should put out better stuff. The mbox is old, and USB is not a great option for audio interfaces. It is cool to be portable and powercordless, but other non-proprietary interfaces can do this too. If you are not demanding with realtime software instruments/lots of effects, and only want to use Pro Tools, the mbox is ok. Otherwise invest elsewhere. I sorta wish I did. But if all you are looking for is quality recording, the mbox can do it.

This post has been edited by arvidtp: Sun 23 May 2004, 01:35

[gollumis]

thanks for the reply, was very helpful. i am not familiar with protools, the package just looked good. the software prices are kind of expensive, and i saw that the mbox comes with software. i am looking for good vocals, how bad is the usb. does it cause alot of problems being that it is powered by the computer? so the mbox can't work with logic or cubase? does it only work with protools? i wasn't going to jump right into midi, but can't you do that on other programs like garageband, cubase and others? what could you suggest as for getting a full package (audio interface and software). i mainly do hiphop if that counts for anything.

thanks

[arvidtp]

No, the fact that the mbox is computer powered is largely very cool. But the problems with USB come because of the way data is sent gobbles up CPU power I think. So with a firewire interface, even one for PT, like the Digi 002, you can use more of your computer's power for actually doing audio.

The mbox can work with logic or cubase or Garageband for that matter, however only one of them at once, unless you dive into Jack Tools for OS X which is really cool, but an added pain. And on some machines (like mine) the mbox causes some otherwise stable and respected software to crash sporadically (Like Reason).

You can do MIDI in Pro TOols, its just not as full featured and doesn't do notation or easy-as-cake moving/ duplicating of stuff during composition.

Logic looks like the best option right now for mac users but it is a tad on the expensive side. If you could afford it, my dream studio would be Logic Pro and a multichannel firewire interface such as the new Edirol FA-101 or the MOTU 828. But Logic Express and a more reliable cheap USB interface (like one from tascam or Edirol, m-audio too, but they don't have a great reputation because of their drivers i guess) could be comparable to the Mbox in price. I dont know how deep logic express is in regards to audio editing, but I am going to get it as a composition tool to augment pro tools and interface in realtime with things I create in MaxMSP, so we'll soon see. It seems as if logic will be more flexible as far as not being picky with what I do. It is supposed to be very CPU efficient (unlike pro tools LE) and also has the great freeze function that will let u use virtually unlimited processing/soft-synths. Logic express actually lets you have 48 audio channels, 16 more than Pro TOols LE. Both do rewire which is fun. There are also more free plugins for Logic (AU) or Cubase (VST) than there are for Pro Tools (RTAS). Its your choice. Pro Tools can edit audio wickid quick and accurate once you learn it, but doesn't score so high in the composition ease, CPU efficiency, or flexibility/expandability areas (in my humble oppinion). feel free to disagree, anyone.

[abcdaniel]

I bought the mBox and moved to ProTools after much angst about which system to choose. I also make hiphop, and the things that made me choose mBox/ProTools was:
*good sound quality on two channels (rarely would need any more for recording vocals and the odd instrument + monitoring)
*nice micpreamps built-in
*no powercord needed
AND
*ProTools has got an excellent way of handling tempo for audio (not as great for midi, though). I mostly make music by cutting and pasting audio until i find something nice. The thing with ProTools is that i can set the tempo afterwards and get my chaotic cutting and pasting to fit perfectly within a 4/4 loop, making it easy to arrange, and I can do it all within the same window as I am cutting and pasting in. It so much less fuzz and more creative than Cubase VST which I made the transition from. In general ProTools is very simple and very powerful, features much appreciated after struggling with other maze-like applications.

The downside is that ProTools is eating CPU, really. There are other threads here on macmusic which treats amounts of channels/effects possible. It is not an issue with very powerful macs, I think. Do a search in the forums. The other downside is the retarded support for other applications and stuttering OSX support. I believe that the mBox is usable with most apps these days, either via the extraretarded CoreAudio-driver or via JackTools

[gollumis]

thanks, so would you stand by your mbox. would you suggest it for a starter? i have a 400mhz g4 mac with 648 of ram. does the usb limit the quality? i have heard good things about protools, that is why i am interested in it. i have read on other forums about latency, how bad is this?

much thanks

[abcdaniel]

Gollumis, I do not know if I stand by the mbox for your computer. You have to ask around and see if you can get a decent track count with just 400mhz of G4. Cause ProTools is processor intensive.
I just got my mbox a month ago, and now I need a new computer! I´m still running a 233mhz G3 iMac, so I knew that was inevitable, hehe. Ask around a bit more, or search the forums, either here or on www.digidesign.com, where you are sure to find some posts about track-count on different powered macs. If you find that your computer allows for a decent number of tracks/plug-ins, i say go ahead with the mbox. For my style of production it is very sweet, and so is ProTools.

BEWARE: I don´t think the mbox is shipping with a OS9 version of ProTools anymore. Maybe you can still get a hold of a box including both OS9 and OSX versions. Ask around at the stores. The compatibilty and system requirements are different for OS9 and OSX versions, with OS9 version requiring a bit less power. Check out compatibility and system requirements on www.digidesign.com, before deciding.

[gollumis]

thanks dog, i am running osx 10 and classic. i will ask around, i guess i am just looking for the right response before i make my decision!! what is track count? i am unfamiliar.

[arvidtp]

as far as Pro Tools goes, it was way more CPU efficient in OS 9 (i was surprised what I could do with my iMac DV 400MHz G3). In OS X it is very "hoggy" and you may not get a very good track count with the machine you have. (track count is just the number of tracks you can playback without overloading your CPU - [audio playback isn't terribly expensive, but when you add effects/instruments it gets intense for the processor]) There are way more cool add-ons (like rewire stuff with Live, and Reason, PLogue Bidule, etc) for OS X while development for OS 9 is pretty much dead. But these things are of no use if you dont have the power to run them nicely. I find that like 4 soft-instruments and a few expensive effects (ie reverbs, granulators, spectral stuff) does in my powerbook 1.25GHz when using Pro TOols. I need to start mixing down stuff at that point. Oh, and by the way, dont try to run the classic environment (you mentioned that?) while using pro tools, that will cause issues (tried it myself a few times).

[gollumis]

so how many vocal tracks do you think i could laydown with osx on my g4 400? i am i going to be in trouble with this computer? or is it just how protools runs. thanks for the advice. really helps