Rodrigo Ramos

Almost Ready To Buy First Interface And Software

Hello everybody,

Alright here is where i am at, i have a Mac G4 powerbook and a 1000 dollars to invest in my first interface and software (aaah!) Like several other writers i have been contemplating between:
digidesign mbox with PTLE vs. MOTU ultralite with logic express.

I want to record mostly acoustic instruments (saxophone, elec and acoustic guitars etc.) but i also want to do field recordings (animals and machines) and i am certain that at some point i will work with midi. I am inspired by the work of brian eno, nigel goodrich (radiohead, beck) jim orourke and john mcentire.

Although i am looking towards doing mainly audio recordings i feel like MOTU/logic is more advantageous - 1) both are particularly MAC oriented, 2)both seem to be more flexible in working with other programs 3) tech support for both sounds more favorable- interestingly i have only found one complaint against Logic/MAC (hahaworld from last november) but i have seen much more complaints about digidesign and PTLE tech support. . . me being a newbie this is important. 4) reviews seem more positive about MOTU preamps than the digi mbox 5) MOTU has more analog i/o than the digi mbox.
Does my reasoning make sense?

question #1 can my MAC G4(OSX) handle logic express? i only have 512 MB and i read Lepetitmartien saying that 768 MB is not enough ( LPM, if you are reading this what were you refering to?)

question #2 i am living in spain (canary islands) and retailers/ distributors in the US dont ship overseas, does anyone know any reliable retailers in Europe ( U.K. will be too expensive!)

question #3 if i buy the MOTU interface in europe, will it be rated to work only with european voltage? or can it function in the states also?

thank you,

rodrigo ramos

Can I Use My 60 Hz Firebox Here In Spain?

Dear macmusicians

I need some advice,

I just bought a presonus firebox from sweetwater and had my mom mail it to me here in the canary islands. I have a voltage converter but i am worried about the HZ difference. The firebox has a frequency of 60 hz, here in spain they use 50 hz frequency. some websites say that only electronic clocks suffer from the difference, and that other appliances adjust themselves to the frequency, this is too unclear.

My question is: has anybody used an audio interface from the states in europe without it blowing up? I have a feeling this is a stupid question, the answer being: don´t try it send the interface back to sweetwater and buy a firebox here in europe.


rodri in tenerife