What Audio Interface Usb? Firewire? Pci?, drummer w3 macs lookin 4 clean sound Options

[bcdigiart]

I OWN 3 MACS..... ROLAND 24 BIT VX MIXER..... DM-5 w/pintech pad controllers....

my macs.... (1) G4 933 mhz ..... (1) G3 beige w/G4 chip.... (1) G4 Titanium powerbook

All (3) MACS have FIREWIRE... & USB.... (beige has usb/firewire pci card..)

WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR A DRUMMER TRYING TO GET BANG FOR THE BUCK.....??????

THESE WERE MY TOP CHOICES....

M-BOX w/ pro tools LE
TASCAM US-224 w/ Cubasis
M-AUDIO FIREWIRE 410 (soon to be released)
EMI- 2/6/M (not sure about this one)

I am mainly interested in sending PDIF out from my mixer into my computer for recording or
perhaps doing 1 or 2 track multi-track recording.....

I dont need anything over the top.... and figured USB might be just fine for my situation....

IS USB OK??? or am I making a bad mistake by leaning towards the M-BOX????


SHOULD I JUMP ON THE FIREWIRE BANDWAGON with the M-AUDIO 410????

Do I really NEED FIREWIRE????

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED

[dixiechicken]

Personally I would stay away from usb for audio work, the bandwith is limited int he original usb-specs. There have been various issues with usb-interfaces and digital audio. ( under Mac OS X ) Most notably between Motus Digital Performer 4 & EZBus usb-interface, several other interfaces as well.
Check out the lists here and Unicornation.

If tou decide to go with firewire, there are several alternatives. Motu 828 & 896, Presonus Firestation are just three. All three are more expensive than M-Box.

When and if Digidesign & Apple get theit shit together and releases coreaudio-drivers for ProTools line
of daws, you could probably chance it and buy M-box. Especially if your computer have an USB-II, socket. ( the new usb standard with much higher bandwith )
( here I'm assuming you run Mac OS X 10.2.x )

For daws, I personally favor Digtal Performer and ProTools, they feel the most comfortable for me,
to work with. Others swear by Logic or Cubase.

Cheers: Dixiechicken

[bilhep]

Hi bcdigiart,

As long as the USB is native you should have no problem there, though, rumor has it that FireWire, while slow to catch on, will turn out to be a better standard. As for my G3/466 Beige, with Belkin USB/FW Combo card, USB turns out to be unreliable since, periodically, it shuts down...right in the middle of a session! It is for this reason that I've ordered the FW-410. My reason for this is different than yours.

As a drummer you will ultimately need to mic individual pieces as much as you can. I see that you have a mixer so inputs won't be a problem but for me; no mixer; I wanted the inputs so I got the Yamaha AW16G Portable HD Recorder. It may be over your budget right now but consider the portability ane the quiet nature(no fans!) of the beast.

MOTU 2408 offers the eight inputs and FireWire; Digidesign offers the 001 and ProToolsLE(Industry-Standard software). In any case, please consider a control surface that offers you the facility you need as an instrument performer, to make small changes easily, without the need to get off your stool. Maybe you have someone to run the mouse with your PC-based software! I suspect that you, like most of us, work alone, late at night! :-)

Bill
william.heppe@verizon.net

[bcdigiart]

Thank for the RESPONSES... the other Mac Audio forum had some more hardcore Audiophiles... too busy to help us .... Drumhead types.......

For part of my Digital Drums I use my Powerbook (G4 Titanium 500mhz) in System 9.1 running Bitheadz Voodoo Drum machine.
It works perfect with my Roland Octapad because the Octapad has 8 built in pads and 6 external 1/4 inch jacks for a total of 14 pads
which is exactly the amount of built in PADS for Voodoo.

Voodoo is probably the BEST thing out there for the MAC..... But, unfortunately, I am getting the impression that Bitheadz really doesnt plan on updating VOODOO to OSX..... (its a shame that I dont do programming, because I have so many suggestions on how Voodoo could be improved....) Voodoo has a Looping function and built-in recording but the features are scattered together and it would be nicer if the software functioned more like a hardware DRUM MODULE... )

I am now THINKING:

GET AN M-BOX.....

or perhaps wait

and GET the Firewire 410..... but, I would still need software????

Will the 410 ship with recording software??? Or MIDI utilities???

My friend was pushing the M-BOX on my, because he was saying that PRO-TOOLS is the industry standard.
and later on, I can upgrade...

If I end up adding USB 2.0 to my mac, would the M-BOX they make now take advantage of that???

Is the M-BOX usb 2.0 compliant?????


I WAS JUST LOOKING TO GET THE MOST BANG FOR THE RECORDING BUCK......

I am just starting out, and I am not currently doing heavy MULTI-track recordings.

I am hearing that it wont be till June that I can get that M-audio firewire 410, so I am debating whether I should
plunk down the extra 49.00 bucks and go with the M-BOX Bundle......

ANY MORE WORDS OF WISDOM???

[bilhep]

BC,

I don't know if you're aware; The FW-410 I ordered was $325 at Sam Ash!! That may change a few minds around because, up til last week the lowest price I'd found was $349 at Bayview.

The man who sold me the Yamaha AW16G has an M-Box and he loves it but only because he uses a lap top. You'll never mic your drum set on the M-Box! which will only give you 2-in at any one time although I know what you mean about the software. If you lean that way then consider the 001.

Then, while you're sittin' on that mountainside rest area, consider climbing on up to the Yamaha AW16G which I just saw someone selling below the $1000 mark!
Control-surface
8 inputs to 16 channels; 144 V-Tracks!
Separate memory for sample Loop-pads
20GB HD
CD-ROM burner
More quiet than a mouse!

...and you say your drums are digital? So you don't need mics! Cool! I'm kind of interested in D-Drums! What do you like or don't like about them?

Bill

[bcdigiart]

D-drums.... havnt really had an opportunity to check out the built-in sounds.... The module always looked cool.... and the pads, I am sure are decent.

I would say that Roland kind of rules the Digital drum universe.... Though, I went to Manny's music one night and watched a Demo session of a drummer using Yamaha's DTX treme kit.....

The Module on that Yamaha setup is very nice. It is like the Roland TD-12 but also offers Memory stick cards and it has Fader knobs that allow a more mixer board that has individual voice levels.

My DM-5 has 500 built-in 18bit digital sound.... (the module sounds good) but it is not expandable like the DM-Pro.

I was really mainly seeking a good quality low cost interface to record off of my mixer....

But, thanks for the advice, again.....

If I buy the Firewire 410, does it ship with any Recording software?????

If not, Would I be smart to get say Logic silver????

Or, does M-audio recommend other software that is fully compatible with both OS9 and OSx??????

I will check out Sam Ash on that 410, will it take till June to buy this unit????

[James1966]

Hi all, it ws great reading all the digital recording and drum discusions tonite.I play guitar but I do enjoy digital drums on the MAC.I still use Virtual Drummer 4 freeware.I was wondering if anyone knows how to take VD 4 tracks I've programmed and import them into other software programs like Finale Notepad-(also free to download). ? I'm enjoying learning about M-Box and Protools. Last time I looked M_BOX was $450.00(US)-or around 300 pounds??Anyway the thing is M-Box will let you get vocals onto your tracks, not just GTR and Bass GTR.Will the other stuff do that?
Soon I will be reading up on Logic and using protools.If I find anything exciting, I'll share it in the forums.

[dixiechicken]

Big brother "Codas Finale", at least - can import both standard midi-files and
scores from Gvox "Encore".

Check if Notepad can too, that might be a solution.

Cheers: Dixiechicken

[bcdigiart]

I checked SAM ASH.......... they list the M-AUDIO Firewire 410 for $399.00
and it wont be in stock till.......... 6/15/2003

AND i still dont know what Software (recording) will ship with this DEVICE.....

hmmmmmm...........

Should i wait??? and see????

I figure the longer I wait the lower the pricing......... but, I am still wondering about the M-BOX....(USB vs. Firewire)

THE DEBATE CONTINUES.....

[bilhep]

BC,

Call SamAsh; 800-472-6274 x2285; Scott Costello. He's waiting for you. Tell him I sent you; he'll know.

Sorry I did not answer the other question; about software. I really don't know about whatever software they might include but I'm assuming they'll have VST plugin's and ASIO drivers I need. Whatever else I'm not going to depend on because, in the end I want to learn my Cubasis VST 2.0 software before moving on. It seems plenty powerful enough for the learning period. Once I become an adept I'm sure I'll want to have one of the heavy hitters which, by that time, will have gone through many revisions. If my software is going to be obsolete I want it to be the light version rather than the heavy. :-)

It's still too early in my own process for me to say, "Get Cubasis along with your box(it comes with SparkLE, for editing)." There are separate CD's and full documentation via PDF for the Spark. The book for Cubasis is very decent and comes in the box.

Speaking of learning and Cubasis, I downloaded some MIDI files yesterday; I've been doing this as a singer for years now and generally have hated these things but, for fun, I loaded one into Cubasis and was amazed to find that I have all the track information and can edit everything. I think this is the next area of my learning because I'm not a trained musician but rather am coming through a side door near the back!

Anyway, Cubasis has not let me down except with the Tascam 224 purchase(one-channel only version). The one I paid $70 for at Sam Ash has been everything I want so far.

Bill