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Mbox, M-audio, What!?, Need help deciding |
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Wed 28 Jan 2004, 19:10
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Newbie
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I'm new to the forum, and to recording in general. I really want to get something that I can plug into my flatscreen iMac G4 that will allow me to record vox, guitar/bass, and possibly even drums directly into my computer. I also would like this to come with tools to record/master what I do. I went to Guitar center and asked them, and they suggested the M-audio firewire 410, and a friend of mine suggested to me the Digidesign Mbox. Do you all have any suggestions maybe? I have been looking at these two systems and am worried that the M-audio doesn't come with very a very complete editing/mixing/etc. software, but really like the amount of inputs and the fact that it already has a midi solution. Any thoughts, or other suggestions, PLEASE?!!?
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Replies
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Wed 28 Jan 2004, 21:59
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Newbie
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I would most likely do everything one track at a time, but have a mixer and am prepared to use that if I have to.
Also, I'm running 10.2, know of any problems it might have with that?
Okay, so M-box it's looking like so far. Thank you so much for your opinion. I guess I'll just have to get me a midi-in in addition too.
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Wed 28 Jan 2004, 23:10
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Newbie
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Hrm, I checked that out, that's not too bad. Can you suggest anything else aht might work well, or are htose two pretty mch the best for their price range and package?
Also, does the difference between USB and Firewire affect that sound quality at all?
I'm so confused on what to pick. It's just so hard with things like this where you really don't get to try them out very well, and when it costs so much. Thank you all for your continued help!
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Wed 28 Jan 2004, 23:12
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Newbie
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What about the motu 828? I found it on ebay for about 500 dollars, and am wondering if this could be what I want? Any ideas, or possibly info on the software that comes with it? Is Mbox worth it for the ProTools alone?
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Thu 29 Jan 2004, 00:11
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Moderator In Chief (MIC)

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You're more likely to have troubles in USB than in Firewire. Now the Mbox does not suffer from this (the problem is in the supporting drivers see my alledged post on this). Sound quality depends of the converter mostly. But in USB you can encounter on a busy setup or with bad drivers clicks and Plops not that enjoyable. I'm personnally very wary upon M-audio and Edirol products mostly because of the drivers (check the forums, there's already stuff there, I've had bad experiences myself but in the forums you'll have the last news, I'm following rather for afar, i'm on MOTU  Now the 828 IS cool  The software coming with is audiodesk, which is most of the Audio part of Digital Performer. DP is better (mostly you have the MIDI side), but Audiodesk is a quality tool. You can upgrade to a full DP from it too.
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Thu 29 Jan 2004, 00:14
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So you'd recommend the 828?
Thanks for so much help, this site rocks. I never found it until today, and now I'm going to be addicted! so much good help. You rock lepetitmartien!
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Thu 29 Jan 2004, 03:11
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Agh, I didn't realize that the 828 I saw on ebay wasn't the mkII. Should this effect my decision? ARGH! So complicated! So expensive! Such a hard decision!
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Thu 29 Jan 2004, 22:09
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does the tascam come with any recording software? Also, would I need preams since it appreas to not have any?
The reason that I had originally looked into the Mbox was because a friend recommended it, and when I went to Guitar Center and asked the recording people what a good option was, they suggested the firewire 410. And obviously I knew not to trust him on the spot so I looked around for further answers.
I'm worried about that 828 because there isn't much information about it on the motu website, and because I found it for a good price on Ebay, but after buying some other hardware on there, I'd really rather be able to buy something that I could at least get a little bit more information or even hands on experience with.
This post has been edited by Mangrilla: Thu 29 Jan 2004, 22:33
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Fri 30 Jan 2004, 07:58
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The Tascam has Two Mic/Line XLR, Two Guitar/Line quaters, Two Inserts for external effcects, headphone, and rca out. in the project studio i use it, and mostly to go to record dj sets, vocalists, dubs of guitar or bass. then i come home and dump the files into the mastering studio.
it has limitations like level meter are only one green signal light and one red for overload, but if you watch your apps levels (i use logic and peak audio) you will get a good recording. it has a little latency if you use your laptops hard drive, but if using a firewire 7200rpm drive you will not notice much. unless your use to recording in a multitrack studio with super pro hardware.
it is cheap 200 dollars (US) and is bus powered so that is a plus. I use my 12" powerbook with this unit so I did not want to hassel with the driver problems of m-audio 410 with an ext. hdd.
hope this helps.
cheers and happy recording, jeremy
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Fri 30 Jan 2004, 16:53
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I also use the Tascam US-122 and like it allot. It's much cheaper than the MBox ($185 on ebay New shipped), has MIDI, but has marginal software that comes with it (Cubase for OS9). I use the US-122 with GarageBand ($49) to record vocals/guitar/stereo drums. I have been quite happy with it so far.
The US-122 also sport phantom power, but I have not recorded with a condenser microphone yet.
The latency is almost imperceptible, I use it on a 1ghz G4 Powerbook with an external 7200rpm harddrive.
Tascam US-122 features:
USB power Two analog inputs and outputs (stereo) 24-bit (44.1 kHz or 48 kHz) input to output path Separate source selection (MIC/LINE/INST) and gain control per channel 48V phantom power Hi-Z input for (D.I.) instrument pickup TRS inserts on each input channel Balanced/unbalanced connections Zero-latency direct monitoring Unbalanced RCA and Headphone outputs with dedicated volume controls MIDI input and output ports 16-channel MIDI interface
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Fri 30 Jan 2004, 17:00
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Rookie

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QUOTE does the tascam come with any recording software? I believe the Tascam us-122 comes with GigaStudio 24 and a stripped down version of Cubasis.
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Powerbook 15" 1Ghz 768MB :: MOTU 828 :: Logic Platinum 6 :: Propellerhead Reason 2.5 :: Ableton Live 3.0.1 :: Peak 4 :: Midiman Oxygen8 :: M-Audio BX-5 Monitors :: Firewire drive
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Fri 30 Jan 2004, 18:24
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Rickenbacker, I saw the info about the mkII but I figure the original had some variations and was just trying to see what exactly they were. Such as, from what I've seen, it doesn't have that LCD screen on the front so I imagine it doesn't include whatever feature that allowed (mixing, if I remember).
I like the sounds of this Tascam 122, but I actually found a 428 on amazon with another microphone for pretty cheap, so I'm going to try that and then if I fail to do that, check out the 122.
For those with the 122, do you know if you can upgrade the OS9 software to OS 10? I freakin' hate classic.
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Mon 2 Feb 2004, 12:40
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Hey, Mangrilla, Well, I bought my 828 about three months before they announced the MKii... (sigh) But it's still cool. The new version has more simultaneous ins and outs, I think, plus Midi and a snazzy LCD display, but as my 828 is under my desk I hardly miss that. My MT4 takes care of Midi and I only ever record 2 tracks max simultaneously, so for the secondhand price I paid, I'm more than happy. About the same as an M-Audio 410 and none of the headaches. The US-428 is a nice bit of kit. USB, though, so you've got latency issues and a much smaller data pipe to cram your audio down. The control surface features are cool, though, and well supported in Logic. As for the software bundled with the 428, forget it. Within a week, you'll want to move on. Also, you can't run it in Classic anyway, so unless your Mac can boot into OS 9 proper, you won't even be able to use it. So get an 828 or the 428 or the 122, whatever you decide, but you'll also need some decent software.
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Thu 5 Feb 2004, 02:20
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Well, I ended up with the 428. Now, what, if anything, can be done about the latency issues of USB? While recording one track at a time will I be able to get reasonably good quality?
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