M Box any good?

[trick fall]

I'm thinking of picking one of these up today. I currently have a MOTU 2408 which is kind of overkill for what I do and it doesn't work with my G5. I'm running a G5 1.6 single at home with 1.5 gigs of ram. Is this box robust enough? Also I would like to try and use a Sony VAIO laptop to do the occassional guitar overdub with it. I believe the laptop is around a 1.5 processor running xp.

 

I basically would like to get into pro tools because I have access to HD systems, but I would like to track samples, synths, guitar and vocals at home and be able to bounce back and forth between full on studios and working at home.

Thanks in advance.........

t.fall

[theblue1]

The Mbox, seems to me, should be seen as a package deal with Pro Tools LE (well, of course, it is).

 

When considered by itself, it's my opinion that the Mbox is not a great deal by today's standards. (Does have a mic pre that some folks like; doesn't have MIDI; has zero latency (analog) monitoring onboard; and that's about it, off the top of my head.)

 

But when you consider that it is also an entre to PT, that may be enough to tip it.

 

Or may not. (Many folks prefer other DAWs/sequencers. But if you need to take in PT projects or attract new clients who only know one brand...)

[trick fall]

Its actually the Pro Tools LE that is the big attraction for me. I want to go to a pro studio to track drums and then do a bunch of work at home.

[Lee Knight]

Originally posted by trick fall:

Its actually the Pro Tools LE that is the big attraction for me. I want to go to a pro studio to track drums and then do a bunch of work at home.

Then the M-Box is what you need. You will need a midi interface however. When I was running an M-Box I got one of those keyboards with the USB midi interface built in. It worked great for the kind of scenario you're describing.

[trick fall]

Thanks for the response. I have a midi usb box so I should be cool.

[Wooden]

A FW410 from maudio and PT M Powered would be just $100 more than a Mbox, but you will have a way much better interface, plus the firewire has less (much less) latency than the usb interfaces.

[Dylan]

I'd also vote for the M-Powered software with an M-Audio interface if you want a cheap ProTools solution. I've heard of a lot of performance issues with the Mbox. USB 1.1 just isn't a very robust interface for audio interfaces, IMO. Firewire or USB 2.0 is the way to go if you need something external when PCMCIA is not an option.

[Philip OKeefe]

I've got a few clients that I've helped set up with M Box systems, and if the feature set meets your needs, it can be a viable option... however, as others have mentioned, it lacks any kind of MIDI interface, although a simple 1X1 interface isn't all that expensive to add to it.

 

I'm not much of a fan of USB 1.X as a audio interface standard, but OTOH, as long as you're not trying to deal with 96 kHz audio (which the M Box doesn't support anyway), and you have no need for more than a 2 input / 2 output setup, it can work fine. Personally, I probably would recommend looking at the M-Audio FW410 / PT M-Powered option instead of the M Box, but OTOH, it just depends on what you really need from your interface.

[Wooden]

I could mention this advantages of the 410:

 

- 1*1 mkidi interface

- You can use it with many programs not just PT

- Much lower (near zero, and not noticeable) lantency

- 10 Outputs instead of 2

- 4 inputs instead of 2

- Bus powered as the Mbox

- You can power it by and AC adaptor if you only have 4 pin FW ports

- Wordclock

 

I have a SOLO and it sounds great for the price, i think the 410 should be the same or better. The Maudio's representative that visits the forum said that PT M powered work with the SOLO interface but it is not official. but if it works then you have another much cheaper option.

[Gus Lozada]

Hey! Thanks for jumping into the M-Powered solution.

 

Just to make things clearer, the FW 410 does NOT have Word Clock Input/output.

 

BTW, we're announcing TODAY that M-Powered now runs with ALL of our FireWire and PCi interfaces, from the SOLO to the Delta 1010.

[John Sayers]

have you looked at the new Alesis firewire mixers.

 

http://www.zzounds.com/item--ALEMULTIMIX16FW

 

about the same price for the 16 track.

 

Compact, affordable 8, 12 and 16-channel analog mixers and Multi-channel FireWire audio computer interface

_MultiMix 8 and 12 have 4 high-gain mic/line (XLR and 1/4" balanced) inputs with phantom power, 2 stereo balanced 1/4" line inputs, aux send (can sent to onboard or external effects), stereo aux return. MultiMix 16 has 8 high-gain mic/line

_100 28-bit onboard preset effects including reverbs, delays, chorus, flanging, pitch, and multieffects

_3-band EQ per channel with high/low shelving and mid bandpass/reject

_Separate 1/4" balanced main and monitor outs, headphone out

_24-bit, 44.1/48 kHz operation with high-end A/D and D/A conversion through integrated FireWire audio interface using next-generation Dice II FireWire chip

_Compatible with Mac OSX and Windows XP

_Steinberg Cubase LE included

_ Easy to attach rackmount available

cheers

john

[theblue1]

I think I might lean toward the 410, too. One thing, though, that may confuse people is that the i/o is 2 in/8 out analog and 2/2 digital.

 

 

[i'm currently doing pennance for blaming my previous long latency for round trip monitoring (on a MOTU 828mkII) on Firewire buffering requirements. But I set my buffer sizes considerably less conservatively and got my effective latency down from 9.7 milliseconds to 2.9 ms. Which is not strictly unnoticeable but is probably close enough for most work -- I'm trying to get myself used to playing guitar d.i. into it and that's definitely taking some getting used to, but for most monitoring, that latency is not bad at all.]

[Wooden]

Originally posted by Gus Lozada:

Hey! Thanks for jumping into the M-Powered solution.

 

Just to make things clearer, the FW 410 does NOT have Word Clock Input/output.

 

BTW, we're announcing TODAY that M-Powered now runs with ALL of our FireWire and PCi interfaces, from the SOLO to the Delta 1010.

Hey! its true only the 1814 has, that is why you work for maudio and i dont

[TeleCarlos]

And... you can use other DAW software than ProTools with the 4-10, if you ever need, decide or have to.

 

My Delta66 is great so...

[Philip OKeefe]

Gus, any "official" word about running multiple 101's with PT M-Powered for increased (IOW greater than 18, as found on the Digi 002 / 002R) I/O capabilities? My question is... can we do that? And if so, how many 1010's can you run simultaneously, and will PT MP allow you to access all of that I/O? And finally, if we can indeed get more than 18 I/O's this way, are they going to cripple that capability in the future?

 

I still have not been able to get any official / definitive answers on these important (IMO) questions, and I would appreciate any insight you can offer on the subject. Thank you sir!

[Gus Lozada]

Anything "official"... a lot of "unofficial" stuff is out there, but don't take them seriously. Mostly, those should be Digidesign's decisions regarding their plans of software development.

 

... but as you might guess, I'll keep you all posted !!

[Alndln]

Originally posted by Dylan:

I'd also vote for the M-Powered software with an M-Audio interface

Me 3(or 4?).There's quite a big difference in performance in driver and protocol with M-Audio hardware plus besides PT,it performs better with other software than the M-Box does.Many people on both platforms(Mac/PC)report dropouts and instability with M-Box and it's USB protocol.The only ommisions(that I know of) in M-Powered PT is DV and OMF support.If you want something simple and inexpensive you might want to consider the FW(FireWire)Audiophile which would actually wind up a bit cheaper than the M-Box/LE package.

[Wooden]

Originally posted by Gus Lozada:

Anything "official"... a lot of "unofficial" stuff is out there, but don't take them seriously. Mostly, those should be Digidesign's decisions regarding their plans of software development.

 

... but as you might guess, I'll keep you all posted !!

Hey gus, is 6.9 upgrade for PT MP too?

[Gus Lozada]

Originally posted by Wooden:

Originally posted by Gus Lozada:

Anything "official"... a lot of "unofficial" stuff is out there, but don't take them seriously. Mostly, those should be Digidesign's decisions regarding their plans of software development.

 

... but as you might guess, I'll keep you all posted !!

Hey gus, is 6.9 upgrade for PT MP too?

Nope. It stays with 6.7 yet

[Wooden]

I dont know if I understand well but PT MP comes with an iLok included?

[Gus Lozada]

Yes Sir!

 

Double security:

 

1) Detect M-Audio Hardware

2) Detect iLok with License

 

Personally I hate iLoks, but they seem to be better than having a dedicated dongle for every software or other more complex security methods.

[Franknputer]

Personally, I'd love to see an upgrade path for the Mbox. For me, it has become inadequate for my needs, but I can't make the jump up to the next Digi level (which they DO offer an upgrade for, BTW).

 

OTOH...[spam]if anyone wants a deal on a >1-yr. old, low mileage Mbox, PM me...[/spam]

[trick fall]

Thanks for all the input. B&H has a great deal on the M-Audio 1810 so I think I'm going to stretch a little and get that. I'll just have to save a little more and wait to get the software, but for now I can use it with DP. It'll be nice to have the extra inputs as my sampler has eight outs. I also have an Eventide Harmonizer will I be able to integrate it into this set up?

[Gus Lozada]

Originally posted by trick fall:

I also have an Eventide Harmonizer will I be able to integrate it into this set up?

Yes, if your system can handle low latency setups, you can use any of the 4 analog outs as a "send" and then one of the 8 inputs as a "return".

[Philip OKeefe]

Christopher, you can always put a FS post on the PS forum "Swap Meet" thread... I bet you'll find a buyer over there for your Mbox... AAMOF, I might just be interested. Please send me a PM with the particulars.

[where02190]

the M-box has some major latency issues, and as you know sans midi.

 

Check out Mackies Spike. Basically an M-box on steroids, 2 very nice pres, spdif and MIDI i/o, and 96k (ow) capable. Comes with Tracktion, some of the best new DAW software to hit the market in years. cheaper than an M-box.

[trick fall]

Just wanted to say I got the M-Audio 1810 and the Pro Tools software and so far so good. I just opened up a session I started in a studio and added some guitar tracks no problem. I also wanted to mention that if anyone was interested in the 1810 B&H has it for 438.00 which is much cheaper than anywhere else I saw it. They're selling the 410 for 399.00 makes no sense to me, but figured I'd jump on it.

[Franknputer]

Originally posted by Philip O'Keefe:

Christopher, you can always put a FS post on the PS forum "Swap Meet" thread... I bet you'll find a buyer over there for your Mbox... AAMOF, I might just be interested. Please send me a PM with the particulars.

Check your PM's...