fuck this mbox2

[fucdemas]

sorry to be so vulgar

i used to own an aardvark 4in/out pci card based interface. i sold it to get an mbox (used. got a good deal) with the plan to finally force myself to use protools.

i have opened protools a total of 6 times in the past 3 years only to say "wow this layout sucks"

not to mention i missed having a stereo pair to send out to gear whilst i tweaked knobs and got cool sounds out side of the box.

also on a 1.6ghz pentium processor i had minor midi lag. now with the mbox 2 on my 3.0ghz dual core i get crazy midi lag.

spdif would work even when the aardvark wasn;t being accessed by an audio program. so i was able to out put the aardvark to my sound card and have just one output to send to my monitors with out a mixer.

the original plan was to learn protools and have a backup in case i need to pick up studio/engineering work.

luckily my other endeavors have worked out and i dont feel the need to have this sorta back up plan.

most importantly as i get older i am becoming more and more inpatient to doing things i don't want to make a living.

so with that said i want another interface. i'm looking for something with more than 2 inputs (8 would be ideal. i have an 8 track 1/4" reel to reel just asking for some hot action) that still has driver updates.

used is a must as i want to do an even trade for what the mbox is worth on the open market.

give me your workhorses.
your well design pieces.
your not too soon to be obsolete loves.

i honestly can't hear the difference between a/ds and d/as. plus i like input distortion on digital devices (still haven't figure out how to get it work in a mix. but solo it always sounds awesome)

i'd like phantom power and a stand alone mixing application.

this way i can use the box to out put to my monitors by routing my pcs spdif out to it.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I had the MBox 2 as well. You should be able to overcome the latency issues by setting the buffers as low as possible (under set-ups). You can also set it to be your primary sound card (go to the sounds prefferences on you computer). I was using it for midi instruments with no issues. Same goes for monitoring.

It's not the best box but it's a cheap and easy way to get into Pro Tools (if that's what you want). Knowing PT is pretty essential to a freelance engineering career IMHO. Like it or not it is the platform you'll find at most studios and post houses so a working knowlege of the program will go a long way. If that's not an issue for you then dump it for something you like.

[suppositron]

You get what you pay for. I kinda see the mbox as an entry level interface. You spend a little money just to get the software and an interface to can screw around with to track ideas and get familiar with the program.

I lucked out and upgraded to a 002- previously owned but never used from a friend with the original box and everything for $600.

[IanWalker]

The thing that kills me about the 002 is how bad the pres are. The ones on the MBox (every iteration I've used) are actually fairly nice. The 002? Pretty bad. Luckily outboard takes care of that, and the d/a converters are acceptable to my ear.

You get what you pay for. I kinda see the mbox as an entry level interface. You spend a little money just to get the software and an interface to can screw around with to track ideas and get familiar with the program.

I lucked out and upgraded to a 002- previously owned but never used from a friend with the original box and everything for $600.

[suppositron]

The thing that kills me about the 002 is how bad the pres are. The ones on the MBox (every iteration I've used) are actually fairly nice. The 002? Pretty bad. Luckily outboard takes care of that, and the d/a converters are acceptable to my ear.

You get what you pay for. I kinda see the mbox as an entry level interface. You spend a little money just to get the software and an interface to can screw around with to track ideas and get familiar with the program.

I lucked out and upgraded to a 002- previously owned but never used from a friend with the original box and everything for $600.

I've honestly never A/B'd them. I probably will to see which is better. I figured the 002 would have better pres than my mbox mini.

i'm looking for something with more than 2 inputs (8 would be ideal. i have an 8 track 1/4" reel to reel just asking for some hot action)

i honestly can't hear the difference between a/ds and d/as. plus i like input distortion on digital devices (still haven't figure out how to get it work in a mix. but solo it always sounds awesome)

i'd like phantom power and a stand alone mixing application.

Anyway, OP said he can't hear the difference and would like 8 tracks and stand alone which the 002 has.

[@?,*???&?]

i honestly can't hear the difference between a/ds and d/as. plus i like input distortion on digital devices (still haven't figure out how to get it work in a mix. but solo it always sounds awesome)

You most certainly could in a quiet control room, with excellant monitoring/imaging capabilities.

Who works in a professional room these days?

Not many people:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.c ... 8&i=384617

[Electro-Voice 664]

Man, the more I read of you the more I like you.
Happy New Year!

Thanks.

I do try to keep my posts informative instead of insulting.

Edited my sarcastic reply because noegoplease is right........ What I meant to say was; good music comes from many different sources.

[casey campbell]

sonar + emu 1212m = happy camper

[fossiltooth]

i honestly can't hear the difference between a/ds and d/as. plus i like input distortion on digital devices (still haven't figure out how to get it work in a mix. but solo it always sounds awesome)

You most certainly could in a quiet control room, with excellant monitoring/imaging capabilities.

Who works in a professional room these days?

Not many people:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.c ... 8&i=384617

I know, it makes me sick! Amateur fucks

Ha! I love to see that nothing has changed since I've been gone.

[Brian]

Wow, that's pathetic. Homestudios wouldn't have a lot of label business if there wasn't so much pirating and free downloading going on reducing budgets to nothing.

People would choose to go to a real studio if they had the money, but, when no one is paying for their product, they don't have the money and go the seemingly cheapest route, then they end up paying for that too in the long run.

In an atmosphere of no pirating, the labels with the best budgets and direction would destroy the home studio market and any label that would attempt to capitalize on cheap recordings.

[Nick Sevilla]

sorry to be so vulgar.
give me your workhorses.
your well design pieces.
your not too soon to be obsolete loves.

Apology accepted.

My studio is at home, however it is not a "hobby" studio, nor an "amateur" studio.

I use Pro Tools HD 8.0.3, on a Mac Pro Dual Quad Core (8 cores total) 2.8GHz with 6GB RAM.

Audio interface is a Digidesign 192 io with 16 analog inputs and 8 analog outputs.

Photos here:

http://www.nicksevilla.com/My_Photo_Alb ... os.html#41

Cheers

[Brian]

That is an awesome studio.

Is that two compounders i see on the right?

[Nick Sevilla]

That is an awesome studio.

Is that two compounders i see on the right?

Thanks for the compliment.

But...Nope :

1 Lexicon MX400
2 Joe Meek VQ6 preamps
2 Focusrite Trakmasters (not the pro model)
2 AMEK 9098 mic pres w EQ
2 RNC compressors

Most other stuff I do ITB. These give me added color in addition to the Allen & Heath GL2800-32 preamps.

Cheers, and Happy Holidays!

[firby]

Yes. That is a nice studio. Respect.

I have something like it in my home as well. It is a lot of work to build it out isn't it ? I really like having my own properly outfitted studio to do my compositions. But, if I had known just how much work it would have been I would have probably paused for a minute or so.

Oh and for christmas I got a shirt.

We are snowed in here and waiting for other family to show before we open other gifts. I suspect that I got a saucepan as well.

Rock.

[Nick Sevilla]

Yes. That is a nice studio. Respect.

I have something like it in my home as well. It is a lot of work to build it out isn't it ? I really like having my own properly outfitted studio to do my compositions. But, if I had known just how much work it would have been I would have probably paused for a minute or so.

Oh and for christmas I got a shirt.

We are snowed in here and waiting for other family to show before we open other gifts. I suspect that I got a saucepan as well.

Rock.

Thanks for the compliment. It tok about 6 months of planning and execution to get it there.

I invested in it since most clients I have are in fact reducing their recording budgets, either themselves, or their respective labels. With my studio, I charge for the time, nothing more. They are paying for my expertise, not for the equipment / fancy digs. Exactly like a consultant.

With this setup I can help an artist get their preproduction done BEFORE going to an expensive (2K a day) studio to record an ensemble of musicians live for the actual album. In the end I figure if I help save the artist 100,000 to 150,000 USD per album, I'm doing them an invaluable service. I am not against the big recording studios, in fact most of the final sounds in albums I mix are recorded in big studios.
Afterwards I can take my time mixing the recordings until the client is 100% satisfied that their songs sound the way they want.

The difference here is that we are going back to practicing and perfecting the song BEFORE recording it, instead of standing around paying 2K USD per day to figure out the middle eight of a song, when that can easily be done at home, at less expense. The days of writing an album in the studio are long gone, never to return, and thank Heavens for that!

Another benefit I've seen is that most musicians that work with less pressure of less spending, can often have better end results and faster too. They do not feel constrained by the high ticket of a big studio, and thus are free to get more creative faster. Of course there are times when an artist gets writer's block. Then it's time for a break, which with my setup is as easy as walking out the door to the garden.

That said the sound of a big recording space is yet to be really be duplicated in a physically smaller room. It is currently physically impossible. Sure there are impulse response utilities that can get you that sound, but the often overlooked fact is, that the original recording has to be 100% dry in order for this to get close to working, and most current home engineers simply cannot afford to do 100% dry recordings of most acoustic instruments. It is quite expensive to build a space that can isolate an acoustic instrument 100% from the external environment. You can ask Mr. Meyer of Meyersound about anechoic chamber, his speaker testing room and how much that cost him.

So the end result in a LOT of the mixes have been hearing lately, is an instrument or set of instruments recorded in a small space, and then artificial space added later on. If done right it is not noticeable,even pleasant. This takes knowledge of physics and skill with the computer DAW. But most of the time I do not like how this music is mixed. It sounds too artificial to me.

Cheers