new interface or new preamp?

jesso · Post by **jesso** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:27 pm

I wonder what you guys think out there in ableton land?
I currently have an mbox 2, and id like to make a jump up in terms of preamp quality. I record lots of vocals and guitars into live using the mbox as my soundcard.
I record mainly with sm57/58 mics and a nauman 103.
I want clear, loud and proud good quality audio.

I know a good preamp will work wonders (im thinking of the summit audio 2Ba 221)
, but i would still be left with my mbox converters which i have been told are not very good.

The alternative is somthing that has its own converters and preamps (motu ultralight)
Basically, would you rather have an mbox 2 with a nice preamp, or a motu ultralight with no other preamps?

appreciate any opinions.

jesso · Post by **jesso** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:52 pm

awww shucks....
cmon fellas!

DJ VAKIS · Post by **DJ VAKIS** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:37 am

I would go for a better audio interface.motu like you said

Winterpark · Post by **Winterpark** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:52 am

loose digidesign... crap support, slow upgrades for drivers...

if you don't need pro-tools then you arn't gonna regret it.

i changed to motu a year back... it's been nothing but solid.

jesso · Post by **jesso** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:35 am

thanks lads,
Are the preamps on the motu nice on their own or would you eventually have some kind of a channel strip to go through?
Also, the ultra light has 10 inputs but only 2 preamps.... does that mean at a later date if i get a desk with i can put ten channels of audio into the computer at once?! or can i do that anyway without any more preamps? or does it mean i can put 2 mics in and say 8 line instruments/keys?
Ive only ever had a 2 channel interface...

eyeknow · Post by **eyeknow** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 12:03 pm

Ok, look.....I'm gonna put price aside and go for the kill here......

mbox. It's an issue mainly because it allows PT.....where as motu/rme/etc do not. And I want to make sure that since you are looking for an upgrade I will not endorse ANY maudio (mpowered) If you need protools.......you are going to be limited to buying an external preamp to "compensate"

Now, the ultralite is ok, but I have heard some grumblings on little "nigely" things......the display, some knobs, just little things. I have the traveler which is more but despite what some people say about the preamps, It's really quite good. Motu works better on macs than pc in gereral....they even say so on their website so keep that in mind! I have both, I have to agree with the consensus findings that my mac is pretty much solid and the pc is.........shakey sometimes.......

Now, if I had to do it all over again, I'd shell for the RME. I'd wait and save up for the rme. The fireface 400 has some significant advantages. First, the preamps are "world class" they do not require some other front preamp or mod to get the most out of them. Also, RME is known for the routing software. Motu's cuemix kinda sucks, it does not allow the kinda output routing that is desired in this day and age. And rme's are known for true stability on PC's, if that matters to you.

You can mod the motu if it's not quite right (black lion) but it's a mixed bag...some love, some no so much. You can OVER spend (like me) and get like a solo 610/uad to make up for some preamp issues.......I would NOT recomend that route!

I'm sure the price of the 400 is probably WAY out of your expected budget, but I've got allot of shit layin' around trying to patch and fix.....I just think it's wise to do something right the first time since it all costs sooooo much money!

serotoninsteve · Post by **serotoninsteve** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 1:21 pm

I´m just about to order this one:

http://www.smproaudio.com/TB202.htm

but there also exists a newer version, the TC02 wich is comp only,
but not on the english site, look on the german:

http://www.smproaudio.de/index.php?opti ... view&id=19

The TB202 got good reviews in the german recording magazine and is damn cheap, about 150€ street price.
Both exist in mono too, for abou 100€.
I don´t think that the m-box converters are that bad that you need to change the card if you ask me.

Greetings

buzzcock · Post by **buzzcock** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 2:12 pm

I'd go with some excellent preamps first. Especially if you are using microphones. There are plenty of interfaces with built-in preamps that will get the job done, but none that compare with a high quality dedicated box. Might want to look into some compressors and EQs as well.

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 3:41 pm

Mbox is overpriced - plastic pres;
RME is way to go regarding pristine converters on a budget, for my taste;
If you can spend on preamps, i'd go for avalons - at least one channel for your best mic.

cheers

jesso · Post by **jesso** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:11 pm

thanks guys,
I proberbly will get a new interface...
I need to use protools from time to time, but i can do all my audio recording in another daw, im not fussy, then if i need to i can bring wav files into protools. Really, id just be using the mbox 2 as a big ugly dongle!
Anyone know where i can find a review of the rme 400? ive looked but cant find a decent review...
I suppose ideally a guy would have the option of a couple of different preamps plus a nice set of converters which allways sound good.
Half the fun of this whole home studio lark is watching your setup grow piece by piece... id imagine most people on this forum get accute gear lust from time to time!

johnpitcairn · Post by **johnpitcairn** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 12:07 am

You could consider a Metric Halo ULN-2, which has two excellent preamps (rather better than MOTU, RME, etc, gives the high end a run for its money), and excellent conversion.

Run that as an external A/D/A through the MBox via S/PDIF for ProTools work, and use it as a regular OS X firewire audio interface for anything else. At the same time, if you want...

Landser · Post by **Landser** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 1:43 am

If you want to make a real huge step forward, that no preamp for all money in the world can bring: build a vocal-booth.

Geraldo · Post by **Geraldo** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 5:31 am

Hi Jesso,
Just went through searching for a new interface myself. I've been using a MOTU 828 and recently needed more mic pres for on-site recording jobs. I looked at everything you mentioned and more. After much obsessive ponderings and comparisons I chose the Mackie Onyx 400F. I liked the 4 mic preamps and 2 headphone outs + seperate control room volume. I have a song writing partner that I work with and we are amazed at the detail and clarity of the Onyx pres. Everything sounds better through the Onyx and the build quality is much better than MOTU. It is the well worth the $699. price at guitar center. Plus you get a full version of Traktion 2. You really should look at it before you buy the MOTU.

Contra · Post by **Contra** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 5:32 am

am wrote:loose digidesign... crap support, slow upgrades for drivers...

if you don't need pro-tools then you arn't gonna regret it.

i changed to motu a year back... it's been nothing but solid.

i kinda wanna go the motu route.

can you use velvet, strike, hybrid and/or xpand!(the A.I.R. Instruments,RTAS)

without pro tools?

jesso · Post by **jesso** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:51 am

thats interesting geraldo....

I actually had been considering the mackie onyx.... over here in ireland though, its an extra hundred over the rme fireface, (about a thousand compared to about 900) but i suppose you do get the extra 2 preamps.
Ive heard the preamps are very good.
The other alternative would be the small mackie onyx desk, you get a nice eq with that, but the firewire card is an extra 450... so it ends up more expensive again.
I dunno... i think the motu, the onyx, or the rme will all do a much better job than what i have now....
Maybe ill just put their names in a hat and pick one out...
not forgetting the metric halo... but thats hard to get hold of over here, id have to order it from the states, and then your into all sorts of voltage/after serivce questions etc etc...