New Product: MOTU Track 16

[bayswater]

Is there anything to suggest this is any different from other MOTU interfaces, other than the case?

Not a thing. Like DP 8, I hear it sucks! LOL!

Do you really want to go there?

Go where? I'm just asking if anyone noticed anything unique about it.

[Armageddon]

Sigh ... this looks like a cross between a Duet and those Steinberg AI controllers. I was kind of hoping they'd have teamed up with Euphonix (before AVID did) or SSL and come up with something like a cheaper Nucleus. Not sure if I'm a fan of the LED touchscreen fader thing, but it does economically make more sense than expensive physical motorized faders ...

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I'm just asking if anyone noticed anything unique about it.

I'm sorry, I though you were asking if there was anything to suggest this is any different from other MOTU interfaces, other than the case. That seems to apply "more of the same" right out of the gate without even seeing the horse, or more accurately, the unicorn.

No. Nothing to see here. Return to your homes....

[bayswater]

I'm just asking if anyone noticed anything unique about it.

I'm sorry, I though you were asking if there was anything to suggest this is any different from other MOTU interfaces, other than the case. That seems to apply "more of the same" right out of the gate without even seeing the horse, or more accurately, the unicorn.

No. Nothing to see here. Return to your homes....

Maybe over-interpreting a simple question? Obviously the jury is still out, but we can hope for the best.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

No, just reacting to a question that cannot be answered at this time. Period.

[David Polich]

Well, this has gotten my interest - the little "book" interfaces don't
float my boat, but this one might.

Anxious to see MOTU's official announcement of it. If it sounds as good
as my Duet, which I love, I'm sold.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I want to see the specifics, but I don't see how it can go wrong. Thinking about $350-500...? Maybe less and if there is a stand-alone mode that would be awesome!

[nightwatch]

Nice post!

[Frodo]

Funny when Chrysler introduced their push button transmission back in the 60s, few bought it, so it was discontinued. Soft controls are the equivalent today. We want real buttons to push & real faders to spill beer on!

The next problem is that we're going to need beer to spill! (Dog-pile on the hobbit!!) My dad had a push-button. I thought it was SO cool. It was "dah fyoocher", then it disappeared and became the past. That was half a century ago.

But I'm stoked about this MOTU thingy-ma-wingy. I DARE them to release it. They are guaranteed to offload two of them in the shire.

[Prime Mover]

I really can't see MOTU pricing this below $500. The Duet is $600, and this seems even more feature-filled. MOTU has never been competative, pricewise. Usually their products are a good $20 more expensive then the comparable offerings of their competitors (the 8pre is about $150 more than the comparable Presonus or Focusrite units, for instance). Now, do I think the Duet is kinda overpriced, as well? Without a doubt. So MOTU could very well price this about the same as Apogee, but I wouldn't expect any lower. Of course, I could be happilly mistaken, and it could be $400, but that just doesn't match up with their other offerings.

Anyone else think that the MOTU line is starting to get a little crowded? If you break their products into two levels, most of them are just slightly different combinations of the same components: one unit has more pres, another has more analog ins, just different combinations.

828 - 8 Analog, 8/16 ADAT, 2 mic pres
Traveller - 4 analog, 8/16 ADAT, 4 mic pres
8pre - 8 ADAT, 8 mic pres
Ultralite - 6 Analog, 2 mic pres

4pre - 4 mic pres
Audio Express - 2 analog, 2 mic pres
Microbook - 3 analog, 1 mic pre

The Track 16 seems to be a hybrid of their two product levels: 2analog / 2pre, like the Audio Express, but with ADAT. This kind of swapping usually has proven to not make good marketing sense. Many times, companies have found that they do a lot better if they streamline their product lines to just a few lines. That way they build individual product line recognition, and don't over-saturate the market, having a lot of comparable products leads people to start comparing more with the competition, and you don't want that. If I were MOTU, I'd ditch the Traveller and Ultalight lines, as well as the 4pre and Audio Express. Keep the Microbook and Track 16 as the basic lines, then 8pre and 828 as the high-end lines, with the 896 as a combination of 828 and 8pre.

Also, let's face it, MOTUs got some serious naming discontinuity. They've built ZERO line recognition. First you have the numeric names: 828, 896, 4pre, 8pre, Track 16. But they're names are 3 different formats. Then you have the "It's Portable!" theme names: Ultralite, Traveller, Audio Express, and Microbook. But once again, besides a general theme of portability, there's no relationship between these designations. I would have unified the two lines with common naming conventions. Keep all the high end in the same, dry, industrial format as 828 and 896 (maybe 082 for the 8pre). Then unify the lower-end line with variations of a catchy, more youthful name.

Obviously, this means nothing, and is just random time-wasting conjecture, but I enjoy speculating about marketing from time to time.

[mikehalloran]

>Funny when Chrysler introduced their push button transmission back in the 60s, few bought it, so it was discontinued.<

Excuse me? Where did you get that tidbit? Nearly every Chrysler with an automatic transmission from 1960 through 1964 had push buttons including my '61 and '63 Valiants and '64 Imperial.

The reason it was discontinued for 1965 is that, if the motor mounts sagged or the linkage got any wear, the system didn't work. Unlike the Edsel push button (that didn't work due to electrical problems) this was a complicated mechanical linkage.

Back to our regularly scheduled speculation about products that don't exist yet.

BTW, I want one, too!

[Michael Canavan]

Well I for one am stoked. Looks to be at least 6 in, hopefully it has four audio line outs not just 8 ADAT? if it does it could replace my Fireface 800 which is overkill for a studio my size. Seeing as how it shouldn't be over $700 I'll have money left over for an iPad after selling the Fireface.

[rodger1811]

Yep, I just got my electronic Musician magazine from the mailbox and sure enough it's true! Not that I didn't believe it but seeing it for myself gets me even more excited!!!!! I'm sure more is coming! I'm betting on a Thunderbolt interface with built-in FX or at a minimum maybe a new card for us Audiowire folks that supports FX via cuemix!!!! I'm stoked!!!!

[James Steele]

MOTU has never been competative, pricewise.

Except when the introduced the first 2408 and pretty much ruined Digidesign's monopoly.

[Armageddon]

Anyone else think that the MOTU line is starting to get a little crowded? If you break their products into two levels, most of them are just slightly different combinations of the same components: one unit has more pres, another has more analog ins, just different combinations.

828 - 8 Analog, 8/16 ADAT, 2 mic pres
Traveller - 4 analog, 8/16 ADAT, 4 mic pres
8pre - 8 ADAT, 8 mic pres
Ultralite - 6 Analog, 2 mic pres

4pre - 4 mic pres
Audio Express - 2 analog, 2 mic pres
Microbook - 3 analog, 1 mic pre

I almost (but not quite) called you out on not including the 896 (which you did mention a couple of times later in your post), but that one kind of makes the case -- other than the number of mic pres, there's little difference between the 828, the 896 and the Traveller. Out of the bunch, the Traveller makes the least amount of sense, since I believe the 828 and the 896 (as well as the Audio Express, the MicroBook and the UltraLite) can be bus-powered, making the Traveller's main selling point, the fact that you can power it with a battery pack, all but moot. However, look at it this way: the 828 mk1 was MOTU's flagship FireWire interface (which I can now turn and mournfully stare at in one dusty corner of my office), though it could only go up to 24-bit/48 kHz with no pres. The 896 mk1 was the first MOTU FW interface to offer 96 kHz and mic pres, actually making it the next model up from the 828. And the Traveller was the first one to offer 192 kHz and complete field mobility (no bus-powered FW or USB interfaces at that time). The 8pre was intended as an add-on for the 828/896 (even though it can act as its own AD/DA converter, something I think they did to compete with Mackie). For some reason, instead of discontinuing interfaces as they came up with new and more specialized designs, they chose to give all the interfaces similar features, so now, the 828, the 896 and the Traveller all go up to 192 kHz, the 4pre and 8pre are stuck at 96 kHz (which limits their expandability with the interfaces they were intended to help expand the capabilities of) and we have the UltraLite, Audio Express and MicroBook, at least two of which intended for guitarists (and to directly compete with the Duet) and one of which is priced affordably enough that most people looking for a decent audio interface retaining many of the same features as the 828, 896 and the Traveller will likely buy it before setting aside the few extra hundred bucks for its larger brethren. On one hand, having such specialized options available is a great boon for a home recording enthusiast just starting out of the gate, or one that might not need twenty mic pres ... on the other, as you just pointed out, the differences are so minute that making a definitive choice has got to be tough.