MOTUnation.com

Hey Everyone,

I own an 896 (original, not HD) and a Digidesign M-Box (original, not version 2). I love DP and prefer it to ProTools any day. However, my wife and I are going to Asia to serve in the Peace Corps next year, and I••™m going to need to take an EXTREMELY portable setup if I••™m going to do any digital recording at all. It••™s very possible that we won••™t have electricity most of the time. I••™m shopping for options in solar power for the laptop and I••™ve decided on the M-Box for its size and the fact that it doesn••™t need additional power. Of course my 896 is outstanding, but again, it••™s just too big to take overseas.

Here are a couple of cool profiles I••™ve seen of pro-recording gear being used in very remote environments:
http://www.motu.com/newsitems/atnewsite ... 0807355759
http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/janis/

At any rate, I do own DP5 and Waves plug-ins and I am anxious to buy our new MacBook Pro. I would like input from anyone here about any issues you think I••™ll run into with this setup:

MacBook Pro > Original M-Box > DP5 > Waves 5 Platinum Bundle.

I••™m especially concerned about problems I may run into with the Intel chipset. Is the M-Box going to play nice with DP5?

How about MOTU's "UltraLite"?

Depending upon the hard drive demands, the most compact setup I can recommend is:

MBP with 7200 HD
M-Audio Transit 24/96
Oxygen 8 or similar.
External FW drive
Mic-- probably stereo

All peripherals are bus powered.
Total setup takes minimum tote effort.
Ox8 has programmable MIDI controls

How extensive are your recording requirements?

Thanks to both of you for those replies. That M-Audio suggestion helps quite a bit actually. I may end up going with the Oxygen 8. The transit looks like a great idea as well, however, just from a quick Internet search it seems that some people were having issues under OSX. Does the transit perform well with DP5?

The reason why I like the idea of the MBox is because I own one, and because it has phantom power, and I could take some condensor mics with me. I will take some average SHURE microphones that don't require phantom power as well. Anyway, I would like to be able to record MIDI myself with some sort of keyboard (which is why I really like the Oxygen suggestion.) But for analog, if the original MBox will work well, then I'd prefer it because it has 3-prong and quarter inch analog inputs, it's lightweight, and doesn't require the extra power source.

I wish I had a computer around to test this right now, but I just have a very very whimpy cube and iMac G4. We sold our G5 and are waiting to buy and MBPro. Because my 896 has worked flawlessly, it's been quite some time since I've even powered the MBox up.

Anyway, I am concerned, like I said, about DP5 and the MBox working together on the intel chipset. Do either of you know how DP5 has faired on the intel chips with 3rd party hardware so far? I am also concerned that Digidesign may not support the MBox at all anymore.

matwell wrote:How about MOTU's "UltraLite"?

I'm reading up on the UltraLite right now and it looks great, just a little pricey. I like that it can do analog & MIDI and is so portable. Am I right that it does not require additional power, & can run soley off the computers firewire connection?

You could get the M-Audio Ozone, which from the looks of it is sort of a combination of the Oxygen and the Transit. In other words, a MIDI controller/2x2 audio interface. I don't have any personal experience with M-Audio interfaces, but they certainly are inexpensive.

Here's a link to the Ozone••¦

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/M ... -main.html

A suggestion.

I've had nothing but trouble with DP and the M-Box on both laptop and desktop systems. I finally gave up and got an 828 and DP works flawlessly.

If you're set on taking the M-Box, check it out carefully with DP before you go, or think about just running PT with it instead.

My experience has been that Digi and MOTU are an unholy marriage.

taddhelquist wrote:The reason why I like the idea of the MBox is because I own one...

That's the best reason right there. I wasn't sure how much gear you already had. No need in duplicating.

The one thing about M-Audio is that their drivers are often slow at updating.

Are you anywhere near a music store that also has Mac Pros up and running? That would be the best way to check it out. Also, if you took your M-Box to an Apple Store with the driver, they would likely be willing to test it out, especially if you are going to buy an MBP.

Always try before you buy. Once you get overseas, no telling what kettle of fish you'll discover.

Frodo wrote:

taddhelquist wrote:The reason why I like the idea of the MBox is because I own one...

Always try before you buy. Once you get overseas, no telling what kettle of fish you'll discover.

That's true. I am looking into the UltraLite ... we'll see what happens. Thank you everyone, for all your tips.