Help me clear this up if you can - is the M-audio Firewire 410 my best bet at this st

[utopia]

Hi All, thank you so much for this wonderful forum, I have spent days reading all these interesting entertaining and informative posts!

And, I realise the answer to my question is no doubt amongst it all somewhere, but there is that much info in my head I am feeling a bit confused - no doubt the simple act of typing out my question will help clarify things for myself, and any replies from the experts amongst you will be a welcome bonus!

At the moment I have an Acer Centrino Laptop Computer, not much of a head for tech specs, but I am running Voyetra Record Producer Deluxe comfortably at the moment... (looking at moving to Cakewalk HS 2004??) (and then firewire HDD??)

I basically play acoustic guitar and sing and have a harp rack at times, and up til now have been tracking RG and VX separately, which is a bit of a challenge for my style!! (what style?)

I would like to track RG and VX at the same time, so looked at getting a simple mixer, well then I realised I needed mic preamps, and direct recording the guitar was a no no, and so I ordered a Behringer 1204-PRO, and a DI box for the guitar... plus a Shure mic, some boom stands, cabling, the whole shebang!

Upgrading the Laptops audio has been on my long term agenda, since Firewire is my pref option, because I would like to record multiple tracks simultaneously!

Well, I have been thinking more about how I am setting myself up here, and this Behringer console is really gonna be useless as tits on a bull to me once I buy an audio interface, yeah?

So I am looking hard at the M-audio Firewire 410, got preamps on board, two XLR ins, plenty of fruit and I can get it at a good price (well, good for Australia - daylight robbery back in the US!)

BUT - I just noticed reading the manual (line by line with fine tooth comb), that the advertised 4 in channel is BS!! Only can use two analogue at a time (switch btwn XLR's and the two 1/4 lines at the rear!!) I reckon that is a bit rich, so I am looking around for more options...

Found ESI Quatafire 610, cheaper, less fruit, but at least has the preamped XLR's plus a stereo RCA input at the rear (how would I best use that??)

At the moment, just recording my VX-Shure-Interface w/ preamp-DAW, and my Guitar-DI box-Interface-DAW is no worries, and either package fills those needs quite well! BUT, spending that sort of money, I am looking towards a future of more simultaneous inputs...

Apparently, the M-Audio Firewire 410 'will soon' support piggy backing such units giving more tracks, so that is something in their favour I guess...

MOTU 828 would be fantastic, but waaaay out of my humble budget!

So am I gonna ask a real question I hear you ask?

Ok, Vocals and Guitar, played at same time, tracked individually, onto laptop DAW... want freedom to expand past 2 inputs in the near future.... in the market for DAW multitrack software.... will be looking for firewire 'scratch' HDD in the near future also...

Help me clear this up if you can - is the M-audio Firewire 410 my best bet at this stage??? (as you may be able to tell, I just need the teensiest bit of convincing here!)

Cheers, if you have got this far, I salute you!

CB

[sile2001]

I've got a Firewire 410 that I used for a while, but I just upgraded to Motu 828mkII for more tracks. Basically, the 4 input claim of the FW410 is not entirely BS...it can record two analog inputs (via XLR or line) and also the stereo SPDIF input (another 2 channels) simultaeously. So 2 analog + 2 digital = 4. Yeah yeah, I was kinda pissed off about that too.

The specs on their website are a little out-of-date. The drivers already support chaining FW410s for more channels. On the downside, this is not a very cost effective solution. I know you already said the 828 was out of your price range, but just consider this for a moment. Going from US prices, an 828 runs about $750 new, while a FW410 is $400 new ($300 used). Motu has 2 analog preamps (just like the FW410), but also has 8 additional line in's, and 8 digital ADAT in's. To match the Motu's total number of in's you would need to chain four FW410's, at a cost of $1200-$1600, vs. the Motu's cost of $750 + maybe $250USD for a Behringer ADA8000 Preamp+A/D converter. That would use the Motu's 8 ADAT inputs, still leaving the analog inputs open for later expansion.

If at all possible, I would suggest saving just a little longer and getting the 828...you will not regret it. If that's not possible, the FW410 is still a good box, just not cost effective for expansion. If you have questions about either of them, I can help you out.

[utopia]

Well, I did the right thing man - I slept on this last night, and woke up this morning deciding to go with my original plan, buy ultra cheap mixer, nice mic pre and a DI Box for the guitar, to tide me over til I can buy a nice firewire unit like the 410...

Then I read your excellent and much appreciated reply, and realise you are absolutely right about the false economy, and am now saving for the MOTU and a great DAW package to complement it!

Do you have any recommendations there mate?

Cheers very much for your reply!

CB