M-Audio Project Mix I/O.

[PokerDude422]

I am looking into upgrading my Pro Tools rig and I was checking out the M-Audio Project Mix I/O. It looks like a quality rig and I was just wondering if anyone else out there who owns one has any input for me. I put the link below if anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_u...ixIO-main.html

[bradch00]

I've had one for almost 2 years and am happy with it, with a couple of qualifications. First the pre's are acceptable, but just. I actually have my projectMix I/O scheduled for an upgrade at Black Lion Audio. (Sorry I haven't posted 5 times here so I couldn't put the link in). Secondly, the current FW driver that M-Audio released has a couple of annoying bugs, which M-Audio has not dealt with since January. The faders do not initialize properly, however you just have to hit one button on the surface and they snap into place properly (or you can use the previous generation driver that works properly). Other than those two things, I really like the unit and am satisfied with it. At the time it was pretty much the best buy, I liked the idea that you could use it with other DAWs such as Logic, Live, etc....

[MessianicDreams]

Originally Posted by PokerDude422

I am looking into upgrading my Pro Tools rig and I was checking out the M-Audio Project Mix I/O. It looks like a quality rig and I was just wondering if anyone else out there who owns one has any input for me. I put the link below if anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_u...ixIO-main.html

A good friend of mine bought it and re-sold it almost immediately. He said ( and i trust his judgement) that the pres are pretty damn bare-bones, and that the insert points are basically unuseable because they are just too hot. I can't remember where the problem was but basically it just meant that it was clipping pretty badly..

[charger]

My friend used his to record a classical singer and pianist in big roomy church space. Brought the ProjectMix I/O and 5 mics, I can't remember which ones exactly, but I know he had a pair of omnis for the room that might have been Behringers, an Apex460, and two other mics. Using the ProjectMix I/O as the preamp and interface into a laptop, he got a great sound.

I later used it with two Naiant mics about 5 feet away in a living room on acoustic guitar and voice, and the results were underwhelming. Noisy and too quiet. Aside: I've since heard great Naiant results when they are much closer to the source.

Anyway, for what it is, I really like the PMI/O. I think it would shine with louder music where you don't need a ton of gain... For example, it's perfect for location drum tracking. Having the faders is a nice touch too.

[ridgeback]

I like mine alot. The only quirk I don't like is the master fader does not work in PT. Not that big of a deal but it still bugs me. Hey I didn't know Black Lion was modding PM I/O's!

[Guitardude324]

I use mine with M-Powered Pro Tools and I really like the motorized faders...but as far as the mic inputs...I tried recording my bands drummer this past weekend, and my sm57 on the snare was clipping with, zero gain...gain as low as possible...i really wish this thing wasn't so hot and had pads at the least...The tracking i did this weekend is basically unusable, since the SM57 clips, and I couldn't do anything about it.

Oh well...I'm going to be using Drumagog eventually anyways...arg

[bradch00]

Just a follow-up on the Black Lion mod for the projectMix I/O.... holy $h|t! Is this my rig? Massively improved headroom, like night and day from the original unit. External micro-clock is a bonus, not an overwhelming difference (or maybe I'm still knocked over in general), but (IMHO) smoother bottom end and generally tighter.

[ridgeback]

Originally Posted by bradch00

Just a follow-up on the Black Lion mod for the projectMix I/O.... holy $h|t! Is this my rig? Massively improved headroom, like night and day from the original unit. External micro-clock is a bonus, not an overwhelming difference (or maybe I'm still knocked over in general), but (IMHO) smoother bottom end and generally tighter.

Brad, what did that run you? Turn around time?

[bradch00]

$475.00US plus shipping.... the whole process (including shipping) was just over 2 weeks. Shipped it down there UPS (from Vancouver) and they shipped it back US Postal, probably took one more day that UPS and cost about 1/3 the price.

Totally worth it.

http://www.blacklionaudio.com/project_mix_mod.html