tuckerdrez said:
HAS ANYBODY USED THE DIGI-001? I WAS TOLD THAT IS IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO HARDDISC RECORDERS AND OFFERS MORE IN THE WAY OF EDITING AND EXPANDING. I NOT SURE I LIKE THE PRO TOOLS SOFTWARE YOU HAVE TO USE, IT SEEMS WAY TO TECHNICAL TO BE "EASY" TO USE. ANY ADVICE?
If you are not already aware of it, there is an equipment review on the Digi 001 in the Sept. 2000 issue of "Guitar Player" magazine. I have found that most of the reviews in this magazine are even-handed and objective. As for me, I have owned a Roland 1680 for a little over a year, and the learning curve has absolutely worn me out. Don't let appearances fool you! The presence of sliders and knobs make it look like it would be intuitive and easy to use, but it's not. Many, many times, my inspiration and creative energy have been completely squashed while trying to learn how to operate this machine. The manual is very poorly written, even for somebody with a technical background (I am a former corporate pilot). I have a copy of their video as well, but it is very time consuming wading through a video trying to find what you couldn't find in the manual. I am familiar with
the Ensoniq Paris system, which I see as a vast improvement. I find it is much more intuitive, and easier to use. The new offerings from Pro Tools (Digi 001, which comes with its own I/O box and PCI card) and Emagic "Logic" (silver, gold and platinum - hardware not included, but relatively inexpensive) are evidently even easier, and very powerful. With either, about the only thing I would be giving up is "virtual tracks," but I think the many gains would far outweigh this one loss. For what it's worth, I am frustrated enough with my Roland that I intend to start over with one of those that I just mentioned... probably the Digi 001. I respect the Roland equipment, but sadly, I can't recommend it.