Digi 002 vs. Presonus Firepod

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shadowdog
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Does Cubase with a Presonus Firepod experience these latency problems too. I am leaning mostly that way, but get nervous to if buying the Firepod which comes with the stripped down Cubase (can that be upgraded?), would be something that I would later regret. Do you guys think investing in the Full versoin of Cubase and buying different interfaces would be a better investment. Even though the Firepod has 8 mic preamps, are they good quality, or buy another unit that may be cheaper, but say has only 2 mic preamps but are better quality and invest in the Full version of the software, then just buy more preamps as needed.
 
I just realized tht was teh most confusing thing I have ever typed?!?!?
 
That's a quandry everyone faces at some point, and eventually you just have to pull the trigger. I don't know much about the Presonus unit but other gear by them I know is liked by friends; so it's probably decent. At that price point, you're not going to get 8 fabulous mic pre's, so you just accept that. But they're probably very useable. Would it be better to have 8 separate mic pre's? Probably, then you'd have different ones for different sounds. But that gets expensive.

As to the software latency issue--contact the vendor. I suspect that it isn't a problem, as it seems Protools LE gets singled out exclusively; but I'm not certain so best to check it out ahead of time.
 
do you guys use firewire too, like the Firepod and Digi units, i friend of mine has the M-Audio delta 1010 sound card and wants to get the octane preamp with 8 mic preamps to run to it. Sounds like the Firepod eliminates the need for an expensive sound card, is that correct?
 
Yep, as long as the program you buy has the correct drivers, you're all set. The Digi-002R connects to the computer with a firewire cable. It can carry up to 18 separate channels of input. I'm guessing if the Presonus comes bundled with Cubase it would have everything you need to get it to run with just the firewire connection.
 
I use the firepod, but I have 0 experience with the 002.

The pre-amps sound noticeably better than my old combo of dmp3/delta44, but like somebody said before, you're not going to get the sound of a $1000 channel pre-amp in a $600 box that has 8 of them. If you ask me, they sound pretty dang good for the price - I would guess it would be hard to discern which was better between the pre's on the 002 and the firepod.

As far as software goes, you'll get a great product with either cubase or pro tools - whichever one you want to learn. It's not like one is going to sound significantly better than the other. I use and like cubase (sx2, not the one that came with the firepod - I used it for a bit and it seemed to be pretty close to the same). I've never used pro tools at all, so I can't comment as to which one is easier or anything like that.

I do love my firepod. It's stable, sounds good, and its idiot-proof. The 002 has more input options (with the ADAT), but the firepod has 8 phantom powered mic pre's right out of the box - to get that with the 002 you'll have to make a little more of an investment.

Either way you'll get something you can make a really good recording with, but my vote goes for the firepod - you really shouldn't count anybody's vote unless they have experience with both units, though.
 
OK last question (I think) about this. Can the Digi 002R be used with other software, like Cubase, if it does have latency issues with Pro Tools LE? Or can they only be used together. And can the LE version of Cubase be upgraded. I will look at their site too, but if you know of the top of your head.
 
Shadowdog said:
OK last question (I think) about this. Can the Digi 002R be used with other software, like Cubase, if it does have latency issues with Pro Tools LE?
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yes, you can
although i've never really experienced any latency issues with the plugins i've used. then again, you should be in the mindset to record it perfectly at the start and hardly need any plugins. but i guess we don't live in a perfect world ;) :cool:
 
thanks all think I may try the Firepod with Cubase...last chance to talk me out of it :)
 
looking for the firepod too, and i;m too are afraid of pulling the trigeger, but since the firepod has hit the market the ONLY concern I have noticed form users (and i serrached ALOT) is that the pre's have in osme occasion too little gain, porbably only important on ribbon and LDC mic's that eat gain i guess. Heard some recordings and damn, you do get al lot for that amount of money. I think i just talked myself into buying a firepod. I need to pull the trigger, yes. HAHAHA

But uhmn, i don;t have firewire port on my pc yet... which one is stable and is cheap :) ?
 
Just adding here... my firepod is starting to have some problems. I also think the preamps are decent but not all that (aardvark Q10 and the brick beat them out). I don't use the cubase software so I can't comment on that but I am naturally against a monopoly like pro tools. With the firepod you can use whatever the hell you want and that's a definate advantage. If you're not going to be using a laptop I'd recommend something like the aardvark Q10 (I wish I wouldn't have sold it) The firepod never really gave me problems until now... the drivers are solid and everything works they way it should. It also has some cool features with monitoring/etc.

Anyways, with those 2 options go with the firepod... if you're willing to expand your choices, maybe go with the aardvark.
 
Strave said:
I don't use the cubase software so I can't comment on that but I am naturally against a monopoly like pro tools.
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good god, pro tools is not a monopoly
 
Shadowdog said:
OK last question (I think) about this. Can the Digi 002R be used with other software, like Cubase, if it does have latency issues with Pro Tools LE? Or can they only be used together. And can the LE version of Cubase be upgraded. I will look at their site too, but if you know of the top of your head.
Click to expand...

Yes, it can but it's really not intended for that purpose. When you buy the 002R you pay for a interface AND software. If you are just wondering if you can occasionally use Cubase instead of Protools, that's fine. But if you don't plan on using Protools as you main DAW software, the 002R suddenly becomes way overpriced.
 
Strave said:
Just adding here... my firepod is starting to have some problems. I also think the preamps are decent but not all that (aardvark Q10 and the brick beat them out). I don't use the cubase software so I can't comment on that but I am naturally against a monopoly like pro tools. With the firepod you can use whatever the hell you want and that's a definate advantage. If you're not going to be using a laptop I'd recommend something like the aardvark Q10 (I wish I wouldn't have sold it) The firepod never really gave me problems until now... the drivers are solid and everything works they way it should. It also has some cool features with monitoring/etc.

Anyways, with those 2 options go with the firepod... if you're willing to expand your choices, maybe go with the aardvark.
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Just curious, Strave, what kinds of problems have you been having with your firepod? I've had mine for several months and I love it.

I've heard lots of good things about the Q10, but I think I'd pick the firepod over it for 2 reasons. 1. Aardvark is out of business (at least the last I heard) - so no support anymore. 2. Doesn't the Q10 only have 4 phantom powered mic pre's and 4 pre's that aren't phantom powered? I guess that's no big deal if you use dynamic mic's, but if you run a lot of condneser's, you'd need the phantom power. I really shouldn't voice my opinion on this one again since I have never used a Q10. I read a lot about how sweet they are/were, though. Probably get one pretty cheap on Ebay these days.

If anybody wants to hear some songs done on the firepod, go here http://www.feelslikefridaymusic.com/music.htm and listen to "All To You", "Something Better", or "The Way It Has To Be". The rest are recorded with a delta 44. I don't record drums (sadly), so I can't show off any drum recording capabilities.
 
bennychico11 said:
good god, pro tools is not a monopoly
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Sure they are (Digidesign, that is).

It's not quite on the same scale as Microsoft, where something like 97% of the worlds PCs run Windows, but is there any valid reason that a 192 interface with all its necessary components costs $30,000+? No, it's simply because Pro Tools is more or less the industry standard and studios will end up paying whatever Digidesign asks.

Now, I wouldn't say Digi has a monopoly on the home recording market, but they're of course working on it (aquisition of M-Audio). People like to say that the 002 and MBox are overpriced, but they forget that you're also paying for the Pro Tools software when you buy a Pro Tools interface. If we were to assume that Pro Tools cost $299 (like Sonar 4 Studio), then the MBox is less than $150 (a reasonable price for a 2 I/O box with pretty decent pre's). If we were to assume that Pro Tools cost $499 (like Sonar 4 PE), then the MBox is free. PTLE is actually pretty reasonable if you look at it that way. Maybe not the best bang for the buck but definately not the worst either.

And yeah, I'm a Pro Tools user. I still use my copy of Sonar 3 Studio when I want to record at 96kHz with my Delta 1010lt (MBox only supports up to 24/48), but that's pretty rare.

Wait, what was my point? Oh yeah. Digi is a monopoly. And not a monopoly. Either way we can all agree that it's scary when one company owns too big a piece of any industry. :D
 
they would only be a monopoly if they have control on the whole industry...not allowing any other company to sell their hardware or software to any studios. This is just the opposite of what is happening. If you don't want to use Pro Tools in your studio...don't! It's that simple. There are a ton of other programs and hardware units to choose from. They're not a monopoly...they're just business savvy. They got into the market early and made a name for themselves quickly.

And the 192I/O isn't $30,000. It's $4,000. And getting the HD|3 cards maxes at $14,000. For a unit that can support up to 192 tracks simultaneously with no strain on the computer CPU and 96 channels of I/O....that's pretty damn good. I don't really know any other system that can do that. But, sure you can buy about 6 Motu 896HDs for about $6000 and run only firewire in/out of your computer and keep all the processing power for your CPU to do and still need to buy some software....and cross your fingers your system works smoothly with eachother.

;)
 
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