Digidesign pro tools vs MOTU who wins out?

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dvsbruchko

New member
Checking over reviews for recording software/hardware, MOTU and Digidesign seem to have come up the most. However, as for # of options/ease of use/ and the ability to produce a professional sound out of both, I'm still not sure which is better. So far my budget will allow me to spend about $400 - $600 and I'd like to get something I won't have to replace in the near future. I have heard that the Digidesign M-box is great, but it only has 2 inputs...so how could you record drums? Also, I heard Pro tools LE doesn't have a stereo feature...so how is that possible to create? The 002 is much too expensive, and I heard that the 001 is really out of date and doesn't produce as good of quality as the mbox (even though it does have 8 inputs). As for MOTU, all of their products seem to handle much more inputs...but I'm not sure how the sound quality rates, and if I should just go for pro tools since it's basically what you need to know in order to make it in the music industry (so it seems). Overall, please let me know how different MOTU products rate against pro tools products, and which (overall) is something I will be very happy to work with for a long time to come. I want to be economic, yet still sound professional. Also, I'm planning on getting Beyerdynamic 770dt pro headphones and a sonic maximizer to use alongside my mackie 808s mixer (to equalize) for recording if that would make any difference. Thanks :)
 
I, too, have had the same problem as you. After a little bit of research, I have come to discover using either MOTU or Pro-Tools is going to cost you the same. So forget which is cheaper, cuz they will end up costing you the same for nearly the same features.

For example, the MOTU 828mkII and the Digi 002 Rack from Pro-tools are quite comparable interfaces as to what they can do.

digi 002 Rack costs about $1200
MOTU 828MkII costs about $800. But it doesn't include software. You still need software. MOTU's Digital Performer is about $500. Therefore, the 828MkII and Digital Performer will cost you about $1300. Digidesign's 002Rack includes Pro-tools software for $1200. Get my drift...both options will end up costing you the same if you are comparing apples and apples.


In my opinion, however, I would go with Pro-Tools if you are going to strictly record audio. Its what nearly every pro studio uses, and you can find craploads of info on how to use it. In fact, if you go to www.digidesign.com, they will tell you about seminars and places to go to get really good training on Pro-Tools.

That is just my two cents
 
Actually, I believe the MOTU audio interface hardware does ship with software, their AudioDesk DAW. It's a stripped down version of Digital Performer--most of the audio functions but without the midi sequencer part of the program.

In your $400-600 price range your choices in the MOTU/Digidesign world are pretty much limited to the MOTU 828 or Digi Mbox or 001. If you want to stretch financially you could go for the 002 rack. Since you will be recording drums you need something with multiple inputs, although none of the units under consideration have 8 preamps. The 002r has four preamps and the others have two.

As far as sound quality, all these units will be comparable.

Pro Tools might be more universal, so if that is a concern then go with one of their systems. However, owning ProTools is not a requirement for "making it" in the music business, or even for being able to do a good mix. It's simply a commonly used format in studios right now. So if being compatible with other studios is a consideration for you, then think about going with ProTools. But otherwise don't buy into the hype.

I use a full blown MOTU setup with Digital Performer, along with a small ProTools LE setup for being able to open and save files in ProTools format. If I need a more extensive ProTools rig to record a project my recording engineer brings his HD system over. It's worked out well this way so far.
 
If I could get a MOTU 828mk3, in your opinion would it be a better gain than a digidesign mbox? Also, even though the 001 has more inputs, I have heard the mbox is better overall. what are you opinions on this?
 
I just bought a 002 rack a week ago and am very pleased with it so far. I'm still building up my mic collection, so I really can't tell you whether the result is better or worse sounding than anything else, but I will say that I'm liking it more than my friend's 001 that we used to record a demo.
 
Are you using a Mac or PC? Because MOTU software is Mac only, and that could decide it for you. I work with a related group of about 4 bands. Pro Tools LE and Digital Performer are used back and forth and song to song cause one of the main producers likes Pro Tools and the other DP4. The bands have platinum and gold selling records that have been recorded on both of the setups. For me it's a toss up, but I personally own the MOTU 828MKII and use Sonar 3 Producer. I'd be glad to answer any questions you have about it. Send me an email or something.

By the way, the 828MKII (a Mk3 isn't out quite yet that I know of, but may be soon with 192khz) will stomp an Mbox in every category except *maybe the "Focusrite" pres on the MBox. As far as functionality, though, they're not in the same league.

H2H
 
In re-reading your original post I noticed a couple things:

You want something that you won't have to replace right away. If you haven't already, you will soon discover that you will be replacing gear at an alarming rate! It's a merry-go-round of upgrading, meeting new standards, etc. Just kind of the nature of it, although I certainly agree with the idea of settling on some gear and sticking with it for as long as practical.

That really leaves two choices in my opinion: the MOTU 828mkII or the Digi 002r. I know the 002r is out of your price range, but it *does* meet your needs other than price. Both these units record at sample rates up to 96k, giving you some future-proof. The Mbox and 001 top out at 48k. Maybe this doesn't matter to you, but as far as not needing to upgrade in a year or two, you might want to consider going for the 96k units.

I like MOTU. I use their software, midi hardware and audio interface hardware. So I feel that would be a solid choice and you'd get a unit that would work for you. If you are on PC, I like the suggestion of 838mkII with Sonar 3. I recently saw Sonar 3 in action and really liked it.

On the other hand, Pro Tools is a great program to know. You never know when that might come in handy. I would also have to say that ProTools is a better DAW program than Audio Desk (which is a Mac only program by the way).

So, I would actually suggest doing one of two things: get the 838mkII system now along with a PC DAW, or save up for a while longer and get the 002R and Pro Tools. I'd kind of lean toward the 002R, but I like the MOTU/Sonar idea.

Hope some of this has been helpful.
 
reading this post made me wonder.

I have a MOTU 828MK2 and cubase. I should've gone with the protools... but that's not the issue here.

is there any way to convert a cubase project file into pro tools and vise versa? That would be really awesome

T
 
ad0lescnts said:
reading this post made me wonder.

I have a MOTU 828MK2 and cubase. I should've gone with the protools... but that's not the issue here.

is there any way to convert a cubase project file into pro tools and vise versa? That would be really awesome

T
Click to expand...
Nope, that's not possible. What you can do is bounce your audio files one by one, I mixed a recent project recorded in Nuendo that way, but it takes a little time.

I'm glad finally people over here recognize the ultimate power of Pro Tools :p:p :p
 
I have an mbox , for real recording you will find right away u need more inputs, so I looked into the 002 r and Motu. For the price the MOTU is the way to go. I like it better, it has almost 0 hardware latencey which the mbox doenst have. If you use a mac the MOTU comes with Audio Desk, compared to Pro tools is ugly and makes u want to go eeek! but it still has plenty of features to compare with pro tools. The plus with the MOTU is u can choose your audio software which u cant do with the oo2r
 
ad0lescnts said:
reading this post made me wonder.

I have a MOTU 828MK2 and cubase. I should've gone with the protools... but that's not the issue here.

is there any way to convert a cubase project file into pro tools and vise versa? That would be really awesome

T
Click to expand...

Yes there is a way.

it's called OMF via digitranslator.
 
johnhontez said:
The plus with the MOTU is u can choose your audio software which u cant do with the oo2r
Click to expand...

Actually under OS X with the new Core Audio Drive you can choose your software to drive your Digi 002.

AND if your software suppoerts DAE or Digi Direct I/O you cna again choose your software.
 
Personally I'd grab the Digi 002R and Digital Performer 4 myself. Pro-tools is a great engineers program but a piss-poor musicians sequencing program.

DP4 has the best of both worlds. and will run in DAE mode if you so desire.

My rig consists of a MOTU 2408Mk3 DP4 (Audiodesk which was cool, I mixed 8 albums with it) m-box. Which was purchased to xfr PT files to DP.

I am considering a 002r as a lot of people are tracking at 96k now.
 
i have a motu 828mkII and nuendo 2 and love it.. i also have a digi 001 and protools le but its only used for opening protools projects and switching them to nuendo.. im not a big protools fan, especially not le.. i cant see how you could compare a program that only allows 32 tracks of recording with a program with at the very least equal power and unlimited tracks.. plus there are so many advances being made with audio equipment that being binded to use only one brand of hardware imo would be counterproductive in the long run when you consider that digidesign's prices are steeper for the same features other companies offer

i love the motu and nuendo... and now that i have gotten used to it, i couldnt live without that zero latency the motu offers
 
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