EZBus review

[Top Scientist]

Well, Hi.

This is my first post to this BBS.

I just got an Event EZBus and am looking for any feedback on this product. I've had limited success getting this thing to work with Cakewalk SOnarXL 2.0.

ANyone have any experience or knowledge on this?

Thanks

Top

 

[GuitBoxGeek]

EZBusted

Hi,

I purchased the EZBus and I can say that this is one sweet unit that suffers from a complete lack of support, as well as some horrid drivers. It's really a shame because for the money, it is a pretty decent digital mixer and a so-so controller.

I just returned it for a Tascam US428. I pulled the 428 out of the box, plugged it in, boom instant support in Sonar 2. No mappings.. no snap crackle pop audio.

I emailed and called Event with zero success. (Talked with them one time, but got cut off). The XP Driver installation is a nightmare, with a reproducable error (on 3 machines no less) that will core dump every time!

When I finally did get the EZBus to work, well, it was uninpressive to say the least and their documentation has many holes (as do most docs these days).

FWIW, I really wanted the EZBus to work. I was extremely disappointed that it didn't.

 

[Top Scientist]

I really want this to work too. I'm still experimenting with it. The thing is, functionality is equal or better than 428. I paid $620 for the EZBus so the Tascam at $500 seems more expensive apples to apples.

Oh, and Tascam could have given us 96khz support now that every pro sound card pretty much is going that way. It only goes 48.

Pretty obvious why EZBus is a risk

Still, if Event is not viable, the choice is clear as far as returns go.

What other surfaces did you look at?

 

[GuitBoxGeek]

The 428 and ezbus were the only controllers I took seriously.

I have an Echo Mia, an SBLive!, and an RME Digi96 PST, so controller was more important to me than the audio over USB. However, I got a terrific deal on the EZBus through Musicians friend. It was a steal at $559 in the blemish section. When I recieved the unit I was astonished to find the unit in perfect condition!

I was just very disappointed in the lack of support on the web, or through the company support for the ezbus. I mean, just getting it to talk to Sonar 2 properly was tedious and more time consuming than it was really worth. Plus, I didn't like the idea that I had to use set templates everytime for it. With the 428 I just set it one time and Sonar always knows its there.

I must stress that if you don't own a digital mixer, or a decent audio interface, the EZBus is a much better unit overall. I was most excited about it because of it's flexibility. The price one pays for that flexibility is a fairly steep learning curve, with huge holes in support in the two apps I use (Logic and Sonar).

Sonar and the 428 are a dynamite duo so far Overall, I'm most satisfied with the Mia from Echo! What a great deal for a well made and well supported card.