Hardware Questions!

[shanemccarthy]

I'm looking into gear and have a few general hardware questions if anyone can answer them. I'll be Using Pro Tools 8.0.3 M-Powered only.

I need an 8 input or more interface. Is it worth getting the M-audio Profire 2626 interface if it works at firewire 400 when 800 is now available? Or is the 400/800 even an issue?

On choosing which mac to buy: The iMac only has one firewire 800 connection. How would you use it for recording if you need two firewire ports to run protools? (one for the interface and one for the external hard drive)

Does it mean getting a different Mac? even though the price for the imac is relatively good for what you're getting. (€1095 -3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - 4GB memory - 500GB Hard Drive)

Is it possible to partition the hard drive and record onto that, and is it a good idea? or is recording onto a Glyph External Drive with firewire 800 the best option?

Thanks for the help
Do Chara,
Seán

 

[suprstar]

Unless something changed recently, you can only use ProTools with digi hardware. I notice on the 'Pro Tools 8.0.3 M-Powered' page on the digi site, they mention m-audio drivers, so I'm not sure about all that..

Firewire 400/800 is a non-issue 400Mbps fw is capable of recording something like 170 simultaneous tracks. If that's a limitation you'll have a problem with, you're waaaay past what any of us here can help you with

Firewire devices can be daisy-chained with no hit to the performance. So if either the interface or the hard drive have 2 fw ports on it, you can plug them into each other. Partitioning a single hard drive into multiple logical drives will not be helpful,

 

[TheChikenMaster]

i happen to be drunk now so all i can say is that the 003 rack offers 8 track not the cheap sounding m powered trash

 

[shanemccarthy]

thanks for that info! i didn't know about the dasy-chain, the Profire has two firewire ports so that should work i'm happy to hear.

TheChikenMaster, fair dues on being drunk! but i don't get ya? The Profire is cheap sounding? or the m-power is trash? or both?!

 

[TheChikenMaster]

both both dont waste your time and money one them m audio sux in my opinion.

 

[shanemccarthy]

ya It seems to be a common enough opinion!

i know Pro Tools really get you by the balls when you have to get M-audio gear.

Am i crazy though with sticking with Pro Tools and M-audio? It's just because it seems the majority of studios use Pro Tools (or am i wrong?) and in either of my best case scenarios i'd like to end up working in a studio/frequently recording in one!

 

[TheChikenMaster]

just get a presonus firestudio it has 8 channels and comes with cubase le4 once you get to know that program it wont be hard to figure out protools trust i did the same but without the firestudio now I work in a studio with protools and some great gear and no maudio

 

[suprstar]

Any studio can take your individual tracks and make a project out of them, regardless what you used to create them with.

I wouldn't make a blanket statement like 'M-Audio sux' either, I have a DMP-3 and I think it's great. But I dont have any other MAudio hw... Yeah all studios seem to use Protools, which sux imo, simply because it only works with their proprietary hardware, which costs double what a comparable non-digi interface would cost... Lets see..... Firestudio+cubase for $500, or a digi rack003+PT for $1100