how to add more mic preamps?

[itzdrigz]

Hey guys, Im new to this forum and fairly new to recording and whatnot. I've been working off of an mbox 2 for a while now and I've been wanting to upgrade so that i could record drums. I was looking at the 003 digirack and I've read that you can extend the mic preamps by buying certain products (like the behringer ada8000). My question is, how do you do that exactly? Do you have to buy extra cables? What ports on the interface would you connect them to? Is there any special setup required in pro tools once you do connect them?

I guess what I'm asking is (maybe?) what does it mean to adat out?

Also, the 002 rack is a bit cheaper to get than the 003. I mainly record simple band arrangements. The most I plan on doing is recording all tracks simultaneously. Would I be better off with the 002? Is the 003 worth the extra price jump?

I'm pretty new to this if you haven't already guessed and any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Farview]

You would have to go into the 003 from the behringer using the ADAT input. That will get you an extra 8 mic intputs.

The 003 only has 4 mic inputs and 4 line inputs. If you need 16 mic inputs, you will have to buy 4 channels of outboard mic preamp and connect them to the line inputs.

 

[itzdrigz]

Alright thanks. I'm assuming there are special cables for this? Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?

 

[Farview]

You are looking for optical adat cables.

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--HOSOPM300

 

[itzdrigz]

thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it

 

[Richard Monroe]

Yo itzdeigz! The Didi003 is not really very different from the 002. Very similar, but claims to have better preamps and A-D conversion. This is how you get 18 channels out of an 002 or 003-

Channels 1-4- These channels have mic preamps and XLR inputs. Mics plug into these channels by XLR to XLR- standard mic cables.

Channels 5-8- These are line inputs w/ balanced 1/4" TRS inputs, no preamps. You connect by whatever line outputs your preamps have (usually XLR or 1/4") to 1/4". You should use TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) cables (like the connector on headphones) rather than TS (tip-sleeve) connectors (like a guitar cable).

Channels 9-10-digital input by S/PDIF (Sony/Phillips Digital Interface)-This uses an RCA to RCA digital cable (like a home stereo RCA cable, but it is recommended to use cables made for digital transfer). Of course, this can only be done if you have a couple of preamp channels with digital S/PDIF out. (I use a Joemeek TwinQ). S/PDIF can only transfer 2 channels at once. For reference, there is another type of digital transfer which is basically the same as S/PDIF, but uses XLR cables. This is called AES/EBU. As you will see below, S/PDIF can also use optical cables, including on the Digi002/003.

Channels 11-18- This uses ADAT, an optical digital transfer by a fiberoptical cable, also known as lightpipe. Of course, this requires a unit with 1 or more preamps, and ADAT out. You mentioned ADA8000, which works fine. The octopre is a similar unit with somewhat better preamps. There are also some waaay expensive high end units to die for. The type of cable is called Toslink, and they are pretty cheap. S/PDIF can also be sent by a Toslink cable, but the 002, at least, has only one optical Toslink input, so you can't use it for S/PDIF and ADAT at the same time. In general. any digital input should be synched, or "slaved" to the 002's wordclock. This is done in the 002's menu. Hope that makes it clearer.-Richie

 

[itzdrigz]

Thanks for the info its gonna help lots. you even answered some questions i didn't ask!