MAudio Duo

[dansch19]

Some of you older members may remember me from about 5 years ago. Or not. Anyway.

Although Im certainly not a newbie I wanted to ask some of the pro's here for any advice. I want to get together a laptop DAW for when I travel and play to record jams and so forth. Theres some basic equipment Im thinking of using that I havent tried before. Its a very budget setup. The software Im using is the best though. Waves Gold & masters Bundles, T-racks, Bomb Factorys software Comp's and pre's, etc... Im trying to get it down so that all the equipment will fit in a nice smaller piece of luggage. Here goes:

SM57 & NT1A Mics
JOE MEEK MQ3 Mic Pre, Comp, EQ
M-AUDIO DUO Mic Pre, D/A conv, USB audio interface
SONY MDR7506's
and
Alesis M1 MKII Active reference Monitors

Im mainly curious abotu the M-Audio Duo. How the mic pre's sound. The quality of the D/A and going through USB ports.

Id also appreciate some opinions on the Joe Meek and the Rode NT1A since Ive been an NT1 user in the past and havnt tried the 1A,

And opinions on the M1 MKII's. At home I use Mackies' HR624's. Ive never tried the Alesis M1's.

Thanks

Dan

 

[Hard2Hear]

If it were me, I'd be using a Titanium Mac and Pro Tools with an M-Box, but hey, whetever floats your boat.

I was just wondering...How are you using bombfactory plugins and not using Pro Tools or Digital Performer? Just curious as there are no dX or VST Bombfactory plugins.

Never used the M-Audio Duo, but M-Audio seems to make quality entry - mid level gear...so it would probably suit its purpose.

H2H

 

[dansch19]

I havent quite decided on the program Im going to be running. Im still experimenting to find what software works best with a laptop. What Ive read about the Mbox doesnt give me the warm and fuzzies. I use 002 at home. The plugins I use with this setup really depend on what I choose to use. I just have alot of good stuff.

The laptop Im using however is a Sony Vaio. I cant go and get another just like that. Im trying to lean away from using protools. I still dont know yet.

 

[Hard2Hear]

So if you use a Digi 002, you're already a Pro Tools user. Why on earth would you want to then buy another program that wasn't compatable with what you already have? IF you had the M-Box on a laptop, you could just transfer the files you recorded remotely to your Digi setup at home and your life is simple. Every producer I personally know who uses Pro Tools also has an M-Box and a Titanium laptop for this exact purpose.

Any other solution for you just doesn't make sense to me.

Oh, by the way, since you are using the Bombfactory plugins with your 002, you probably love them as much as I do and you should know that they will only work on Pro Tools.

H2H

 

[Hard2Hear]

Oh, and it works great on Windows XP, too. Are you running Pro Tools on XP at home, or are you using a Mac?

H2H

 

[dansch19]

Im running windows XP on both. Ill explain my software situation a little better so as to not keep the confusion going. First off I wouldnt have to buy anything. I have ALL the windows based programs. Cubase, Logic, CEP, Cakewalk. And Plugins also. Im not rich. I use WinMX.

Im not really concerned about taking tracks recorded in a hotel room or at sound check and producing a cd quality album at home with it. We tend to write as a unit. Ive always recorded jams with an 8 track tascam. Id like to use something a little more elegant. Right. Using demos that sound shitty doesnt make a good impresion. Id like to have the editing abilities to let someone fix something later. A bad part. A mistake. And take advantage of all the plugins and other things a DAW can do.

I have the laptop. I have my mics I could bring along and headphones, etc... What Im looking for is something cheap and decent just to get the audio into the harddrive and a program that doesnt work the CPU too hard. Id like a little more production and editing so Im going for this setup but all the ideas/demos/etc.. probably will be mixed down and burnt with the laptop. Understand. I never had any intention of making a little satellite protools studio. Although i may end up doing that.

And yes of coarse I couldnt use TDM with VST or DX programs. Bomb tracks is awesome. The PSA-1 sounds incredibly like the actual unit. That rotary sim is pretty cool too.