MOTU 828MKII/2408/24IO/Whatever else?!?!?

  • Thread starter Thread starter fierojoe
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I've had the 828II for a couple weeks. For what it is, it's great, but here are a couple of warnings.

DIDN'T work at all with my AMD/Win 2000 system. Someone else here got it to work. Was incompatible with mine. Was time for an upgrade anyway--went all intel and XP, and it works now.

Don't expect pci card latency either. I can get down to about 8ms comfortably with a bunch of tracks--but it's not the 1 to 2 ms with RME etc. (only really matters with soft synths).

Also it is picky with firewire chips. If you want to use it with a laptop--you may have to get a pci firewire card if the system one is incompatible.

-Jtt
 
Also: Flexibility wise, input wise, converter wise--the card is great.

However, they should have skipped the built in pres, I've never heard a dynamic mic like a 57 sound worse. Maybe they are ok Di's or work well with condensors--haven't tried them for that yet.

-Jtt
 
jet-rocker,
I have read that there is an in-compatibility issue with the NEC FireWire chipset, and I have heard good reviews of the pre-amps on condenser mics. I don't hink I'll be running too many Dynamic mics through it.

Everybody,
Thank you all fo ryour input. I think what I am going to do is buy the MOTY 828mkII. I struck up a deal with my employer who has a lot of studio gear that they want to get rid of, including a Digi 001 card, brand new! The only time it has left the box was when I took it out to look at it. I think I will sell it :D Help fund the rest of the studio...
 
I downloaded Protools LE 6.1 yesterday. THough it still has the 32 VOICE restriction, you can have 128 audio tracks, 128 auxiliary tracks, 64 master faders and 256 midi tracks. It also comes with Rewire 2, for linking up with Reason, etc.... Just for your info.
Cheers, Andrés
 
I got Pro Tools Digi 002!

Just thought I would let everyone know that I decided to go with the Digi 002 rack. I though if I was going for a good card I would go as high as I could. I haven't hooked it all up yet but I'm really looking forward to it.

I'll give you guys my review if you guys would like to read it. I'm sure it's going to be good though.

later
sonicpaint
 
As far as me, I believe I have changed my mind from the 828mkII. I am getting a load of studio equipment off of my current employer which includes a Digi 001 card. I was going to buy a MOTU 828mkII, but since I am getting a Digi 001 card, I believe I will use this until I get my real studio underway. At that time I will purchase a MOTU 24IO. I believe the MOTU 24IO will give me a lot more flexability being able to rip data from ADATs, give clients the ability to mix-down via board instead of automated PC and what-not. All in all I believe it will be a much better investment, and I can also add another one on later for a total of 48 tracks. I believe you can top these systems off at 96 tracks with MOTUs newer 424PCI card.
 
just one stupid question:

if you use an interface like the MOTU 828MKII/2408/24IO/Digi002r..., you also need a really fancy mixer with loooots of outputs or groups, right? Most mixers I have seen in the <$1000.- range only have 4 subgroups -- the most, meaning that only 4 channels can be recorded simultaneously. So what mixers do you guys have or plan on getting?
 
Giganova said:
just one stupid question:

if you use an interface like the MOTU 828MKII/2408/24IO/Digi002r..., you also need a really fancy mixer with loooots of outputs or groups, right? Most mixers I have seen in the <$1000.- range only have 4 subgroups -- the most, meaning that only 4 channels can be recorded simultaneously. So what mixers do you guys have or plan on getting?
Click to expand...

Initially, everything I am doing will be all comp based, so I won't have to worry about hardware like that. Also, if the board has an insert jack, you can pick the signal right out of the insert jack and route it to the recorder and loop it back in, if you are using the board for your preamps. Even cheap (like $300 and up, maybe even cheaper) Behringers have inserts, so I think you'd be OK there... This way, you can record as many channels as you have channels on your board or inputs on your recorder. I am purchasing rack pre's so I don't have to be stuck running things through a board. The Focusrite Platinum OctoPre to be exact... :D
 
Giganova said:
just one stupid question:

if you use an interface like the MOTU 828MKII/2408/24IO/Digi002r..., you also need a really fancy mixer with loooots of outputs or groups, right? Most mixers I have seen in the <$1000.- range only have 4 subgroups -- the most, meaning that only 4 channels can be recorded simultaneously. So what mixers do you guys have or plan on getting?
Click to expand...

Most people just take the signal direct out (or as stated above out the insert section) to the ADCs and mix in the box.
 
Many mixers, even sub $1000 (like Mackie 1604VLZs) have direct outs on 8 channels and inserts on every channel that can be used as direct channels outputs. Even so, I'd NEVER use a buss output to record a single mic. That's way too much circuitry to go through.
Also, I send computer tracks out through the MOTU to a HD24 (the bulk of my A/D D/A converters) to mix through an analog console. It sounds WAY better in my humble opinion.
 
Chris Fallen said:
Most people just take the signal direct out (or as stated above out the insert section) to the ADCs and mix in the box.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if your signal is already at pre-amp level, then obviously you don't need to run it though another pre-amp, so you can run direct in... :) But, if you're micing a set then you'll need the pre-amps on the board or something like the OctoPre then route straight from the OctoPre into the card.
 
yeah, but if you use the direct outs, what's the point of having a mixer (gain, panning, eq, effects, etc), other than that it looks inmpressive? If you use the directs outs on your mixer you can just as well feed your signal directly into the audio interface and bypass the mixer. Am I missing something here?
 
Microphone preamplifiers sir, microphone preamplifiers. Now I mix after the fact with an analog console but I don't use console pre's to record with. I use stand alone mic pre's.
 
Giganova said:
yeah, but if you use the direct outs, what's the point of having a mixer (gain, panning, eq, effects, etc), other than that it looks inmpressive? If you use the directs outs on your mixer you can just as well feed your signal directly into the audio interface and bypass the mixer. Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

My point exactly :) If you are using a mixer in this case it is because of the pre-amps that it provides, so why not buy rack pre-amps? Consoles are good to have around in this genre of recording (in a professional environment) because some clients will not mix automated on a computer. They have to have the knobs on the sound board. For a home studio environment, unless you need knobs, a board is useless unless you need it for the pre-amps, in which case I would say "Sell it and buy rack pre-amps!"
 
Last edited:
Oh yeah.. I forgot to say this...

If your signal is already at line level, then by all means, plug it straight into the recording device! The less hardware between your instrument and the ADCs, the better!
 
Track Rat said:
Microphone preamplifiers sir, microphone preamplifiers.
Click to expand...
Uhhh, I thought that the mic pres are bypassed, too, if you use the direct outs. I always thought that a mixer is nothing but an expensive patch bay if you use the direct outs.
Now I mix after the fact with an analog console but I don't use console pre's to record with. I use stand alone mic pre's.
Click to expand...
sweeet!
 
Giganova said:
Uhhh, I thought that the mic pres are bypassed, too, if you use the direct outs. I always thought that a mixer is nothing but an expensive patch bay if you use the direct outs. sweeet!
Click to expand...

I would assume that would depend on the board, but I know with the Mackie my band recorded with a couple years ago this is how we did it: Mic to Mackie, insert jack out to ADAT in, ADAT out to insert jack in... The board was used primarily for the pre-amps, but in that case we were not computer based either, so it was obviously for mixing as well. Here's the run-down:

With a board:
Line Level Instrument -> ADCs
Mic -> Board -> Insert Out -> Normaled Patch Bay -> Insert In
                                                                    |-> ADC in
* In other words, you split the signal from the "insert-out" to go to both the "insert in"(or you won't get sound back to the board) and the ADCs input. If you aren't using the board for anything besides pre-amps, this is not a big deal.

Without a board:
Line Level Instrument -> ADCs
Mic -> Pre-amp In -> Pre-amp out -> ADC in
 
On some mixers, not all, the mic pre's are bypassed when coming IN to the console through line level inputs on the channel strip. Direct channel outs are generally mic pre/ trim controll/ EQ section/ Fader then direct output. The inserts are mic preamp/ trim controll then output.
 
fierojoe said:
Yeah, if your signal is already at pre-amp level, then obviously you don't need to run it though another pre-amp, so you can run direct in... :) But, if you're micing a set then you'll need the pre-amps on the board or something like the OctoPre then route straight from the OctoPre into the card.
Click to expand...
Direct outs are after the preamp, that's what is coming 'direct out,' the preamped mic.

Giganova said:
yeah, but if you use the direct outs, what's the point of having a mixer (gain, panning, eq, effects, etc), other than that it looks inmpressive? If you use the directs outs on your mixer you can just as well feed your signal directly into the audio interface and bypass the mixer. Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...
I used my mixer as a cheap way of getting 12 mic pres. You CANNOT feed your mic sources directly into your audio interface because they aren't up to line level yet, that's why you plug into the mixer for the preamps and go direct out to get the purest signal pre eq.

fierojoe said:
My point exactly :) If you are using a mixer in this case it is because of the pre-amps that it provides, so why not buy rack pre-amps? Consoles are good to have around in this genre of recording (in a professional environment) because some clients will not mix automated on a computer. They have to have the knobs on the sound board. For a home studio environment, unless you need knobs, a board is useless unless you need it for the pre-amps, in which case I would say "Sell it and buy rack pre-amps!"
Click to expand...
The reason a board is so great in a home studio is because you can get (as stated above) 12 decent to good preamps for cheap. I got an M12, 12 good preamps, for 590. If I want to pick up a RNP it costs me about that much, and that's for 2. I plan on buying some stand alones in the future for some nice vocal channels or something, but costs are costs, and I can't shell out a ton of money to buy 10 stand alone pres.

Also, boards provide great routing for when you're recording for making headphone mixes and adding effects that you won't be recording (reverb, etc).
 
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