Motu 896 or Digidesign 003 Rack +

  • Thread starter Thread starter alierrett
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alierrett

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Hi, I'm wanting to record drums in my home studio. I need to be able to record 8 tracks at once. I've looked at a lot of different audio interfaces and i think i'm down to choosing between the Motu 896 or the Digidesign 003 Rack +. Can anyone one give me advice on which one would be better or does anyone know of anything else that would be good?

Thanks

Ali
 
I've never used either, but I have used other Motu stuff in the past and it was really good.

Why are you down to those two? If you want protools, you can use any with protools 9. If you don't want protools, I think there is better stuff for cheaper than the 003.

Have you considered Focusrite Saffire Pro 40, Maudio 2626, Steinberg 816? All three have gotten good reviews and have 8 preamps built in. I have a Saffire Pro 40 and like it a lot. I'd consider those three along with the Motu.
 
Well to be honest i might now be going off the 003 rack since you can't bypass the preamps which i may want to do at a later date. I got down to those two just because they seemed to have the best features for my price range £800-£1000. I now think that the 003 doesn't offer enough future expansion. I currently had logic but was looking at pro tools but hadn't realised that with PT9 you can use whatever hardware you want. This makes a big difference to my initial thoughts. It means i can now buy an interface and use logic and then upgrade to PT when i can afford it.

I may now go back to the motu 896 and i'll have a look at the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40

Can you think of anything better for that kind of budget?

Thanks for the help
 
I can't.

From what I understand, you can't "bypass" the preamps on any of the ones with 8 built in pres. BUT...I don't know the technical stuff, basically they are such low noise that basically plugging an outboard pre into them is like bypassing them. I can tell you from experience with the Focusrite Pro 40, and having several very nice preamps, I just plug them in and don't hear any noise or color from the built in pres.

So, don't let the no bypass thing dissuade you from getting the Focusrite, Maudio, or any others.

Also, there are other DAWs that are great and you may never want protools. I tried Reaper last year with the same thought, that I'd get PT9 eventually. I have no desire to get PT9 now, Reaper is plenty for me.
 
Ok thanks for the advice. I'm just struggling to decide what to go for. Its trying to find something that works as well as it can to start with but will also allow me to expand a fair bit before needing replacing. Eventually i'll just have to take the plunge and pick one but at the moment i'm still undecided
 
just search each of the options on this site, check the prices you can get, and make a decision based on that.

I searched and narrowed it down the the focusrite and steinberg, then saw a sweet deal on the focusrite and pulled the trigger. They are all really good and I don't think you'll be disappointed with any, so do some research and look for a deal then don't be paralyzed by too much info.
 
Yeah. I'm now looking at the focusrite liquid saffire 56 and unless I can find a very good reason not to get it I think that's the one I'm going to go for. Supposed to have nice pre amps and converters and plenty of room for expansion.
 
sounds good. I think the major difference between the pro 40 and the liquid 56 is the two liquid preamps, which should be pretty cool. So, yeah, I think that will be a great choice and always expandable.
 
I have a Black Lion modded 896 HD I'm going to be selling late this year. Upgrading to RME. You can hear the results at the links in my sig.
 
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