Potentially Buying Digi 002R.. (owners help)

  • Thread starter Thread starter quietb03
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dgatwood said:
I wouldn't recommend either the 1814 or M-Powered.

M-Powered has a low track limit (32 simultaneous), which I know I'd bump into constantly. You can upgrade to 48 by buying an additional piece of software, but really, why bother when there are much more flexible DAWs out there that don't lock you into a proprietary plug-in architecture, a particular brand of audio interface, etc.

As for the FW1814, my experience is that the hardware is very buggy at the FireWire PHY level. They don't play well with other devices---hubs, hard drives, other interfaces.... I spent hours trying to debug the thing and eventually concluded that it just doesn't work unless it is the only device on the bus. It usually works with one other device, but only if it is the first device.

The symptom of the failure is particularly bizarre---recording works, but the S/PDIF input and output go dead. I think the clock is going unstable, but I'm not certain. In any case, it's cranky enough that I would recommend any number of interfaces over it.
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IMHO pro tools and both mpowered and le versions are great because they're propietory. I've used the more "flexible" softwares and compared to LE I've hated them. On top of all that I've already had several clients use me just for the fact I have PT. Some like coming to my place and laying down instruments and then going to a more professional set up to track vox and mix, and having pro tools makes it easy for them to do that.
 
I have to say that I'm very happy with my 002r and the ProTools software. That project mix thing is really a whole different product and is not really directly comparable. It has the control surface, is a table top unit, LCD, it's designed for different uses than the 002r. I think the important thing is for you to decide what you need, how you want to work, etc., then pick the gear from there. If you need a control surface, then yes the 002r or any rack unit is not even a consideration.

The two headphones out thing is easily cured with a simple headphone splitter cable that costs $5. I just used a splitter cable on a session with my MOTU Traveler and it worked fine.

With a proprietary system like digi/protools I do have to say that I think a separate control panel would be a pain. It's all easily handled right in the main application. But Digi software only works with Digi hardware.

When you get into hardware that will work with many different software apps then I can see the necessity to have a dedicated control panel to directly control the hardware. But with Digidesign that is simply not necessary, and in my opinion pleasantly so.
 
SonicAlbert said:
I have to say that I'm very happy with my 002r and the ProTools software. That project mix thing is really a whole different product and is not really directly comparable. It has the control surface, is a table top unit, LCD, it's designed for different uses than the 002r. I think the important thing is for you to decide what you need, how you want to work, etc., then pick the gear from there. If you need a control surface, then yes the 002r or any rack unit is not even a consideration.

The two headphones out thing is easily cured with a simple headphone splitter cable that costs $5. I just used a splitter cable on a session with my MOTU Traveler and it worked fine.

With a proprietary system like digi/protools I do have to say that I think a separate control panel would be a pain. It's all easily handled right in the main application. But Digi software only works with Digi hardware.

When you get into hardware that will work with many different software apps then I can see the necessity to have a dedicated control panel to directly control the hardware. But with Digidesign that is simply not necessary, and in my opinion pleasantly so.
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Very well said and exactly what I was trying to say.
 
002r owner here...

the 002R IMO is one of the best options for midrange interfaces. No compatibility issues whatsoever with pro tools (obviously).

how can you say it's overpriced? you get the hardware, plus the software for $1200 ( i paid $1100 new, go haggle in GC or wherever).

any other hardware requires software purchased separatly.

those 4 mic pres are really clean.

i think that the MBox is a waste of money, comparitavely. for a couple hundred bucks more, you get double or triple the i/o.

i added a behringer BCF to control, becuase i like that myself, and it was like $160 or so used.

i love the digi 002. its honestly a great unit, made well and looks nice too in the rack. i was considering the project mix, but add software and its like $1500. plus the digirack bundle has good stuff, like reason adapted, sampletank le, BFD and melodyne essentials. good stuff, free. then the full version upgrades are all discounted.
 
the singer of my old band, against my best advice, picked up the projectmix....

i sat down with the unit for a night and wished i never had....the preamps were basically unusable...way too hot for almost anything and would require in-line padding just to lay down drums or even vocals

the external routing program doesn't let you do much at all....i was thinking it would be like the layla, i'd adjust input gain in there to cut back on the excess i was getting...but alas...after an hour on the phone with m-audio i was told it doesn't exist...

in the end he took it back, bought the 002r and took a loss on pro-tools m-powered....

now, in my studio i have the 002r right now and i love it...after using a layla and sonar for years, the workflow of pro-tools is a lot better for me...

i bang around at 100 mph with hotkeys and everything right at my fingertips and life is much easier...

and...you get better performances when it doesn't take 15 minutes to work something out between takes...


steer clear of m-powered stuff
 
I have an 002 and it took me a while to get the software to run properly but now it is growing on me. It was a very good fit for me because I already had an ADAT/mixer so right off the bat I have 12 preamps.

This was my first forray into computer recording and I too was skeptical about not having an outboard mixer to put my hands on but there truely is no need. I have all the flexibility I need.

At this point I wish I had not bought the factory bundle because the plug-ins I have tried do not sound good to me.
 
i'll comment on the last remark...

75% of the people i know have a problem getting their pro-tools setup running...and it's generally because of one thing...

many applications you put the disc in, just keep hitting next next next and boom it's done....

pro-tools isn't like this...there's a specific order in which you need to plug in hardware, insert discs, hit next on the installation, and hit next when windows (never installed on a mac) finds the hardware....

if you don't do this, you get a botched installation....

the installation guide in the booklet gets you through this perfectly, as long as you take the time to read it...

a pal of mine recently got a digi 002 (the control surface) and didn't read the manual after many reminders by me to do so...

he fucked up the install, and had to call digidesign to have them help him clean something out of his registry...then he followed the instructions and it was flawless
 
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