sound Card - mbox

A

ax1lla

New member
Hi all - this is my first time posting. Thanks in advance for the help.

I have a Fostex VF16 that I'm gonna get rid of as I don't know of an easy way to get it to my PC (SCSI output).

A friend of mine recommended the mbox (comes with ProTools). However, I am not sure how this will do with my sound card. I have an HP Pavilion Dv7 Notebook and the sound card listed under Device Manager is "IDT High Definition Audio CODEC" and "NVIDIA High Definition Audio" (Not sure which one is my actual soundcard).

Can you tell me if this sound card will be fine? Will I lose any quality? any advice is greatly appreciated.

Corey
 
I started out on Logic when it was on PC. A lot of people say Logic is really complicated, but I found it easy and got great results. Then, when Logic went Mac only, I got an M Box.

Boy do I hate pro tools. It's so hard to use. The instructions are lacking, and there aren't even any tags that pop up when you mouse over a control. To get instructions, you have to pay for expensive and time consuming lessons.

I just hope you'll think about other options. It is NOT a joy to record in pro tools le, and I've never managed to obtain the same great results that I got so easily in Logic. Plus, the failure of the software to work with most hardware and systems is notorious.

If you do get it, I suggest you make sure the store will let you return it after you try it out.
 
Well, you could get a scsi card for your pc to transfer your files. They're kind of expensive ~$100. Looks like the VF16 also has ADAT out, so you could conceivably get 8 channels of audio out of that at a time and get a soundcarad with an ADAT input.

The soundcard you have in your computer now really doesn't figure into the equation. When you get an interface, you'll disable the onboard soundcard and the interface will handle all of your inputs and outputs.

If you get the MBox, you're stuck with ProTools. Not the route I'd go. :)
 
Interesting

Thanks for the reply back guys. I guess I didn't understand the whole sound card thing vs interface. So, if I get an M-box, the sound card isn't even relevant - got it.

I'm suprised to hear your comments on Protools though. When I went to school on this stuff (years ago) Protools was the industry standard (still is) and was awesome to use. I didn't find it that difficult at the time. Of course, I also had an instructor hanging over my shoulder telling me what to do...

I also have a friend who is heavy into recording and this was his recommendation. However, I'm definitely open minded enought to consider more options. What do you guys recommend for interfaces as well as software and why?

Thanks again,

Corey
 
The problem with the pro-tools m-box BS, is that you get locked into the hardware /software combination. Only m-audio/digi stuff will work with pro-tools. They now overcharge for their stuff that is outdated and that they don't support very well. Next thing you know, hey, they quit making drivers altogether when the OS is updated, so you end up with a paper weight for an interface that you have to throw away and spend a whole bunch more for their newest overpriced piece of junk!

Have a look at some interfaces by Presonus, Cakewalk, Alesis or just about anybody else. They will alll comewith some kind of DAW software and digi/protools can KMA
 
If you are already familiar with pro tools, maybe you will like it ust fine. But I keep hearing that there is a world of difference between pro tools and pro tools le, and it is mostly about the lack of support for le.
 
good stuff

Thanks a lot for the info guys. I felt pretty single-minded before posting this. Meaning, I had it in my head the m-box and pro tools was the only way to go.

I never thought of the price issue either. Although 2 inputs is OK for what I want to do, ideally I would like a little more (maybe 4+). So, I will need to look into these other interfaces and see if I can get this for the same price or better than the mbox route.

I remember using CakeWalk ages ago and thought that is was pretty good at the time. Maybe I will look into that approach. If I find a combo that looks good, I will see what you guys think.

Again, thanks for the info.
 
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