Why wouldn't i buy the prosonus firebox?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Walter Mitty
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Walter Mitty

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I just bought a Yamaha P22 upright piano. I currently have a PC Sony Vaio 1.5GHZ with 512MB. I also have a firewire HD and a Shure 58. Now, this Firebox seems like a great deal especially for $300 which includes a V67G mic. I'd like to record the piano and vocals onto my computer as well as get into the midi thing down the road. I'm not seeing any downside at this point to this setup. any input you guys could give would be greatly appreciated.
 
I own the firebox and it works great. It comes with Cubase LE as well so you get your software too. It only has two mic inputs so you can't record like a whole band or anything but if you are just recording yourself or with another person it's fine. If down the road you want to have more inputs then you can buy the firepod and daisy chain them together. Then you get 10 mic inputs! as well as several line inputs.
 
does my computer have enough juice to do all this? TIA.
 
I'm not sure you can daisy chain the firepod and the firebox. have you done this before? I think you may be able to daisy chain the firebox to another firebox (giving 4 pre's) but that's not actually verified on their site last I checked. Also, you may encounter problems using a fw hard drive, as well as the fw interface. I've heard presonus suggests you connect the firebox to the laptop, and then connect the HD to the other fw slot on the firebox.
 
Your pc looks fine for recording a couple of tracks with the firebox. I'm not sure about the firewire drive though. Generally, you want a fairly fast drive to use as your tracking drive.
 
Here's some reasons not to buy if you want them:

1) Only one headphone out. The M-Audio FW410 has 2

2) No ADAT in.

Here's some reason to buy it:

1) Presonus, from what I hear, has outstanding tech support.

2) It comes with software.

6
 
TravisinFlorida said:
I'm not sure about the firewire drive though. Generally, you want a fairly fast drive to use as your tracking drive.
Click to expand...
I'm confused. I shouldn't have any problem if I simply run a firebox straight into the firewire card and use a standard internal HD correct? Is there any way to insure against latency like this? Any particular kind of firewire card/port or harddrive?
I'm assuming Walter Mitty was talking about trying to record to a seperate HD right? I don't plan on doing that.
*I did not mean to hijack this thread, just very interested and want to make sure I understand
 
goodbyebluesky said:
I'm confused. I shouldn't have any problem if I simply run a firebox straight into the firewire card and use a standard internal HD correct? Is there any way to insure against latency like this? Any particular kind of firewire card/port or harddrive?
Click to expand...

Should be fine, though I don't know what type of hard drive is in that machine (since you didn't say which Vaio). If it's a 2.5" drive, you might have some performance issues there, depending on how heavily you exercise it. If it's a 3.5" HD, you're fine.


goodbyebluesky said:
I'm assuming Walter Mitty was talking about trying to record to a seperate HD right?
Click to expand...

Probably, yeah. FireWire or USB hard drive latency can sometimes cause audio hiccups, depending on your DAW.
 
well i think i'm going to order this deal today. it's the one on ebay for $299 and i'll get the v67g for free. seems like a good deal. thanks for all your input so far. i hope to be a contributing member of this forum soon enough.
 
What FW card are you using? Is it a VIA or TI chip, or is it built in?
 
firewire is built in. it's a stock computer:

Full specs
Processor
Processor type Pentium M
Clock speed 1.5 GHz
Processor features Enhanced SpeedStep technology, Power- optimized processor system bus
Processor manufacturer Intel
Processor number 715
RAM
RAM installed size 512 MB
Max supported RAM 2 GB
Memory specification compliance PC2700
Memory speed 333 MHz
RAM technology DDR SDRAM
Storage Hard Drive
Hard drive size 80 GB
Hard drive 80 GB IDE
Hard drive installed qty 1
Hard drive type Portable
OS Provided
OS provided Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Optical Storage
CD / DVD type DVD±RW
CD / DVD drive DVD±RW Integrated
CD / DVD read speed 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD)
CD / DVD rewrite speed 8x (CD) / 2x (DVD±RW)
CD / DVD write speed 16x (CD) / 4x (DVD- R) / 2.4x (DVD+R)
Optical storage enclosure type Integrated
Optical Storage (2nd)
2nd optical storage type None
Audio Output
Audio output compliant standards Microsoft WSS 1.0/2.0
Audio output type Sound card
Battery
Battery technology Lithium ion
Installed battery qty 1
Mfr estimated battery life 3.5 hour(s)
Cache Memory
Cache size 2 MB
Cache type L2 cache
Modem
Max transfer rate 56 Kbps
Modem protocols & specifications ITU V.90
Modem type Fax / modem
Mainboard
Chipset type Intel 855PM
Data bus speed 400 MHz
Video Output
Graphics processor ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9200
Display (Projector)
Display (projector) diagonal size 15.4 in
Display (projector) technology TFT active matrix
Max resolution 1280 x 800
General
Compatibility PC
Model A150
Packaged quantity 1
Product line Sony VAIO
Networking
Data link protocol Ethernet, IEEE 802. 11b, IEEE 802. 11g,Fast Ethernet
Networking compliant standards IEEE 802.11b,IEEE 802.11g
Networking type Network adapter
Dimensions & Weight
Depth 10.9 in
Height 1.7 in
Weight 7.3 lbs
Width 14.7 in
System
Mobile technology Intel Centrino
Notebook type Notebook
Storage Floppy Drive
Floppy drive type None
Input Device
Input device type Keyboard,Touchpad
Interface Provided
Interface provided 1 Display / video VGA, 3 Hi- Speed USB, 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire), 1 Display / video Composite video output, 1 Headphones Output, 1 Microphone Input, 1 Network Ethernet 10Base- T / 100Base- TX, 1 Modem Phone line, 1 Docking / port replicator
Video Memory
Video RAM installed 64 MB
Video memory type Video adapter memory
Power Device
Power device form factor External
Power device type Power adapter
Power provided 168 Watt
Storage Removable
Removable storage type None
Service & Support Details
Service & support component (laptop) Battery
Slot Provided
Slot provided 2 (0 free) Memory SO DIMM 200- pin, 1 (1 free) CardBus Type I / II, 1 (1 free) Memory Stick
Software
Software type VAIO Media, VAIO Update, Google Toolbar, Sony SonicStage, Sony DVgate Plus, InterVideo WinDVD, Sony Click to DVD, Drag 'n Drop CD+ DVD, Microsoft Works 7. 0, Adobe Acrobat Reader, VAIO Recovery Wizard, VAIO Help and Support, Sony PictureGear Studio, AOL Online (90 days trial), VAIO Creation Suite Standard, Quicken 2004 New User Edition, Norton Internet Security (90 days subscription), Microsoft Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition (Trial)
Storage Controller
Storage controller type IDE
Service & Support
Service & support type 1 year warranty



think it'll be ok for my application?
 
I could'nt avoid the stuttering on my machine when using the same drive for my recording software and tracking. I had to add a second hard drive. I would'nt rush out and get anything until you give it a try on your machine but keep in mind that you may end up needing another drive. I have talked to plenty of people that do fine with one drive.

If you do end up needing another drive, the Western Digitals @ 7200 rpm with a 8mb or 16mb buffer are good drives for little money. I think the 80 gb with 8mb buffer (I have 2) are going for like $55 on Newegg now.
 
Oh crap, just realized your on a laptop............scratch my drive sugguestion.
 
well i do have a dual 867 G4 in the garage collecting dust. thinking about selling it and getting a powerbook.
 
are you really going to sell it? could u give me an estimate on the price?
 
does the firebox work well? Connections, pops, latency.

The tech support at presonus stated that s400 connections only, no combo cards, VIA or TI chipset. I got a VIA combo with USB, and i hope my box can run when i get it.
 
uchihaclan said:
are you really going to sell it? could u give me an estimate on the price?
Click to expand...

sorry, i haven't even gotten that far. i just ordered the firebox so i'll have to see what works and what doesn't. ideally i'd like to use the tower but seeing as i'd be setting up the whole operation in my living room on the piano i might go the powerbook route for looks sake (aka the wife). i'll keep you posted.
 
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