Presonus Fire Studio! is anyone as impressed?

[cornboy7x]

is anyone else as impressed with the flexibility of this product? with the MSR you can get talk to cues, multiple monitors, and 2 track returns.

i realize the quality isnt "high end", but seriously, apogee doesnt even have 8 channels of smux on the ensemble, and niether does digi with the 003. And niether of those even has a talkback solution.

im a recent convert from the evil empire that is digidesign and made the move to apple logic, and am really excited to be using the firestudio with the MSR. i havent yet though, and im hoping the hype i have put into this doesnt dissapoint.

any one else using the firestudio with the MSR in logic pro 8? how do you like?

[AllAboutTone]

I ditched presonus has as a whole.

[Mr.HOLMES]

China made piss!!!!

[KeithMoonwannabe]

You can ditch digi and DO MUCH BETTER THAN Presonus. They make mediocre gear for the most part. I like MOTU, Mackie, Focusrite, RME, Yamaha, and Steinberg far better.

[hurd300403]

Originally Posted by AllAboutTone

I ditched presonus has as a whole.

dear god! leave presonus alone man. ahhhhhhhhh!


--but yea avoid the firestudio and look at rme or motu. --that doesn't mean they don't make other great stuff though

[Heartfelt]

Leave Presonus Alooooooone!

You're lucky they made an audio device!!!

[Tajmoben]

People around here don't speak very highly of the Firestudio, but I love mine. I haven't had any issues w/ it, it has killer features, the pre's are clean, and I love the tracks I get from it.

In my opinion it's way better than the Digi gear I was using before......but that may just be me. If anything happened to my Firestudio I'd definitely get another.

[KeithMoonwannabe]

well to say that it is impressive is a pretty strong statement imo.

I mean think of it like this....

Presonus is the girl next door in the grocery store (yeah she's not bad to look at but she isn't completely grabbing your attention)
the other stuff (RME, MOTU, etc) is like seeing Heidi Klum in the grocery store (everyone stops, stares, and starts to drool in amazement and then you realize you just knocked over a display of $15 a bottle wine and she's laughing at you)

If a piece of gear is going to impress me it needs to completely floor me....nothing I've used by Presonus does that really. It does what it's supposed to but it doesn't really have much of a WOW factor. At least in my humble opinion. Again I'm not saying that they make crap, I just don't think it's a tremendous improvement, perhaps over digidesign but their stuff totally sucks you can tell by reading the specs on paper. I prefer to have some stuff with a little more character and vibe to it than the Presonus things, especially when it comes to the Firepod/Firestudio interfaces.

[Keyflo]

I was thinking about buying this too oh well ill spend it on the motu stuff

[styphon]

I like the presonus firestudio, mine came with the faderport for free. I am having no problems running it on a Windows Vista PC.

[edwonbass]

Firestudio Tube owner. Rock solid on Windows Vista and sounds good. Seems to be a better build than my old Firepod.

[PheelTheMusic]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The current line of PreSonus products offers absurd features and sound quality for the money. The FireStudio with MSR is so much more powerful and flexible than anything near its price range. Not to mention the sound is significantly better (pres and conversion) than MOTU gear.

The potential pitfall is the build quality and software stability. I had a knob fall off once and one iteration of software in the past wasn't the most stable in the world. BUT their customer service is top notch and they get you fixed at lightning speed.

IMO the next step up from the FireStudio is the FireFace800 but that's what, double the price? And I still think the presonus pres are nicer than those.

[styphon]

Originally Posted by PheelTheMusic

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The current line of PreSonus products offers absurd features and sound quality for the money. The FireStudio with MSR is so much more powerful and flexible than anything near its price range. Not to mention the sound is significantly better (pres and conversion) than MOTU gear.

The potential pitfall is the build quality and software stability. I had a knob fall off once and one iteration of software in the past wasn't the most stable in the world. BUT their customer service is top notch and they get you fixed at lightning speed.

IMO the next step up from the FireStudio is the FireFace800 but that's what, double the price? And I still think the presonus pres are nicer than those.

Interesting, I had considered the MOTU 828MKII, but I wasn't interested in built-in effects or the two inputs. I also considered the RME Fireface800, but I would've had to buy less expensive monitors.

[Mijoo08]

Hi
I started out with 2 Firestudios because at the time (Dec.2007) Presonus' manual said you could daisy-chain 2 units together via Firewire. False.
Couldn't lightpipe em' together, either. Maybe with the newer drivers.
TechSupport told me my computer was bad, that I couldn't possibly run 16 tracks on a laptop, let alone with Windows Media Edition. False.
Jon helped me clear my registry and re-try doing forward and backward firmware updates.
I never lived through ADAT, and the manual also says that when you are working 24-bit 48KHz that you hook up one optical cable, but you have to use 2, because one carries the signal and the other the timing. You can't use any of the channels from the extra unit. No one in a year at Presonus told me to be sure to do that, which meant I had traded a Firestudio for a Digimax FS, and couldn't record a single track with the Digimax for close to a year. Curious.
I admit to being relatively new to all this, but I can sure read directions and tell when they aren't working. I tried another optical cable to see if it was bad, didn't work, so I plugged the old one into the loop and "boom", it synched right up.
I've been on the phone with Presonus tech support about 64-bit drivers for 16 months+. I know others have, too, for 18 months or more. I've posted to get advice on their forum when things weren't working, and most of it didn't work or was unnecessary.
It took close to 3 1/2 months to get the "plug-in suite" registered and functioning.
They included Cubase LE with a free Faderport, which is awesome!
But Guess What?
The Faderport is "worth $150", but the Faderport only works with the next level of Cubase on up, starting at an upgrade price of $200!
I notice that focusrite has 2 comparable units, which I am going to check into, because they look like they may be more along the line of what I need.
Focusrite has improved the routing in their units and they are offering something similar for a lower price. Little-bit less heavy duty.
BUT the main thing is they are offering 64-bit drivers for XP and Vista.
Is Windows off to another OS yet? I haven't even been able to keep up. But i"m having a 64-bit tower built, and I'm sick of waiting 16+ months.
Any recommendations, drawbacks, plusses to the Saffire Pro 40 and the Liquid Saffire 56?
Oh, yeah, and by the way, when I went back to the Presonus forum today, apparently I've been erased as a person in their database. My posts are still there under my same name as here. But I don't exist anymore to them.
Peace. Jw

[Mijoo08]

Hey,
I am just thinking, the preamps are good-sounding. I don't think they are op-amps as I've heard suggested. If I need a little eq I can go out of my board to the preamps, and then just forget Presonus exists till the next session. I can run 64-bit drivers on my Edirol UA-5 and just process my tracks on the 64-bit computer. Just gotta find out if Edirol wrote the drivers for XP-pro-64 and possibly Vista 64-bit.
See ya.

[rty5150]

i love my firestudio 2626...NOW. when the drivers were flaky and not being reliable for sonar 7, i was very unhappy. with sonar 8, night and day. i think the converters are pretty good. the pres are very usable, but not outstanding. i got mine from uniquesquared and got the faderport and msr for free. so it was an incredible deal...especially since i already had 2 digimax d8's. back in the days of crappy drivers and very little tech support from presonus, i hated the unit. was very regretful, but now i love the rig i have. until i can afford a UA 2192 or some apogee gear, this will do.


rich

[MrJulius]

I love my fire 2626

Jordan Weller on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos

Everything there was recorded on it.

Ignore the shitty quality on "My Girl'ish" this was done all in the same room, 1 live take, thats it. No EQ, no comp

My room sounds like shit, I haven't started treating my room, I have shitty monitors, but I just have my Fire, Sm57/58, AT2020, and I used the pres on my Mackie CFX for some of the vocals.

But yeah... I'm happy running my 2626, not saying I would buy the exact same thing if given the chance, I would probably try a mackie converter or an MOTU or something. But Reaper + 2626 = Great low budget setup. My room is the weak point in my chain right now.

[blondmix]

Originally Posted by PheelTheMusic

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The current line of PreSonus products offers absurd features and sound quality for the money. The FireStudio with MSR is so much more powerful and flexible than anything near its price range. Not to mention the sound is significantly better (pres and conversion) than MOTU gear.

The potential pitfall is the build quality and software stability. I had a knob fall off once and one iteration of software in the past wasn't the most stable in the world. BUT their customer service is top notch and they get you fixed at lightning speed.

IMO the next step up from the FireStudio is the FireFace800 but that's what, double the price? And I still think the presonus pres are nicer than those.

DITTO.

I've had the Firestudio and a Digimax FS for a couple years, and have had great results. Sure they may not be the sluttiest pieces out there, but they do a great job and do it every day (without breaking the bank).

[roboton]

Originally Posted by KeithMoonwannabe

Presonus is the girl next door in the grocery store (yeah she's not bad to look at but she isn't completely grabbing your attention)
the other stuff (RME, MOTU, etc) is like seeing Heidi Klum in the grocery store (everyone stops, stares, and starts to drool in amazement and then you realize you just knocked over a display of $15 a bottle wine and she's laughing at you)

You keep whacking off to Heidi Klum and I'll be ****ing the girl next door.

I say do the most you can with what's in your league.

I have a Presonus Firebox in my crappy recording corner with a Rode NT-2, a noisy Farfisa, a buzzy Fender acoustic and even noisier Fender Musicmaster Bass. I am recording to a Macbook Pro running Logic. Oh yeah, I mix in crappy cans I bought from Target.

I make music at the level I am conmfortable with, and I am pushing my capabilities at a rate I can afford. Not all of us have the luxury of spending all our time and money on new pieces of sexy kit. For the person like me, the presonus is nothing to be ashamed of.

[D. Rumble]

I don't understand why people feel like they need to piss over Presonus. I bet those first guys to respond never worked with a Firestudio.

I do professional drum tracks with a Firestudio and have AB-ed the pres/converters with both Mackie Onyx stuff (I also own a Mackie Onyx 400F) and a MOTU 24 I/O and a 828MKII. Pres sound slightly different on all these units, but the Firestudio absolutely doesn't sound "less good". Conversion specs are basically up there with the Rosetta. Don't like the Firestudio pres (though, they are totally clean/neutral)? Just get external pres that you either connect to the FS's line inputs or through ADAT. I have yet to meet the first person who could tell a Rosetta and a Firestudio apart when used with the same pre.

$2500 for 8 input channels (and no pres and limited monitoring options) or $600 for up to 26 input channels, 8 pres and practically unlimited monitoring options... I don't know. Sells itself.

The flexibility of the Firestudio is golden. Endless monitoring and connection options. Software has been rock solid for me (both on a powerful desktop PC and a Dell notebook).

Time to stop bashing Presonus folks. It's getting old and is not based on anything but old growing pains that are in the past. These guys make great gear and are probably the most outgoing, interactive and ambitious company out there.
As for the Firestudio, there's not a single other product on the market the offers an even somewhat similar interface in the same price range. Presonus simply owns that entire part of the market, period.

d.

[rty5150]

Originally Posted by D. Rumble

I don't understand why people feel like they need to piss over Presonus. I bet those first guys to respond never worked with a Firestudio.

I do professional drum tracks with a Firestudio and have AB-ed the pres/converters with both Mackie Onyx stuff (I also own a Mackie Onyx 400F) and a MOTU 24 I/O and a 828MKII. Pres sound slightly different on all these units, but the Firestudio absolutely doesn't sound "less good". Conversion specs are basically up there with the Rosetta. Don't like the Firestudio pres (though, they are totally clean/neutral)? Just get external pres that you either connect to the FS's line inputs or through ADAT. I have yet to meet the first person who could tell a Rosetta and a Firestudio apart when used with the same pre.

$2500 for 8 input channels (and no pres and limited monitoring options) or $600 for up to 26 input channels, 8 pres and practically unlimited monitoring options... I don't know. Sells itself.

The flexibility of the Firestudio is golden. Endless monitoring and connection options. Software has been rock solid for me (both on a powerful desktop PC and a Dell notebook).

Time to stop bashing Presonus folks. It's getting old and is not based on anything but old growing pains that are in the past. These guys make great gear and are probably the most outgoing, interactive and ambitious company out there.
As for the Firestudio, there's not a single other product on the market the offers an even somewhat similar interface in the same price range. Presonus simply owns that entire part of the market, period.

d.

actually, all of the reasons you stated are what made me buy it. after tyhe nearly year it took to become a stable unit, i am absolutely enamored with it. it took presonus getting their stuff together to really bowl me over. the msr is amazing and the faderport is great for basic transport control, but i use my bcf2000 to mix. it's a good thing i can use both together in sonar. this all makes my workflow way faster and more convenient. also, i don't use the onboard pres. unless i'm shooting out mics, i never use the presonus pres.

rich

[D. Rumble]

Awesome.
If you're not using the pres, you might as well use a Firestudio Lightpipe.
However, I like having the line inputs on the 26x26 so I can hook up all kinds of external pres (like my MPA Gold, and maybe a Neve for snare, one day ).

d.

[rty5150]

Originally Posted by D. Rumble

Awesome.
If you're not using the pres, you might as well use a Firestudio Lightpipe.
However, I like having the line inputs on the 26x26 so I can hook up all kinds of external pres (like my MPA Gold, and hopefully a Neve for snare in the near future).

d.

can't, need the line ins. i was looking into the lightpipe, as i could get more shannels in, but would have needed more adat ins. firestudio was more ideal and all the free stuff i got made it easier to decide(msr and faderport were free for the promo). plus i also "like" the fact that i can go back to my presonus pres if i feel like it...


rich

[KeithMoonwannabe]

funny you say the people that posted bashing it never used it.

hmmm I guess that means I didn't use one for two years before I got my Focusrite Saffire Pro 10 i/o which was $400 new when I bought it and at the time the Firestudio was also $400.

The sound quality both for pres and conversion to my ears where a lot more pleasing on the Saffire.

The 26 i/o is on par with the newer Firestudio and is now cheaper because it's been replaced by the Saffire 40.

I mean really it's just funny to say stuff like that, generalizing and assuming what people have done. Now I can't speak for everyone who posted but I was a Presonus Firebox and Firepod user for years. I'm sure their newer stuff is nice I just prefer Focusrite, and for not much more money and a whole lot more functionality the yamaha N12 is my personal favorite for being realistic with a rig. Unless the new Saffire interface with liquid pres blows me away I'll likely be upgrading to an N12.

Presonus doesn't own the low end section of the market, that price range (around $600) is literally flooded with interfaces from Focusrite, MOTU, Lexicon, M-Audio, etc. They all have various pros and cons and ultimately you as a USER and CONSUMER will have to decide which meets your subjective wants (or needs).

Because it's so subjective and there are so many variables mileage will definitely vary. But I've used a lot of different setups, makes, and models of these units we discuss. I used to sell pro audio gear, a lot of which was computer based recording gear. So if I chime in my opinion it was based on experience with something. I will clearly state if I'm giving an opinion based off of what others have experienced.

[KeithMoonwannabe]

Originally Posted by roboton

You keep whacking off to Heidi Klum and I'll be ****ing the girl next door.

I say do the most you can with what's in your league.

I have a Presonus Firebox in my crappy recording corner with a Rode NT-2, a noisy Farfisa, a buzzy Fender acoustic and even noisier Fender Musicmaster Bass. I am recording to a Macbook Pro running Logic. Oh yeah, I mix in crappy cans I bought from Target.

I make music at the level I am conmfortable with, and I am pushing my capabilities at a rate I can afford. Not all of us have the luxury of spending all our time and money on new pieces of sexy kit. For the person like me, the presonus is nothing to be ashamed of.

that's great but I'd still take quality over quantity anyday.

[D. Rumble]

Originally Posted by KeithMoonwannabe

at the time the Firestudio was also $400.

Sounds like a Firestudio Project, not a 26x26. Whole different interface. Basically a Firepod with better converters. No ADAT, limited monitoring options. I think you can't even daisy-chain 2 FS Projects, but I might be wrong.

The 26x26 has never been under $675-ish. It was well over $800 when it first came out, I believe. It's actually around $700 at most stores (online and on the street). But you should be able to score it for around $600 if you dig deep enough.

d.

[ricknaqvi]

Sounds like a Firestudio Project, not a 26x26. Whole different interface. Basically a Firepod with better converters. No ADAT, limited monitoring options. I think you can't even daisy-chain 2 FS Projects, but I might be wrong.

You can currently daisychain up to 4 Firestudio Projects together.

Additionally, you can currently also daisychain Firestudio Tubes and Projects together (up to 4 units).

Our next driver update will include 64 bit support, and will also let you chain *any* Firestudio Family interface to another. You will also be able to chain a Firestudio to the StudioLive Mixer.

We hope to have a beta version of this driver out before the end of the month.

Kind Regards,

[bradley]

I think sometimes people worry too much about interfaces!

There are just so many available at low end of the market all with their pros and cons. Yeah sure some are better than others but most of the time the differences (in my experience) is with drivers and stability. It is all down to what works well for you!

[Track 7]

Originally Posted by D. Rumble

I don't understand why people feel like they need to piss over Presonus. I bet those first guys to respond never worked with a Firestudio.

I do professional drum tracks with a Firestudio and have AB-ed the pres/converters with both Mackie Onyx stuff (I also own a Mackie Onyx 400F) and a MOTU 24 I/O and a 828MKII. Pres sound slightly different on all these units, but the Firestudio absolutely doesn't sound "less good". Conversion specs are basically up there with the Rosetta. Don't like the Firestudio pres (though, they are totally clean/neutral)? Just get external pres that you either connect to the FS's line inputs or through ADAT. I have yet to meet the first person who could tell a Rosetta and a Firestudio apart when used with the same pre.

$2500 for 8 input channels (and no pres and limited monitoring options) or $600 for up to 26 input channels, 8 pres and practically unlimited monitoring options... I don't know. Sells itself.

The flexibility of the Firestudio is golden. Endless monitoring and connection options. Software has been rock solid for me (both on a powerful desktop PC and a Dell notebook).

Time to stop bashing Presonus folks. It's getting old and is not based on anything but old growing pains that are in the past. These guys make great gear and are probably the most outgoing, interactive and ambitious company out there.
As for the Firestudio, there's not a single other product on the market the offers an even somewhat similar interface in the same price range. Presonus simply owns that entire part of the market, period.

d.

+1 telling it like it is brother! thumbsup

[phonzadellika]

I have a Firestudio 2626, and I have mixed feelings about the unit...It does a lot for the money, that's for sure. I use it to connect my Alphalink to my laptop, and in that regard it's never given me trouble. And even though I'm not 100% sure going through the line-in is actually bypassing the pre, running my outboard pres into the converters sound good...

The build quality kind of sucks...especially the headphone jack...the first Firestudio I bought the jack was busted and after heavy use the jack is starting to give me problems on my second Firestudio...the pres are good, kind of, but when you start stacking the tracks this really washy sound starts wrapping itself around the mix which I do not care for at all...I'm pretty sure it's the pre anyway...

Overall, it is a good piece for the money...I'd really like to try out a Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 though...