Sound Devices USB Pre 2 upgrade

[Tommy-boy]

Originally Posted by eoats

Well, there's always:
302 Compact Production Mixer | Sound Devices, LLC

or

552 Production Mixer | Sound Devices, LLC

Aren't those just mixers, and not sound cards?

[PoxyMusic]

Originally Posted by Tommy-boy

Aren't those just mixers, and not sound cards?

That's correct in that they cannot be used as audio interfaces for DAWs. The USB Pre2 isn't a sound card either really, but I get your drift.

[richreilly]

Wow! Thanks for that file Poxy! Does sound like it has a good safety net limiter.
I wish my H4N had spdif in. (Yes..I felt the collective shudder of the readers

[eoats]

Originally Posted by Tommy-boy

Aren't those just mixers, and not sound cards?

Of course they're not DAW interfaces.
I meant it to refer back to wonderment about 'ganging' more inputs and some of the other features. Didn't notice a lot of questions about interfaces.

[Elof]

Just wanted to chime in with a sample.
Pushing the limiters quite a bit here.
Just a stereo overhead, neumann sm69 fet, into the usb pre 2.
I ran the analog out to motu hd192 converters.

[Mixing Suite]

Originally Posted by PoxyMusic

The USB Pre2 isn't a sound card either really, but I get your drift.

Ahh, yes it is.

[Mixing Suite]

Originally Posted by eoats

Of course they're not DAW interfaces.
I meant it to refer back to wonderment about 'ganging' more inputs and some of the other features. Didn't notice a lot of questions about interfaces.

Well try to be a little clearer then. He's not inquiring about a mixer, hes talking about the USB Pre2 interface. Some of you guys are so quick to shoot people down, and 90% of you don't know $hit.

[PoxyMusic]

Originally Posted by Mixing Suite

Ahh, yes it is.

I always thought a "card" was like a thing you put into something else, like a "slot". That USB connection sort of confused me I guess. But whatever, it's not really important.

[kiki]

I am at a loss which of ULN-2 and USBPre2 I introduce.
Which mic pre-amp is high performance?
I require a precise thing in nature widely.

[alanyu]

Originally Posted by kiki

I am at a loss which of ULN-2 and USBPre2 I introduce.
Which mic pre-amp is high performance?
I require a precise thing in nature widely.

Very interest about this comparison too. Any one tried both?

[CatFace]

So can anyone comment on using this unit with Pro Tools 9?
Any issues with overdubbing?

Anyone have any experience running a Macbook Pro/USB Pre 2/PT9 mobile rig?
Any idea on battery life when running something like this?

[TurboJets]

Originally Posted by Mixing Suite

Ahh, yes it is.

Agreed.

The USBPre2 is a DAW interface.

It can be used stand alone (i.e., as a mic pre) or as an interface.

Not to put anyone down but if you've owned one and used one you'll understand this. Stuff like this becomes a problem when people are answering questions based on opinion or stuff they've read rather than coming from the perspective of having actual experience. One of the reasons info you read on the internet is so spec. tutt

[JonesH]

Again I have to say I really like having this box. With its myriad of connections, it has a lot of uses. Standalone headphone preamp? Check. Mic pre? Check. 'Listen box' for finding signals in patchbays? Check. Level matcher? Check. I've found a lot of uses I never thought of when I first got it. Wouldn't want to be without it in my remote kit.

[grfrgr]

Is it possible to connect multiple usbpre 2 to a laptop (mac book running pro tools for example)
in order to record multiple tracks?

[Studiodawg]

Aggregate devices is a likely solution on a Mac...

[Blister]

Really wouold love to hear some mixes done using the Usbpre 2... Anyone been there yet?

Rock & roll anyone?

[DannyL]

Originally Posted by Dan Steinberg

Aah, maybe that's the problem.

If I understand you correctly, you are saying that the USB Pre 2 needs more juice, from it's USB connection, than the Ipad will provide, over its camera kit USB connector.

And since the USBpre2 can only get power over its USB connection, which will already be in use for the USB class audio connection, the user is out of luck?

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but you can power the USBPre 2 from any externally powered USB hub.

Ergo, use an externally powered hub and use it between the IPad and the USBPre 2.

Regards;
Danny

[PoxyMusic]

Originally Posted by DannyL

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but you can power the USBPre 2 from any externally powered USB hub.

Ergo, use an externally powered hub and use it between the IPad and the USBPre 2.

Regards;
Danny

That's easy to answer, stand by....

Yes. No problem. I didn't try that with an iPad, but it worked fine going through a powered hub to my iMac.

[Jaymz]

Originally Posted by kiki

I am at a loss which of ULN-2 and USBPre2 I introduce.
Which mic pre-amp is high performance?
I require a precise thing in nature widely.

Well on the USBPre2 product page, they say

Their topology is shared with Sound Devices award-winning 744T Digital Audio Recorder.

Not sure if that means they're directly comparable to a 744's pres or not. Even if they're close, that's very impressive given the price imo.

[jacktadoussac]

If you plan to mainly record 1 or 2 channels, live off the floor with not much editing, what is a recommended DAW or sound recording app to use with this unit?

PS I started a thread on this -- hopefully no-one minds. $600 worth of ProTools seems like overkill for two channels of live music.

[MichaelPatrick]

Originally Posted by jacktadoussac

If you plan to mainly record 1 or 2 channels, live off the floor with not much editing, what is a recommended DAW or sound recording app to use with this unit?

PS I started a thread on this -- hopefully no-one minds. $600 worth of ProTools seems like overkill for two channels of live music.

If you're on Windows get Reaper. Cost can't be beat and it's the real deal. It runs VST plugins so you can go nuts if you want to buy new tools.

[DannyL]

+1 on Reaper. I use it on a Mac. Works great and very reasonably priced.
Very stable AND can record to two different drives simultaneously.


Regards;
Danny

[jacktadoussac]

My main laptop is a MacBook Pro, but I also have an HP laptop as a backup (or on the shelf) -- I imagine I will use it 99% on the Mac. It has 6 to 8 hours of battery life compared to 10 minutes for the older HP laptop.

[ysmgj]

still +1 on reaper for mac.

[jacktadoussac]

Thanks, I plan to act on Reaper in the future. Meanwhile my four year old copy of Cubase LE is still working fine (and I still have the original disc). I end up rendering a 'stereo' WAV. version from one or two channels that is immediately playable in iTunes. Amazingly Reaper is still the same price so I'm ready whenever Cubase collapses.