newbie moving on up, firewire interfaces galore, help!

blueshowdoyoudo · 1st February 2005

Hey Everyone,
I've been working with an iBook G3, Garageband, M-Audio MobilePre USB, Mackie 1202 VLZ, and AT 4040, 3035, and Shure KSM27 mics. It's time for me to make the move to a more serious recording setup. I've got a rock/folk/country band coming together and want to be able to record us. Basically, I'd like a portable interface for my new 15" Powerbook 1.67 Ghz, 1 GB RAM so I can easily schlep my gear to the room we play in, set up 8 or so mics, and go. I've been tempted by the "serious" firewire interfaces like Metric Halo's 2882 and RME's FireFace, but I don't think I can justify the expense when I will be tracking and mixing in untreated, makeshift rooms for the forseeable future. I've been leaning towards something like the Presonus Firepod ($600). My need for 8 mic pres limits me, the MOTU 896HD would do it, but if I was going to drop that much cash, I'd just go for the heavweights. The best idea I've had so far is to go for an original Motu 896 on Ebay. That way I get my 8 mic pres, lots of i/o for future expansion, good metering, routing flexibility, and decent sound quality (remember I'm stepping up from Mackie pres and M-Audio D/A A/D) all for (with luck) under $600 or so. It gets me much more than the Firepod. Doesn't this sound like the right approach? Could you guys anticipate me having any trouble with a slightly older, discontinued unit? Any other suggestions?
(Still trying to decide what DAW software to go for, and what my next mic purchases should be: SM57's, Rode NT4/5, AKG C1000 ?)
Thanks,
Dan

2nd February 2005

im still using my original 828 for some things, and its still working fine. the original 896s are probably prtty similar. that might be a good bet. the good thing about my 828 is that is has 10 ch of digital i/o, which makes it a lot more upgradeable without having to totally change over to something else. the 896 probably has dig i/o doesnt it?

i would go for the old 896. motu will straight up replace any of their units for 50 bucks too, so if something goes wrong with it, its no problem to fix it.

1st February 2005	#1
blueshowdoyoudo Gear Head Joined: Feb 2005 Posts: 31 Thread Starter	newbie moving on up, firewire interfaces galore, help! Hey Everyone, I've been working with an iBook G3, Garageband, M-Audio MobilePre USB, Mackie 1202 VLZ, and AT 4040, 3035, and Shure KSM27 mics. It's time for me to make the move to a more serious recording setup. I've got a rock/folk/country band coming together and want to be able to record us. Basically, I'd like a portable interface for my new 15" Powerbook 1.67 Ghz, 1 GB RAM so I can easily schlep my gear to the room we play in, set up 8 or so mics, and go. I've been tempted by the "serious" firewire interfaces like Metric Halo's 2882 and RME's FireFace, but I don't think I can justify the expense when I will be tracking and mixing in untreated, makeshift rooms for the forseeable future. I've been leaning towards something like the Presonus Firepod ($600). My need for 8 mic pres limits me, the MOTU 896HD would do it, but if I was going to drop that much cash, I'd just go for the heavweights. The best idea I've had so far is to go for an original Motu 896 on Ebay. That way I get my 8 mic pres, lots of i/o for future expansion, good metering, routing flexibility, and decent sound quality (remember I'm stepping up from Mackie pres and M-Audio D/A A/D) all for (with luck) under $600 or so. It gets me much more than the Firepod. Doesn't this sound like the right approach? Could you guys anticipate me having any trouble with a slightly older, discontinued unit? Any other suggestions? (Still trying to decide what DAW software to go for, and what my next mic purchases should be: SM57's, Rode NT4/5, AKG C1000 ?) Thanks, Dan

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2nd February 2005	#2
chikkenguy Guest Posts: n/a	im still using my original 828 for some things, and its still working fine. the original 896s are probably prtty similar. that might be a good bet. the good thing about my 828 is that is has 10 ch of digital i/o, which makes it a lot more upgradeable without having to totally change over to something else. the 896 probably has dig i/o doesnt it? i would go for the old 896. motu will straight up replace any of their units for 50 bucks too, so if something goes wrong with it, its no problem to fix it.