Mac Laptop Questions

[bc]

My question is for Nick, but feel free to use this thread for any related questions. I am about ready to purchase a new Mac Powerbook Dual Core etc...It will need to run some form of Digital Performer, along with Final Cut Pro, and Adobe Web Suite. My question to Nick, (or others who have tech insight); what recording interface is the best for the Mac Laptop? I have ruled out the Digi 002 because it is too heavy/bulky. Maybe another way to approach this question is to itemize a Mac Pro Laptop rig that is, 1: easy to use for singer/songwriters, and 2: compatible enough to sync up with high end Mac based studio rigs.bc

[mazz]

I'll ask you more questions:1. How many inputs do you need? Do you need phantom power?2. How many outputs do you you need? How many analog? How many digital? Do you anticipate interfacing with a pro studio doing multichannel audio? If so, you many want ADAT outputs/inputs3. Are you going to need MIDI? How many I/O ports?4. Does the interface need to be bus powered? If you anticipate recording sometimes where there may or may not be 120V service, then the answer is yes. Sub question: Firewire or USB? I would recommend Firewire.5. Full rack size or half rack size?6. And, last but not least, what is your budget?For lower priced stuff that sounds pretty good, M-audio. For mid-range with lots of flexibility, MOTU.For higher end, RME.Hope this helps,Mazz

[bc]

Thanks Mazz,Sorry for vague details. I'm looking for a light weight high-end unit with at least 4 preamped inputs, tho 8 would be better -- price not an issue at this time.My current rig is the Sweet Water PC Creation Station, PT LE 7 point ad nauseum, with a Command 8 and a Digi 002 Rack. The Digi 002 has performed well in my home studio, but I really want something lighter that is more portable and hopefully even better sounding. I'm going with DP 5, and the MacBook Pro - 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 160GB Hard Drive, and 17" Widescreen Display. The Mackie Onyx line has caught my eye. Am I locked into MOTU hard ware because of DP5?I like PT, but am sick of the constant update issues. I run into this with high end graphics, flash, and other multimedia software, to the point where I've gratually migrated to products that don't issue a new update every five minutes. I'm told DP 5 is one of those.bc

[mazz]

BC,I don't know much about Pro Tools except that, even though it's supposed to be the industry standard, it's never appealed to me because of the limitations they put on the lower end software and the very high priced dongles required to run the higher end stuff. If I was a studio owner taking outside clients, I'd probably be singing a different tune but PT lagged so far behind in MIDI capabilities for so long, it was never an option for me as a MIDI based composer. DP5 is pretty great and sufficently deep. There's functions I've never used or needed to use and I've been using the software since before it had the Digital in front of the name.DP5 doesn't require MOTU interfaces. MOTU does make very nice interfaces though. I use older PCI MOTU interfaces and have never had a problem. I understand their newer Firewire ones are highly regarded, for instance the Traveler might fit what you are looking for. It has the 4 preamps plus MIDI and digital I/O. They just came out with the 8 Pre which has 8 preamps plus MIDI, etc. The 828MK2 looks pretty good as well. All are 1 rack space. Go to MOTU.com and check out the specs. These units have been pretty thoroughly reviewed in the press and have gotten high marks. I think Mackie just came out with a pretty substantial looking Onyx interface but it looks like it's as big as a Digi002 which kind of kills the portability requirement.I'm a MOTU guy cause that's what I started with but there's a lot of choices out there right now and it seems the quality is pretty high across the board. As usual, it comes down to price vs. features and if you can really hear the differences in sound quality on your system. Higher priced units may have better internal clocks which is a pretty important item in digital audio. If you are planning on adding an outboard master word clock at any time, if you don't already have one, then a word clock input on your interface may also be something to look for.I'm trying not to open the can of worms too far!!Good luck,Mazz

[bc]

Mazz,Interesting. I was doing some comparison shopping and the MOTU Traveler is my first choice at this point. 4 decent pres, 20- ins. Fire wire powered, which seems to be a good feature, unless there are power, or related latency issues. It's funny, my Nashville buds are almost giddy that they might have drawn another brother jedi minstrel back to Mac. lol! thanks again Mazz,best,bc

[nickbatzdorf]

MOTU's interfaces are very solid, and they let you toggle hardware monitoring directly in the channel strip (for latency-free monitoring), which is a very good feature if you're recording a band live - which sounds like the case if you want eight mic preamps. Or if you want to go upmarket then take a look at www.mh-labs.com. The Metric Halo 2882 is bigger than a Digidesign interface as far as square footage, but it fits under the laptop, it's bus-powered, and it has eight mic preamps. Very nice interface.(They're not called PowerBooks anymore, by the way - which from my armchair marketing position was a bad move.)

[bc]

Apple MacBook Pro 17 w DP 5, MOTU Traveler, aughta' be killer. I've used the Roland DS90A digital reference monitors for about 4 years. They're ok for my beat up ears. Maybe it's time for a better set of headphones! The mh-labs link didn't work for me, but I'll Google 'em up.thanks Mazz and Nick, for the input,bc

[sgs4u]

I had a lot of problems with my 828mkII. I had to unload it. I wasn't the only Motu/Mac user with problems, and a lot of people complained about Motu's customer service. Just letting ya know.Motu bug thread:http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jsp ... 3#3588173a couple of heavyweight producers talking about their rigs:http://www.gcfc.ca/Storage/17/1109_sequencer.pdfI think Logic 8 and that Apogee look fabulous, and yes, I'm going to get them. ooh, it looks nice:http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/logicpro/and a healthy discussion:http://www.gearslutz.com/board/logic-8- ... lObviously you need more inputs than I do. How often do you need to record 8 inputs? Maybe your Digi 002 could work for those times, and then use the little Apogee for everything else. My thinking now is, I'd rather be spending $ on a company famous for a/d d/a converters, because I believe that(converters) has been one of the weaker links in my rig. I've been a Logic guy for 10 years. I might not be too old to learn a new DAW program, but then maybe...

[mazz]

Steve, I've had pretty good luck with MOTU although as I mentioned I use all PCI based interfaces, no Firewire interfaces except an M-Audio FW410. All of my MIDI interfaces are MOTU as well.Which little Apogee are you looking at? I think they just came out with a new one but maybe you're talking about the MiniMe or whatever they call it? Apogee has great clocks in their gear as well which are another crucial component of digital audio. Since I added a dedicated master clock and a nice D/A converter, things sound much better here at Mazz-central.I must admit the new price of Logic made me turn my head but for now I'll stay in Digital Performer-ville cause it's the devil I know.Cheers,Mazz

[bc]

Good to hear different POV. Don't like the clunky weight of the 002 but I'm going to try it with a pc laptop just for kicks. Still leaning heavily towards Mac Laptop and DP, will look at Apogee right now.bc