Digi 002/003 versus Firepod?

Jarkko Mattheiszen

Jarkko Mattheiszen

The FU guy.
Jul 31, 2006
6,519
12
38
Lappeenranta, Finland
www.tainted-studio.com
I have been of thinking of getting a n MBox 2 Mini or alike to learn Pro Tools, but then again, why would I want to invest in such a limited piece of hardware? So I turned to the Digi 002 and 003's, which are a bit pricey, but offer enough features such as an ADAT I/O which my Firepod is missing. And since the 002 and 003 should work with Cubase too (AFAIK), I started seriously considering making the switch. Now, how are those Digidesign interfaces compared to the Firepod? Preamp quality? Drivers? Converters? And if I end up getting one, is there any good reason why I should invest in a 003 (1000-1100 eur) instead of hunting down a used 002 (600-700 eur)?

Thanks for any help!
 
Hm. Isn't logic and digital performer the only sequencers that can use digidesign hardware (except pro tools of course)?
I'm going for the firepod though, don't need much more :)

BTW. don't your store have a return policy? I'd buy one and try it out, if I didn't like it I'd return it, the money would be "locked" at that store, but I could something else there anyway.
 
The Firepod is far and away a better interface in every conceivable sense. I know because I own one and use it, along with the mighty Cubase, and I've previously owned MBoxes and an 002R, as well as an M-Powered rig (mistake.)

Don't look to Digidesign for hardware excellence, their interfaces are overpriced across the board, and are total crap unless you get an HD rig - and most of the HD guys I know are using outboard pres and converters anyway, going into HD over ADAT optical cable from infinitely nicer gear. Digidesign doesn't make an interface at any price that's on par with say, the RME FireFace 800...

Run a cheap LE or M-Powered rig to learn the software, don't even bother tracking in Pro Tools, just fly your audio in from Cubase. Pro Tools is complete garbage anyway, the only reason anybody uses it is because a bunch of studios adopted it early when it was one of the few options. I've sworn off Pro Tools myself, even though I am teaching a kid Pro Tools lessons at the moment.

If you absolutely must have a Digidesign interface, get a used 002R as others have said. It's better built than the 003 and will cost you less. I'm not familiar with what mods are available, but that does sound mildly interesting. Don't lose your Firepod!
 
yeap, i'm holding on to my firepod until i can afford a much nicer setup.

i would not even think about going digi hardware unless it was hd systems.
 
Kazrog said:
The Firepod is far and away a better interface in every conceivable sense. I know because I own one and use it, along with the mighty Cubase, and I've previously owned MBoxes and an 002R, as well as an M-Powered rig (mistake.)

Don't look to Digidesign for hardware excellence, their interfaces are overpriced across the board, and are total crap unless you get an HD rig - and most of the HD guys I know are using outboard pres and converters anyway, going into HD over ADAT optical cable from infinitely nicer gear. Digidesign doesn't make an interface at any price that's on par with say, the RME FireFace 800...

Run a cheap LE or M-Powered rig to learn the software, don't even bother tracking in Pro Tools, just fly your audio in from Cubase. Pro Tools is complete garbage anyway, the only reason anybody uses it is because a bunch of studios adopted it early when it was one of the few options. I've sworn off Pro Tools myself, even though I am teaching a kid Pro Tools lessons at the moment.

If you absolutely must have a Digidesign interface, get a used 002R as others have said. It's better built than the 003 and will cost you less. I'm not familiar with what mods are available, but that does sound mildly interesting. Don't lose your Firepod!
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I was afraid of, thanks for the heads-up. I just can't justify buying an interface I really don't need just to use an industry-standard software. I guess I'll be looking for something more critical to my setup, like a pair of new monitors, stands and some acoustic treatment, then :)
 
i actually own both pieces of hardware and use them both together. i got the firepod a few years back as my first actual semi-pro piece of recording gear. it's been great since, and cubase is good software. but after a while i started taking recording classes and started using pro tools. i wanted to take my mixes from the studio to my home and decided i needed to get pro tools. got the 002r and it's been useful... for running protools. since it only has 4 preamps, what i do is i just run the 1/4th outputs of the presonus into the inputs of the 002r, that way i have 8 inputs/preamps into protools. i wish i could use them both together in the sense that i have 16 total inputs, but the firepod doesn't have adat, so digidesign is not down with that.:Smug:

in conclusion, i would go with the m-audio profire 2626, because you can use it by itself using a fire wire connection with whatever software (including protools m-powered). then if you decided to upgrade, you could either go with the firepod and use both together in cubase, or go with the 002 or 003 and use both in protools LE, either way having 16 simultaneous inputs. plus the price is right in between what a firepod or an 003 cost. (i don't personally own this piece of gear, but plan on getting one soon hopefully).

the reason most people complain about protools and digidesign is because their attitude is very elitist. they make their products so that they are purposely not compatible with other companies. i will say this though, if you ever have to edit the holy-hell out of something (cough, drummers), pro tools is amazing!:kickass:
 
man...if you're looking at digi stuff just to get PT, find a used m-box mini on ebay or something, and go with kazrog's suggestion of tracking in another DAW and importing to cubase
 
why?

Beat Detective.
Click to expand...

not only BD, but there's a lot of people out there who will go to a pro studio to track drums or certain other elements, then go somewhere smaller/cheaper to track the rest and/or mix...it helps a lot to be able to accept files in PT, if you ask me

it's also worth mentioning that BD on LE, of course, can only be applied to 1 track at a time, vs. HD where you can BD an entire mix at once if you wanted.
 
colonel kurtz said:
not only BD, but there's a lot of people out there who will go to a pro studio to track drums or certain other elements, then go somewhere smaller/cheaper to track the rest and/or mix...it helps a lot to be able to accept files in PT, if you ask me
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Running Pro Tools really does bring you more clients.
 
colonel kurtz said:
it's also worth mentioning that BD on LE, of course, can only be applied to 1 track at a time, vs. HD where you can BD an entire mix at once if you wanted.
Click to expand...

Unless you get the Music Production Toolkit for LE, which makes BD multitrack capable like HD
 
Metaltastic said:
Unless you get the Music Production Toolkit for LE, which makes BD multitrack capable like HD
Click to expand...

Good call... And as a very happy Pro Tools LE and HD user, I'd like to say that LE is still ALMOST useless without that Production Toolkit Bundle. I tell people that they may as well factor that into their cost if they want to buy an LE rig.
 
Grab a m-audio profire 2626. I replaced my firepod with one and I am glad I did. Solid build ( much sturdier than the firepod) solid drivers, great sound, and awesome features such as - a dsp mixer, 16 adat i/o, pads on all the xlr ins, 2 headphone jacks, and higher headroom preamps. I bought it for those features and the ability to try m-powered along with any other host ( which I haven't got around to..I can't get on board with all the limitations of PT le, etc.) . I run it with reaper and its a great combination , I can record at lower latency, and it sounds better to me ( a guy on gearslutz said it has the same dac's as the RME stuff)..it's cheaper and better than the digi home user hardware..

I like my firepod but I like this better.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/ProFire2626-main.html

that saying I ran a firepod and an RME hammerfall /adi rig with Nuendo ( version 1 to 3) and always got good results...

with Steinberg screwing longtime users so many times I jumped off that train even though it's good software... there attitude is probobly more elitest than Digi or anybody.... the plus was i got great money for selling my Nuendo license!
 
t-rave said:
Grab a m-audio profire 2626. I replaced my firepod with one and I am glad I did. Solid build ( much sturdier than the firepod) solid drivers, great sound, and awesome features such as - a dsp mixer, 16 adat i/o, pads on all the xlr ins, 2 headphone jacks, and higher headroom preamps. I bought it for those features and the ability to try m-powered along with any other host ( which I haven't got around to..I can't get on board with all the limitations of PT le, etc.) . I run it with reaper and its a great combination , I can record at lower latency, and it sounds better to me ( a guy on gearslutz said it has the same dac's as the RME stuff)..it's cheaper and better than the digi home user hardware..

I like my firepod but I like this better.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/ProFire2626-main.html

that saying I ran a firepod and an RME hammerfall /adi rig with Nuendo ( version 1 to 3) and always got good results...

with Steinberg screwing longtime users so many times I jumped off that train even though it's good software... there attitude is probobly more elitest than Digi or anybody.... the plus was i got great money for selling my Nuendo license!
Click to expand...

Yeah. I loved Cubase and Wavelab for as long as I used them. But, I think Steinberg is just as stuck-up as Digidesign. And I get great support with Pro Tools, AND more clients. 9 times out of 10, if a client asks what your studio records with and you say Pro Tools, you get the job. If you tell them something else like Cubase or Reaper (which are both great) the client may say something uneducated like "Well, we really want to do this in a REAL studio. Thanks anyway." That makes them fucking morons, of course... But either way, you don't get the project.
 
jhakwe said:
Hmm, the Profire 2626 looks pretty sweet, actually. It isn't that pricey either, and considering I could probably score 250-300 eur from my Firepod, that would be quite a cheap upgrade. Any more experiences with the 2626?
Click to expand...

The preamps in it are supposed to be pretty nice. It's got a lot of gain options too. I think it would be perfect for you to learn Pro Tools on, because if you decide to upgrade to HD one day or something, you'll still be able to use the 2626 as an expansion for 8 extra inputs via the lightpipe. And you can learn on M-Powered just as easily as you can on LE. Check out Digidesign's site for all the compatibility info between M-Powered, LE and HD. Like I've said before, I used to use PC-hosted Cubase in the studio with Mackie HD hardware, and a Firepod at home on SX3 and Wavelab, and I loved it. But, out of respect for demand, I've switched to Pro Tools HD and LE and I couldn't be happier... never going back.
 
Tommy Gun said:
The preamps in it are supposed to be pretty nice. It's got a lot of gain options too. I think it would be perfect for you to learn Pro Tools on, because if you decide to upgrade to HD one day or something, you'll still be able to use the 2626 as an expansion for 8 extra inputs via the lightpipe. And you can learn on M-Powered just as easily as you can on LE. Check out Digidesign's site for all the compatibility info between M-Powered, LE and HD. Like I've said before, I used to use PC-hosted Cubase in the studio with Mackie HD hardware, and a Firepod at home on SX3 and Wavelab, and I loved it. But, out of respect for demand, I've switched to Pro Tools HD and LE and I couldn't be happier... never going back.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that seems like a perfect compromise. Sure the M-Powered costs additional ~300e, but I can always get that later. The 16 ADAT channels on the 2626 would be nice for an ADA8000 or similar to use for triggers and such. I'm not that sure what my budget will stretch to, since I'm moving to a new flat with my girl in December, but I think I can manage to get both the new monitors and a new interface before that if I can sell my old gear.
 
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