Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Presonus or MAudio?

S

scooterguitar

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 7, 2008
227
0
This ? is for a relative who wants to goof around with Garageband, little guitar and rarely vocals.
I'm clueless as to what to suggest, as I use a Duet/11R, and such, but he's a pretty tight budget.

The Maudio MKII is around $120 and the Presonus audiobox is around $150, so that's his price range:D

Anyone have comments on either for simplicity of plug it in for him and jam away? I'll help him, but he's going to need simple as can be.

Thanks
 
i use the m audio fast track 2 usb. m audio is super compatible with mac so its pretty much plug and jam. also very simple to use.
 
Does your friend's computer have a Firewire connector as well as USB?

I used a Presonus "Firebox" for awhile and it worked very well.

The "AudioBox" appears to be a copy of the Firebox, with USB instead of Firewire -- but it looks like it only has 2 inputs/outputs at one time.

The Firebox gave you up to 6 inputs at once. They're now a discontinued product (replaced by the new "Firestudio Mobile", see below), but can be found on ebay at good prices.

Your friend might check out the Presonus "Firestudio Mobile":
http://www.samash.com/webapp/wcs/st...o Mobile Firewire Audio Interface-_-PFSMOBILE
If there is any way your friend could scrape up a little more $$$$, this is the Presonus product to get.

I'd HIGHLY recommend that your friend choose a Firewire-based interface over USB. Fewer problems, less latency.

Worth noting is that all the Presonus packages come bundled with Cubase LE4 digital audio software. This is a "step up" from GarageBand in terms of power (also with a higher learning curve), but it's an excellent blend offering power, ease-of-use, and ease-of-learning.
 
I have the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. It sounds good, just dont like that you only get 2 LED's to monitor the input.
That Presonus unit mentioned in the post above has 3 so guess its better?
Mine connects via USB, is the Firewire better?
 
Thanks guys.
Yes, he has firewire. In all honesty, as little as he'll be using it I don't think firewire will make a difference. Likely only be doing a few tracks.

I'll let him know the info, appreciate the feedback!
 
I just went through this same process and tried to save a few bucks by buying the MAudio mobile pre ... made of plastic, tons of hiss and noise in the recordings.

The Presonus FireStudio Mobile was waaaaay better in terms of quality (actually made of metal) and very low noise floor in the recordings

Its a bit more expensive, but worth it ... otherwise, I would deem Presonus products superior to MAudio at this point

I also had to give up on MAudio previously because their Firewire 410 stopped working with Logic Pro and they haven't been able to create functional driver updates to make it work consistently,

In sum, Presonus rocks and MAudio products have issues
 
Interesting.... I did notice there is some hiss when I have something waiting to record on the M-Audio unit.

That has me wondering if I can return the M-Audio unit and try out that PreSonus unit you're talking about
 
Last edited:
I picked up an Apogee One recently and it's superb but obviously can only do one track at a time. Integration with GB and Logic is seamless.

Highly recommended.
 
Oh, I agree with Apogee products, love my Duet. But this thread is on entry-level units to get the job done.
Good info SFX.
 
scooterguitar said:
Oh, I agree with Apogee products, love my Duet. But this thread is on entry-level units to get the job done.
Good info SFX.
Click to expand...

Is the Apogee interface not entry level? Certainly has the price of an entry level @ $250....
I think im gonna trade in my M-Audio Fast Track Pro for that PreSonus Firestudio Mobile.
 
The Presonus audiobox is a terrible piece of gear. The headphone quality is horrendously thin. It's been talked about on the Presonus forum and Gearslutz. I bought one from Sweetwater and returned it. For entry level stuff I'd definitely stick with the m-audio fasttrack stuff. I use an m-audio ProFire 610 and it's rock solid.
 
I'm just getting into this myself so I don't have a lot of experience. You didn't mention if your friend has an amp? If so, what I did was connect the Line Out from my amp to the Line In on my iMac using a 1/4" M to 1/8" M cable and recorded that way. My amp is stereo so I have the stereo cable - not mono. I have a Vox Valvetronix modeling amp and prefer my amp and effect models over GarageBand's. By doing it this way I'm recording the sound as it comes from my amp.

I've not tried any of the USB devices mentioned above so I can't compare.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back