003 owners, How is it so Far?

[c.evans]

Hello,

I am about to upgrade my Mbox 2 Pro to a 003 Factory and I wanted to get some input from those of you who have made the leap.

I've heard mixed reviews about the 003 but I would love as much info as possible.

My needs for production:

-I currently use a Mackie Control with my Mbox 2 Pro and it works fine but I love the idea of a Digi product for integration.

-I need 2 headphone jacks (the mbox pro has this) for recording a vocal while I man the Protools rig

-Would like to add a second pair of studio monitors to my setup

-4 pres is more than enough for most of my needs, I mainly mix and master

-great control from the surface for tweaking plugins on the fly, does the 003 work for this. I am especially interested in a "flip" mode for automation of plugin parameters on the faders.

-mono button and dim switch a huge plus for me


I know that it sounds like I have made up my mind but I haven't. I would love to hear all comments.

Thanks, Chad

[johnnyboy5000]

I got mine on Thursday, upgrading from the Mbox2 and Digi 001. One thing right off the bat is when I was using the Mbox2, I could have Ableton Live and Pro Tools open at the same, both using the MBox2 for audio output. With the 003, when Live opens, it launches the Digi Core audio app, which won't let Pro Tools open. I still have to get to the bottom of this. Another thing, that I kinda don't like is that it needs a power supply, which the 001 and Mbox 2 didn't. The 003 makes alot of funky click noises when it turns on. It's pretty big too. I would have liked it to be 1 space, instead of 2. I haven't done any serious recording with it yet... I it seems to play back my old Pro Tools sessions clearer than the Mbox2...

[marchhare]

I just got my 003 set up w/ a Macpro 2.66 with 5 gigs of ram.
Over the last two days, I've been working on something that had
to turned in this morning. In the last 48 hours, this thing has
crashed or not been "able to find hardware" about a million times.
It's a miracle I got the song finished. My 001 was super stable
for six years, but this thing is starting to look like a really
bad mistake. I'm trying to clock off of my Apogee Rosetta 200,
which is also my front end. The 003 seems to be even more unstable
in that configuration than when clocked internally. I'm guessing
firewire is a bad idea. I just spent the last couple of weeks
re-doing my studio and upgrading my plug ins (which cost some money).
If I had a time machine, I'd go back and
not buy this.

[bilco]

I just got my 003 set up w/ a Macpro 2.66 with 5 gigs of ram.
Over the last two days, I've been working on something that had
to turned in this morning. In the last 48 hours, this thing has
crashed or not been "able to find hardware" about a million times.
It's a miracle I got the song finished. My 001 was super stable
for six years, but this thing is starting to look like a really
bad mistake. I'm trying to clock off of my Apogee Rosetta 200,
which is also my front end. The 003 seems to be even more unstable
in that configuration than when clocked internally. I'm guessing
firewire is a bad idea. I just spent the last couple of weeks
re-doing my studio and upgrading my plug ins (which cost some money).
If I had a time machine, I'd go back and
not buy this.

Not what I want to hear....... I am thinking of the Digi001 to Digi003 Rack exchange to get more portability. It is a pain to drag a desktop, monitor, etc. to gigs to record the band live.

Anybody else have a report yet?

bilco

[brian brilliant]

I got mine in April and I am working with it ever since. Yes it takes some time to get through all this troubleshooting stuff (wondering why nobody wrote a script for it yet) but once it runs it is very convenient to work with. I switched from a MIX system wich started to get buggy lately and I am very happy that I made the move. I was working with MotorMixes before so I already knew the flip mode but the 003 has a lot more to offer in terms of usability. Just make sure that you configure your system E X A C T L Y (can I write it bigger?) as digidesign proposes it, if you don't you are doomed. Especially look for an approved HDD (if I am right they have to have this miraculous Oxford Chipset) and at least 2 GB RAM. I got mine together with a MacBook Pro 2,16 and it works flawless. And although I have my HDD connected to the FW 800 and the 003 to the FW 400, I don't get any error messages as long as I don't use any of these fancy Izotope plugins. I also don't agree with some other posters that have a problem with the monitoring. I always use 64 sample buffer size during recording and I never heard a musician complaining about latency-effects on the monitors. Soundwise I can't tell anything about the comparison to the 002 but it is a huge difference in sound to the converters of the MIX system.
What I don't like too much is the new PT version 7.3.1. I think it is ridiculously buggy. But this has nothing to do with the 003 as those bugs occur in connection to any other interface as well. Just search the DUC and you will find plenty posts about it (including mine about the flickering windows that digi still wasn't able to fix in cs3).
BTW monitors: I got me a pair of Mackie 824 with it. They are really loud but in small rooms they overproduce the bass. It is hard to get it right in the control room but when you hear the mix outside it gives it a nice tight sound so that you are still alowed to use the loudness button on your hifi.

[marchhare]

I'll check again, but I'm pretty sure I followed all the guidelines
when setting things up. Until I can afford to switch to HD, I guess
I'm stuck. Hopefully things will improve.

[GORILLA]

I traded my MBox pro 2 (which I got in February of this year) for my 003 Factory Console. Here's my setup >>
Mac Pro dual core 2.66Ghz
2 gigs of ram
4x500 gig hard drives internal
OSX 10.4.8
PTLE 7.3.1cs2

I've recorded my projects as well as bands with this unit and it's been GREAT! I don't know what Guys are talking about the 4 pres' phantom problem. I haven't ran into it in about a month of recordings. The flip is great as is the jog wheel (I had a 002 console years ago and sold it too!)
I use two sets of monitors too, but I have a Mackie big knob for controling them.

All in all, this 003 Console has been rock solid. I run it from the backside firewire and record to drives 3 & 4. Drive two has all my libraries and samples on it. I use no other firewire devices when doing audio sessions and it helps as the 003 seems to like being thee only fire wire device!
The 003 pres' I use for overheads and have had no complaints yet!


If you get the console.... be sure to show your Buds the "Vegas Mode"

GORILLA

[c.evans]

Thanks for all of the feedback! I am running an imac 24", 2.16 intel core 2 duo and I am a little concerned about the firewire bus sharing. I've been sharing the only 400 bus with my Mbox 2 pro with no problems what-so-ever, and I have been running some huge sessions maxed out at 48K 24bit with 48 tracks and lots-o-plugs.

I would love to hear from anyone who has had success/problems with the 003, and imac, and firewire drives.

The imac has FW800 as well but I'm not sure that digi has approved the use of that with the 003.

Thanks Again, Chad

[marchhare]

And now for some strange reason, it's running really smoothly tonight. I'm mixing, not
tracking though. One thing, the D/A section sounds pretty good and might possibly free
up the Apogee for going out of the box to my Drawmer. Maybe things are looking up.

[BassBottom]

I've had mine since april and never had any problem with it. I love the extra monitor out and mute switches. I have not done any major mixing with it yet but so far it's rock solid. it was about time I let go of my 001 and what a move that was