Digi003: from 001 user perspectives

[peppertree]

OK let's examine this.

The user is starting with an 001 and wants value, I assume. The 003R + MPTK is $1045 with the trade-in. S/he can otherwise sell the 001 on ebay for $150 or something and go M-powered + Lightbridge + MPTK for what...something like $1200 ($250 + $500 + $450). The user ends up with less for more, even though it has *the potential* of being turned into more with the addition of severe $$$$.

To get 4 preamps of 003 quality is at least another $150 (and maybe more...have to hear them). To get 8 converters sending 96k S/MUX at 003 quality costs $1000 on its own! (check the specs...they are PT HD 96 i/o equivalent...name SPECIFIC BOXES and we'll compare). And only then you are equal to the 003, for more than twice the price of the trade-in.

From there, you have the same options at 44.1/48: an ADAT-style converter for 8 ins, and a S/PDIF converter for 2 ins. You *could* use S/MUX on the lightbridge to run your 8 channels in at 96k. That is an advantage, but note that it will also bog down your whole session recording all those tracks at 96K: max plugin instances will be cut in half, etc. If that's worth it to you, then OK...

Most likely, for most low-end users, 10 simultaneous channels at 96k is enough, or 18 at 48. For higher-end users recording whole bands at 96k in a single pass, the lightbridge's 18 i/o won't be enough anyway! So we all have to wait for digidesign to grow a brain and allow ad-hoc hardware expansion. I do honestly doubt that digi is going to treat M-Audio customers better than 003 customers.

And me, "poster child for Digidesign Lowend"??? Pfffftt!!!! In fact I've been SCREAMING at them for 10 years now (check my reg date...) for their go-it-alone policy wrt audio. However, I'm not going to give bad advice to someone in this specific situation.

[bigbrendan]

Wow! There has been a lot of b!tchin about the 003 on the DUC and even more moaning over at Gearslutz and Gearwire. From a 002 user perspective I can understand. I feel bad for you and somewhat disappointed with Digidesign's marketing strategies. But I have been using my 001 for 8 years now and at one point I thought I would never even have OS 10.x support. Digidesign came through for us legacy users when they didn't really have to with 001 support in PT LE 6.9 running OS 10.3.x. The 001 has been a great tool for me but I have been yearning to upgrade for years now. Us 001 users missed the exchange for the 002 line and I always thought that was that. I am elated that they have brought back the 001 exchange for the 003 and I am most likely going to take advantage of that program. We’ll see…

Am I disappointed in the 003? Yes and no... There are some features I would liked to have seen; more I/O, more MIDI I/O, expanded automation control surface, non-global phantom power, front access input, -10 dBV (RCA) I/O, better A/D and the list could go on but we are talking LE here. When compared to what I have the 003 is a dream machine. I can really use the extra headphone out. The separate BNC word clock is handy. Better monitoring features. The jog wheel. Two line LCD for track names and automation parameters. Assigning inserts and sends from the control surface (hope this includes internal bussing assignments too.) The 003 has features I don't even know I need yet... I do hope I can change from ADAT to S/PDIF over the optical when I need to, like I can with my 001.

We'll have to see how the 003 mic pres and clock stacks up against the 002 BLA mods. It looks like Digi got a little shaken up by BLA but I wonder if people will be sending their 003s to BLA a year from now? Maybe for a clock adjustment? Not a lot of chatter on that subject yet…

This really is just a "refresh" of the 002, but for my little project studio the 003 is fit to order. I am really looking forward to PT LE 7 and more RTAS resources that will come with the factory bundle. I have until June to make my move or just skip it and move into Logic/Apogee. (I might still consider the M-Power Pro because I do love the PT environment.) So future 003 users please post reviews here on the DUC and 001 users... well, has it been worth the wait? With the hardware exchange program I say yes!

[lamp]

"and 001 users... well, has it been worth the wait? With the hardware exchange program I say yes!"

Well Ive been waiting a looooooong time for the 003, and the trade up 001 to 003 is a great deal.

The money has even burnt a hole in my pockets! And just as im about to jump on the 003, DIGI drops a hint about taking care of people wanting a mid line between LE and HD and that they understand our needs and are hard at work on a solution.

I really would wait if something is coming, but who knows??????????????????????. DIGI, gotta love/hate em!

[gracejames]

yeah, the hardware exchange is good. Kudos to Digi for that!
But..., i am still guessing people will upgrade the converters and
mic-pres for the 003, so unless you have those already, the 001 w/apogees and neve-type mic-pres
is a better option then stock 003 my guess. Plus you most likely will need to upgrade your comp. I would wait till Musikmesse and see what comes out.
At least wait till everything is smooth on Leopard. That is coming around the corner.

[Tex Tiles]

Digidesign came through for us legacy users when they didn't really have to with 001 support in PT LE 6.9 running OS 10.3.x.

PT 6.4 was the last version supporting the 001, not 6.9 unless you know something that the rest of us don't.

[bigbrendan]

My bad, we are running PT LE 6.4 and not 6.9 on the 001.

Someone else mentioned upgrading our computers too. Yeah, that’s a given... I've gone from a Power PC 9600, to a 400 mHz G3 tower, and I am now running a Dual 500 mHz G4 tower. So I am due for some serious hardware upgrades all around. I have had to do some crazy things to overcome my lack of DSP over the years. I have bogged down a lot of sessions with RTAS.

In some ways I feel I'm in a good position because the Intel Macs have been out for a while now and there is better compatibility with software and plug-ins, etc. I run some Native Instruments and I think it took them some time to get a few upgrades together for the Intel platforms. So we have seen a lot of the kinks worked out of the new Macs and the performance of the new Macs makes what I am running look like an abacus.

This really is another thread all together, but... Do I get a Mac Book Pro, a Mac Pro tower, an iMac, or hell a Mac Mini might even cut it.
What I really want is the 2.0 gHz Mac Pro tower w/ 2 gigs of ram but that might be overkill... unless I get into video...

[bigbrendan]

"And just as I’m about to jump on the 003, DIGI drops a hint about taking care of people wanting a mid line between LE and HD and that they understand our needs and are hard at work on a solution."

What hint are you referring to? I read that DUC post from Digi's marketing head where he admitted the 003 is a "refresh", but I didn't catch any thing else. I am interested in how this drama is going to play out for 002 users but I doubt I could afford this supposed "LE Pro" or whatever.
Let alone wait for it.

[lamp]

http://duc.digidesign.com/showflat.p...v=#Post1123067

[bigbrendan]

Yeah, I read that post but who knows what really means when he says:

"...we are hard at work on products which will allow people to move beyond today’s LE family (whaaaat! like I said, I can’t talk about that stuff!)"

BEYOND today's LE family! Sounds like a new line of products all together. I can't wait another year or two for that, whatever that is. The 003 will probably fit my bill.

Now, what computer do I get?

Anyone out there trade-in their 001 yet?

[jayrodriguez]

I am about to do my upgrad/exchange from the 001 to the 003 Rack. Does anybody know if the new upgrade would entitle me to latest 003 (rack plus with extra channels ) as oppose to last version of the 003? If not, how much extra would i have to pay?
i am either going through alto Music or Sweetwater. Would they know the answer to this question. Just Curious, since Digidesign just bought Focusrite are they involved in any way in the preamps of the new 003 rack plus?
thanks jay