Resurrecting Mbox PT LE (Win XP)

[MBox XP]

Hi,

Is it possible to resurrect my very old MBox that came along with PT LE?

Ever since Windows XP upgraded to Vista, 7, 8, 10 I haven't been able to use this box.

I wish to set this up for younger children who wish to record their music on a computer and learn about the digital recording process.

Thanking you in advance for any assistance.

Cheers
(I bought the MBox system in 2003 or 2004 and it came with PT LE as well as a bundle of other software)

[Darryl Ramm]

2003 era...Just give up now. There are lots of modern, well supported interfaces you can purchase for a few hundred dollars from many vendors and lots of low cost DAWs to look at, including Pro Tools First. Although I would prefer other DAWs or go with full Pro Tools. Your LE licenses will not provide any upgrade discount.

For younger kids I'd be looking hard at garage band on a Mac or iPad.

Describe more what you want to do for what age groups and your budget and folks can suggest things. And what are the specs for the compute you have to use with this or are you lookin at buying a new one?

[MBox XP]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

2003 era...Just give up now. There are lots of modern, well supported interfaces you can purchase for a few hundred dollars from many vendors and lots of low cost DAWs to look at, including Pro Tools First. Although I would prefer other DAWs or go with full Pro Tools. Your LE licenses will not provide any upgrade discount.

For younger kids I'd be looking hard at garage band on a Mac or iPad.

Describe more what you want to do for what age groups and your budget and folks can suggest things.

At this stage I cant set up a Full Pro Tools recording system (that would be ideal). The goal is for them to learn the multitrack recording process on a computer and how to record with microphones, guitars, keyboards, etc.

Are you saying that the MBox I have cannot be interfaced with any computer system or DAW so that it can record?

The Disposable world is very annoying. I really don't enjoy throwing out working equipment. I have seen plenty of affordable interfaces online and in stores, but prefer to use this MBox if possible.

thanks for your reply

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by MBox XP

At this stage I cant set up a Full Pro Tools recording system (that would be ideal). The goal is for them to learn the multitrack recording process on a computer and how to record with microphones, guitars, keyboards, etc.

Are you saying that the MBox I have cannot be interfaced with any computer system or DAW so that it can record?

The Disposable world is very annoying. I really don't enjoy throwing out working equipment. I have seen plenty of affordable interfaces online and in stores, but prefer to use this MBox if possible.

thanks for your reply

We are talking high school students here?

You should be able to answer support/compatibility question yourself. The Mbox you have (and it unclear exactly what you have as you have not told us) is usable with any other DAW as long as there is a device driver available for it on an operating system you want to use that also supports a DAW you want to use. You can Google for Avid legacy device drivers, what Avid has available is all there on their web site. And Avid and other DAW makers have lots of doc online about what OS versions their DAWs support.

The disposable world is really just fine here. There are now much better interfaces available at relatively low cost. You should have got good use out of your gear, and if you wants to have upgrades licensing over the years to be able to use as credit towards a current Pro Tools license it would have cost you a lot more than just letting it just go. And Pro Tools 2018 offers way more than old old versions of Pro Tools LE.

So start with the objectives you are trying to achieve and get the computer and interface to support that. If you describe that in detail here, including budget folks can make suggestion. If would align any work with the compute platform the school uses, Macs or PCs (OK Chrome makes it harder...).

[MBox XP]

Thanks. Cleared up a lot. (you need to excuse my questions because I still use an 8 track Tascam Reel to Reel recorder for some of my musical compositions)

Would Pro Tools 2018 interface with my MBox?
I will check out costs of the latest Pro Tools software and its compatibility with my Desk Top PC.

The students are all year 9 who are divided up into solo acts and bands etc.

cheers, thanks for the suggestions

[Darryl Ramm]

I want you to work this out.... but Googling "Pro Tools 2018.10 systems requirements" tells me that Pro tools 2018.10 for example runs on Windows 8.1 or Windows 10... so can you find a device driver for your old Mbox (which you still have not told us the actual model of) that runs on Windows 8.1 or Windows 10???

But again, you would only be saving say US$150 for example for a Focusrite 2i2 interface at the low end... so farnarkling around a lot here is a waste of time and effort. And the Focusrite will sound better. We don't have any idea if that will be enough interface for your needs... because you've not been clear on what those really are (how simultaneous performers? mic preamps, DI in, line in, ADAT in/out, AES/EBU In/out, line outputs (separate performed cue mix needed?), monitor control features, headphone outputs, direct monitoring features, etc. we can't even guess based on the Mbox... because we don't know the model.)?