MBox Setup

[Jeff Zacharias]

I need to use ProTools to a non PCI Mac. MBox is the first available product but it's not clear to me how it works.

I want to be able to do the following:
- Connect up one mic and stereo inputs from a keyboard
- I don't want to swap cables in and out
- Record into ProTools either the keyboard or mic, but I don't need to record both at once
- Monitor the stereo keyboard and Mic at the same time when not using ProTools

The keyboard has S/PDIF out but the MBox won't allow simultaneous analog and digital inputs (it's always something with Digidesign).

This is what I'm proposing to do:
- Connect the mic up to one input
- Connect the stereo keyboard to the inserts

This should allow recording the keyboard or the mic one at a time, and allow monitoring both with the Mic mixed into one channel of the keyboard. Is this correct ? Any other suggestions for connecting a mic and a stereo keyboard to ProTools (it has to be ProTools) on a Mac that doesn't have a PCI slot but does have FireWire and USB ?

[img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[Strider]

If you don't want to keep patching in and out of the Mbox, and you don't expect to want to record keys and mic simultaneously, then get an inexpensive patchbay. (dbx or re'an TRS bay) then you can just patch into the bay what you want to go into PT.

This would also give you an easy way to keep a CD player, DAT deck, etc, hooked up always too.

Connect the outputs of PT (Mbox) to the bay as well then go to your amp or powered speakers.

Handy and easy. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]