003R drivers required to use as external pre?
 

Hi all-

When I got a new computer last year and upgraded to PT2021 I had to put my old trusty digi003 rack (FW400) out to pasture. Is there any way to use it as an external mic pre going forward? That is, are the old (now-unsupported) drivers required for it to work, even as an external pre going to my current interface? Was hoping to be able to use S/PDIF or ADAT (or frankly, whatever works, if anything). I'm not holding my breath, but if anyone can shed light, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

____________________________
PT 2021.7
MacOS 11.6.1 Big Sur
2020 MBP 16" (MacBookPro16,1), 2.3 GHz 8-core Intel i9
16GB DDR4 2667MHz RAM
Lynx Hilo converters

Re: 003R drivers required to use as external pre?
 

Hi Welcome to DUC.

Unfortunately the 003 does not have a stand alone mixer mode so it's not really practical to use as an external preamp. And drivers are not enough, you would need an DAW running using the 003 as the interface since the DAW provide the mixer capability/signal path for the 003 preamps to get to say ADAT output.

There are a wide range of choices of nice ADAT preamps available. If you have questions about those folks here will have lots of suggestions. Time to send the 003 off to recording equipment heaven.

Re: 003R drivers required to use as external pre?
 

Thanks for welcome and the quick response. I figured as much, just thought I'd throw spaghetti against the wall and see if I'm not thinking of something. Got almost 15 years out of it with no issues other than a scratchy monitor pot, which I guess is a pretty good run. Sounds like a new pre is in my future. Thx

Re: 003R drivers required to use as external pre?
 

It's sad, Digidesign did not include a hardware mixer in the 003, you can find hundreds of old threads on DUC lamenting this.

To give you a flavor of what ADAT preamps are out there...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...mic-mic-preamp (~$650 and will sound better than your 003).

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...audient-asp880 (very well regarded by many folks)

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...rophone-preamp (RME... drool)

Re: 003R drivers required to use as external pre?
 

It is actually doable, but it would involve getting an old computer with FW400 and old OS/compatible driver, some software to control the 003r, and running that jurassic rig to be able to use the pres and converters and feed them into your current rig. Not worth it. It'd be noisy too, I think. And what you get for your money nowadays is quality way beyond the 003r.

Re: 003R drivers required to use as external pre?
 

Thanks for the suggestions (at multiple price points to boot- see what you did there), I appreciate it. Will investigate.

Re: 003R drivers required to use as external pre?
 

Thanks for the think-through. Like you say, it'd involve firing up my old 2007 MBP (still works!) which has the driver on it, running either PT10 or 11, and routing from there. Just not worth it anymore. Even better- that computer is noisy as all get out because the cooling fans are failing and run out of control and the heat causes 2nd degree burns (ask me how I know). Time and technology have moved on, thankfully.

Re: 003R drivers required to use as external pre?
 

There are two more suggestions that are absolutely worth a look. #1-The Midas XL-48. Its around $900 and stomps anything near the price, especially on drums. #2-A budget-friendly option(nearer $200) is the Behringer ADA8200(the red one with the Midas-designed preamps). For the money, nothing can touch it IMHO

Re: 003R drivers required to use as external pre?