MBOX2 !!!

[spkguitar]

Black Eyed Peas recorded many of the tracks for their latest album on an mBox. Check out the Digizine Article about it.

Although they rely on several Pro Tools rigs in the studio, the Black Eyed Peas recorded several of the tracks for their latest record while touring. "I've got an Mbox, and it's the same thing for me as a regular Pro Tools rig when I'm on the road," says Will. "There are four songs on the last record that were done on the Mbox."

It's not the gear that is professional, it's the person using it. If you learn what you are doing, ANY gear can be professional. IntelDoc only says that the mBox isn't professional so he can justify the hundreds of thousands of dollars he spent on his studio.

[Kryst]

HEY! If you can tell me step by step on getting my songs on this site then maybe you can give me some pointers on what you think I could have done or should have done!!

I don't know where he's disappeared, but for those who've read, it's now on my server, you can find the song sample at http://www.kryststudios.net/rip.wma

[jeff markham]

imho, there's nothing in this song that the Mbox is limiting. since
there's a sub-structure of loops with multiple tracks of VO, there's
no fundamental limitation in simultaneous tracking which would invalidate
its usage for this type of material.

i believe that the song suffers from a sameness in production, dymanics,
and spectrals which make the piece not very compelling, certainly not
for 5+

firstly, the bed is weak and it is very monotonous after the first minute.
i would think about supplementing your rhythmic bed with a more compelling
loop or usage of a tool such as Stylus RMX. there appears to be little or
nothing under 150Hz .. so no sub structure to propel the piece along.

secondarily, the piano is a very thin sample. do you have access to
hybrid and Xpand!? there are some excellent pads and synths in there that
would really broaden the pallette for this piece.

thirdly, there's very little usage of dynamic range in either the human performances
or the instrumentation. use your voice (whisper, close-proximity, back off the
mic and get loud) .. have a breakdown where it all stops and then comes
back in .. have surprises (booms, chings, chimes, white noise) anything to excite
the piece and various intervals.

spectrally .. it's all in one spot .. you need to vary timbres, introduce more
shimmer at the top and guts down low. you're also going to have to EQ the voice
a little more to get each to sit well in the mix. on the female vox, i would
think about compressing her pretty strongly as her voice is going to need it
to sit well. perhaps as much as double compression.

lastly, learn to use automation to move things and sweep things around the
sound field .. it's a very static mix in this area (imho).

anyways .. be more creative in the production and performance and the piece
will benefit greatly.

sorry for being so blunt .. but that's what i'm hearing.
jeff

[ejwells]

I think when folks say the Mbox isn't a professional unit, they mean for commercial purposes.
Truth of the matter is, if I went to check out a studio that was charging 25 an hour or up, and saw that they had an Mbox as their main recording device, I'd walk away without any further questions. Period. Wouldn't you?
I mean, you can't track drums with an Mbox (1 or 2) effectively, no matter what. You might get close, but nobody's really gonna pay any money for a 4 track drum setup, are they?

That said, you certainly can get professional RESULTS with an Mbox. I have a buddy that got a three record deal because of a CD he did in his bedroom with an Mbox.

[therecordinghouse]

i am a professional, and i use an mbox2. of course my main recording platform is an hd24. so i am not limited to the mbox2 inputs and coverters..

[ejwells]

Well then, that rather closes my case, yes?
No "professional" recording studio has an Mbox as it's only ProTools interface.

[Kris75]

Can you say SPDIF It's the only way to use an mbox

[jeff markham]

Well then, that rather closes my case, yes?
No "professional" recording studio has an Mbox as it's only ProTools interface.

while this is true, i'm not sure that was the issue being raised by the original
poster. i believe they were asking if the Mbox2 is a professional grade interface.
and, in my opinion, it can be for some projects. for example, the song posted is a loop-based
rap song. given the right synths and/or samples, there's no reason you can't do a pro-grade
job using an Mbox 1 or 2.

secondarily, singer/songerwriter, or alternative stuff, we often get demo or bed tracks
done in home studios on Mboxes. if they know what they're doing (mic choice,
technique, levels, etc.), we often will keep the tracks and roll them into the HD.
you can't catch lightning in a bottle and the performance is key. could we have
done it "better" on the HD ... define better? it won't be better if the magic of
the performance is lost .. and that can happen in studio as compared to what the artist
was feeling at home or at that moment.

and that's my whole point ... electronics in the Mbox2 are more than sufficient to capture
a vocal or singer-songwriter type performance. and the professionalism of the artist and
their performance is the crucial factor in whether the pieces feels "professional" or
not. we can quibble over how much "better" it might have been on a better ADC or with that
perfect insert.

lack of desired result is often blamed on the MBox where the problem almost always lies
elsewhere. "why doesn't my song sound good?" .. it's easier to blame the little blue
box rather than to face up to the fact that your skills as a songwriter and performer
aren't where they need to be.

jeff

[therecordinghouse]

while this is true, i'm not sure that was the issue being raised by the original
poster. i believe they were asking if the Mbox2 is a professional grade interface.
and, in my opinion, it can be for some projects. for example, the song posted is a loop-based
rap song. given the right synths and/or samples, there's no reason you can't do a pro-grade
job using an Mbox 1 or 2.

secondarily, singer/songerwriter, or alternative stuff, we often get demo or bed tracks
done in home studios on Mboxes. if they know what they're doing (mic choice,
technique, levels, etc.), we often will keep the tracks and roll them into the HD.
you can't catch lightning in a bottle and the performance is key. could we have
done it "better" on the HD ... define better? it won't be better if the magic of
the performance is lost .. and that can happen in studio as compared to what the artist
was feeling at home or at that moment.

and that's my whole point ... electronics in the Mbox2 are more than sufficient to capture
a vocal or singer-songwriter type performance. and the professionalism of the artist and
their performance is the crucial factor in whether the pieces feels "professional" or
not. we can quibble over how much "better" it might have been on a better ADC or with that
perfect insert.

lack of desired result is often blamed on the MBox where the problem almost always lies
elsewhere. "why doesn't my song sound good?" .. it's easier to blame the little blue
box rather than to face up to the fact that your skills as a songwriter and performer
aren't where they need to be.

jeff

what he said...

[Rampage 14]

Whoops! I forgot to tell u only the vocals were recorded with the mbox on this song and I just wanted feedback on the recording itself not the lyrics or performance cuz thats not a problem at all for me. The beat was made on Music Creator 2 some time ago but wanted to use it. I couldn't understand what u were saying so could u reapeat that in a more less complex way? Oh LOL! there was no girl just a guy with a high pitched voice.