Mbox 2 Pro or 003 Rack???

[musicaldreamer]

I'm sure this question has been asked many times and every person's situation is different, but I'm ready to make the switch to Pro Tools but have a few questions.

I've been using Sonar (just upgraded to version 8 not too long ago) for over 10 years. I've also worked a little with Pro Tools in professional studios (particularly HD3) but have never owned Pro Tools. So, I know my way around DAWs enough to be dangerous.

My question is should I get the Mbox 2 Pro or the 003 Rack? Both have the number of pres I need and I especially like the dual outputs so that I can have reference monitors and studio monitors.

Is there a difference in latency between the two (is one better than the other)?

What other major differences between the two items? I've read, read more, and read even more all that the digi website has to say about the two, but I'm interested in hearing the real-world stories from you guys who have used these two items to give me the reality.

What major benefits would I get from spending the extra $500 to get the 003 Rack?

One final question...factory or no factory (regardless of which unit I get)? Are the factory bundles really worth the extra money?

Here's my use for the system: record original demos for my church band to practice with. Our band consists of drums, bass, electrics, acoustics, piano and synth. Drums, piano and synths would be MIDI, all guitars would be live.

Thanks in advance for any help, direction, advice and insight you can offer!

[albee1952]

The real choice relates to whether you ever want to record that drum set. If yes, then you will need more inputs than the Mbox 2 Pro has. The Mbox unit maxes out at 6 inputs and has 2 onboard mic pre's. The 003 has 4 mic pre's but can be expanded all the way to 18 with the right outboard goodies and you can get 12 mic pre's real fast by just adding any of several 8 channel lightpipe preamps(Behringer ADA8000 at $225 up to Focusrite ISA828 for around $3K). The happy medium (for me anyway) is the Presonus DigiMax or Firestudio(around $700) and the Presonus D8 looks like it may be a good choice as well(haven't used it, but I own the Firestudio with a 003). I would go with the 003 but NOT the factory and put the extra $ toward some third party plugins. For me, the weakest link in the stock plugins is Dverb so a package of verbs like Breverb or IK's Classik verbs would be a step up. Or get the MPTK that comes with TL Space(and bumps your track count up to 64!)
Go check out the product pages for the 2 interfaces and pay close attention to the inputs and outputs.

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by albee1952

The real choice relates to whether you ever want to record that drum set. If yes, then you will need more inputs than the Mbox 2 Pro has. The Mbox unit maxes out at 6 inputs and has 2 onboard mic pre's. The 003 has 4 mic pre's but can be expanded all the way to 18 with the right outboard goodies and you can get 12 mic pre's real fast by just adding any of several 8 channel lightpipe preamps(Behringer ADA8000 at $225 up to Focusrite ISA828 for around $3K). The happy medium (for me anyway) is the Presonus DigiMax or Firestudio(around $700) and the Presonus D8 looks like it may be a good choice as well(haven't used it, but I own the Firestudio with a 003). I would go with the 003 but NOT the factory and put the extra $ toward some third party plugins. For me, the weakest link in the stock plugins is Dverb so a package of verbs like Breverb or IK's Classik verbs would be a step up. Or get the MPTK that comes with TL Space(and bumps your track count up to 64!)
Go check out the product pages for the 2 interfaces and pay close attention to the inputs and outputs.

What he said!

[Obsidian Dragon]

In my workflow, I find the Mbox2Pro's I/O somewhat limiting (YMMV). Especially for church bands that usually like to play together while recording. In fact, isn't it true that you are always short by one channel? If you have 4, you need 5. If you have 8, you need 9. If you have 16, you need 17 etc. Therefore I would get more channel up front.

I would suggest looking at the Digi003R+. The "plus" designation means that it has 8 mic pres instead of the standard 4. This gives you more mic pres out of the box so you could hold off on the 8 channel ADAT optical devices until you really need it. Now the mic pres are very subjective to people so it is really up to you and your mics to see if you like them. I find them to be quite usable for a clean accurate sound. I also like the fact that the 003R can be rack mounted

As for the "Factory" plug-ins, I would pass on them. As stated above, there are much better plug-in available if you need them.

A word of warning: Protools is very picky about the computer you use. Coming from Sonar, you might be thinking any fast computer will do. Take some time to read through these forums to get a good idea about what is compatible and save yourself from a lot of frustration and wasted money.

[musicaldreamer]

Thanks for the tips!

As for the number of mic pres, this is going to be solely for my home studio, so I don't think the Rack+ will benefit me much.

Does anyone know if there is any difference in latency between the 003 and Mbox Pro?

[albee1952]

Both being firewire, there should be no difference.

[Trainwrecker]

I have many issues with the Mbox Pro on the start of PT.

Sometimes it will play most times I have to unplug it and then plug it back in after exiting out of the program. It works fine until the program loads. It is something that I do every time. 8/10 x's,

I called and Digi said it was a "known issue" I asked about fix and was told that there was nothing in the near future.

I have read everything and spent hours trying to fix this.
I am currently looking to roll it.

Other than that the PT boot issue, is a surprisingly good sounding little unit.

[Chase743]

I've used both the Mbox 2 Pro and the 002 Rack (the 003's predecessor). They are both great.

If you need the extra inputs, or you even think you might need the extra inputs, then go with the 003r. The ability to expand up to 18 is pretty powerful, while the Mbox Pro maxes out at 6.

If not, then save the cash and get the Pro. It is solid.

[2ooster]

Originally Posted by Trainwrecker

I have many issues with the Mbox Pro on the start of PT.

Sometimes it will play most times I have to unplug it and then plug it back in after exiting out of the program. It works fine until the program loads. It is something that I do every time. 8/10 x's,

I called and Digi said it was a "known issue" I asked about fix and was told that there was nothing in the near future.

I have read everything and spent hours trying to fix this.
I am currently looking to roll it.

Other than that the PT boot issue, is a surprisingly good sounding little unit.

i had this same issue with every pc i tried my MB2P with. had to boot the pc, plug it in, start protools then turn on my monitors. pain in the ***
it also refused to work at all with my current pc. i had to upgrade to an 002r thats now working flawlessly.

i dont want to tear into the MB2P as it was a nice unit packed into a nice design. just be aware. i wonder if there are others out there that have to go through this to make it work.

[DaveSB]

You are forgetting the major advantage of the 003R
Build quality is twice to three times as good as the MBOX 2 PRO
The MBOX2 Pro uses cheaper pots which are probably surface mounted direct to the main board which may lead to long term reliability problems
The 003R or 002R can be modified BY Black Lion- they will not touch an MBOX Pro as the surface are is too small